Electronic cigarette and communication circuit thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses an electronic cigarette and a communication circuit thereof, and relates to the technical field of electronic cigarettes, and the communication circuit of the electronic cigarette comprises a switch microphone chip and a microcontroller which interact through digital communication; the switch microphone chip sends the first data to the microcontroller and transmits the second data to the microcontroller in one or more idle states of sending the first data; the microcontroller determines the airflow intensity in the smoking state based on the first data and the second data so as to control the cigarette lighting power of the electronic cigarette, the control mode that the cigarette lighting power changes along with the airflow intensity can be achieved, and the effect that the cigarette lighting power changes along with the smoking intensity is simulated. The cigarette lighting delay is very small, the cigarette lighting control precision is high, and the smoking experience of a user is greatly improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of electronic cigarette technology, specifically to an electronic cigarette and its communication circuit. Background Technology

[0002] In recent years, e-cigarettes have attracted much attention as an innovative alternative to traditional tobacco. E-cigarettes mainly consist of a battery, atomizer, control circuitry, and e-liquid. The control circuitry is crucial, as it controls the heating of the atomizer core within the atomizer to vaporize the e-liquid and meet consumer needs.

[0003] refer to Figure 1 Currently, the most common electronic cigarette control circuits typically include a microphone, a switching microphone chip, and a heating switch. The microphone detects the airflow in the electronic cigarette. The switching microphone chip determines whether the user is smoking based on the microphone's detection data. When smoking is confirmed, it continuously outputs a high-level signal to control the heating switch to turn on, allowing the atomizer coil to heat and atomize the e-liquid. When no smoking is confirmed, the switching microphone chip outputs a low-level signal to control the heating switch to turn off, stopping the coil heating.

[0004] The waveform of the control signal output by the switch microphone chip is shown below. Figure 2 As shown. This method can only achieve the basic airflow switching function, that is, the airflow is turned on when inhaled and turned off when stopped, resulting in a poor smoking experience for the user. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This invention provides an electronic cigarette and its communication circuit to at least overcome the above-mentioned technical problems.

[0006] To address the aforementioned problems, in a first aspect, embodiments of the present invention disclose an electronic cigarette communication circuit, comprising: a switching microphone chip and a microcontroller for information exchange via data packets; the switching microphone chip sends first data to the microcontroller, and transmits second data to the microcontroller in one or more idle states during the transmission of the first data; the microcontroller determines the airflow intensity under smoking conditions based on the first data and the second data, so as to control the lighting power of the electronic cigarette.

[0007] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first data is the data that changes with airflow during the smoking state; the frequency of change of the second data is less than or equal to the frequency of change of the first data.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present invention, the switching microphone chip periodically sends first data to the microcontroller when the electronic cigarette is in a smoking state; when the switching microphone chip transmits second data, the electronic cigarette is in a smoking state or a non-smoking state.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first data includes K, Nt, or A, and the second data includes N0; or, the first data includes K or A, and the second data includes Nt; wherein, K=(Nt-N0) / N0 or K=|Nt-N0| / N0 or K=(Nt-N0) / Nt or K=|Nt-N0| / Nt, K is the rate of change of capacitance value of the capacitive microphone, Nt represents the real-time capacitance value of the capacitive microphone, N0 represents the reference capacitance value of the capacitive microphone; and A is the difference between Nt and N0.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller includes: The communication module is used to receive the first data and the second data. The storage module stores the first correspondence between the rate of change of capacitance value and the cigarette lighting power; The processing module obtains the current capacitance value change rate based on the first data and the second data, and determines the target ignition power of the electronic cigarette according to the current capacitance value change rate and the first correspondence.

[0011] In this embodiment of the invention, the storage module stores multiple sets of first correspondences, and the reference capacitance values ​​of the capacitive microphones corresponding to different sets of first correspondences are different; the processing module determines the current capacitance value change rate and the current reference capacitance value based on the first data and the second data, and determines the target first correspondence corresponding to the current reference capacitance value in the multiple sets of first correspondences, and determines the target cigarette lighting power corresponding to the current capacitance value change rate in the first target correspondence.

[0012] In this embodiment of the invention, the first correspondence is determined based on the second correspondence between the rate of change of capacitance and the suction power, and the third correspondence between the suction power and the cigarette lighting power, wherein the second correspondence is non-linear.

[0013] In this embodiment of the invention, the second correspondence is represented by the relationship curve between the rate of change of capacitance and the suction power; wherein, the relationship curve includes multiple segments, and different segments correspond to different cigarette-lighting power.

[0014] In this embodiment of the invention, the microcontroller includes a comparison module; the comparison module is used to compare N0 obtained based on first data and second data with a reference threshold, and output a logic signal used to characterize whether the capacitive microphone is abnormal.

