Power supply unit of aerosol generation device

Abstract

To provide technology advantageous for managing the power supply state with a high degree of precision.SOLUTION: A power supply unit of an aerosol generation device includes: a connector to which a heater for heating an aerosol source using electric power supplied from a power source is connected; a control part having a terminal to which an electric potential corresponding to the electric potential of the positive pole of the power source is supplied for controlling supply of electric power to the heater and charging of the electric source; a switch disposed in a route where the electric current output from the power source flows so as to block the electric discharge of the power source; and a protection circuit for opening the switch so that the discharge of the electric source is blocked in response to the fact that the electric potential of the positive pole becomes lower than a first level. The control part raises the charging electric current of the power source in response to the fact that the electric potential of the positive pole detected on the basis of the electric potential supplied to the terminal becomes higher than a second level larger than the first level by the charging of the electric source.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1A

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a power supply unit for an aerosol generating device. [Background technology]

[0002] In an aerosol generating device that generates an aerosol, it is important to manage the state of a heater that heats an aerosol source and a power source that supplies power to various electronic components. Patent Document 1 discloses a system including a fuel gauge circuit. The fuel gauge circuit may be configured to receive various inputs and monitor and / or measure various battery characteristics, such as voltage, current, battery capacity, battery operation mode, and state of health (SOH). The fuel gauge circuit may also generate various types of control signals depending on the received input signals and / or battery characteristics, such as control signals for controlling charging and discharging. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-61361 A Summary of the Invention

[0004] The first to third aspects of the invention described in the specification and drawings provide advantageous techniques for managing the state of a power supply with high precision.

[0005] The first aspect relates to a power supply unit of an aerosol generating device having multiple substrates including a first substrate, the power supply unit comprising: a control unit that controls the supply of power to a heater for heating an aerosol source using power supplied from a power supply; a resistor arranged in a path through which current output from the power supply flows; and a measurement circuit that measures the state of the power supply using the resistor, the resistor and the measurement circuit being arranged on the first substrate.

[0006] In the first aspect, the resistor and the measurement circuit may be disposed on the same surface of the first substrate.

[0007] In a first aspect, the power supply unit may further include a first power connector connected to a positive terminal of the power supply and a second power connector connected to a negative terminal of the power supply, and the path may include a first conductive path connected to the first power connector and a second conductive path connected to the second power connector, and the second power connector may be disposed on the first substrate and the resistor may be disposed on the second conductive path.

[0008] In a first aspect, the power supply unit may further include a first heater connector to which a positive terminal of the heater is connected and a second heater connector to which a negative terminal of the heater is connected, and the second heater connector may be disposed on the first substrate.

[0009] In a first aspect, the first heater connector may be disposed on the first substrate, and the first heater connector and the second heater connector may be disposed on the same surface of the first substrate.

[0010] In a first aspect, the resistor and the second heater connector may be disposed on opposite surfaces of the first substrate.

[0011] In a first aspect, in an orthogonal projection onto one of the two faces of the first substrate, at least a portion of the resistor may overlap at least a portion of the second heater connector.

[0012] In the first aspect, the power supply unit may further include a switch disposed in the second conductive path between the resistor and the second heater connector.

[0013] In the first aspect, the switch and the second heater connector may be disposed on the same surface of the first substrate.

[0014] In the first aspect, the switch may be an element that is closest to the second heater connector among the electronic components arranged on the same surface.

[0015] In the first aspect, the electronic component may be an active element.

[0016] In the first aspect, the power supply unit may further include a switch portion disposed in the second conductive path so as to be connected in series with the resistor.

[0017] In a first aspect, the resistor and the switch portion may be disposed on the same surface of the first substrate, and in the orthogonal projection, at least a portion of the switch portion may overlap at least a portion of the second heater connector.

[0018] In the first aspect, the power supply unit may further include a protection circuit that controls the switch section to protect the power supply in response to at least one of a current flowing through the second conductive path and an output voltage of the power supply.

[0019] In the first aspect, the switch portion may be disposed between the resistor in the second conductive path and the negative electrode of the power source.

[0020] In a first aspect, the power supply unit may further include a second resistor arranged in the second conductive path so as to be connected in series with the resistor, the protection circuit may detect the current flowing through the second conductive path using the second resistor, and the resistor and the second resistor may be arranged on the same side of the first substrate.

[0021] In the first aspect, a shortest distance between the resistor and the second resistor may be smaller than at least one of a maximum dimension of the resistor and a maximum dimension of the second resistor.

[0022] In the first aspect, the plurality of substrates may include a second substrate, and the control unit may be disposed on the second substrate.

[0023] In a first aspect, the power supply unit may further include a first transformer circuit that transforms the voltage supplied from the power supply and supplies it to a power supply terminal of the measurement circuit, and the first transformer circuit may be disposed on the second substrate.

[0024] In a first aspect, the power supply unit may further include a second transformer circuit that transforms the voltage supplied from the power supply to generate a voltage to be supplied to the heater, and the second transformer circuit may be disposed on the first substrate.

[0025] In a first aspect, the power supply unit may further include a second switch arranged in a path connecting the output of the second transformer circuit and the heater and controlled by the control unit, and the second switch may be arranged on the first substrate.

[0026] In the first aspect, the power supply unit may further include a detection circuit for detecting a temperature of the heater, and the detection circuit may be disposed on the first substrate.

[0027] Alternatively, a first aspect relates to a power supply unit of an aerosol generating device having multiple element placement surfaces including a first element placement surface, the power supply unit comprising a control unit that controls the supply of power to a heater for heating an aerosol source using power supplied from a power supply, a resistor arranged in a path through which current output from the power supply flows, and a measurement circuit that measures the state of the power supply using the resistor, the resistor and the measurement circuit being arranged on the first element placement surface.

[0028] The second aspect relates to a power supply unit of an aerosol generating device, the power supply unit comprising: a first conductive path connected to the positive terminal of a power supply; a second conductive path connected to the negative terminal of the power supply; a control unit that controls heat generation of a heater for heating an aerosol source using power supplied from the power supply; a measurement circuit that measures the state of the power supply using a resistor arranged in the second conductive path; a switch unit arranged between the resistor and the negative terminal in the second conductive path so as to interrupt the current flowing through the second conductive path; and a protection circuit that controls the switch unit to protect the power supply in accordance with the current flowing through the second conductive path.

[0029] In the second aspect, the protection circuit may turn off the switch unit to stop supply of voltage to the control unit and the measurement circuit.

[0030] In a second aspect, the power supply unit may further include a voltage supply unit that supplies voltage to the control unit and the measurement circuit based on the voltage supplied from the power supply, and the protection circuit may stop the supply of voltage from the power supply to the voltage supply unit by turning off the switch unit, thereby stopping the supply of voltage from the voltage supply unit to the control unit and the measurement circuit.

[0031] In the second aspect, the voltage supply unit may be supplied with a voltage from the power source via the first conductive path and the second conductive path.

[0032] In the second aspect, the supply of voltage from the voltage supply unit to the control unit and the measurement circuit may be resumed by the voltage supply unit receiving a supply of voltage from an external device.

[0033] In a second aspect, the power supply unit may further include a charging circuit that receives a voltage supply from the external device to charge the power supply, and charging of the power supply by the charging circuit may be controlled by the control unit.

[0034] In the second aspect, the control unit may control the charging circuit such that, when the switch unit is in an off state, the charging circuit receives a supply of voltage from the external device and starts charging the power source.

[0035] In the second aspect, the control unit may control the charging circuit to start charging the power source when it is determined that the power source is chargeable based on an output voltage of the power source.

[0036] In the second aspect, the protection circuit may turn on the switch unit when a remaining capacity of the power source exceeds a predetermined value due to charging by the charging circuit.

[0037] In a second aspect, the power supply unit may further include a second resistor arranged between the resistor and the negative electrode in the second conductive path, and the protection circuit may control the switch unit to protect the power supply in accordance with a current flowing through the second resistor.

[0038] In a second aspect, the second resistor may be disposed in the second conductive path between the switch portion and the negative electrode.

[0039] In a second aspect, the switch section may include a transistor arranged to be capable of interrupting a current flowing through the second conductive path, and a rectifying element connected in parallel to the transistor, and the transistor may be controlled by the protection circuit.

[0040] In the second aspect, the rectifying element may be a body diode associated with the transistor.

[0041] In a second aspect, a forward direction of the rectifying element may be a direction in which a current flows to charge the power source, and even when the switch unit is in an off state, a current may flow through the rectifying element, thereby making it possible to charge the power source.

[0042] In a second aspect, the power supply unit may further include a cut-off switch arranged in the second conductive path capable of cutting off the current flowing through the heater and the second conductive path, and the control unit may control the cut-off switch so as to cut off the current flowing through the heater and the second conductive path based on a measurement result by the measurement circuit.

[0043] In the second aspect, the switch portion may be disposed in the second conductive path between the cutoff switch and the negative electrode.

