Smart paper or sheet for linking an electronic device having a display and a user interface to other electronic devices

Abstract

A sheet (100) having a front and a rear surface and configured to link a first electronic device (200) with a second electronic device (300), the sheet (100) including a first communication device (10) for wirelessly connecting to the first electronic device (200), a second communication device (20) for wirelessly connecting to the second electronic device (300), at least one switch element (40, 42, 44, 46) operably connected to the first communication device (10) or the second communication device (20), and a data communication link (90) between the first communication device (10) and the second communication device (20).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This patent application claims priority to European Patent Application Publication No. 21191411.4, filed August 13, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention is directed to the field of sheets or substrates having electrical circuitry therein, for example printed sheets, papers, cards, foils or films having marketing or sales information printed thereon and having electrical circuitry for interconnecting with external electronic devices, more specifically printed sheets, papers or foils that can wirelessly interconnect a smart phone with other electronic devices. [Background technology]

[0003] Various solutions have been proposed in the field of disposable or non-disposable sheets having electronic circuits for wirelessly interconnecting with external electronic devices. For example, US Patent Application Publication No. 2020 / 0125917 is directed to a printed matter that includes a near field communication (NFC) antenna, an NFC chip, and a switch that can be manually operated to activate one or more of the NFC chips. When the NFC chip is activated by one of the switches, the NFC chip can send a signal to another NFC-enabled data communication device, for example, an NFC-enabled smartphone placed on the printed matter, to retrieve data information or a link on the NFC-enabled smartphone.

[0004] In the field of radio frequency identification (RFID) smart cards, US Patent No. 10,789,524 describes a smart card (SC) having a card body with two electronic modules that can communicate with each other through two or more coupler coils and a booster antenna that receives energy from an external device. Furthermore, it is described that there are no hardwired connections between the modules of the smart card. In this respect, the patent aims to provide several electronic modules inside a single smart card without wired interconnections to provide a more reliable interconnection, for example, when the smart card has been subjected to repeated bending that may destroy or interrupt the wired interconnection.

[0005] Also in the field of electronic security devices, particularly contactless smart chip devices such as wireless keys or wireless entry cards, US Patent Application Publication No. 2016 / 0180210 describes a push button enabled contactless transmitting device that uses multiple smart chips that can communicate wirelessly by RFID or NFC. The push buttons can be selectively activated by a user pressing an area on a substrate that is marked where the push buttons are located, such as on the top surface of the device, and activation of a selected one of the chips can transmit code information via a wireless connection to a remote electronic reader device.

[0006] However, in the field of sheets or thin substrates having one or more electrical circuits therein for wireless interconnection with external devices, improved solutions are desired, for example to provide applications enabling communication and interconnection between multiple external devices, in particular applications for establishing wireless communication interfaces for different types of electronic devices for improving customer experience and marketing communications. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, a seat having a front surface and a rear surface is provided. Preferably, the seat is configured to link a first electronic device having a user interface with a second electronic device. The seat preferably includes a first communication device for wirelessly connecting to the electronic device, a second communication device for wirelessly connecting to the electronic cigarette, at least one switch element operably connected to the first communication device or the second communication device, and a data communication link between the first communication device and the second communication device.

[0008] According to another aspect of the present invention, a system is provided that allows a first electronic device to be linked with a second electronic device. Preferably, the system includes a seat having a front and a rear surface, a first electronic device having a display, and a second electronic device, such as an electronic cigarette. Furthermore, preferably, the seat includes a first communication device for wirelessly connecting to the first electronic device, a second communication device for wirelessly connecting to the second electronic device, at least one switch element operably connected to the first communication device or the second communication device, and a data communication link between the first communication device and the second communication device.

[0009] According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a method for reading and writing information between a first electronic device and a second electronic device, such as an electronic cigarette, through a sheet is provided. Preferably, the sheet includes a first communication device for wirelessly connecting to the first electronic device, a second communication device for wirelessly connecting to the second electronic device, and a data communication link for communicating between the first and second communication devices. Furthermore, preferably, the method includes placing the first and second electronic devices on the sheet, pressing a switch on the sheet to launch application software on the first electronic device through the first communication device, pressing the switch on the sheet to trigger data transfer from the first electronic device to the second electronic device through the data communication link, or pressing the switch to trigger data transfer from the second electronic device to the first electronic device through the data communication link.

[0010] According to yet another object of the present invention, there is provided a seat having a front surface and a rear surface, the seat being configured to wirelessly link to at least one electronic device. The seat may comprise a first communication device and a second communication device, at least one of the first or second communication device being configured to wirelessly connect to the at least one electronic device. Additionally, at least one switch element is operatively connected to the first communication device or the second communication device for a bidirectional data communication link between the first communication device and the second communication device.

[0011] The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention, as well as the manner of achieving the same, will become more apparent, and the invention itself will be best understood from a consideration of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate certain preferred embodiments of the invention.

[0012] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate presently preferred embodiments of the invention and, together with the general description given above and the detailed description given below, serve to explain features of the invention. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Fig. 1A-1E] 1A and 1B show different views of an exemplary simplified electronic device 100, embodied for example as a substrate, sheet, paper, card or foil 100, with a first and a second communication device 10, 20 for wirelessly connecting to different electronic devices 200, 300, respectively. FIG. 1A shows a top perspective view of the device 100 with a first electronic device 200, for example a smartphone, and a second electronic device 300, for example but not limited to an electronic aerosol generating device such as an electronic cigarette or a heat-not-burn device, disposed thereon, showing a system 500. FIG. 1B shows a top perspective view to illustrate some elements of the device 100. FIG. 1C shows a simplified diagram of the electronic circuitry of the device 100. FIG. 1D shows an external top surface on which graphical and textual elements 50, 55, 60 are printed or otherwise provided. FIG. 1E shows a simplified diagram of another embodiment of the electronic circuitry of the device or sheet 100 with a microcontroller 99 located in the center. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 shows a method M100 of operating a device or sheet 100 together with a first electronic device 200, e.g. a smartphone, and a second electronic device 300, e.g. an electronic cigarette, illustrating different steps of the method M100 enabling communication between the electronic devices 200, 300 via the device or sheet 100, e.g. a substrate, sheet, paper, card, or foil 100. [Diagram 3] A top view of an exemplary graphical user interface GUI on a screen 210 of a first electronic device 200 positioned on a device or seat 100, such as a smartphone or other electronic device having a display 210, showing displayed parameters, status, or setting information and allowing modification of certain parameters of the first electronic device 200 via the GUI. [Figure 4]1A, showing an alternative exemplary embodiment of an electronic device 100 and a system 500 according to aspects of the present invention. The electronic device 100 is illustratively embodied as a substrate, sheet, paper, card or foil 100 and includes a first and a second communication device 10, 20 for wirelessly connecting to different electronic devices 200, 300, respectively, disposed thereon, the first electronic device 200, e.g. a smart card (e.g. an NFC enabled card such as an ATM or ID card) and the second electronic device 300, e.g. an electronic aerosol generating device such as an electronic cigarette or a heat-not-burn device. [Figure 5A-5B] 1A and 1B of an alternative exemplary embodiment of an electronic device 100 and a system 500 according to another aspect of the present invention. The electronic device 100 includes a first communication device 10, again illustratively embodied as a substrate, sheet, paper, card or foil 100, having a non-volatile memory disposed thereon for storing data, and a second communication device 20 for wirelessly connecting to an electronic device 300, e.g. an electronic aerosol generating device such as an electronic cigarette or a heated non-combustion device, the electronic device 300 being wirelessly configurable via the second communication device based on data stored in the memory of the first communication device 10. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] In this specification, the same reference numbers are used, whenever possible, to designate identical elements common to the drawings and images are simplified for illustrative purposes and may not be drawn to scale.