[0015] In this embodiment of the invention, the switch microphone chip and the microcontroller exchange information via data packets; the data packets sent by the switch microphone chip to the microcontroller sequentially include a communication identification segment, a data segment, and an end state segment; the data packets sent by the microcontroller to the switch microphone chip sequentially include a communication identification segment, a read / write segment, a data segment, and an end state segment, wherein the read / write segment is used to indicate whether the execution task of the data packet is a read operation or a write operation, and when it is a read operation, the data recorded in the data segment is invalid.

[0016] In this embodiment of the invention, the data segment is characterized by a combination of logic 0 and logic 1; in the data packet sent by the sender, the duty cycle of logic 1 is X, and the duty cycle of logic 0 is Y. When the receiver parses the data packet, it determines that the duty cycle greater than Z is logic 1, and the duty cycle less than Z is logic 0, Y < Z < X; or, in the data packet sent by the sender, the duty cycle of logic 1 is X, and the duty cycle of logic 0 is Y. When the receiver parses the data packet, it determines that the duty cycle greater than Z is logic 0, and the duty cycle less than Z is logic 1, X < Z < Y.

[0017] In this embodiment of the invention, the switch microphone chip and the microcontroller communicate via a single signal line; wherein, the communication identification segment in the data packet sent by the switch microphone chip includes a blank state segment one and an arbitration segment, and the communication identification segment in the data packet sent by the microcontroller includes a blank state segment two; the length of blank state segment two is greater than the sum of the lengths of blank state segment one and the arbitration segment; or, wherein, the communication identification segment in the data packet sent by the switch microphone chip includes blank state segment one, and the communication identification segment in the data packet sent by the microcontroller includes blank state segment two and an arbitration segment; the length of blank state segment one is greater than the sum of the lengths of blank state segment two and the arbitration segment.

[0018] In this embodiment of the invention, both blank state segment one and blank state segment two are at low level, the arbitration segment includes high level and low level with different duty cycles, and the termination segment is at high level.

[0019] Based on the same inventive concept, this invention also discloses an electronic cigarette, including an electronic cigarette communication circuit as described in the first aspect of this invention, and further including a capacitive microphone and a heating circuit, wherein the capacitive microphone is connected to a switching microphone chip in the electronic cigarette communication circuit, and the heating circuit is connected to a microcontroller in the electronic cigarette communication circuit.

[0020] The embodiments of the present invention have the following advantages: This invention provides an electronic cigarette communication circuit, including a switching microphone chip and a microcontroller for information exchange via data packets. The switching microphone chip is connected to a capacitive microphone and can detect first data and second data. The microcontroller is also connected to a heating circuit in the electronic cigarette. Based on the first and second data transmitted by the switching microphone chip, the microcontroller determines the airflow intensity during smoking and can control the ignition power of the electronic cigarette. This enables a control method where the ignition power changes with the airflow intensity, simulating the effect of ignition power changing with the smoking intensity. Unlike existing technologies that can only output a single ignition power for ignition, this improves the user's smoking experience.

[0021] In this embodiment of the invention, the switching microphone chip and the microcontroller communicate via data packets. Compared with the method where the switching microphone chip directly calculates the airflow intensity in the smoking state based on the first and second data, and then outputs the airflow intensity to the microcontroller in the form of PWM, this digital communication method greatly improves communication efficiency, reduces the cigarette lighting delay, and increases the cigarette lighting control precision, thus greatly improving the user's smoking experience.

[0022] In this embodiment of the invention, the switch microphone chip sends first data to the microcontroller, and transmits second data to the microcontroller in one or more idle states when sending the first data. Compared with the method of outputting airflow intensity to the microcontroller in the form of PWM or the method of transmitting the first data and the second data to the microcontroller at the same time, the present invention can transmit more first data in the same time, that is, form more airflow intensity points in the microcontroller, and can realize fine-grained smoke control. Attached Figure Description

[0023] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application.

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an existing electronic cigarette control circuit; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the lighting waveform of an existing electronic cigarette; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the electronic cigarette communication circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the communication protocol according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the switching microphone chip transmitting second data to the microcontroller according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 ; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the switching microphone chip transmitting second data to the microcontroller according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 ; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the microcontroller structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the absolute value of the rate of change of capacitance and the suction force in an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the circuit framework of an electronic cigarette according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments.

[0026] Hereinafter, the terms "second," "first," etc., are used for descriptive convenience only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Therefore, a feature defined with "second," "first," etc., may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0027] In the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the term "connection" should be interpreted broadly, and can be a direct electrical connection or an indirect electrical connection through an intermediate medium.

[0028] In this embodiment of the application, "and / or" describes the relationship between associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, a and / or b can represent: the existence of a alone, the existence of both a and b, or the existence of b alone, where a and b can be singular or plural.