[0044] A third aspect relates to a power supply unit of an aerosol generating device, the power supply unit comprising: a control unit that controls the supply of power to a heater for heating an aerosol source using power supplied from a power supply; a first resistor and a second resistor arranged in series in a path through which current output from the power supply flows; a switch unit arranged in the path; a measurement circuit that measures the state of the power supply using the first resistor; and a protection circuit that controls the switch unit so that the path is blocked based on the current flowing through the path detected using the second resistor, wherein the shortest distance between the first resistor and the measurement circuit is smaller than the shortest distance between the second resistor and the protection circuit.

[0045] In a third aspect, the first resistor and the measurement circuit may be arranged on the same plane of a same substrate, and the second resistor and the protection circuit may be arranged on the same plane of a same substrate.

[0046] In the third aspect, the first resistor, the second resistor, the measurement circuit, and the protection circuit may be disposed on the same plane of the same substrate.

[0047] In a third aspect, the first resistor, the second resistor, the measurement circuit, and the protection circuit may be arranged on the same substrate, the substrate may have an end on which the heater is arranged, and the shortest distance between the first resistor and the end may be smaller than the shortest distance between the measurement circuit and the end.

[0048] In the third aspect, the shortest distance between the second resistor and the end may be smaller than the shortest distance between the protection circuit and the end.

[0049] In the third aspect, the shortest distance between the measurement circuit and the end may be shorter than the shortest distance between the protection circuit and the end.

[0050] In a third aspect, the substrate may be provided with a first heater connector to which a positive terminal of the heater is connected, and a second heater connector to which a negative terminal of the heater is connected, and the shortest distance between the first heater connector and the end and the shortest distance between the second heater connector and the end may be smaller than the shortest distance between the measurement circuit and the end.

[0051] In a third aspect, the first resistor and the second resistor may be disposed on a first surface of the substrate, and the first heater connector and the second heater connector may be disposed on a second surface of the substrate.

[0052] In a third aspect, in an orthogonal projection onto the first surface, at least a portion of the second heater connector may overlap at least a portion of at least one of the first resistor and the second resistor.

[0053] In the third aspect, the switch portion may be disposed on the first surface.

[0054] In the third aspect, the power supply unit may further include a cutoff switch disposed in a path connecting the second heater connector and the first resistor.

[0055] In the third aspect, the shortest distance between the cutoff switch and the end may be shorter than the shortest distance between the measurement circuit and the end.

[0056] In the third aspect, the cutoff switch may be disposed on the second surface.

[0057] In a third aspect, the power supply unit may further include a transformer circuit that transforms a voltage supplied from the power supply to generate a voltage to be supplied to the heater, and a heater switch arranged in a path connecting an output of the transformer circuit and the first heater connector, and the shortest distance between the heater switch and the end may be smaller than the shortest distance between the measurement circuit and the end.

[0058] In a third aspect, the heater switch may be disposed on the first surface.

[0059] In the third aspect, in an orthogonal projection onto the first surface, at least a portion of the heater switch may overlap at least a portion of the first heater connector.

[0060] In the third aspect, a shortest distance between the first resistor and the second resistor may be smaller than at least one of a maximum dimension of the first resistor and a maximum dimension of the second resistor.

[0061] A fourth aspect relates to a power supply unit of an aerosol generating device, the power supply unit comprising: a control unit that controls the supply of power to a heater for heating an aerosol source using power supplied from a power supply; a resistor arranged in a path through which current output from the power supply flows; a thermistor for measuring the temperature of the power supply; two thermistor connectors to which the thermistor is connected; a measurement circuit that uses the resistor to measure the state of the power supply and uses the thermistor to measure the temperature of the power supply; and a substrate on which the resistor, the two thermistor connectors, and the measurement circuit are arranged, wherein the shortest distance between the two thermistor connectors and the measurement circuit is shorter than the shortest distance between the resistor and the measurement circuit.

[0062] In a fourth aspect, the measurement circuit may include a first function of providing information indicating the temperature of the power supply to the control unit, and a second function of notifying the control unit of an abnormality in the temperature of the power supply.

[0063] In the fourth aspect, the control unit may stop at least one of discharging the power source and charging the power source in response to a notification from the measurement circuit by the second function.

[0064] In a fourth aspect, the measurement circuit may calculate the remaining capacity of the power source based on information obtained using the resistor and information obtained using the thermistor.

[0065] In the fourth aspect, two terminals of the thermistor may be directly connected to the two thermistor connectors, respectively.

[0066] In the fourth aspect, the thermistor may be disposed so as to at least partially surround the periphery of the power source.

[0067] In the fourth aspect, the power source may have a cylindrical shape, and the thermistor may include an arc-shaped portion that follows the cylindrical shape of the power source.

[0068] In the fourth aspect, the measurement circuit and the resistor may be disposed on the same surface of the substrate.

[0069] In the fourth aspect, the distance between the geometric center of a figure formed by the outer edge of the substrate and the geometric center of the measurement circuit may be smaller than the shortest distance between the geometric center of the figure and the resistor.

[0070] In the fourth aspect, the distance between the geometric center of a shape formed by the outer edge of the substrate and the geometric center of the measurement circuit may be smaller than the shortest distance between the geometric center of the shape and the two thermistor connectors.

[0071] In a fourth aspect, the distance between the geometric center of a figure formed by the outer edge of the substrate and the geometric center of the measurement circuit may be smaller than the shortest distance between the geometric center of the figure and the resistor, and smaller than the shortest distance between the geometric center of the figure and the two thermistor connectors.

[0072] In a fourth aspect, the power supply unit may further include two power supply connectors to which the power supply is connected, and the two power supply connectors may be arranged on the substrate, and the shortest distance between the geometric center of a figure formed by the outer edge of the substrate and the geometric center of the measurement circuit may be smaller than the shortest distance between the geometric center of the figure and the two power supply connectors.

[0073] In the fourth aspect, the control unit may be arranged on a substrate different from the substrate on which the resistor, the two thermistor connectors, and the measurement circuit are arranged.

[0074] The fifth to seventh aspects of the invention described in the specification and drawings provide advantageous techniques for protecting a power supply.

[0075] A fifth aspect relates to a power supply unit of an aerosol generating device, the power supply unit comprising: a control unit that controls a supply of power to a heater for heating an aerosol source using power supplied from a power supply and a charging of the power supply; and a measurement circuit that measures a state of the power supply; The measurement circuit includes a detection circuit that detects when the state of the power supply becomes abnormal, and an output section that outputs an abnormality notification in response to detection by the detection circuit.

[0076] In the fifth aspect, the measurement circuit may further include an interface for providing status information regarding a status of the power supply to the controller in response to a request from the controller.

[0077] In the fifth aspect, the control unit may execute a protection operation to protect the power supply in response to the abnormality notification and the state information.

[0078] In the fifth aspect, the protection operation may include prohibiting charging of the power source and prohibiting discharging from the power source to the heater.

[0079] In the fifth aspect, the power supply unit may further include a notification section that notifies that the power supply is abnormal.

[0080] In a fifth aspect, the power supply unit may further include a reset unit that resets the control unit, and the protection operation may be released by the control unit being reset by the reset unit.

[0081] In a fifth aspect, the output section may output the abnormality notification in response to at least one of a charging current of the power source exceeding a first reference value and a discharging current from the power source exceeding a second reference value.

[0082] In a fifth aspect, the control unit may acquire the status information from the measurement circuit via the interface in response to the output of the abnormality alert from the output unit, and the status information acquired from the measurement circuit may include at least one of information for determining whether the power supply has experienced a permanent failure and information indicating that the power supply has experienced a permanent failure.

[0083] In the fifth aspect, the abnormal state may include a state in which the temperature of the power supply exceeds a reference temperature.

[0084] In the fifth aspect, the power supply unit may further include a protection unit that protects the power supply in response to the abnormality notification, independent of control by the control unit.

[0085] In a fifth aspect, after the protection unit protects the power supply in response to the abnormality notification, the control unit may enable the supply of power to the heater if the status information acquired via the interface indicates that the power supply is not in an abnormal state.

[0086] In a fifth aspect, the protection of the power supply provided by the protection unit may be reversible.

[0087] In a fifth aspect, the control unit may acquire first information regarding the state of the power supply from the measurement circuit via the interface by periodic polling, and acquire second information regarding the state of the power supply from the measurement circuit via the interface in response to the abnormality notification, the control unit may perform an operation to protect the power supply when the first information indicates that the power supply is in a first state, and the measurement circuit may output the abnormality notification in response to the power supply entering a second state worse than the first state.

[0088] In the fifth aspect, the first information and the second information may be information indicating a temperature of the power source.

[0089] In a fifth aspect, the control unit may acquire first information regarding the state of the power source from the measurement circuit via the interface by periodic polling, and acquire second information regarding the state of the power source from the measurement circuit via the interface in response to the abnormality notification, and the control unit may perform an operation to protect the power source when the first information indicates that the state of the power source when the power source is being charged satisfies any of the conditions included in a first condition group, and perform an operation to protect the power source when the first information indicates that the state of the power source when the power source is being discharged satisfies any of the conditions included in a second condition group, and the number of conditions included in the first condition group may be greater than the number of conditions included in the second condition group.