[0015] FIG. 1A shows an exemplary top perspective view of a device or sheet 100, such as a printed sheet, paper, card, or foil, or film 100, with a first electronic device 200 having a user interface 210, such as a smartphone 200 having a touch-sensitive display screen 210, and a second electronic device 300, such as but not limited to an electronic aerosol generating device 300, such as but not limited to an electronic cigarette or a heat-not-burn device, positioned at a specific location on the top surface of the device 100. The device or sheet 100 together with the first and second electronic devices 200, 300 are referred to herein as an electronic system 500. The device or sheet 100 can be flexible, rollable, bendable, or even foldable, such as but not limited to a sheet of paper, cardboard, foil, laminate, or other type of preferably flexible substrate. For example, the sheet 100 can have a thickness of less than 1 mm. The top or front surface 101 of the device 100 includes a first graphical element 50 that specifies, suggests or otherwise indicates a position where the first electronic device 200 may be placed on the top or front surface 101 of the device or sheet 100, for example, placed on the left side. This placement position of the device 200 in the first graphical element 50 may ensure the possibility of wireless or contactless communication between the first electronic device 200 and the device or sheet 100. The graphical element 50 may have the appearance of a rectangular box having dimensions substantially similar to the outline of the most commonly used smartphones, for example, dimensions ranging from 5 cm to 9 cm, and a length ranging from 11 cm to 16 cm. Other types of graphical elements 50 are also possible, for example, but not limited to, stylized images of smartphones, symbols, logos, shading or printing with a rectangular shape.

[0016] Furthermore, the second graphical element 60, which specifies, suggests or otherwise indicates where the second electronic device 300 should be placed on the top surface 101 of the device or sheet 100, in the variant shown on the right side, provides a rectangular box representing the outline of an e-cigarette, indicating the placement of an e-cigarette, or other type of second electronic device 300. This placement location of the device 300 in the second graphical element 60 may ensure the possibility of wireless or contactless communication between the second electronic device 300 and the device or sheet 100. For example, the second graphical element 60 may be a graphical representation of an e-cigarette, which may be a rectangular box or a shaded image in an upright position.

[0017] In addition, a third graphical element 55 is disposed between the first and second graphical elements 50, 60 in the illustrated variant, the third graphical element 55 including graphical elements 30, 32, 34, 36 representing different areas for activating the push or sense buttons or switches 40, 42, 44, 46, respectively. In the illustrated variant, four areas are shown representing four different push or sense buttons 40, 42, 44, 46, although other numbers are also possible. Furthermore, different explanatory or informational graphical elements are shown, e.g., different text elements 80, 82, 84, 86, which are part of the third graphical element 55 and are visible on the front surface 101 of the sheet 100. The explanatory graphical elements, e.g., text elements 80, 82, 84, 86, may be visually or graphically associated with at least one switch element 40, 42, 44, 46 and may provide an explanation, instruction, or context to the user U associated with an action that will be performed when the user U activates a respective one of the switch elements 40, 42, 44, 46.

[0018] For example, the descriptive elements 80, 82, 84, 86 may provide instructions to the user in readable text, educational cartoons, infograms, or other graphical forms indicating that actuation of the associated switch 40, 42, 44, 46 may provide functionality involving the first electronic device 200, the second electronic device 300, or both 200, 300, such as, but not limited to, initiation of application software on the first electronic device 200, preferably an application pre-installed on the smartphone 200 as the first electronic device 200, transfer of data from the first electronic device 200 to the second electronic device 300 or vice versa, display of media or other data on the display 210 of the first electronic device 200, etc. For example, to activate the switch 40, the user U must place a finger on an area designated by a graphical element 30 that is part of the third graphical element 55. The graphical elements 30, 32, 34, 38 may be embodied as, but are not limited to, circles, ovals, squares, push buttons, keyboard buttons, or other types of finger-activated switch graphical representations, icons, pictographs, emoticons, ideograms, logos.

[0019] The different graphical elements 50, 55, 60 and other graphical elements can be provided on the sheet 100 by different means, for example by printing, by a pre-printed laminate layer that is placed on the sheet 100, for example by using a digital inkjet printer, a screen printing technique, flexographic printing, UV lithography printing, pad printing, laser printing. It is also possible to three-dimensionally print the graphical elements 50, 55, 60 to have some structure or depth, for example the graphical elements 30, 32, 34, 36 represent different areas that may appear as user-actuable buttons or switches. It is also possible that a part or the top layer of the sheet 100 is structured and embossed or etched to form depressions or decorated with stickers representing the different graphical elements 50, 55, 60, or provided with a combination of the above printing and marking techniques.

[0020] 1C shows a simplified exemplary overview of the electronic circuitry of the device 100, exemplarily showing on its left side a first communication device 10 including an NFC antenna 14, e.g. an antenna coil, an NFC communication chip 12, and on its right side a second communication device 20 including an NFC antenna 24, e.g. an antenna coil, an NFC communication chip 22. The NFC antenna 14 has a coil or winding layout that allows it to be interconnected with the RF magnetic field of the NFC antenna of the first electronic device 200, typically a smartphone, and the NFC antenna 24 has a coil or winding layout that allows it to be interconnected with the RD magnetic field of the NFC antenna of the second electronic device 300, typically an electronic cigarette. Furthermore, each of the first and second communication devices 10, 20 may include additional elements, e.g., but not limited to, antenna matching impedances, power rectifiers, voltage regulators, power converters, and other elements necessary for NFC communication.

[0021] Additionally, the first and second communication devices 10, 20 are operatively interconnected with each other by a data communication link 90, e.g., including a first data communication transceiver 95 operatively interconnected with the NFC communication chip 12, and a second data communication transceiver 97 operatively interconnected with the NFC communication chip 22, the data communication link 90 and the transceivers 95, 97 being operatively interconnected with each other by a universal serial bus (USB), I 2 Different types of data protocols and transmission modes can be used, such as, but not limited to, IEEE 1394, CAN bus, RS-232, RS-485, Firewire, TTL signaling, Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI). Preferably, the transmission mode of the transceivers 95, 97 and the data communication link 90 is a wired connection using very low power consumption, but it is also possible to provide wireless communication between the transceivers 95, 97, such as, but not limited to, a Bluetooth connection.

[0022] The NFC communication chips 12, 22 and antennas 14, 24 are preferably such that they can be wirelessly powered from the respective external device through inductive coupling, for example by using loop antennas as the antennas 14, 24 forming an air-core transformer, thereby receiving power from the first or second electronic device 200, 300, or both, and operate passively. In a variant, they can also be actively powered devices, for example by using a battery, a rechargeable supercapacitor, or a solar panel. Preferably, the passive NFC technology for powering the sheet 100 can include, but is not limited to, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Ultra High Frequency Radio Frequency Identification (UHF RFID), 13.56MHz NFC tag compliance, different types of NFC tags and standards, such as international standards ISO / IEC14443, ISO15693, Japan's Sony FeliCa standard (JIS X 6319-4), GSMA NFC standard.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 1C, the switches 40, 42, 44, 46 integrated, embedded, or otherwise provided in the sheet 100 can be made as passive switches, e.g., in an off or non-conductive state when not touched, and providing a conductive connection between two conductive tracks when a user presses an area of ​​the graphical elements 30, 32, 34, 36. Some details regarding these types of switches and sheets are described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020 / 0125917, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Alternatively, the switches 40, 42, 44, 46 can be active switches that can sense the presence of a finger or other body part of the user U, or a device handled or worn by the user U, e.g., capacitive switches, inductive switches, heat-sensitive switches, resistive touch switches, piezo touch switches, or other types of body-actuable switches.