[0029] This invention provides an electronic cigarette communication circuit, referenced. Figure 3 The system includes a microphone switch chip and a microcontroller (MCU). In this embodiment of the invention, the control circuit of the electronic cigarette is enhanced with an MCU. Smoking detection is achieved by the microphone switch chip, and cigarette lighting control is achieved by the MCU. The microphone switch chip and the microcontroller communicate via data packets. This method allows the electronic cigarette to be upgraded from a traditional mechanical switch tool to an intelligent atomizing device.

[0030] like Figure 4 As shown, the data packet sent by the switch mic chip to the microcontroller sequentially includes a communication identification segment, a data segment, and an end-of-state segment; the data packet sent by the microcontroller to the switch mic chip sequentially includes a communication identification segment, a read / write segment, a data segment, and an end-of-state segment. The read / write segment indicates whether the data packet's execution task is a read or write operation. When it is a read operation, the data recorded in the data segment is invalid. Furthermore, the data segment sent by the microcontroller to the switch mic chip may also include an address, instruction, or data, and the address segment is used to record the target access address in the switch mic chip.

[0031] Furthermore, the data segment is characterized by a combination of logic 0 and logic 1. In the data packet sent by the sender, the duty cycle of logic 1 is X, and the duty cycle of logic 0 is Y. When the receiver parses the data packet, it identifies the duty cycle greater than Z as logic 1 and the duty cycle less than Z as logic 0, where Y < Z < X. Alternatively, in the data packet sent by the sender, the duty cycle of logic 1 is X, and the duty cycle of logic 0 is Y. When the receiver parses the data packet, it identifies the duty cycle greater than Z as logic 0 and the duty cycle less than Z as logic 1, where X < Z < Y. In this embodiment of the invention, when the sender is a switching microphone chip, the receiver is a microcontroller; when the sender is a microcontroller, the receiver is a switching microphone chip. This communication protocol design of the present invention has a simple communication structure, is easy to identify, and is less prone to misjudgment. It effectively solves the problem of inconsistent communication frequencies between switching microphone chips and microcontrollers, which are different chips, and is suitable for electronic cigarette applications.

[0032] The switch microphone chip and the microcontroller can communicate via a single signal line. They operate on a single-wire, half-duplex communication protocol, which allows data to be transmitted in both directions, but only in one direction at a time. Compared to periodically checking the idle state of the communication bus to determine whether to send data, this invention also improves the communication identification segment in the data packet to enhance communication efficiency between the switch microphone chip and the microcontroller. In one implementation, continue to refer to Figure 4 The communication identification segment in the data packet sent by the switch microphone chip includes blank state segment one (blank state segment one is attached). Figure 4 The communication identification segment in the data packet sent by the microcontroller includes blank state segment two (represented by "a") and arbitration segment. Figure 4 (represented by "b" in the text). The length of the second blank state segment is greater than the sum of the lengths of the first blank state segment and the arbitration segment. Specifically, the blank state segment can be designed to be low, meaning both the first and second blank state segments are low. The arbitration segment includes high and low levels with different duty cycles, and the termination segment is high. If the switch microphone chip and the microcontroller send data packets simultaneously, because the second blank state segment in the microcontroller's data packet is longer, based on the "strong 0, weak 1" bus design logic, the high level of the arbitration segment sent by the switch microphone chip will be overwritten by the low level of the second blank state segment sent by the microcontroller. Therefore, the switch microphone chip can detect the bus arbitration result, stop sending data, and switch to accepting the data being sent by the microcontroller.

[0033] Based on the same concept, in another implementation (not shown in the figure): the communication identification segment in the data packet sent by the switch microphone chip includes a blank state segment one, and the communication identification segment in the data packet sent by the microcontroller includes a blank state segment two and an arbitration segment; the length of blank state segment one is greater than the sum of the lengths of blank state segment two and the arbitration segment. Specifically, the blank state segment can be designed to be low-level, i.e., both blank state segment one and blank state segment two are low-level. The arbitration segment includes high and low levels with different duty cycles, and the termination segment is high-level. If the switch microphone chip and the microcontroller send data packets simultaneously, based on the "strong 0, weak 1" bus design logic, the high level of the arbitration segment sent by the microcontroller will be overwritten by the low level of blank state segment one sent by the switch microphone chip. Therefore, the microcontroller can detect the bus arbitration result, stop sending data, and switch to accepting the data being sent by the switch microphone chip. In this method, the switch microphone chip has a higher priority, which can effectively improve the timeliness of communication when the user is smoking.