[0090] In a fifth aspect, the control unit may acquire first information regarding the state of the power source from the measurement circuit via the interface by periodic polling, and acquire second information regarding the state of the power source from the measurement circuit via the interface in response to the abnormality notification, and the control unit may perform an operation to protect the power source when the second information indicates that the state of the power source when the power source is being charged satisfies any of the conditions included in a third group of conditions, and perform an operation to protect the power source when the second information indicates that the state of the power source when the power source is being discharged satisfies any of the conditions included in a fourth group of conditions, and the number of conditions included in the third group of conditions may be less than the number of conditions included in the fourth group of conditions.

[0091] In a fifth aspect, the abnormality notification may include a notification by a first abnormality signal and a notification by a second abnormality signal, the first abnormality signal may be provided to the control unit and the second abnormality signal may be provided to the control unit, the first abnormality signal may be output from the output unit when the state of the power supply is in a first abnormal state, and the second abnormality signal may be output from the output unit when the state of the power supply is in a second abnormal state different from the first abnormal state.

[0092] In the fifth aspect, the first abnormality signal may be provided to the control unit through an information holding circuit that holds the first abnormality signal.

[0093] A sixth aspect relates to a power supply unit of an aerosol generating device, the power supply unit having a connector to which a heater for heating an aerosol source using power supplied from a power supply is connected, and a terminal to which a potential corresponding to the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply is supplied, and the power supply unit is equipped with a control unit that controls the supply of power to the heater and the charging of the power supply, a switch arranged in a path through which current output from the power supply flows so as to be able to cut off the discharge of the power supply, and a protection circuit that opens the switch so as to cut off the discharge of the power supply in response to the potential of the positive electrode falling below a first level, and the control unit increases the charging current of the power supply in response to the potential of the positive electrode detected based on the potential supplied to the terminal exceeding a second level that is greater than the first level due to the charging of the power supply.

[0094] In a sixth aspect, the power supply unit may further include a rectifying element connected in parallel to the switch so as to be able to supply a charging current to the power supply.

[0095] In the sixth aspect, the rectifying element may be a body diode associated with the switch.

[0096] In a sixth aspect, the protection circuit may be supplied with the output voltage of the power supply regardless of the state of the switch.

[0097] In the sixth aspect, the supply of power to the control unit may be cut off by opening the switch.

[0098] In the sixth aspect, the difference between the second level and the first level may be greater than a forward voltage of the rectifying element.

[0099] In the sixth aspect, a potential obtained by dividing a potential of the positive electrode of the power supply may be supplied to the terminal.

[0100] In a sixth aspect, the path may include a first conductive path connected to the positive terminal of the power supply and a second conductive path connected to the negative terminal of the power supply, and the switch may be disposed in the second conductive path.

[0101] In a sixth aspect, the power supply unit may further include a voltage supply circuit that uses a voltage supplied from an external device to supply a first voltage between the first conductive path and the second conductive path for charging the power supply, and generates a second voltage for operating the control unit, and the control unit may control the charging of the power supply by controlling the voltage supply circuit.

[0102] In a sixth aspect, the voltage supply circuit may include a charging circuit that generates a third voltage in addition to the first voltage using a voltage supplied from the external device, and a transformer circuit that converts the third voltage output from the charging circuit into the second voltage.

[0103] In a sixth aspect, the control unit may execute error processing when the voltage supply circuit terminates charging before the potential of the positive electrode detected based on the potential supplied to the terminal exceeds the second level.

[0104] In a sixth aspect, when the time taken for the voltage supply circuit to charge the power source is shorter than a reference time, the control unit may prohibit charging of the power source and supply of power to the heater as the error processing.

[0105] In the sixth aspect, the state in which charging of the power source and supply of power to the heater are prohibited as the error processing may be impossible to release.

[0106] In a sixth aspect, when the time required for the voltage supply circuit to charge the power source is not shorter than the reference time, the control unit may cancel the state in which charging of the power source and supply of power to the heater are prohibited as the error processing by restarting the control unit.

[0107] In a sixth aspect, the protection circuit may close the switch in response to the potential of the positive electrode exceeding a third level that is greater than the first level.

[0108] In a sixth aspect, the power supply unit may further include a measurement circuit that measures a voltage of the power supply, and the control unit may increase a charging current of the power supply in response to the potential of the positive electrode measured by the measurement circuit exceeding a fourth level lower than the second level after the protection circuit closes the switch.

[0109] A seventh aspect relates to a power supply unit of an aerosol generating device, the power supply unit comprising: a connector to which a heater for heating an aerosol source using power supplied from a power supply is connected; a control unit for controlling the supply of power to the heater and the charging operation of the power supply; and a measurement circuit for measuring the state of the power supply, wherein the control unit has a first terminal for receiving information correlated to the state of the power supply and obtains a first index corresponding to the information supplied to the first terminal, the measurement circuit has a second terminal for receiving information correlated to the state of the power supply and generates a second index corresponding to the information supplied to the second terminal and provides it to the control unit, and the control unit controls the charging operation of the power supply in accordance with the first index and the second index.

[0110] In a seventh aspect, the device may further include a charging circuit capable of operating in a first mode in which the power source is charged with a first current value smaller than a predetermined current value, and a second mode in which the power source is charged with a second current value larger than the predetermined current value, and the control unit may control the charging operation so that the power source is charged in the first mode when at least one of the first indicator and the second indicator indicates that the power source is in an over-discharged state.

[0111] In a seventh aspect, the device may further include a charger circuit capable of operating in a first mode in which the power source is charged with a first current value smaller than a predetermined current value, and a second mode in which the power source is charged with a second current value larger than the predetermined current value, and the control unit may control the charging operation so that the power source is charged in the second mode when at least one of the first indicator and the second indicator indicates that the over-discharge state of the power source has been resolved.

[0112] In a seventh aspect, the device may further include a charging circuit capable of operating in a first mode in which the power source is charged with a first current value smaller than a predetermined current value, and a second mode in which the power source is charged with a second current value greater than the predetermined current value, and the control unit may control the charging operation so that the power source is charged in the first mode when at least one of the first indicator and the second indicator indicates that the power source is in an over-discharged state, and may control the charging operation so that the power source is charged in the second mode when at least one of the first indicator and the second indicator indicates that the over-discharged state has been resolved.

[0113] In the seventh aspect, the first index and the second index may be indexes that can be compared on the same scale.

[0114] In the seventh aspect, the first index and the second index may be an output voltage of the power supply.

[0115] In a seventh aspect, the power supply unit may further include an alarm unit that notifies information related to the remaining power supply, and the control unit may obtain a third index indicating the remaining power supply from the measurement circuit as the state of the power supply, and cause the alarm unit to notify information corresponding to the third index.

[0116] In the seventh aspect, the third index may be SOC.

[0117] In a seventh aspect, the power supply unit may further include a switch arranged in a path through which a current output from the power supply flows so as to be capable of cutting off discharging of the power supply, a protection circuit that opens the switch so as to cut off discharging of the power supply when a potential of a positive electrode of the power supply falls below a first level, and closes the switch when the potential of the positive electrode exceeds a second level that is greater than the first level, and a rectifier element connected in parallel to the switch so as to supply a charging current to the power supply.

[0118] In a seventh aspect, the control unit may control the charging operation based on the first indicator when the switch is open, and control the charging operation based on the second indicator when the switch is closed.

[0119] In the seventh aspect, the power supply unit may further include a rectifying element connected in parallel to the switch so as to be able to supply a charging current to the power supply.

[0120] In the seventh aspect, the rectifying element may be a body diode associated with the switch.

[0121] In a seventh aspect, the protection circuit may be supplied with the output voltage of the power supply regardless of the state of the switch.

[0122] In the seventh aspect, a potential obtained by dividing a potential of the positive electrode of the power supply may be supplied to the first terminal.

[0123] In a seventh aspect, the path may include a first conductive path connected to the positive terminal of the power supply and a second conductive path connected to the negative terminal of the power supply, and the switch may be disposed in the second conductive path.

[0124] In a seventh aspect, the power supply unit may further include a voltage supply circuit that uses a voltage supplied from an external device to supply a first voltage between the first conductive path and the second conductive path for charging the power supply, and generates a second voltage for operating the control unit, and the control unit may control the charging of the power supply by controlling the voltage supply circuit.

[0125] In a seventh aspect, the voltage supply circuit may include a charging circuit that generates a third voltage in addition to the first voltage using a voltage supplied from the external device, and a transformer circuit that converts the third voltage output from the charging circuit into the second voltage.

[0126] The eighth aspect of the invention described in the specification and drawings provides an advantageous technique for simplifying operation.

[0127] An eighth aspect relates to a power supply unit of an aerosol generating device, the power supply unit comprising a switch, an insertion hole capable of accommodating an aerosol source, a slider operable to provide a closed state that blocks the insertion hole and an open state in which the aerosol source can be inserted into the insertion hole, a first detection unit that detects the state of the slider, and a circuit block that operates in accordance with the detection result by the first detection unit in response to the switch being operated.

[0128] In an eighth aspect, the power supply unit may further include an outer case including a removable panel and a second detection unit that detects the presence or absence of the panel, and the circuit block operates in response to the switch being operated when the second detection unit detects that the panel is not present, regardless of the detection result by the first detection unit.