[0024] The switches 40, 42, 44, 46 may be implemented as two electrodes covered with an electrically insulating layer and a flexible conductive plate disposed thereon, the electrically insulating layer having gaps or openings therein to allow a user U to press the flexible conductive plate to create electrical contact with both electrodes, thereby making electrical contact. Circuitry for reading the state of each switch 40, 42, 44, 46 may include a driver or buffer circuit 96 interconnected with the first communications chip 12, four exemplary conductive signal tracks 41, 43, 45, 47 each leading from the driver or buffer circuit 96 to an electrode of one of the respective switches 40, 42, 44, 46, and a conductive return signal track 49 returning to the driver or buffer circuit 96 to be connected, for example, to VCC or GND. When a switch 40, 42, 44, 46 is actuated by a user U, a circuit formed by one of the tracks 41, 43, 45, 47 and the return track 49 is closed and this change in signal state is available to be read by the NFC chip 12 from the driver or buffer circuit 96. It is also possible that the driver or buffer circuit 96 is interconnected to the NFC chip 22 or even to both NFC chips 12, 22 in order to read the state of the switches 40, 42, 44, 46.

[0025] As described above, the first communication device 10 including the antenna 14 and the chip 12 can be configured to be entirely passively powered by electromagnetic energy provided from the first electronic device 200, and similarly, the second communication device 12 including the antenna 24 and the chip 20 can be configured to be entirely passively powered by electromagnetic energy provided from the second electronic device 300, thereby enabling wireless power transfer (WPT) to be used by using inductive coupling via an inductive magnetic field between the NFC antenna from the first electronic device 200 and the coil from the antenna 14 of the first communication device 10, and between the NFC antenna from the first electronic device 200 and the coil from the antenna 24 of the second communication device 20. In addition, each of the first and second communication devices 10, 20 can also include a magnetic sheet with high magnetic permeability and low loss to reduce degradation of antenna gain and radiation efficiency due to the generation of eddy currents. Although the exemplary embodiment uses a smartphone as the first electronic device 200, it is also possible that the first electronic device 200 is another type of electronic device having a display screen 210 and NFC communication capabilities, e.g., a tablet, a computer, a personal digital assistant, a notebook, a laptop.

[0026] Regarding the communication of data from the first electronic device 200 to the first communication device 10 having the chip 12 of the device or sheet 100, in the variant described here in which the first electronic device 200 is a smartphone having a touch screen display 210, the first electronic device 200 can have application software or firmware installed thereon, which can be configured with computer instructions for establishing an RF magnetic field with its internal NFC antenna to power the first communication device 10 of the sheet 100. The RF magnetic field will thereby power the NFC chip 12 via the antenna 14, and the chip 12 can be configured to send back data stored in the NFC chip 12, for example by load modulation using Manchester coding. The first electronic device 200 will then operate in NFC read mode and exchange data by ask and load modulation. This allows the first electronic device 200 to access information that may be displayed on a graphical user interface GUI on the touch screen 210, for example, by using native application software or a web-based application accessible via a browser software installed in the memory of the first electronic device 200, providing a GUI that may display different types of information. The communication between the first electronic device 200 and the seat 100 may be performed by point-to-point communication using typical NFC standards, such as the ISO 13157 standard, the ISO IEC 18000-3 standard, at an exemplary bit rate of 424 kbits / sec. Other types of communication protocols and speeds are also possible. In addition, it is also possible for the application software of the first electronic device 200 to operate in an NFC write mode, not only to power the NFC chip 12 via the antenna 14, but also to write data to the NFC chip 12. For example, data provided by the user U to a GUI provided by the application software of the first communication device 200 may be transmitted thereto to the seat 100.Furthermore, during wireless powering by the first electronic device 200, the NFC chip 12 may be further configured to perform other computational or communication tasks, e.g., reading status information from the switches 40, 42, 44, 46, e.g. by reading information from the driver or buffer circuit 96, or to send or receive data to or from the NFC chip 22 of the second communication device 20, e.g. via the communication link 90 and the data communication transceivers 95, 97.

[0027] Similarly, the communication of data from the second electronic device 300 to the second communication device 20 having the NFC chip 22 may be performed in the variant described herein, which is an electronic cigarette, where the second electronic device 300 may have application software or firmware installed thereon that may provide an RF magnetic field with its NFC antenna to power the second communication device 20 of the seat 100. The RF magnetic field may then provide power to the second communication device 20 via the antenna 24, with which the NFC chip 22 may be configured to transmit data stored in the NFC chip 22 to the third communication device 300, for example by load modulation using Manchester coding. This causes the second electronic device 300 to operate in an NFC reading mode. In this mode, the second electronic device 300 may be configured with new settings, parameters, and other types of configuration data that are provided to the internal memory of the second electronic device 300. Additionally, application software or firmware of the second electronic device 300 may operate in an NFC writer mode to not only provide power to the NFC chip 22 via the antenna 24, but also to write data to the NFC chip 22, for example to provide data regarding current settings or parameters stored in the memory of the second electronic device 300. Again, communication between the second electronic device 300 and the seat 100 may be via typical NFC standards or a proprietary communication standard.

[0028] Furthermore, the second communication device 20 of the sheet 100 may also be configured to transmit and receive data to and from the NFC chip 12 of the first communication device 10, for example via the communication link 90 and the data communication transceivers 95, 97. In this respect, since both the first and second communication devices 10, 20 of the sheet 100 may exchange data with each other via the communication link 90, data regarding configuration, status, history settings or parameterization may be transmitted from the third electronic device 300 via the sheet 100 to the first communication device 200 for display and modification on the graphical user interface (GUI) of the display 210, and data regarding configuration, settings or parameterization may be transmitted from the first communication device 200 to the third electronic device 300 via the sheet 100 while the first and second electronic devices 200, 300 are powering the first and second communication devices 10, 20 of the sheet 100. For example, the first and second communication devices 10, 20 may be used to facilitate wireless connection and pairing between the first electronic device 200 and the second electronic device 300, for example via Bluetooth. In this way, the NFC protocol may be used only for the initial communication of the pairing code and the connection of the first and second communication devices 200, 300, and from then on, the first and second electronic devices 300 can communicate with each other directly without using the sheet 100 by Bluetooth connection. In such a case, the Bluetooth communication is initiated automatically or by pressing a button by the user U via the sheet 100 when the first and second electronic devices 200, 300 are placed thereon. In a variant, during wireless power supply from the second electronic device 300, the NFC chip 22 may also be configured to read status information from the switches 40, 42, 44, 46 via the buffer circuit 96 instead of or in addition to the reading that may be performed by the NFC chip 12.