[0034] Continue to refer to Figure 3 In this embodiment of the invention, the switching microphone chip sends first data to the microcontroller, and transmits second data to the microcontroller in one or more idle states while sending the first data; based on the first and second data, the microcontroller can determine the airflow intensity during the smoking state to control the lighting power of the electronic cigarette. Figure 4 As shown, the idle state can be a high level, the blank state segment in a data packet can be designed to be a low level, the arbitration segment includes high and low levels with different duty cycles, and the termination state segment is a high level. In the field of electronic cigarettes, suction power is essentially the airflow intensity when smoking. This invention provides suction power as a reference factor for controlling the lighting power of electronic cigarettes, allowing the lighting power to change with the airflow intensity (suction power), unlike existing technologies that can only output a single lighting power for lighting. Thus, this invention can not only adjust the amount of atomization, improving the user's smoking experience, but also adapt to atomizer cores with different resistance values, improving the product's versatility.

[0035] Since the switch microphone chip and the microcontroller exchange information via data packets, and the first and second data are not transmitted simultaneously, they are obviously encapsulated in different data packets. Furthermore, both the first and second data are recorded through data segments of these data packets.

[0036] There are two scenarios for the "transmission" of the second data from the switch microphone chip to the microcontroller: one is that the switch microphone chip actively sends the second data to the microcontroller, and the other is that the microcontroller actively sends a read command to the switch microphone chip to read the second data.

[0037] It should be noted that the airflow direction may change during smoking, such as from inhaling to exhaling, or vice versa. Therefore, the first data may also include the airflow direction. When the airflow direction is inhalation, the microcontroller can control the ignition power of the e-cigarette based on the airflow intensity during smoking, achieving the effect that the atomization volume increases as the airflow intensity increases and decreases as the airflow intensity decreases. When the airflow direction is exhalation, the microcontroller can control the e-cigarette to not ignite or stop ignition altogether.

[0038] In the field of e-cigarettes, the airflow intensity during inhalation is generally detected using a capacitive microphone. Inhalation causes deformation of the diaphragm in the capacitive microphone, leading to a change in equivalent capacitance. A switching microphone chip is connected to the capacitive microphone. Through the capacitance data transmitted by the capacitive microphone, the switching microphone chip can determine whether the user is smoking and obtain the airflow intensity. It is known in the art that in the field of e-cigarettes, airflow intensity is characterized by parameters, specifically the amount or rate of change of capacitance value, or others. In this embodiment of the invention, the microcontroller can determine the airflow intensity during inhalation based on first data and second data. This means that the first and second data, after calculation, can obtain a parameter characterizing the airflow intensity, such as the amount or rate of change of capacitance value, which is equivalent to determining the airflow intensity. The microcontroller can then control the ignition power of the e-cigarette based on this airflow intensity. Since in the field of e-cigarettes, the suction power during inhalation is reflected in the airflow intensity, the essential purpose of this invention in determining the airflow intensity during inhalation based on the first and second data is to determine the suction power during inhalation, thereby achieving the effect of controlling the ignition power of the e-cigarette based on the suction power.

[0039] Furthermore, the first data is the data that changes with airflow during the smoking state; the frequency of change of the second data is less than or equal to the frequency of change of the first data.

[0040] In one feasible implementation, the detection element connected to the switching microphone chip is a capacitive microphone for sensing airflow in the electronic cigarette. The parameter characterizing the airflow intensity is the rate of change of capacitance value of the capacitive microphone. Here, K = (Nt - N0) / N0 or K = |Nt - N0| / N0 or K = (Nt - N0) / Nt or K = |Nt - N0| / Nt, where K is the rate of change of capacitance value of the capacitive microphone, Nt represents the real-time capacitance value of the capacitive microphone, and N0 represents the reference capacitance value of the capacitive microphone; A is the difference between Nt and N0, also known as the capacitance change. Since Nt represents the real-time capacitance value of the capacitive microphone and N0 represents the reference capacitance value, it can be understood that, taking K = (Nt - N0) / N0 as an example, K = (Nt - N0) / N0 is essentially equal to (Ct - C0) / C0, where C0 is the reference capacitance value and Ct is the real-time capacitance value. The same logic applies to K=|Nt-N0| / N0, K=(Nt-N0) / Nt, and K=|Nt-N0| / Nt. Based on this, there are different examples for the first and second data, such as: Example ①: The first data may include K, and the second data may include N0; Example ②: The first data may include Nt, and the second data may include N0; Example ③: The first data may include A, and the second data may include N0; Example 4: The first data may include K, and the second data may include Nt; Example 5: The first data includes A, and the second data includes Nt.

[0041] The real-time capacitance value changes with the airflow intensity during smoking, while the reference capacitance value is typically generated or determined when not smoking. The microcontroller can calculate the rate of change of capacitance or the capacitance difference based on any of the examples ①-⑤, thus determining the airflow intensity during smoking.