[0129] In an eighth aspect, the circuit block may include a restartable control unit, and when the switch is operated in a state where the second detection unit detects that the panel is present and the first detection unit detects that the slider is in the open state, the circuit block may execute a first process related to the generation of aerosol, and when the switch is operated in a state where the second detection unit detects that the panel is present and the first detection unit detects that the slider is in the closed state, the circuit block may execute a second process unrelated to the generation of aerosol, and when the switch is operated in a state where the second detection unit detects that the panel is not present and the control unit may be restarted regardless of the detection result by the first detection unit.

[0130] In the eighth aspect, the second process may include a process related to communication with an external device. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0131] [Figure 1A] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the appearance of an aerosol generating device. [Figure 1B] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the appearance of an aerosol generating device. [Figure 1C] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the appearance of an aerosol generating device. [Figure 1D] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the appearance of an aerosol generating device. [Figure 1E] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the appearance of an aerosol generating device. [Figure 2A] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an aerosol generating device. [Figure 2B] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an aerosol generating device. [Figure 3A] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an aerosol generating device. [Figure 3B] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an aerosol generating device. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a circuit configuration of a power supply unit. [Figure 4A] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the power supply unit. [Figure 4B] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the power supply unit. [Figure 4C] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the power supply unit. [Figure 4D] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the power supply unit. [Figure 4E] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the power supply unit. [Figure 4F] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the power supply unit. [Figure 4G] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the power supply unit. [Figure 4H] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the power supply unit. [Figure 4I] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the power supply unit. [Diagram 5] State transition diagram of the aerosol generator or power supply unit. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an aerosol generating device. [Figure 7A] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an aerosol generating device. [Figure 7B] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an aerosol generating device. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an aerosol generating device. [Figure 9A] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an aerosol generating device. [Figure 9B] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an aerosol generating device. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an aerosol generating device. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of a discharging state from a power supply. [Figure 12] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of the charging state of a power source. [Figure 13] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an aerosol generating device. [Figure 14] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a protection circuit, a measurement circuit, and electronic components arranged around them. [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a protection circuit and a measurement circuit as well as electronic components arranged around them. [Figure 16]FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a protection circuit and a measurement circuit as well as electronic components arranged around them. [Figure 17] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a protection circuit and a measurement circuit as well as electronic components arranged around them. [Figure 18] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a protection circuit and a measurement circuit as well as electronic components arranged around them. [Figure 19] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a protection circuit and a measurement circuit as well as electronic components arranged around them. [Figure 20] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the arrangement of electronic components on a first substrate. [Figure 21] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the arrangement of electronic components on a first substrate. [Figure 22] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of a function relating to protection of a power supply; [Diagram 23] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration example of a measurement circuit for realizing the function of the measurement circuit shown in FIG. 22; [Figure 24] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of connections of a measurement circuit, a control unit, a transformer circuit, a charging circuit, an information holding circuit, an OP amplifier, etc. [Diagram 25] FIG. 25 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 24. [Figure 26] FIG. 25 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 24. [Figure 27] FIG. 25 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 24. [Figure 28] 5A and 5B are diagrams showing schematic examples of changes in state regarding discharging and charging of a power source. [Figure 29] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a protection circuit, a switch unit, a measurement circuit, a control unit, and a switch circuit together with a first conductive path and a second conductive path. [Figure 29A] FIG. 30 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 29. [Figure 29B] FIG. 30 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 29. [Figure 29C] FIG. 30 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 29. [Figure 29D] FIG. 30 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 29. [Figure 29E] FIG. 30 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 29. [Figure 29F] FIG. 30 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 29. [Diagram 30] 5 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of a protection circuit, a control unit, a charging circuit, and a measurement circuit in time series. FIG. [Diagram 31] 5 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of a protection circuit, a control unit, a charging circuit, and a measurement circuit in time series. FIG. [Diagram 32] 11 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of a control unit when an interrupt is received due to completion of charging; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0132] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the invention. Two or more features among the multiple features described in the embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. Also, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicated descriptions are omitted.

[0133] 1A-1E show the configuration of an aerosol generating device AGD according to one embodiment. Here, Fig. 1A-1E are a rear view, a front view, a top view, and a bottom view of the aerosol generating device AGD, respectively. Fig. D is a top view of the aerosol generating device AGD with a component (slider C102) removed.

[0134] The aerosol generating device AGD may be configured to provide a flavored aerosol, or a gas containing an aerosol and a flavoring substance, or an aerosol, or an aerosol containing a flavoring substance, to a user in response to an action (hereinafter also referred to as an "atomization request") that requests the generation of an aerosol, such as an inhalation action by a user (inhaler). The aerosol source may be a solid, a liquid, or a mixture of a solid and a liquid. The liquid aerosol source may include a liquid such as a polyhydric alcohol such as glycerin or propylene glycol. As a specific example, the aerosol source may include a mixed solution of glycerin and propylene glycol. The aerosol source may include a drug. A vapor source such as water may be used instead of or in addition to the aerosol source. The flavoring substance may be, for example, a molded body molded from a tobacco material. Alternatively, the flavoring substance may be composed of a plant other than tobacco (for example, mint, herbs, Chinese medicine, coffee beans, etc.). The flavoring substance may be imparted with a flavoring such as menthol. Flavoring substances may be added to the aerosol source.

[0135] The aerosol generating device AGD may include, for example, an outer case C101 and a slider C102 attached to the outer case C101. The outer case C101 may have an insertion hole C104 into which an insert containing at least one of an aerosol source and a flavoring substance can be inserted or accommodated. The slider C102 may provide a closed state in which the insertion hole C104 is blocked or covered, and an open state in which the insertion hole C104 is exposed to the external space and an insert can be inserted into the insertion hole C104. The slider C102 may be, for example, a sliding mechanism along a straight line or a curve, or a rotating mechanism. The slider C102 may be replaced by a shutter, and the insert may be, for example, a stick or a capsule. A heater for heating the insert may be disposed in the insertion hole C104. The heater may be, for example, a resistive element. A heater composed of a resistive element or the like may be disposed in the insert, in which case an electrical connector for energizing the heater may be provided in the insert, and an electrical connector electrically connected to the electrical connector provided in the insert may be provided in the insertion hole C104. The heater may be, for example, an induction heating heater. The induction heating heater may include a coil and a susceptor that generates heat by induction heating from the coil using electromagnetic waves. The susceptor may be disposed in the insert.

[0136] All or a part of the outer case C101 may be composed of parts such as panels that are easily removable. In other words, all or a part of the outer case C101 may be composed of parts such as panels that are not prohibited from being removed by a user. In one example, the outer case C101 has an easily removable outer panel C103. The outer panel C103 may be coupled to the remaining part (main body part) of the outer case C101 by a magnet or a latch mechanism. The outer case C101 can also be understood as a first part of the exterior parts of the aerosol generating device AGD, and the outer panel C103 can be understood as a second part of the exterior parts.

[0137] The aerosol generating device AGD may have a notification unit NU. The notification unit NU may provide information to a user in a form that the user can perceive. The notification unit NU may include, for example, at least one of a display device, a speaker, a vibration device, and a scent emitting device. The display device may include, for example, at least one of a light emitting device such as an LED, and a two-dimensional display device such as a liquid crystal display device.

[0138] FIG. 2A illustrates the aerosol generating device AGD with the outer panel C103 removed. The aerosol generating device AGD may have one or more magnets (holding parts) C112 for holding the outer panel C103 by magnetic force. The aerosol generating device AGD may have a switch SW that can be operated by a user. The outer panel C103 is configured to be easily deformed by the user's operation, and the switch SW may be operated by the user's pressing force on the outer panel C103. Alternatively, the switch SW may be arranged so as to be exposed to the outside of the aerosol generating device AGD. The aerosol generating device AGD may have an inner panel C113 on the inside of the outer panel C103. The inner panel C113 may have a plurality of openings for exposing the magnet C112, the notification part NU, and the switch SW. The inner panel C113 may be fastened to the internal structure of the aerosol generating device AGD by fastening parts such as screws, for example.

[0139] 2B further illustrates the aerosol generating device AGD with the inner panel C113 removed from the internal structure. The aerosol generating device AGD includes a power supply unit PSU. The power supply unit PSU may include a power supply BT. As the power supply BT, for example, a lithium ion secondary battery, a lithium ion capacitor, a combination of these, or another type of power supply element may be used.

[0140] Fig. 3A further illustrates the aerosol generating device AGD with the entire outer case C101 removed. Fig. 3B further illustrates the aerosol generating device AGD with the chassis CHS and the power supply BT removed. The aerosol generating device AGD may include a heater HT for heating an insert inserted into the insertion hole C104. The heater HT may be disposed in the heat insulating cylinder INS illustrated in Fig. 2B. The power supply unit PSU may have a plurality of substrates (e.g., printed circuit boards (PCBs)) PCB1, PCB2, PCB3, and PCB4.