[0029] Also, in the variant shown in Fig. 1E, assuming that the smartphone as the first electronic device 200 can supply more power, in the variant shown by the antenna 14 of the first communication device 10, both the first and second communication devices 10, 20 can be wirelessly powered by only one of the NFC antennas from either the first or second electronic device 200, 300, which is preferred. Thereby, a passive power supply circuit 92, including for example a capacitor, a matching impedance, a voltage regulator, a rectifier, can be provided in either the first or second communication device 10, 20, and a power supply line 93 can supply voltage to the different circuits of the sheet 100, for example the chips 12, 22, the driver 96 and the microcontroller 99. The transceivers 95, 97 and the data communication link 90 can also be implemented thereby as an internal bus or a serial port between the different microprocessors of the chips 12, 22. In addition, different types of processor hierarchies can be used, for example one central microcontroller 99 having a data processor, non-volatile memory for firmware or operating software, and different data ports can be arranged to control and interface with both NFC chips 12, 22, data communication links 90 to each NFC chip 12, 22, and drivers or buffers 96 for reading the state of the switches 40, 42, 44, 46 associated with the centrally located microcontroller 99, or one microcontroller 99 associated with each NFC chip 12, 22, the microcontrollers 99 being operatively interfaced to each other via I2C, SIP, or other types of ports to provide the data communication links 90.

[0030] Also, with respect to the representations of Figures 1C and 1E, different electronic circuits are shown for the NFC chips 12, 22, the transceivers 95, 97, the data communication link 90, the buffer or driver circuit 96, but it is also possible that these circuits are all integrated in a single module or chip, for example a multi-chip module, or are part of a single chip architecture, for example a microcontroller that can interface to two different NFC antennas 14, 24. Preferably, two wireless communication links are provided between the NFC chip 12 and the first electronic device 200 and between the NFC chip 22 and the second electronic device 300, preferably by using passive powering by one or two RF magnetic fields, and the data interconnection within the sheet 100 between the two NFC chips 12, 22 can be done in various ways as explained above.

[0031] According to another aspect of the present invention, an exemplary method M100 for reading and writing information between a first electronic device 200 and a second electronic device 300 is described herein, as exemplarily shown in the flow chart of FIG. 2, by using the sheet 100 described herein. In step M10 of the method M100, both the first and second electronic devices 200, 300 are powered and NFC communication functions are activated. This can be done by a manual operation by a user U. If the first electronic device 200 is a smartphone, for example, the NFC communication settings can be activated in step M10 to enable NFC communication. However, this can also be the initiation of a pre-installed application software, thereby activating NFC communication. In step M20 of the method M100, both electronic devices 200, 300 are placed on or in close proximity to the sheet 100, so that NFC communication can be established. For example, a first electronic device 200, in this example a smartphone 200, may be placed on the top surface 101 of the sheet 100 at or adjacent to the location of the first graphical element 50. Similarly, in step M20, a second electronic device 300, in this example an electronic cigarette 300, may be placed on the top surface 101 of the sheet 100 at or adjacent to the location of the second graphical element 60. The step M20 of placing may also be performed before the step M10 of establishing power and / or NFC. After step M20 has been performed and with step M10 performed, the NFC antennas of the first and second electronic devices 200, 300 may power the sheet 100 using inductive coupling with the antennas 14, 24.

[0032] Next, in optional step A10, considering that the circuitry of sheet 100, for example but not limited to first and second communication devices 10, 20, may be powered via one or more NFC antennas 14, 24, firmware or software instructions of sheet 100, for example computer executable code stored in chip 12, chip 22, or a central microcontroller, microprocessor, or other type of electronic data processing device 99 in non-volatile memory, can be executed by one of the microprocessors associated with at least one of chip 12, chip 22, and microcontroller 99 to start up and operate sheet 100. This optional start-up procedure by use of step A10 can verify and check the communication between the chips 12, 22 using the data communication link 90 and the transceivers 95, 97, verify the wireless NFC communication between the chip 12 and the first electronic device 200, verify the wireless NFC communication between the chip 22 and the second electronic device 300, perform a data integrity check, check the buffer or driver 96 to check the state of the switches 40, 42, 44, 46, verify the authenticity of the second electronic device 300, e.g., that it is authorized by the distributor of the seat 100, and perform other start-up and verification tasks. After the optional start-up procedure in step A10, the seat 100 operates in an idle mode in which the state of the switches 40, 42, 44, 46 can be repeatedly read or the interrupt signal of any one of the chips 12, 22 or the microcontroller 99 can be verified to detect a change in the state of the switches 40-46.

[0033] In step M30, the user U may press, touch or otherwise activate one of the switches 40, 42, 44, 46. This signal or change of state may be read by a buffer or driver 96, e.g., a processor that reads the state of the NFC chip 12 of the first communication device 10, the NFC chip 22 of the second communication device 20, or the microcontroller 99, which may then trigger an action with the first or second electronic device 200, 300, or both. For example, the switch 40 may be pressed by the user U, and this change of state may be read by the NFC chip 12. Then, for example, the NFC chip 12 may wirelessly transmit a signal or instruction code to the first electronic device 200, e.g., a smartphone, to activate dedicated application software installed on the first electronic device 200. Additionally, application software on the first electronic device 200 may already be running and pressing the switch 40 may trigger an action in the application software, such as a confirmation signal, such as, but not limited to, a status signal, prompt, beep, vibration, status indicator, etc. on a graphical user interface indicating successful interaction and communication with the seat 100.

[0034] Next, in step M40, the user U can press, touch, or otherwise activate another one of the switches 40, 42, 44, 46, e.g., switch 42, which can then trigger data transfer from the second electronic device 300, e.g., an e-cigarette, to the first electronic device 200 via the sheet 100, causing step A30. For example, after the switch 42 is touched by the user U, the NFC chip 12 or microcontroller 99 can read such a state change from the driver or buffer 96 and trigger the execution of step A30, which provides data from the device 300 to the device 200. The text element 82 associated with the switch 42 can explain or otherwise indicate that activation of the switch 42 reads data from the device 300, e.g., by text such as "Press here to view the state of your device."

[0035] For this data transfer, the NFC chip 12 or the microcontroller 99 can send instructions to the NFC chip 14 to read data from the second electronic device 300. The NFC chip 14 can then send instructions to the second electronic device 300 to read certain data from the device 300. The second electronic device 300 can then have firmware or application software that allows it to react or follow the received instructions and can return data to the NFC chip 14, for example data stored in the memory of the device 300, depending on the instructions received from the NFC chip 14. For example, if the second electronic device 300 is an e-cigarette, the returned information may include, but is not limited to, status, setting, and parameter information of the electronic cigarette 300, such as the battery level of the electronic cigarette 300, the estimated or measured fill level of the canister, pod, or capsule of the electronic cigarette 300, the number of puffs remaining based on the battery level of the electronic cigarette 300, the power setting, intensity, and / or heater temperature value or profile of the electronic cigarette 300, the total number of puffs performed by the electronic cigarette 300, version information of the electronic cigarette 300, the duration of use of the electronic cigarette 300, as well as identification information of the electronic cigarette 300, the serial number or serial number of the electronic cigarette 300, the firmware version of the electronic cigarette 300, the brand and manufacturer of the electronic cigarette 300, the date of manufacture, and a status report or data of the electronic device 300.

[0036] Furthermore, once data is received from the second electronic device 300 at the NFC chip 14 in step A30, this data may be transmitted via data communications link 90 to the NFC chip 12 and then transmitted by the NFC chip 12 to the first electronic device 200 where it may be received as data that may be further processed, modified and displayed by the running application software in step A40.

[0037] In step A40, the data received from the second electronic device 200 may be displayed or otherwise visualized to the user U via the display device 210, for example, by displaying at least a portion of the received data on a graphical user interface GUI on the display 210 of the first electronic device 200. The graphical user interface GUI of the first electronic device 200 may thereby enable the user U to view or otherwise visualize certain data, or may enable the user U to modify certain data, for example, to provide new heater settings or profiles. This may be done via manual or partially automatic editing of the data on the graphical user interface GUI, for example, but not limited to, touch buttons, sliders, graphical curve modification, uploading.