[0042] When the electronic cigarette is in a smoking state, the switching microphone chip in this embodiment of the invention periodically sends first data to the microcontroller. Then, in one or more idle states after sending the first data, it transmits second data to the microcontroller. Based on the communication circuit of this invention, the switching microphone chip can send enough first data to the microcontroller, enabling the microcontroller to control the cigarette lighting power to change with the airflow intensity (inhalation force during smoking) based on the first and second data, thus simulating the effect of real smoking. The first and second data in this invention are transmitted based on digital communication; that is, the switching microphone chip and the microcontroller interact through data packets. Both the first and second data are recorded in data segments, encapsulated in different data packets, and the first data in different data packets can be different. Compared to the switching microphone chip directly calculating the airflow intensity during smoking based on the first and second data and then outputting the airflow intensity to the microcontroller in the form of PWM, this invention can transmit more first data in the same amount of time, thus creating more airflow intensity points in the microcontroller, which is beneficial for refined cigarette lighting control.

[0043] The aforementioned idle state can be understood as the communication state between the switch microphone chip and the microcontroller. When the switch microphone chip and the microcontroller communicate through a single signal line, the idle state is the communication state on that signal line. It can be understood that the switch microphone chip can transmit one or more idle states for sending the first data, specifically in either a smoking state or a non-smoking state. In this embodiment of the invention, the switch microphone chip can transmit the second data to the microcontroller once or multiple times (corresponding to one or more idle states). If the switch microphone chip transmits the second data to the microcontroller only once, then this idle state used for transmitting the second data occurs in either a smoking state or a non-smoking state. If the switch microphone chip transmits the second data to the microcontroller multiple times, then these multiple idle states used for transmitting the second data can all occur in a smoking state, all occur in a non-smoking state, or some occur in a smoking state and some in a non-smoking state.

[0044] refer to Figure 5 and Figure 6 The two optional methods for transmitting the first and second data according to the present invention are illustrated respectively.

[0045] It is worth noting that even though the first and second data are transmitted to the microcontroller while the smoke is being emitted, this transmission method of the present invention saves more transmission time compared to transmitting the first and second data to the microcontroller in a single data packet. This allows for more airflow intensity points to be generated in the microcontroller within the same time frame, which is beneficial for finer control.

[0046] refer to Figure 7In this embodiment of the invention, the microcontroller may include a communication module, a storage module, and a processing module. Taking the capacitance change rate, a parameter used to characterize airflow intensity, as an example, the functions of these modules in the microcontroller will be explained. The communication module receives first data and second data; the storage module stores a first correspondence between the capacitance change rate and the cigarette ignition power; the processing module obtains the current capacitance change rate based on the first data and the second data, and determines the target cigarette ignition power of the electronic cigarette based on the current capacitance change rate and the first correspondence.

[0047] In different embodiments of the present invention, the first correspondence stored in the storage module can be one or more sets.

[0048] Considering that the reference capacitance value may be updated; or in other words, the reference capacitance value may be different for different capacitive microphones. Therefore, in the microcontroller of one embodiment of the present invention, the storage module stores multiple sets of first correspondences, and the reference capacitance values ​​of the capacitive microphones corresponding to different sets of first correspondences are different; the processing module determines the current capacitance value change rate and the current reference capacitance value based on the first data and the second data, and determines the target first correspondence corresponding to the current reference capacitance value among the multiple sets of first correspondences, and determines the target cigarette lighting power corresponding to the current capacitance value change rate in the first target correspondence. Understandably, regardless of whether the first and second data received by the communication module are in any of the forms shown in Examples ①-⑤, the processing module can calculate the capacitance change rate K and the parameter N0 representing the current reference capacitance value of the capacitive microphone using any of the four formulas: K=(Nt-N0) / N0, K=|Nt-N0| / N0, K=(Nt-N0) / Nt, or K=|Nt-N0| / Nt. Then, it determines the target first correspondence corresponding to N0 from multiple sets of first correspondences. Based on this target first correspondence, the target ignition power corresponding to the capacitance change rate K can be determined. The electronic cigarette made based on this embodiment can cope with various environmental changes, and its smoking effect is excellent even at high altitudes. At the same time, this method also improves the versatility of the microcontroller, making it applicable to electronic cigarettes with different types of capacitive microphones.