[0141] The power source BT may have a columnar shape, such as a cylindrical shape, with an axial direction parallel to the insertion / removal direction DIR of the insert into the insertion hole C104. In other words, the insertion / removal direction DIR of the insert into the insertion hole C104 and the axial direction of the power source BT may be parallel to each other. A part of the side surface of the power source BT may be arranged to face the heater HT or the insertion hole C104 via at least the heat insulating tube INS. Another part of the side surface of the power source BT may be arranged to face the first substrate PCB1 directly or via another component. The second substrate PCB2 may be arranged parallel to the first substrate PCB1. The third substrate PCB3 may be arranged perpendicular to the first substrate PCB1 and the second substrate PCB2. The third substrate PCB3 may be arranged between the first substrate PCB1 and the power source BT in the width direction of the power source unit PSU (the direction in which the aerosol generating device AGD has the largest dimension among the directions perpendicular to the insertion / removal direction DIR). The third substrate PCB3 may be arranged to have a part facing a part of the side surface of the power source BT and a part of the heat insulating tube INS. The third substrate PCB3 may have an elongated shape in a direction parallel to the insertion / removal direction DIR. As shown in Fig. 2B, the third substrate PCB3 may be disposed between two magnets C112.

[0142] 4 shows an example of a circuit configuration of the power supply unit PSU. The power supply unit PSU may include a power supply BT, a protection circuit 90, a measurement circuit 100, an overvoltage protection circuit 110, a transformer circuit 120, an OP amplifier (amplifier circuit) A1, switches SH, SM, SR, SS, and a thermistor (e.g., an NTC thermistor or a PTC thermistor) TB. The power supply BT, the protection circuit 90, the measurement circuit 100, the overvoltage protection circuit 110, the transformer circuit 120, the OP amplifier A1, and the switches SH, SM, SR, SS may be disposed on, for example, a first board PSB1.

[0143] The power supply unit PSU may also include a load switch 10, a charging circuit 20, a transformer circuit 30, a load switch 40, a power switch driver 50, a load switch 60, a non-volatile memory (e.g., ROM) 70, and a switch circuit 80. The load switch 10, the charging circuit 20, the transformer circuit 30, the load switch 40, the power switch driver 50, the load switch 60, the non-volatile memory 70, and the switch circuit 80 may be disposed, for example, on a second substrate PCB2. The power supply unit PSU may also include a control unit (MCU) 130, a thermistor TP (e.g., NTC thermistor or PTC thermistor), a thermistor (e.g., NTC thermistor or PTC thermistor) TH, an OP amplifier (amplifier circuit) A2, a thermistor (e.g., NTC thermistor or PTC thermistor) TC, an OP amplifier (amplifier circuit) A3, and information retention circuits FF1 and FF2. The control unit 130, the OP amplifier A2, the OP amplifier A3, and the data retention circuits FF1 and FF2 may be disposed on the second board PCB2.

[0144] The power supply unit PSU may also include a detection unit 140, a Schmitt trigger circuit 150, a communication device 160, a detection unit 170, a switch SW, and a notification unit NU. The detection unit 140, the Schmitt trigger circuit 150, the communication device 160, the switch SW, and the notification unit NU may be disposed on the third board PCB3. The power supply unit PSU may also include a detection unit 170, and the detection unit 170 may be disposed on the fourth board PCB4.

[0145] The operation of each component constituting the power supply unit PSU will be described below. The positive electrode of the power supply BT is electrically connected to the first power connector BC+, and the negative electrode of the power supply BT is electrically connected to the second power connector BC-. The potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT can be supplied to the VBAT terminal of the protection circuit 90, the VBAT terminal of the measurement circuit 100, the VIN terminal of the transformer circuit 120, the BAT terminal of the charging circuit 20, and the potential input terminal of the switch circuit 80.

[0146] The protection circuit 90 may measure the current flowing through the second conductive path PT2 using a path through which the current output from the power source BT flows, more specifically, a resistor R2 arranged on the second conductive path PT2 electrically connected to the second power connector BC-, and may control a switch section arranged on the second conductive path PT2 to protect the power source BT according to the measured current. The switch section may include a first transistor (first switch) SD and a second transistor (first switch) SC connected in series. Here, the first transistor SD may function as a switch for interrupting the second conductive path PT2 so as to stop discharging the power source BT when it is opened (turned off), and the second transistor SC may function as a switch for interrupting the second conductive path PT2 so as to stop charging the power source BT when it is opened (turned off). The first transistor SD may be arranged on the first conductive path PT1 electrically connected to the first power connector BC+, and the second transistor SC may also be arranged on the first conductive path PT1. The resistor R2 may also be arranged on the first conductive path PT1. As a specific example, when the current flowing through the second conductive path PT2 measured while the power source BT is being charged is excessively large, the protection circuit 90 opens (turns off) the second transistor SC. Also, when the current flowing through the second conductive path PT2 measured while the power source BT is not being charged is excessively large, the protection circuit 90 opens (turns off) the first transistor SD. The protection circuit 90 may be formed, for example, by an integrated circuit (IC).

[0147] The protection circuit 90 can measure the output voltage of the power supply BT based on the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT supplied to the VBAT terminal, and can control the switch unit arranged on the second conductive path PT2 so as to protect the power supply BT according to the output voltage. As a specific example, when the voltage of the power supply BT indicates an overcharged state of the power supply BT, the protection circuit 90 opens (turns off) the second transistor SC. Also, when the output voltage of the power supply BT indicates an overdischarged state of the power supply BT, the protection circuit 90 opens (turns off) the first transistor SD. The overcharged state of the power supply BT can be understood as a state in which the output voltage of the power supply BT exceeds a predetermined full charge voltage. The overdischarged state of the power supply BT can be understood as a state in which the output voltage of the power supply BT is below a predetermined discharge end voltage. Also, the deep discharged state of the power supply BT can be understood as a state in which the discharge of the power supply BT in an overdischarged state progresses further, causing an irreversible change in the internal structure of the power supply BT.

[0148] As illustrated in Fig. 4, a first rectifier element may be provided that is connected in parallel to the first transistor SD, and the first rectifier element may be configured as a body diode of the first transistor SD. The forward direction of the first rectifier element is the direction in which a current flows to charge the power supply BT. Also, as illustrated in Fig. 4, a second rectifier element may be provided that is connected in parallel to the second transistor SC, and the second rectifier element may be configured as a body diode of the second transistor SC. The forward direction of the second rectifier element is the direction in which a current flows that is discharged from the power supply BT.

[0149] The measurement circuit 100 may measure the state of the power source BT using a path through which the current output from the power source BT flows, more specifically, a resistor R1 and a VBAT terminal arranged on a second conductive path PT2 electrically connected to the second power connector BC-. The resistor R1 may be arranged on the first conductive path PT1. The measurement circuit 100 may be arranged to measure the temperature of the power source BT by measuring the resistance value of a thermistor (e.g., an NTC thermistor or a PTC thermistor) TB arranged to measure the temperature of the power source BT. As illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the power source BT may have a cylindrical shape, and in this case, the thermistor TB may include an arc-shaped portion along the cylindrical shape of the power source BT. The thermistor TB may, for example, surround 180 degrees or more, 200 degrees or more, 220 degrees or more, 240 degrees or more, 260 degrees or more of the power source BT at the central angle along the cylindrical shape of the power source BT with a band-like shape. The measurement circuit 100 may be configured, for example, as an integrated circuit.

[0150] The overvoltage protection circuit 110 is a power supply connector that supplies a voltage V BUS In response to V USB Voltage V on the line USB It outputs the voltage V USB The voltage value of V is, for example, 5.0 V. USB The line is connected to a VOUT terminal and an ON terminal of the load switch 10, which will be described later, and a PA9 terminal of the control unit 130. The overvoltage protection circuit 110 is connected to a voltage V BUS Even if the voltage exceeds a specified voltage value, the overvoltage protection circuit 110 can function as a protection circuit that reduces the voltage to a specified voltage value and supplies it to the output side of the overvoltage protection circuit 110. This specified voltage value may be set based on the voltage value input to the OVLo terminal. The overvoltage protection circuit 110 can be formed, for example, by an integrated circuit.

[0151] The transformer circuit 120 converts the power supply voltage V BAT Heater voltage V to drive the heater HT by transforming BOOSTThe transformer circuit 120 may be a boost circuit, a step-up / step-down circuit, or a step-down circuit. The heater HT is arranged to heat the aerosol source. The positive terminal of the heater HT may be electrically connected to the first heater connector HC+, and the negative terminal of the heater HT may be electrically connected to the second heater connector HC-. The heater HT may be attached to the power supply unit PSU or the aerosol generating device AGD in a form that cannot be removed without destruction (for example, soldering), or in a form that can be removed without destruction. In this specification, the electrical connection by the "connector" is described as being either in a form that cannot be separated from each other without destruction, or in a form that can be separated from each other without destruction, unless otherwise specified. The transformer circuit 120 may be composed of, for example, an integrated circuit.

[0152] When the heater HT is to be heated, the control unit 130 turns off the switch SM, turns on the switches SH and SS, and supplies a heater voltage V BOOST can be supplied to the heater HT through the switch SH. When measuring the temperature or resistance of the heater HT, the control unit 130 turns off the switch SH, turns on the switches SM and SS, and supplies the heater voltage V BOOST may be supplied to the heater HT through the switch SM. When measuring the temperature or resistance value of the heater HT, the OP amplifier A1 supplies an output corresponding to the voltage between the positive terminal and the negative terminal of the heater HT, in other words, the voltage between the first heater connector HC+ and the second heater connector HC-, to the PA7 terminal of the control unit 130. The OP amplifier A1 may be understood as a temperature measurement circuit that measures the resistance value or temperature of the heater HT. A shunt resistor RS may be disposed in a path that electrically connects the switch SM and the first heater connector HC+. The resistance value of the shunt resistor RS may be determined so that the switch SR is on during a period in which the heater HT is heated and the switch SR is off during a period in which the temperature or resistance value of the heater HT is measured.