[0038] In step M50, the user U can press, touch, or otherwise activate another one of the switches 40, 42, 44, 46, for example, the switch 44, which then triggers a data transfer from the first electronic device 200 to the second electronic device 300 via the seat 100. This step M50 can be performed before or after step M40 is performed, for example, after the user U modifies some data received by steps M40, A30, A40 on the graphical user interface GUI of the first electronic device 200. In one example, the user U wants to upload new settings for the second electronic device 300, which is an electronic cigarette 300. Thereby, the text element 84 associated with the switch 44 can indicate or explain that an upload of new data can be performed by activating the switch 44. As an example, after step M50 when the user U touches the switch 44, instructions and data may be wirelessly transmitted from the first electronic device 200 to the NFC chip 12 of the first communication device 10 in step A50. The NFC chip 12 may then read the received instructions and then transmit the received data or a part thereof to the NFC chip 22 of the second communication device 20 by using the data communication link 90 and the transceivers 95, 97 in the sheet 100. The data received at the NFC chip 22 may then be wirelessly transmitted to the second electronic device 300. In step A60, the second electronic device 300 may operate under the instructions of firmware or application software to receive the data and write the data or a part thereof to a local memory, thereby installing new settings or parameters for the operation of the second electronic device 300.

[0039] In another example, in steps M50, A50, and A60, a button or switch 40, 42, 44, 46 may be pressed or otherwise actuated to cause a firmware update of the second electronic device 300. This may be indicated by a text message accompanied by one of the graphical elements 80, 82, 84, 86. For example, pressing the switch 46 may cause the chip 12 to send a code or information back to the first electronic device 200, which may then download a new firmware version for the second electronic device 300 from an Internet connection via application software execution on the first electronic device 200. The new firmware may then be wirelessly transmitted from the first electronic device 200 to the NFC chip 12, from the NFC chip 12 to the NFC chip 14 via the data communication link 90, and from the NFC chip 14 to the second electronic device 300 (e.g., the e-cigarette 300). The second electronic device 300 may have application software or a kernel that is capable of verifying the authenticity of new firmware before installing it locally in non-volatile memory.

[0040] Other types of functionality, such as a specific request for a video tutorial or presentation on how to operate the second electronic device 300, for example, by an audiovisual presentation initiated in a pop-up screen after pressing, touching or otherwise activating a switch 40, 42, 44, 46 presented on a graphical user interface GUI on the display 210 of the first electronic device 210, for example, to trigger an audio, visual or audiovisual presentation regarding usage of the second electronic device 300, a specific request for a tutorial on how to insert a new pod or capsule into the electronic cigarette 300, can be invoked or activated by pressing, touching or otherwise activating a switch 40, 42, 44, 46, and request the setting of a specific or general user profile that can be configured on the first electronic device 200 and then uploaded and installed on the second electronic device 300. Additionally, pressing, touching, or otherwise activating the switches 40, 42, 44, 46 on the sheet 100 may open a web page or launch another type of application on the first electronic device 200.Also, pressing, touching, or otherwise activating the switches 40, 42, 44, 46 of the sheet 100 may allow for actions to be performed on the second electronic device 300, such as performing an integrity check within the device 300 and thereby flashing a status LED or other type of indicator after the check, performing a dry puff with the e-cigarette as the second electronic device 300, setting a locked or unlocked state of the electronic device 300, such as disabling or enabling user interaction via buttons or touch elements of the electronic device 300, changing different types of settings or user profiles of the electronic device 300, such as changing a power mode, power profile, or other settings. It is possible, but not limited to, to change the power settings of the type, increase or decrease the heating temperature or heating power of the electronic device 300, check the battery status, set the intensity of the LED signal light, the color of the LED signal light, the blinking pattern of the LED signal light, the vibration pattern, intensity, or duration of the vibration signal of the electronic device 300, or provide parameter settings of any other active electronic elements of the electronic device 300, such as settings or parameters for controlling active electronic elements that may be disposed with the electronic device 300, such as, but not limited to, LEDs, displays, motors, heaters, pumps, valves, sprayers, image sensors, microphones, vibration signal devices, speakers, injectors, dispensers, input buttons, etc.

[0041] As another example, by pressing, touching, or otherwise activating the switches 40, 42, 44, 46 of the seat 100, a particular second electronic device 300 can be linked to a user profile that contains different information about the user, including, but not limited to, gender, age, and vaping habits, by linking the serial number or other unique identification of the second electronic device 300 to a unique identification or code of the user profile. This can then perform age verification of the individual associated with the user profile, for example, when the user is identified or logged into a portal using a user or individual age verification process. Data of the different user profiles can be made electronically available or otherwise accessible to the first electronic device 200, for example, using application software that can access the locally stored user profiles, or the user profiles can be accessed from a cloud or other remote database. In this regard, by pressing one of the switches 40, 42, 44, 46, a serial number or other unique identification code may be read from the second electronic device 300 and transferred via the second communication device 20, the communication link 90, and the first communication device 10, making the unique identification code of the device 300 available at the first electronic device 200. In addition, the sheet 100 itself may have a unique identification code associated with it, for example in a non-volatile memory that may be accessed by the microcontroller 99 or one of the NFC communication chips 12, 22, which also allows the sheet 100, along with the second electronic device, to be linked with a user profile.

[0042] In this regard, after starting up a software application on the first electronic device 200, e.g., a smartphone, by pressing one of the switches 40, 42, 44, 46, the user U can press another one of the switches 40, 42, 44, 46 to execute a user profile linking process, in which the unique identification code of the second device 300 is read and transferred to the first electronic device 200, and the application software then writes the data of the received unique identification code into a data field of the user profile or into a separate data structure for linking the unique identification code with the user profile. For this purpose, the user U may be able to log himself into an account of a data service that contains the data of his or her user profile. This may also include an age verification process, in which the second electronic device 300, e.g., an e-cigarette, may be disabled or otherwise locked if the age verification process is not successfully passed. Also, a warning prompt or window may be generated on the GUI of the first electronic device 200. Age verification may be performed by the application software accessing different types of third-party age verification services, for example, by using an age verification application programming interface (API), or other types of web-based age and identity verification software or services. In addition, it is also possible to perform an authentication check of the second electronic device 300, for example, by accessing an authentication database via the application software of the first electronic device 200 using the unique identification code of the second electronic device 300. Once the unique identification code of the device 300 is linked with the user U, for example, via a user profile, different pre-stored device settings can be uploaded from the user profile database via the electronic device 200, the seat 100 to the second electronic device 300, for example, by pressing one of the switches 40, 42, 44, 46, so that the second electronic device 300 can be configured based on the pre-stored setting profile.

[0043] 3 shows a top view of an exemplary graphical user interface GUI on a screen 210 of a second electronic device 200 placed on the device or seat 100, showing displayed parameters or settings and allowing to modify certain parameters or settings of the second electronic device 200. This GUI can be part of an application software launched after the user U presses one of the switches 40, 42, 44, 46 of the seat 100, for example in steps M30, A20 of the method M100. For launching of application software or apps on the first electronic device 200 in step A20, typically a smartphone running an operating system such as Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Linux, Symbian OS or other types of mobile operating systems, the settings of the operating system of the smartphone 300 can be such that direct or indirect launch of the application software by NFC codes received from the first communication device 10, for example the NFC communication chip 12, is possible. For example, when an NFC code is detected by the NFC communication interface of the smartphone 300, a prompt or window may be created on the GUI on the display 210 to request permission from the user U to enable the start or launch of application software when a corresponding NFC code is detected, or even to enable the direct launch of application software. In this regard, NFC communication needs to be enabled in the smartphone 300 to enable such type of communication between the first electronic device 300 and the seat 100. Different types of NFC communication data may be used to enable the start or launch of application software on the smartphone 300, such as codes based on the NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) standard, for example using NDEF messages, and using the tag dispatch system of the operating system.