[0049] The first correlation between the capacitance change rate and the ignition power can be linear. However, designing a linear correlation between the capacitance change rate K of the capacitive microphone and the ignition power is actually an ideal state. For example, the act of smoking causes a certain change in airflow or pressure in the e-cigarette cavity. This airflow or pressure difference causes deformation of the diaphragm of the capacitive microphone, resulting in a change in the capacitance value of the capacitive microphone. That is, the amount of capacitance change is related to the diaphragm deformation. Therefore, the amount of capacitance change output by the capacitive microphone can be used to characterize the suction power when the user smokes. However, the inventors found that the diaphragm deformation of the capacitive microphone and the suction power when the user smokes are not linearly related. Specifically, in the field of e-cigarettes, suction power is represented by the intensity of the airflow flowing towards the capacitive microphone. At the beginning of smoking, the diaphragm deformation increases with increasing suction power and decreases with decreasing suction power, and the ratio of change between the two is relatively close. However, as suction power increases, smoking time at the same suction power increases, or environmental factors affect the system, the increased deformation of the diaphragm becomes very small or unstable, resulting in a minimal increase in capacitance. This leads to a non-proportional or non-linear relationship between the change in capacitance or the rate of change in capacitance, K, and the change in suction power. For example, initially, a 10% increase in suction power results in a 10% increase in capacitance rate K; as diaphragm deformation increases, a 10% increase in suction power might only result in a 5% increase in capacitance rate K; and as diaphragm deformation continues to increase, a 10% increase in suction power might only result in a 1% increase in capacitance rate K. Therefore, the ignition power determined based on the aforementioned linear relationship cannot accurately simulate the user's smoking needs. There is always a feeling that the suction power is strong, but the atomization of the smoke is insufficient (commonly known as: smoking is not enjoyable), affecting the user experience and failing to simulate the real smoking effect.

[0050] Therefore, in this embodiment of the invention, the first correspondence between the stored rate of change of capacitance value and the cigarette-lighting power is actually a non-linear relationship between the rate of change of capacitance value and the cigarette-lighting power. Furthermore, this non-linear relationship between the rate of change of capacitance value and the cigarette-lighting power (i.e., the first correspondence) can be determined through a second correspondence between the rate of change of capacitance value and the suction power, and a third correspondence between the suction power and the cigarette-lighting power, wherein the second correspondence is non-linear. The second correspondence can be obtained based on user smoking data collection, extensive testing, and training. This testing process can consider not only the relationship between diaphragm deformation and airflow intensity, but also factors such as the updating of the reference capacitance value of the capacitive microphone. The specific testing method is not limited in this application.

[0051] In the smoking state, suction power is essentially manifested as airflow intensity, or in other words, the airflow intensity during smoking is essentially a manifestation of suction power. Since the second correspondence is non-linear, and the first correspondence is determined through the second correspondence between the capacitance change rate and suction power, and the third correspondence between suction power and ignition power, in this embodiment of the invention, the process by which the processing module obtains the current capacitance change rate of the capacitive microphone based on the first and second data, and then determines the ignition power of the electronic cigarette based on the current capacitance change rate and the non-linear first correspondence, essentially redefines the smoking intensity corresponding to the current capacitance change rate. This restores the true smoking intensity corresponding to the current capacitance change rate. The redefined target suction power will then better match the actual force used by the user when smoking. By using the ignition power corresponding to the target suction power (i.e., the target ignition power) to control the atomization of the electronic cigarette, precise control of the electronic cigarette can be achieved. This effectively solves the problem of insufficient smoking force caused by the diaphragm deformation not keeping up with the suction power in existing technologies, meeting real smoking needs and improving the user experience.

[0052] The first correspondence in the storage module can be either a direct correspondence between the rate of change of capacitance K and the cigarette lighting power, or an indirect correspondence between the rate of change of capacitance K and the cigarette lighting power.

[0053] A direct correspondence refers to a mapping table or function relationship directly stored in the storage module between the capacitance change rate K and the cigarette lighting power. This mapping table or function relationship is the first correspondence relationship. This mapping table or function relationship is calculated based on the second correspondence relationship between the capacitance change rate K and the suction power, and the third correspondence relationship between the suction power and the cigarette lighting power. In this case, after the processing module obtains the current capacitance change rate K, it can directly determine the target cigarette lighting power corresponding to the current capacitance change rate K from this first correspondence relationship.

[0054] Indirect correspondence refers to the storage module containing a second correspondence between the capacitance change rate K and the suction power, and a third correspondence between the suction power and the cigarette lighting power. For example, it might store a mapping table or function relationship between the capacitance change rate K and the suction power (second correspondence), and a mapping table or function relationship between the suction power and the cigarette lighting power (third correspondence). In this case, after the processing module obtains the current capacitance change rate K, it first determines the target suction power corresponding to the current capacitance change rate K in the second correspondence relationship, and then determines the target cigarette lighting power corresponding to the target suction power in the third correspondence relationship.

[0055] The third relationship between suction power and cigarette lighting power can be found in existing technical explanations. Generally, suction power and cigarette lighting power are linearly related; that is, greater suction power results in greater cigarette lighting power, and vice versa. Different cigarette lighting powers result in different amounts of atomization; cigarette lighting power determines the amount of atomization. Higher cigarette lighting power results in a larger amount of atomization.