[0153] When the switch SR is configured as an N-channel MOSFET, the drain terminal of the switch SR is connected to the output terminal of the operational amplifier A1, the gate terminal of the switch SR is connected between the shunt resistor RS and the first heater connector HC+, and the source terminal of the switch SR is connected to the ground line. A value obtained by dividing the heater voltage VBOOST mainly by the shunt resistor RS and the heater HT is input to the gate terminal of the switch SR. The resistance value of the shunt resistor RS can be determined so that this divided value is equal to or greater than the threshold voltage of the switch SR. In addition, due to the shunt resistor RS, the current flowing through the heater HT when the switch SH is turned off and the switches SM and SS are turned on is smaller than the current flowing through the heater HT when the switches SH and SS are turned on and the switch SM is turned off. This makes it difficult for the temperature of the heater HT to change due to the current flowing through the heater HT when measuring the temperature or resistance of the heater HT.

[0154] When a low level is input to the ON terminal, the load switch 10 electrically disconnects the VIN terminal and the VOUT terminal, and when a high level is input to the ON terminal, it electrically connects the VIN terminal and the VOUT terminal and transfers current from the VOUT terminal to the V CC5 Voltage V on the line CC5 It outputs the voltage V CC5 The voltage value of V is, for example, 5.0 V. The ON terminal of the load switch 10 is electrically connected to the ground line via the switch SI. The switch SI is made of a transistor, and is turned on when a high level is supplied to its base or gate, and is turned off when a low level is supplied to its base or gate. USB Voltage V through the line BUS When the voltage V is supplied, the control unit 130 detects it based on the voltage input to the PA9 terminal, and supplies a low level to the base or gate of the transistor that constitutes the switch SI. When the switch SI is turned off, the voltage V USB The divided value of the voltage V is supplied to the ON terminal of the load switch 10. As a result, a high level is supplied to the ON terminal of the load switch 10. In other words, the two resistors connected to the ON terminal of the load switch 10 divide the voltage VUSB The load switch 10 has an electrical resistance value such that the divided value of the voltage V BUS During the period when no voltage is supplied, the control unit 130 supplies a high level to the base or gate of the transistor that constitutes the switch SI based on the voltage input to the PA9 terminal. When the switch SI is turned on, the ON terminal of the load switch 10 is connected to the ground line. This causes a low level to be supplied to the ON terminal of the load switch 10. CC5 The line is connected to the VAC terminal of the charging circuit 20 and the V BUS The switch SI may be configured with a transistor that is turned on when a low level is supplied to its base or gate and turned off when a high level is supplied to its gate. In this case, the control unit 130 is USB Voltage V through the line BUS When this is supplied, a high level is supplied to the base or gate of the transistor that constitutes the switch SI, and the voltage V BUS During the period when no signal is supplied, a low level may be supplied to the base or gate of the transistor that constitutes the switch SI. The load switch 10 may be formed, for example, from an integrated circuit.

[0155] The charging circuit 20 has a charging mode. In the charging mode, the charging circuit 20 CC5 The voltage V supplied through the line CC5 from the SW terminal to V CC Voltage V on the line CC The SYS terminal and the BAT terminal are electrically connected to supply a charging voltage from the BAT terminal to the power source BT via the first conductive path PT1. CC The lines are connected to the VIN and EN terminals of a transformer circuit 30, which will be described later. The charging mode may be enabled or initiated by providing a low level to the / CE terminal. The charging circuit 20 may be implemented, for example, as an integrated circuit.

[0156] The charging circuit 20 may have a first power path mode. In the first power path mode, the charging circuit 20 electrically connects the VBUS terminal and the SW terminal, and CC5 The voltage V supplied through the line CC5 Using V CC Voltage V on the line CC The first power path mode is used mainly when the power supply BT is in an over-discharged or deep discharged state. The charging circuit 20 can also have a second power path mode. In the second power path mode, the charging circuit 20 electrically connects the SYS terminal and the BAT terminal, and controls the pulse width of a switching element that electrically connects the VBUS terminal and the SW terminal, thereby supplying the power supply voltage V supplied from the power supply BT. BAT and V CC5 The voltage V supplied through the line CC5 Combining and gives V CC Voltage V on the line CC The second power path mode provides power to the USB connectors USBC and V USB Voltage V through the line BUS This is used when the power supply BT is being supplied and charging of the power supply BT is completed. The charging circuit 20 may also have a third power path mode. In the third power path mode, the charging circuit 20 electrically separates the VBUS terminal and the SW terminal, electrically connects the SYS terminal and the BAT terminal, and supplies the power supply voltage supplied from the power supply BT to the voltage V CC As V CC The third power path mode supplies the voltage V BUS is not provided.

[0157] The charging circuit 20 may have an OTG mode. In the OTG mode, the charging circuit 20 receives a power supply voltage V BAT SYS pin to V CC Voltage V on the line CC At the same time, V is supplied from the VBUS terminal. CC5 Voltage V on the line CC5 In this case, the charging circuit 20 supplies the power supply voltage VBAT In response to the power supply voltage V BAT A voltage higher than voltage V CC5 and connect it to the VBUS terminal. CC5 When a high level is supplied to the / CE terminal, the charging circuit 20 may operate in an operation mode that is set as a default among the first, second, and third power path modes and the OTG mode, or in an operation mode that is set by the control unit 130. The control unit 130 controls the I 2 By the I.C. communication, the charging circuit 20 can be set to any one of the first, second, and third power path modes and the OTG mode. In this specification, I.C. communication is used as an example of a communication standard. 2 Although the above is listed under I C communication, this is not intended to limit the communication standard or communication method, and is not intended to be limited to the I C communication standard or method. 2 C communication and I 2 The C interface can be replaced with other methods of communication and interfaces.

[0158] The transformer circuit 30 is connected to the enable terminal EN terminal V CC Voltage V on the line CC It is enabled by providing V CC33_0 Voltage V on the line CC33_0 Supply voltage V CC33_0 The voltage value of V is, for example, 3.3 V. CC33_0 The lines are connected to a VIN terminal of a load switch 40, which will be described later, a VIN terminal and an RSTB terminal of a power switch driver 50, which will be described later, and a VCC terminal and a D terminal of a data retention circuit FF2, which will be described later. The transformer circuit 30 may be a boost circuit, a step-up / step-down circuit, or a step-down circuit. The transformer circuit 30 may be formed, for example, by an integrated circuit. When a low level is input to the ON terminal of the load switch 40, the load switch 40 electrically disconnects the VIN terminal and the VOUT terminal, and when a high level is input to the ON terminal, the load switch 40 electrically connects the VIN terminal and the VOUT terminal and outputs a voltage from the VOUT terminal to the V CC33 Voltage V on the line CC33 It outputs the voltage V CC33 The voltage value of V is, for example, 3.3 V.CC33 The lines are connected to the VIN terminal of the load switch 60, the VCC terminal of the nonvolatile memory 70, the VDD terminal and the CE terminal of the measurement circuit 100, the VDD terminal of the control unit 130, the VDD terminal of the detection unit 140, the VCC terminal of the Schmitt trigger circuit 150, the VCC_NRF terminal of the communication device 160, the VDD terminal of the detection unit 170, the VCC terminal and the D terminal of the information retention circuit FF1, the power supply terminal of the OP amplifier A1, and the power supply terminal of the OP amplifier A2. The VIN terminal of the load switch 40 is electrically connected to the VOUT terminal of the transformer circuit 30, and receives the voltage V CC33_0 The ON terminal of the load switch 40 is also electrically connected to the VOUT terminal of the transformer circuit 30 via a resistor, and receives the voltage V CC33_0 That is, the voltage V CC33_0 When the load switch 40 is supplied with CC33 Voltage V on the line CC33 The load switch 50 may be configured, for example, as an integrated circuit.

[0159] The power switch driver 50 outputs a low level from the RSTB terminal in response to a low level being supplied to the SW1 terminal and the SW2 terminal for a predetermined time. The RSTB terminal is electrically connected to the ON terminal of the load switch 40. Therefore, in response to a low level being supplied to the SW1 terminal and the SW2 terminal of the power switch driver 50 for a predetermined time, the load switch 40 outputs a voltage V CC33 The output of the voltage V from the VOUT terminal of the load switch 40 is stopped. CC33 When the output of the control unit 130 stops, the voltage V CC33 Since the supply of power is cut off, the control unit 130 stops operating. The power switch driver 50 can be formed, for example, by an integrated circuit.