[0044] As an example of a GUI of a launched application, an exemplary top section of the GUI provided by the application software on the display 210 of the first electronic device 200 may present user modifiable parameters or settings, the displayed data being read or transmitted from the second electronic device 300 and transmitted to the first electronic device 200 via the sheet 100, for example, by steps M40, A30, A40. For example, a graphically presented slider 220 may allow for increasing or decreasing the heating power of the heating coil of the electronic cigarette 300, allowing the user U to change the value with a button or finger actuation via a touch screen, a graphically presented slider 222 may allow for increasing or decreasing the heating ramp down time of the heating coil of the electronic cigarette 300, and different buttons 224 may be presented on the GUI of the display 210, for example, for forcing an update of the firmware of the electronic cigarette 300, or for providing other settings, for example, for enabling or disabling a beep or light signal, or for providing other types of settings and parameters for the electronic cigarette. The user modified parameters may then be uploaded to the electronic cigarette 300 in steps M50, A50, A60.

[0045] The bottom section of the GUI may present different status information or data of other types of electronic cigarettes 300, such as, but not limited to, status information read from the second electronic device 300 in steps M40, A30, A40, such as, but not limited to, the level of the battery with the fill bar or progress bar 230, the estimated or measured liquid level of the pod, container, or capsule currently attached to the electronic device 300 with the fill bar 232, the results of an electrical or mechanical integrity check, status information whether the pod, capsule, or container is properly connected to the electronic cigarette 300, information about available memory space, and other data, such as, but not limited to, firmware version, product name and version, or other data mentioned herein. This data may be read-only and cannot be modified by the user U in the GUI.

[0046] In a further example represented by Fig. 4, according to another aspect of the invention, it is possible to more easily provide an authentication and / or age verification process of the user of the second electronic device 300 using the system 500, which may be performed using an NFC-enabled smart card as the first electronic device 200, for example an ATM card or an ID card with the user's identification and age stored or recorded in an embedded NFC tag configured in the card. Thereby, a method of user age and / or user authentication or verification can be performed by using the system 500, for example before the device 300 is used. Such a method is particularly advantageous, since it only requires that the second electronic device 300 should be an active NFC component of the system 500, and does not necessarily require any smart device featuring a display, such as a smartphone for the first electronic device 200, for the initial setup of the second electronic device 300, in particular for user authentication and age authentication.

[0047] Data related to or associated with a particular user U may be stored in an NFC-enabled smart card, such as an ATM card or ID card, as the first electronic device 200, and made electronically available or otherwise accessible via the sheet 100 and its communication device 10, 20 to the second electronic device 300 in terms of NFC when both are placed on or near the communication device 10, 20. For example, the data may include the user's age, which may be extracted from the memory of the smart card 200 and verified or authenticated by the second electronic device 300 to unlock one or more functions of the second electronic device 200 to enable safe use by the user. In this regard, pressing one of the switches 40, 42, 44, 46 may read data including user authentication and / or user age information from the first electronic device 200 and transfer the data to the second electronic device 300 via the first communication device 10, the communication link 90, and the second communication device 20 to unlock one or more functions of the second electronic device 300. For example, this functionality may enable the second electronic device 300 to unlock vaping, heating, or other types of atomization or aerosol generation of tobacco products, unlock vaping, heating, or other types of atomization or aerosol generation of tobacco products having higher nicotine content or longer burn or heating durations that are not permitted without user verification or authentication, or unlock other types of vaping or inhalation uses of consumables.

[0048] Furthermore, according to another aspect of the invention, it is also possible to use the system 500 to perform a multi-factor authentication or verification method, for example by first verifying the user's data from a smart card as the first electronic device 200 and then performing a biometric authentication or other type of user verification or authentication by a smartphone used as another first electronic device 200. The authentication or verification itself can be performed by an application on the smartphone, after which the authentication result can be transmitted to the electronic device 300, and can also be performed by a data processor of the electronic device 300 after receiving the data from the smart card and the authentication data from the smartphone. This can be done by first placing the smart card on the sheet 100 in the area of ​​the first graphical element 50 and transmitting the user's data, for example age or other personal information, to the second electronic device 300, and then placing the smartphone in the area of ​​the graphical element 50 and transmitting the previously performed biometric authentication data to the second electronic device 300 and verifying the match between the smart card data and the user's identification information. In addition, the SIM card of the smart card can be used for additional authentication or verification purposes.

[0049] Further examples of electronic devices 100 and systems 500 according to further embodiments of the present invention are shown in Fig. 5A and Fig. 5B. These figures show a simple implementation of an electronic sheet 100 for implementing an initial configuration of a single electronic device 300, such as an aerosol generating device, here represented as an electronic cigarette in Fig. 5A. As shown in Fig. 5A, an exemplary top perspective view of a device or sheet 100 is provided, for example, a printed sheet, paper, card, or foil, or film 100, on which an electronic device 300, for example, an electronic aerosol generating device 300, such as but not limited to an electronic cigarette or a heating non-combustion device, is placed at a specific position on the top surface of the device 100 on a graphical element 60 that can ensure the possibility of wireless or contactless communication between the electronic device 300 and the device or sheet 100.

[0050] Additionally, as shown in other embodiments, another graphical element 55 is arranged including graphical elements 30, 32, 34, 36 representing different areas for actuating a pressable or sensitive button or switch 40, 42, 44, 46, respectively. Further shown is a different explanatory or informational graphical element, e.g., a text element 80, which is part of, e.g., the third graphical element 55 and is visible on the front surface 101 of the seat 100. As mentioned above, such a text element 80 is visually or graphically associated with at least one switch element 40, 42, 44, 46 and can provide the user U with an explanation, instruction, or context associated with an action to be performed when the user U actuates a respective one of the switch elements 40, 42, 44, 46. For further technical features of any one of the graphical elements 55, 60 and the text element 80 and their combinations, please refer to the above description in connection with Figures 1A-1E.

[0051] FIG. 5B shows a simplified exemplary diagram of the electronic circuitry of the device 100 in this simplest embodiment. This is essentially the same as the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 1A-1E, except for the provision of the first communication device 10 in the form of a non-volatile readable memory, which is configured to store configuration data of the electronic device 300 and serves as an integrated or embedded and non-removable data storage device for holding various types of configuration data or parameterization data of the electronic device 300. The first communication device 10 is operatively interconnected with a data communication link 90, which includes, for example, a data communication transceiver operatively interconnected with the NFC communication chip 22 and the NFC antenna 24 of the second communication device 20. The data communication link 90 and the transceiver can use different types of data protocols and transmission modes, for example, but not limited to, Universal Serial Bus (USB), I2C, CAN bus, RS-232, RS-485, Firewire IEEE1394, TTL signal, Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI). Preferably, the transmission mode of the transceiver and data communication link 90 is a wired connection using very low power consumption. The NFC communication chip 22 and the antenna 24 preferably operate passively and are wirelessly powered from the aerosol generating device 300 via inductive coupling, for example by using a loop antenna 24 forming an air-core transformer. In a variant, they can also be actively powered devices, for example by using a battery, a rechargeable supercapacitor or a solar panel.Preferably, the passive NFC technology for powering the sheet 100 may include, but is not limited to, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Ultra High Frequency Radio Frequency Identification (UHF RFID), 13.56MHz NFC tag compliance, different types of NFC tags and standards, such as international standards ISO / IEC14443, ISO15693, Japanese Sony FeliCa standard (JIS X 6319-4), GSMA NFC standard.