[0056] In some embodiments of the present invention, the second correspondence can be characterized as a curve representing the relationship between the rate of change of capacitance and the suction force, such as... Figure 8 As shown, the vertical axis represents the absolute value of the rate of change of capacitance K, and the horizontal axis represents the attraction force. The slope of the curve gradually decreases as the horizontal axis increases. Alternatively, the vertical axis could also be the attraction force, and the horizontal axis the absolute value of the rate of change of capacitance (not shown in the figure). In this case, the slope of the curve gradually increases as the horizontal axis increases. It should be noted that due to differences in drawing level, drawing tools, etc., this curve may have some discrepancies in shape compared to the actual curve. Figure 8 The plotted curves are merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the direction of the relationship curves in this application. After redetermining the suction force based on the relationship curve between the rate of change of capacitance and suction force, even if the rate of change of capacitance increases only slightly, the change in suction force is significant, thus restoring the true smoking intensity corresponding to the current rate of change of capacitance.

[0057] Continue to refer to Figure 8 The third correspondence can also be shown on the curve relating the rate of change of capacitance to suction power. This curve includes multiple segments, each corresponding to a different ignition power. For example, the first segment (represented by L1 in the attached diagram) corresponds to a ignition power of 10W, the second segment (represented by L2 in the attached diagram) corresponds to 12W, the third segment (represented by L3 in the attached diagram) corresponds to 15W, the fourth segment (represented by L4 in the attached diagram) corresponds to 18W, and the fifth segment (represented by L5 in the attached diagram) corresponds to 21W... In other embodiments of the present invention, the nonlinear relationship can be obtained based on user smoking data collection, extensive testing, and training. This testing process can consider factors such as the update of the reference capacitance value of the capacitive microphone and smoking user preferences, ultimately yielding the nonlinear relationship referred to in the embodiments of the present invention. Specific testing methods are not limited in this application. In the embodiments of the present invention, after the processing module obtains the current capacitance value change rate of the capacitive microphone based on the first data and the second data, it can determine the lighting power of the electronic cigarette based on the current capacitance value change rate and the nonlinear relationship, which can meet the user's personalized smoking needs and improve the user experience.

[0058] In various embodiments of the present invention, nonlinear relationships are used to describe a set of defined physical variables in which an initial change in one variable results in a disproportionate change in that variable or other variables; in other words, the rate of change between the variables is not constant.

[0059] In various embodiments of the present invention, after the microcontroller identifies the electronic cigarette, it controls the electronic cigarette based on the lighting power. Specifically, this can be achieved through PWM control or other methods such as current magnitude control. It is worth noting that the PWM control used by the microcontroller (generally feedback-controlled PWM) differs from the PWM used for communication in the background art, which involves simultaneous transmission and reception. Therefore, it is not affected by the accuracy of PWM sampling resolution. Furthermore, the microcontroller has a much higher clock frequency, resulting in better timeliness of its output PWM for cigarette lighting control.

[0060] In some embodiments of the present invention, the microcontroller includes a comparison module; the comparison module is used to compare N0, obtained based on first data and second data, with a reference threshold, and output a logic signal characterizing whether the capacitive microphone is abnormal. Since N0 characterizes the reference capacitance value of the capacitive microphone, embodiments of the present invention can detect whether the capacitive microphone is abnormal by comparing N0 with the reference threshold.

[0061] If e-cigarette e-liquid leaks, it can cause microphone contamination, resulting in a significant change in the reference capacitance value of a capacitive microphone, which differs considerably from the normal reference capacitance value. In this application example, the reference threshold received or stored by the microcontroller is the threshold for detecting whether the microphone is contaminated; its specific value can be a single value or a range, which is not limited in this application.

[0062] The logic signal output by the comparison module can be processed by other circuits and finally displayed to the user. This application does not limit the method of display. A high logic signal indicates an error; a low logic signal indicates normal operation.

[0063] refer to Figure 9 This invention also discloses an electronic cigarette, including the electronic cigarette communication circuit as described in this embodiment, and further including a capacitive microphone and a heating circuit. The capacitive microphone is connected to a switching microphone chip in the electronic cigarette communication circuit, and the heating circuit is connected to a microcontroller in the electronic cigarette communication circuit. For a detailed explanation of the electronic cigarette communication circuit, please refer to the preceding text; further details are omitted here.

[0064] The heating circuit and the microcontroller can be directly or indirectly connected; there are no restrictions on this. Existing technologies can be referenced for the heating circuit.

[0065] The electronic cigarette provided in this invention can achieve a control method in which the ignition power changes with the airflow intensity, that is, it simulates the effect of the ignition power changing with the smoking intensity, unlike the prior art which can only output a single ignition power for ignition, thus improving the user's smoking experience.

[0066] The electronic cigarette provided in this invention has high precision in cigarette lighting control, which greatly improves the user's smoking experience.

[0067] It should be noted that the various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner, with each embodiment focusing on the differences from other embodiments. The same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other.