[0160] Here, when the outer panel C103 is removed from the aerosol generator AGD or the power supply unit PSU, a low level is supplied from the detection unit 140 to the SW2 terminal of the power switch driver 50 via the Schmitt trigger circuit 150. Also, when the switch SW is pressed, a low level is supplied to the SW1 terminal of the power switch driver 50. Therefore, when the switch SW is pressed in a state in which the outer panel C103 is removed from the aerosol generator AGD or the power supply unit PSU (the state shown in FIG. 2A), a low level is supplied to the SW1 terminal and the SW2 terminal of the power switch driver 50. When a low level is continuously supplied to the SW1 terminal and the SW2 terminal for a predetermined time (for example, several seconds), the power switch driver 50 recognizes that a reset or restart command for the aerosol generator AGD or the power supply unit PSU has been input. The power switch driver 50 can be configured to stop outputting a low level from the RSTB terminal after outputting a low level from the RSTB terminal. With this configuration, the ON terminal of the load switch 40 receives a voltage V CC33_0 is supplied again, the load switch 40 switches from the VOUT terminal to V CC33 Voltage V on the line CC33 This voltage V CC33 is input to the VDD terminal of the control unit 130, so that it is possible to restart the control unit 130. In other words, the power switch driver 50 outputs a low level from the RSTB terminal and then stops outputting a low level from the RSTB terminal, thereby resetting or restarting the aerosol generation device AGD or the power supply unit PSU.

[0161] The load switch 60 electrically disconnects the VIN terminal and the VOUT terminal when a low level is input to the ON terminal, and electrically connects the VIN terminal and the VOUT terminal and transfers current from the VOUT terminal to the V CC33_SLP Voltage V on the line CC33_SLP It outputs the voltage V CC33_SLP The voltage value of V is, for example, 3.3 V. CC33_SLPThe line can be connected to a thermistor TP, a thermistor TH, and a thermistor TC, which will be described later. The ON terminal of the load switch 60 is electrically connected to a PC11 terminal of the control unit 130, and the control unit 130 transitions the logic level of the PC11 terminal from a high level to a low level when transitioning to the sleep mode, and transitions the logic level of the PC11 terminal from a low level to a high level when transitioning from the sleep mode to the active mode. That is, in the sleep mode, the voltage V CC33_SLP is not available, and when going from sleep mode to active mode, the voltage V CC33_SLP The load switch 60 may be configured, for example, as an integrated circuit.

[0162] The switch circuit 80 is a switch controlled by the control unit 130, and in the on state, the potential of the first conductive path PT1, i.e., a potential corresponding to the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT, is supplied to the PC2 terminal of the control unit 130 via the switch circuit 80. The potential corresponding to the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT is, for example, a potential obtained by dividing the potential of the positive electrode. The control unit 130 includes an AD converter or a voltage detector electrically connected to the PC2 terminal, and the control unit 130 can detect the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT, i.e., the output voltage of the power source BT, by turning on the switch circuit 80.

[0163] The power supply unit PSU may include a thermistor (e.g., an NTC thermistor or a PTC thermistor) TP constituting a puff sensor for detecting a puffing operation. The thermistor TP may be arranged to detect, for example, a temperature change in the air flow path accompanying a puff. The power supply unit PSU may include a vibrator M. The vibrator M may be activated, for example, by turning on a switch SN. The switch SN may be formed of a transistor, and a control signal may be supplied to the base or gate of the transistor from the PH0 terminal of the control unit 130. Note that a driver for the vibrator M may be used instead of the switch SN.

[0164] The power supply unit PSU may include a thermistor (e.g., an NTC thermistor or a PTC thermistor) TH for detecting the temperature of the heater HT. The temperature of the heater HT may be indirectly detected by detecting the temperature in the vicinity of the heater HT. The OP amplifier A2 may output a voltage corresponding to the resistance value of the thermistor TH, in other words, a voltage corresponding to the temperature of the heater HT.

[0165] The power supply unit PSU may include a thermistor (e.g., an NTC thermistor or a PTC thermistor) TC for detecting the temperature of the outer case C101. The temperature of the outer case C101 may be indirectly detected by detecting the temperature in the vicinity of the outer case C101. The OP amplifier A3 outputs a voltage according to the resistance value of the thermistor TC, in other words, a voltage according to the temperature of the outer case C101.

[0166] The data retention circuit FF1 can be configured to retain data indicating that the voltage corresponding to the output of the OP amplifier A2 deviates from a specified range, typically when the temperature indicated by the output of the OP amplifier A2 exceeds the allowable limit temperature of the heater HT. CC33 Voltage output to the line V CC33 In other words, the VCC terminal (power supply terminal) of the data retention circuit FF1 can operate by receiving a supply of V CC33 The voltage V from the load switch 40 is connected to the line. CC33 When the output of the information holding circuit FF1 is stopped, the control unit 130 stops operating, and the information held in the information holding circuit FF1 may be lost. The information holding circuit FF1 may be formed, for example, from an integrated circuit.

[0167] The information retention circuit FF1 may also be configured to retain information indicating that the voltage according to the output of the OP amplifier A3 deviates from a specified range, typically when the temperature indicated by the output of the OP amplifier A3 exceeds the allowable limit temperature of the outer case C101. As is clear from the above description, the information retention circuit FF1 may be configured to retain information indicating that either the temperature indicated by the output of the OP amplifier A2 exceeds the allowable limit temperature of the heater HT or the temperature indicated by the output of the OP amplifier A3 exceeds the allowable limit temperature of the outer case C101 is satisfied.

[0168] The data retention circuit FF2 can be configured to retain data indicating that the voltage corresponding to the output of the OP amplifier A2 deviates from a specified range, typically when the temperature indicated by the output of the OP amplifier A2 exceeds the allowable limit temperature of the heater HT. CC33_0 Voltage output to the line V CC33_0 In other words, the VCC terminal (power supply terminal) of the data retention circuit FF2 can operate by receiving a supply of V CC33_0 The voltage V from the transformer circuit 30 is connected to the line. CC33_0 When the output of the voltage V from the load switch 40 is stopped, the information held in the information holding circuit FF2 may be lost. However, when a low level is input to the SW1 terminal and the SW2 terminal, a low level is output from the RSTB terminal of the power switch driver 50, and the voltage V CC33 Even if the output of the transformer circuit 30 is stopped, the voltage V CC33_0 The output of the data retention circuit FF2 is not stopped, and the data retained in the data retention circuit FF2 can be maintained. The data retention circuit FF2 may be configured with an EEPROM, in which case one EEPROM may provide the functions of the data retention circuit FF2 and the non-volatile memory 70. The data retention circuit FF2 may be configured with, for example, an integrated circuit.

[0169] The control unit 130 is configured with a processor such as an MCU, and operates based on a program stored in the non-volatile memory 70 or an internal memory, and can control or prescribe the operation of the aerosol generating device AGD or the power supply unit PSU. The control unit 130 controls the supply of power to a heater HT for heating the aerosol source using power supplied from the power supply BT. In another aspect, the control unit 130 controls the heat generation of the heater HT for heating the aerosol source using power supplied from the power supply BT. In yet another aspect, the control unit 130 controls the supply of power to the heater HT and the charging operation of the power supply BT.

[0170] The detection unit 140 may be configured to detect that the outer panel C103 has been removed from the aerosol generating device AGD or the power supply unit PSU. The detection unit 140 may be configured, for example, as an integrated circuit. An output of the detection unit 140 may be supplied to a SW2 terminal of the power switch driver 50 and a PD2 terminal of the control unit 130 via a Schmitt trigger circuit 150. The Schmitt trigger circuit 150 may be configured, for example, as an integrated circuit. One end of the switch SW may be connected to a SW1 terminal of the power switch driver 50 and a PC10 terminal of the control unit 130. One end of the switch SW may be connected to a V CC33The switch SW is also connected to the line, and the other end of the switch SW is connected to the ground line. As a result, when the switch SW is pressed, a low level is supplied to the SW1 terminal of the power switch driver 50 and the PC10 terminal of the control unit 130, and when the switch SW is not pressed, a high level is supplied to the SW1 terminal of the power switch driver 50 and the PC10 terminal of the control unit 130. The detection unit 170 may be configured to detect the opening and closing of the slider C102. The output of the detection unit 170 may be supplied to the PC13 terminal of the control unit 130. The detection unit 170 may be configured, for example, of an integrated circuit. The detection units 140 and 170 may be configured, for example, of a Hall element. The communication device 160 provides the control unit 130 with a function of communicating with electronic devices such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, and a personal computer. The communication device 160 is, for example, a communication device that complies with a short-range communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). The communication device 160 may be configured, for example, of an integrated circuit.

[0171] FIG. 5 shows a state transition diagram of the aerosol generator AGD or the power supply unit PSU. In the sleep mode, the load switch 40 is connected to the V CC33 A voltage V CC33 In the sleep mode, when the slider C102 is opened and this is detected by the detection unit 170, the aerosol generating device AGD, the power supply unit PSU, or the control unit 130 can transition to the active mode. In the active mode, a voltage V CC33_SLP In the sleep mode, the control unit 130 receives the I 2 The acquisition of information from the measurement circuit 100 via the C interface may be stopped.

[0172] In the active mode, when the switch SW (for example, a button switch) is pressed, the aerosol generating device AGD, the power supply unit PSU, or the control unit 130 may transition to a heating standby mode. In the heating standby mode, the control unit 130 outputs a high level from the PC12 terminal to activate the transformer circuit 120, and the transformer circuit 120 outputs a voltage V BOOST Since the switch SS is also connected to the PC12 terminal of the control unit 130, when a high level is output from the PC12 terminal, the switch SS is turned on, and the heater connector HC− and the ground line can be connected.