[0052] As shown in connection with FIG. 1C, the switches 40, 42, 44, 46 integrated, embedded, or otherwise provided in the sheet 100 may be made as passive switches, e.g., in an off or non-conductive state when not touched, and providing a conductive connection between two conductive tracks when a user presses an area of ​​the graphical elements 30, 32, 34, 36. Some details regarding these types of switches and sheets are described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020 / 0125917, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Alternatively, the switches 40, 42, 44, 46 may be active switches that can sense the presence of a finger or other body part of the user U, or a device handled or worn by the user U, e.g., capacitive switches, inductive switches, heat-sensitive switches, resistive touch switches, piezo touch switches, or other types of body-actuable switches.

[0053] The switches 40, 42, 44, 46 may be implemented as described above in connection with FIG. 1C.

[0054] The first communication device 10 is configured to be completely passively powered with electromagnetic energy provided by the electronic device 300. Communication of data from the second electronic device 300 to the second communication device 20 by the NFC chip 22. Preferably, the electronic device 300 may have application software or firmware installed thereon that is capable of providing an RF magnetic field by its NFC antenna to power the second communication device 20 of the sheet 100. The RF magnetic field may then power the second communication device 20 via the antenna 24, with which the NFC chip 22 may be configured to read and transmit data stored in the memory of the first communication device 10 to the NFC chip 22 via the communication link 90, for example by load modulation using Manchester coding. Thereby, the electronic device 300 operates in an NFC reading mode. In this mode, the electronic device 300 can be easily configured after purchase by a user simply placing the aerosol generating device 300 on the seat 100 and pressing one of the buttons / switches 40, 42, 44, 46 prior to first use, triggering the configuration of the electronic device 300 with specific settings, parameters, and other types of configuration data provided in the memory of the electronic device 300 to enable post-purchase use by the user.

[0055] The device or sheet 100, the system 500 including the sheet 100, or the method M100 of using the device or sheet 100 presented herein can provide a printed marketing medium in the form of the device or sheet 100, such as a promotional sheet, marketing leaflet, marketing flyer, or other type of marketing or sales medium, which allows a user U to use a specific user interface function of a smartphone as the first electronic device 200 and an electronic cigarette as the second electronic device 300 by pressing on the printed area of ​​the sheet 100. The device or sheet 100 can be provided to a potential customer, a first-time customer, or an existing customer to be guided by the printed medium in cooperation with the electronic device 200, 300 to give a first user experience or walk-through of the product. This can facilitate different types of user operations and navigation of the second electronic device 300 that may not be possible with only the limited user interface functions of the second electronic device 300. In addition, it is possible to facilitate communication with sales leads, potential customers, and existing customers, and to easily understand and provide interactive guides for a particular type of electronic device 300. The device or sheet 100, system 500, and method M100 are particularly useful for second electronic devices 300 with limited or no user data input or output capabilities, such as electronic devices 300 that are too small to provide meaningful or fully operational user data input and output devices, such as devices with small or no display screens, different types of portable electronic devices (PEDs) with no or limited user data input devices in the form of buttons, touch screens, menus, such as, but not limited to, e-cigarettes, smart watches, action cameras, photo cameras, pacemakers, electric shavers, electric toothbrushes, hearing aids, headphones, electronic toys, music players, smart cards, electronic keys, etc.Also, such a sheet 100, for example, a sheet 100 that is paper-based or cardboard-based or has a paper-like feel, can provide a print media user interface for customers who still prefer to read or otherwise gather information from printed paper rather than from a touch screen. In this regard, a user or customer can use the sheet 100 immediately after purchasing a new electronic device 300, and can use the sheet 100 to perform initialization or setup of the electronic device 300 and unlock or activate certain functions of the electronic device 300. Here, we have used an example in which the second electronic device 300 is an electronic cigarette, but other types of portable electronic devices such as those listed above are also possible. Also, the paper or sheet 100 can be made for one-time use, can be made of mostly recyclable materials, does not have a battery, and can use conductive tracks, for example tracks 41, 43, 45, 47, 49, or switches 40, 42, 44, 46, which may be the mode of biodegradable polymeric materials used in degradable electronic devices.

[0056] Although the present invention has been disclosed with reference to certain preferred embodiments, numerous modifications, variations, and variations to the described embodiments, and their equivalents, are possible without departing from the sphere and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the described embodiments, but rather be given the broadest reasonable interpretation in accordance with the language of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A sheet (100) configured to link a first electronic device (200) having a user interface (210) with a second electronic device (300), the sheet having a front surface (101) and a rear surface (102), the sheet comprising: a first communication device (10) for wirelessly connecting to said first electronic device (200); a second communication device (20) for wirelessly connecting to said second electronic device (300); at least one switch element (40, 42, 44, 46) operably connected to the first communication device (10) or the second communication device (20); a bidirectional data communication link (90) between the first communication device (10) and the second communication device (20); A sheet (100) comprising:

2. a first graphical element (50) visible on the front surface (101) of the sheet (100), the first graphical element (50) configured to indicate a first area for placing the first electronic device (200) on the sheet (100); a second graphical element (60) visible on the front surface (101) of the sheet (100), the second graphical element (60) configured to indicate a second area for placing the second electronic device (300) on the sheet (100); a third graphical element (55) visible on the front surface (101) of the seat (100) for indicating a third area for actuating the at least one switch element (40, 42, 44, 46); The sheet (100) of claim 1 further comprising:

3. a text element (80, 82, 84, 86) visible on the front surface of the sheet (100), the text element (80, 82, 84, 86) being visually associated with the at least one switch element (40, 42, 44, 46); The sheet (100) of claim 2, further comprising:

4. 2. The sheet (100) of claim 1, wherein the sheet (100) comprises conductive tracks (41, 43, 45, 47, 49) that provide an interconnection between the at least one switch element (40, 42, 44, 46) and the first communication device (10) or the second communication device (20).

5. 2. The sheet (100) of claim 1, wherein the first communication device (10) includes a first NFC antenna (14) and a first NFC chip (12), and the second communication device (20) includes a second NFC antenna (24) and a second NFC chip (22).

6. The seat (100) of claim 1, wherein the first electronic device (200) comprises a smartphone having a display screen (210).

7. 6. The sheet (100) of claim 5, wherein one of the at least one switch element (40, 42, 44, 46) is configured to close an electrical circuit formed between the switch element (40, 42, 44, 46) and the first NFC chip (12) or the second NFC chip (22) in response to pressing or otherwise activating the one switch element (40, 42, 44, 46).

8. 6. The seat (100) of claim 5, wherein, in response to pressing or otherwise activating the one switch element (40, 42, 44, 46), the first communication device (10) is configured to transmit a first command to the second communication device (20) via the data communication link (90) after receiving data from the first electronic device (200), and the second communication device (20) is configured to transmit a second command to the second electronic device (300).

9. 6. The seat (100) of claim 5, wherein in response to pressing or otherwise activating the one switch element (40, 42, 44, 46), the first communication device (10) is configured to send a first command to the second communication device (20) via the data communication link (90), and the second communication device (20) is configured to send a second command to the second electronic device (300) to receive data from the second electronic device (300).