[0068] The technical solutions provided in this application have been described in detail above. Specific examples have been used to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of this application. The descriptions of the above embodiments are only for the purpose of helping to understand this application, and the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation of this application. Furthermore, for those skilled in the art, there will be different forms of changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope based on this application. It is neither necessary nor possible to exhaustively list all implementation methods here, and obvious changes or modifications derived therefrom are still within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. An electronic cigarette communication circuit, characterized in that, include: Switch microphone chips and microcontrollers that exchange information via data packets; The switch microphone chip sends first data to the microcontroller, and transmits second data to the microcontroller in one or more idle states while sending the first data; The microcontroller determines the airflow intensity during the smoking state based on the first data and the second data, so as to control the lighting power of the electronic cigarette.

2. The electronic cigarette communication circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first data is the data that changes with airflow during the smoking state; The frequency of change of the second data is less than or equal to the frequency of change of the first data.

3. The electronic cigarette communication circuit according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The switching microphone chip periodically sends first data to the microcontroller when the electronic cigarette is in the smoking state; When the switch microphone chip transmits the second data, the electronic cigarette is in a smoking state or a non-smoking state.

4. The electronic cigarette communication circuit according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first data includes K, Nt, or A, and the second data includes N0; Alternatively, the first data may include K or A, and the second data may include Nt; Where K=(Nt-N0) / N0 or K=|Nt-N0| / N0 or K=(Nt-N0) / Nt or K=|Nt-N0| / Nt, K is the rate of change of capacitance value of the capacitive microphone, Nt represents the real-time capacitance value of the capacitive microphone, N0 represents the reference capacitance value of the capacitive microphone; A is the difference between Nt and N0.

5. The electronic cigarette communication circuit according to claim 4, characterized in that, The microcontroller includes: The communication module is used to receive the first data and the second data; The storage module stores the first correspondence between the rate of change of capacitance value and the cigarette lighting power; The processing module obtains the current capacitance value change rate based on the first data and the second data, and determines the target lighting power of the electronic cigarette according to the current capacitance value change rate and the first correspondence.

6. The electronic cigarette communication circuit according to claim 5, characterized in that, The storage module stores multiple sets of the first correspondence relationship, and the reference capacitance value of the capacitive microphone corresponding to different sets of the first correspondence relationship is different. The processing module determines the current capacitance value change rate and the current reference capacitance value based on the first data and the second data, and determines the target first correspondence relationship corresponding to the current reference capacitance value among multiple sets of first correspondence relationships, and determines the target cigarette lighting power corresponding to the current capacitance value change rate in the first target correspondence relationship.

7. The electronic cigarette communication circuit according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, in, The first correspondence is determined based on the second correspondence between the rate of change of capacitance and the suction power, and the third correspondence between the suction power and the cigarette lighting power, wherein the second correspondence is non-linear.

8. The electronic cigarette communication circuit according to claim 7, characterized in that, The second correspondence is represented by the curve showing the relationship between the rate of change of capacitance and the suction force; The relationship curve includes multiple segments, with different segments corresponding to different cigarette ignition power.

9. The electronic cigarette communication circuit according to claim 4, characterized in that, The microcontroller includes a comparison module; The comparison module is used to compare N0 obtained based on the first data and the second data with a reference threshold, and output a logic signal to characterize whether the capacitive microphone is abnormal.

10. The electronic cigarette communication circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The data packet sent by the switch microphone chip to the microcontroller includes, in sequence, a communication identification segment, a data segment, and an end state segment; The data packet sent by the microcontroller to the switch mic chip includes, in sequence, a communication identification segment, a read / write segment, a data segment, and an end state segment, wherein the read / write segment is used to indicate whether the data packet is used for a read operation or a write operation.

11. The electronic cigarette communication circuit according to claim 10, characterized in that, The switch microphone chip communicates with the microcontroller via a single signal line; The communication identification segment in the data packet sent by the switch microphone chip includes a blank state segment one and an arbitration segment, and the communication identification segment in the data packet sent by the microcontroller includes a blank state segment two. The length of the second blank state segment is greater than the sum of the lengths of the first blank state segment and the arbitration segment; or, The communication identification segment in the data packet sent by the switch microphone chip includes a blank state segment one, and the communication identification segment in the data packet sent by the microcontroller includes a blank state segment two and an arbitration segment. The length of the first blank state segment is greater than the sum of the lengths of the second blank state segment and the arbitration segment.

12. An electronic cigarette, characterized in that, The electronic cigarette communication circuit as described in any one of claims 1-11 further includes a capacitive microphone and a heating circuit, wherein the capacitive microphone is connected to a switching microphone chip in the electronic cigarette communication circuit, and the heating circuit is connected to a microcontroller in the electronic cigarette communication circuit.

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