10. 10. The sheet (100) of claim 9, wherein the second NFC chip (22) is configured to read status information from the second electronic device (300).

11. the second electronic device (300) comprises an electronic cigarette; The sheet (100) of claim 10, wherein the status information includes at least one of the following: a battery level of the electronic cigarette (300), a fill level of a container of the electronic cigarette (300), a number of remaining puffs based on the battery level of the electronic cigarette (300), a power setting of a heater of the electronic cigarette (300), a total number of puffs performed by the electronic cigarette (300), version information of the electronic cigarette (300), and identification information of the electronic cigarette (300).

12. 6. The sheet (100) of claim 5, wherein the second NFC chip (22) is configured to transmit parameter information to the second electronic device (300), the parameter information configuring the operation of the second electronic device (300).

13. 6. The sheet (100) of claim 5, wherein the first NFC antenna (14) is configured to receive power from an NFC antenna of the first electronic device (200), or the second NFC antenna (24) is configured to receive power from a third NFC antenna of the second electronic device (300), or both the first and second NFC antennas (14, 24) are configured to receive power from both the first and second electronic devices (200), (300).

14. A system (500), a sheet (100) having a front surface and a rear surface; a first electronic device (200) having a display (210); a second electronic device (300); and the sheet (100) comprises: a first communication device (10) for wirelessly connecting to said first electronic device (200); a second communication device (20) for wirelessly connecting to said second electronic device (300); at least one switch element (40, 42, 44, 46) operably connected to the first communication device (10) or the second communication device (20); a data communication link (90) between the first communication device (10) and the second communication device (20); A system (500) comprising:

15. A method (M100) for reading and writing information between a first electronic device (200) and a second electronic device (300) via a sheet (100), the sheet (100) having a first communication device (10) for wirelessly connecting to the first electronic device (200), a second communication device (20) for wirelessly connecting to the second electronic device (300), and a data communication link (90) for communicating between the first and second communication devices (10, 20), the method (M100) comprising: placing the first and second electronic devices (200, 300) on the sheet (100); pressing a first switch (40) on the seat (100) to launch application software on the first electronic device (200) via the first communication device (10); pressing a second switch (42) on the seat (100) to trigger a data transfer from the first electronic device (200) to the second electronic device (300) via the data communication link (90) or pressing a third switch (44) to trigger a data transfer from the second electronic device (300) to the first electronic device (200) via the data communication link (90); A method (M100) comprising:

16. A seat (100) configured to wirelessly link to at least one of said first and second electronic devices (200, 300), said seat having a front surface (101) and a rear surface (102), a first communication device (10) and a second communication device (20), wherein at least one of the first or second communication device is configured to wirelessly connect to the at least one electronic device (200, 300); at least one switch element (40, 42, 44, 46) operably connected to the first communication device (10) or the second communication device (20); a bidirectional data communication link (90) between the first communication device (10) and the second communication device (20); A sheet (100) comprising:

17. a graphical element (50, 55, 60) visible on the front surface (101) of the seat (100) for indicating a first area for placing at least one of the first and second electronic devices (200, 300) on the seat (100) and for indicating a second area for activating the at least one switch element (40, 42, 44, 46); The sheet (100) of claim 16, further comprising:

18. 17. The sheet (100) of claim 16, wherein the sheet (100) comprises conductive tracks (41, 43, 45, 47, 49) that provide an interconnection between the at least one switch element (40, 42, 44, 46) and the first communication device (10) or the second communication device (20).

19. 17. The sheet (100) of claim 16, wherein at least one of the first and second communication devices (10, 20) includes a first or second NFC antenna (14, 24) and a first or second NFC chip (12, 22), and the other of the first and second communication devices (10, 20) includes at least a non-volatile memory.

20. 20. The seat (100) of claim 19, wherein one of the at least one switch element (40, 42, 44, 46) is configured to close an electrical circuit formed between the switch element (40, 42, 44, 46), the first or second NFC chip (12, 22), and the non-volatile memory in response to pressing or otherwise activating the one switch element (40, 42, 44, 46).

21. 20. The sheet (100) of claim 19, wherein the first or second NFC chip (12, 22) is configured to transmit parameter information stored in the non-volatile memory to at least one of the first and second electronic devices (200, 300), the parameter information configuring the operation of the second electronic device (300).

22. 20. The sheet (100) of claim 19, wherein the first or second NFC chip (12, 22) is configured to read status information from at least one of the first and second electronic devices (200, 300).

23. at least the second electronic device (300) comprises an aerosol-generating device; 23. The sheet (100) of claim 22, wherein the status information includes at least one of version information of the aerosol generating device and identification information of the aerosol generating device.

24. The sheet (100) according to any one of claims 19 to 23, wherein the first or second NFC antenna (14, 24) is configured to receive power from a third NFC antenna of at least one of the first and second electronic devices (200, 300).

25. 19. A sheet (100) according to any one of claims 16 to 18, configured to link a first electronic device (200) with a second electronic device (300), both of the first and second communication devices (10, 20) including first and second NFC antennas (14, 24) and first and second NFC chips (12, 22).

26. 26. The sheet (100) of claim 25, wherein the first electronic device (200) is a passive NFC-enabled device.

27. 23. The sheet (100) of claim 22, wherein one of the at least one switch element (40, 42, 44, 46) is configured to close an electrical circuit formed between the switch element (40, 42, 44, 46) and the first NFC chip (12) or the NFC chip (22) in response to pressing or otherwise activating the one switch element (40, 42, 44, 46).

28. 26. The seat (100) of claim 25, wherein in response to pressing or otherwise activating the one switch element (40, 42, 44, 46), the first communication device (10) is configured to transmit a first command to the second communication device (20) via the data communication link (90) after receiving data from the first electronic device (200), and the second communication device (20) is configured to transmit a second command to the second electronic device (300).

29. 26. The sheet (100) of claim 25, wherein the first and second NFC chips (12, 22) are configured to read status information from the second electronic device (300).

30. the second electronic device (300) comprises an aerosol-generating device; 30. The sheet (100) of claim 29, wherein the status information includes at least one of version information of the aerosol generating device and identification information of the aerosol generating device.

31. 27. The seat (100) of claim 26, wherein each of the first and second NFC antennas (14, 24) is configured to receive power from an NFC antenna of the second electronic device (300).

32. A method for pairing a first electronic device (200) and a second electronic device (300) by using a sheet (100) to establish wireless communication between the first and second electronic devices (200, 300), comprising: placing the first electronic device (200) and the second electronic device (300) on or adjacent to the seat (100), the seat (100) including a first communication device (10) and a second communication device (20) and a data communication link (90) for data communication between the first and second communication devices (10, 20), at least one of the first or second communication devices (10, 20) configured to wirelessly connect to the at least one electronic device (200, 300); exchanging wireless communication configuration information between the first and second electronic devices (200, 300) via the first and second communication devices (10, 20) and the data communication link (90); A method comprising:

33. 33. The method of claim 32, wherein the wireless communication configuration information includes at least one Bluetooth communication parameter for enabling direct Bluetooth data communication between the first and second electronic devices (200, 300).

34. the seat (100) further includes at least one switch element (40, 42, 44, 46) operably connected to the first communication device (10) or the second communication device (20); 33. The method of claim 32, wherein said replacing step is performed upon depressing or actuating one of said at least one switch element (40, 42, 44, 46).

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