[0173] After starting the transformer circuit 120, the aerosol generating device AGD, the power supply unit PSU, or the control unit 130 may transition from the heating preparation mode to the heating mode. The heating mode may repeat a heating operation of heating the aerosol source by the heater HT and a measuring operation of measuring the resistance value of the heater HT, i.e., the temperature of the heater HT.

[0174] The heating mode ends in response to the occurrence of a predetermined end event, such as the passage of a predetermined time from the timing start timing, the occurrence of a predetermined number of puffs from the count start timing, the closing operation of the slider C102, or the connection of a USB cable to the USB connector USBC, and the aerosol generator AGD, the power supply unit PSU, or the control unit 130 transitions to the heating end mode. The timing to start timing can be, for example, the detection of the pressing of the switch SW in the active mode, the transition to the heating preparation mode, or the transition to the heating mode. The timing to start counting can be, for example, the timing of the transition from the heating preparation mode to the heating mode. In the heating end mode, the heating of the aerosol source by the heater HT is ended, and thereafter, the aerosol generator AGD, the power supply unit PSU, or the control unit 130 can transition to the active mode. When the heating of the aerosol source is ended by the connection of the USB cable to the USB connector USBC, the aerosol generator AGD, the power supply unit PSU, or the control unit 130 can transition directly from the heating end mode to the charging mode.

[0175] In the active mode, when the slider C102 is closed, or when the slider C102 and the switch SW are not operated for a predetermined time, the aerosol generator AGD, the power supply unit PSU, or the control unit 130 may transition to a sleep mode. In the sleep mode, when the slider C102 is closed and the switch SW is pressed, the aerosol generator AGD, the power supply unit PSU, or the control unit 130 may transition to a pairing mode. In the pairing mode, pairing (exchange of keys) with the electronic device is performed by the communication device 160, and if the pairing is successful, bonding (storage of keys) is performed, and the aerosol generator AGD, the power supply unit PSU, or the control unit 130 may transition to a sleep mode. Information related to bonding may be stored in the non-volatile memory 70. Also, if pairing fails, the aerosol generator AGD, the power supply unit PSU, or the control unit 130 may transition to a sleep mode.

[0176] In the sleep mode, when a USB cable is connected to the USB connector USBC, the aerosol generator AGD, the power supply unit PSU, or the control unit 130 may transition to a charging mode. The control unit 130 detects the connection of the USB cable to the USB connector USBC according to the voltage or potential supplied to the PA9 terminal, and in response, outputs a low level from the PC9 terminal to turn off the switch SI. This causes a high level to be supplied to the ON terminal of the load switch 10, and the load switch 10 turns off the V USB The voltage supplied to the line, V USB to the charging circuit 20 via the VOUT terminal. Furthermore, the control unit 130 outputs a low level from the PB3 terminal. As a result, a low level (enable level) is supplied to the / CE terminal of the charging circuit 20, and the charging circuit 20 can supply a charging voltage to the power supply BT from the BAT terminal.

[0177] If a critical error occurs in the charging mode, the aerosol generator AGD, the power supply unit PSU, or the control unit 130 may transition to a permanent failure mode. The aerosol generator AGD, the power supply unit PSU, or the control unit 130 may transition to the permanent failure mode from a mode other than the charging mode. In the permanent failure mode, transitions to all other modes may be prohibited. If an error occurs in the charging mode, active mode, heating preparation mode, or heating mode, the aerosol generator AGD, the power supply unit PSU, or the control unit 130 may transition to an error handling mode.

[0178] In the error processing mode, the aerosol generator AGD, the power supply unit PSU, or the control unit 130 may, for example, use the notification unit NU to notify the occurrence of an error, the type of the error, an operation request for removing the error, and the like. Thereafter, if the type of the error that has occurred is an error of the first category, the aerosol generator AGD, the power supply unit PSU, or the control unit 130 may wait for a predetermined time to pass before transitioning to a sleep mode. On the other hand, if the type of the error that has occurred is an error of the second category, the aerosol generator AGD, the power supply unit PSU, or the control unit 130 may continue error processing. In this case, in order to return to the sleep mode, it is necessary to reset or restart the control unit 130.

[0179] FIG. 4A illustrates the operation of the power supply unit PSU in sleep mode. The bold lines highlight the voltage supply paths. The power supply BT supplies the power supply voltage V BAT to the VBAT terminal of the protection circuit 90, the VBAT terminal of the measurement circuit 100, the BAT terminal of the charging circuit 20, the VIN terminal of the transformer circuit 120, and the switch circuit 80. The charging circuit 20 is set to the third power path mode by the control unit 130, and the charging circuit 20 is supplied with the power supply voltage V BAT to the voltage V CC As V CC It can be supplied to the line.

[0180] The transformer circuit 30 is V CC Voltage V on the lineCC It is enabled by providing V CC33_0 Voltage V on the line CC33_0 It can supply the voltage V CC33_0 V CC33_0 The signal can be supplied to the load switch 40, the power switch driver 50, and the data retention circuits FF1 and FF2 via the line.

[0181] V CC33_0 Voltage V from the line to the ON terminal of the load switch 40 CC33_0 is supplied, the load switch 40 electrically connects the VIN terminal and the VOUT terminal, and transfers V CC33 Voltage V on the line CC33 It can output the voltage V CC33 V CC33 The power can be supplied via the line to the VDD terminal (power supply terminal) of the control unit 130, the VDD terminals (power supply terminals) of the detection units 140 and 170, the VCC terminal (power supply terminal) of the Schmitt trigger circuit 150, the VCC_NRF terminal (power supply terminal) of the communication device 160, the VCC terminal (power supply terminal) of the non-volatile memory 70, the VDD terminal (power supply terminal) and CE terminal of the measurement circuit 100, power supply terminals of the OP amplifiers A2 and A3, and the VCC terminals (power supply terminals) of the information retention circuits FF1 and FF2.

[0182] When a low level is input to the SW1 terminal and the SW2 terminal of the power switch driver 50 for a predetermined time, the power switch driver 50 supplies a low level from the RSTB terminal to the ON terminal of the load switch 40. In response to this, the load switch 40 supplies a voltage V CC33 The control unit 130 stops the output of V and stops the operation. After that, the power switch driver 50 stops the supply of a low level from the RSTB terminal to the ON terminal of the load switch 40. In response to this, V CC33_0 Voltage V from the line to the ON terminal of the load switch 40 CC33_0 The supply of voltage V from the VOUT terminal is resumed, and the load switch 40 CC33 Then, the output of the signal can be resumed, and the control unit 130 can be reset or restarted.

[0183] FIG. 4B shows the transition from the sleep mode to the pairing mode. The thick lines highlight the supply paths of the voltage and the signal. When the outer panel C103 is attached to the aerosol generating device AGD or the power supply unit PSU, a high level is supplied from the detection unit 140 to the PD2 terminal of the control unit 130 and the SW2 terminal of the power switch driver 50 via the Schmitt trigger circuit 150. When the slider C102 is in the closed state, a high level is supplied from the detection unit 170 to the PC13 terminal of the control unit 130. When the switch SW is pressed in this state, a low level is supplied to the PC10 terminal of the control unit 130. When a low level is supplied to the PC10 terminal for a predetermined time while a high level is being supplied to the PC13 terminal, the control unit 130 recognizes this as a transition command to the pairing mode, and can transition from the sleep mode to the pairing mode.

[0184] FIG. 4C shows the transition from the sleep mode to the active mode. The thick lines highlight the supply paths of the voltage and signals. When the outer panel C103 is attached to the aerosol generating device AGD or the power supply unit PSU, a high level is supplied from the detection unit 140 to the PD2 terminal of the control unit 130 and the SW2 terminal of the power switch driver 50 via the Schmitt trigger circuit 150. When the slider C102 is in the open state, a low level is supplied from the detection unit 170 to the PC13 terminal of the control unit 130. The control unit 130 recognizes this as a transition command to the active mode and can transition from the sleep mode to the active mode. Specifically, the control unit 130 supplies a high level from the PC11 terminal to the ON terminal of the load switch 60, and in response to this, the load switch 60 electrically connects the VIN terminal and the VOUT terminal to supply the voltage V CC33_SLP may be supplied to thermistors TP, TH, and TC.

[0185] 4D and 4E show the transition from the active mode to the heating preparation mode. The thick lines highlight the supply paths of the voltage and the signal. When the outer panel C103 is attached to the aerosol generating device AGD or the power supply unit PSU, a high level is supplied from the detection unit 140 to the PD2 terminal of the control unit 130 and the SW2 terminal of the power switch driver 50 via the Schmitt trigger circuit 150. When the slider C102 is in the open state, a low level is supplied from the detection unit 170 to the PC13 terminal of the control unit 130. Furthermore, when the switch SW is pressed, a low level is supplied to the PC10 terminal of the control unit 130. When a low level is supplied to the PC10 terminal for a predetermined time in a state in which a high level is supplied to the PD2 terminal and a low level is supplied to the PC13 terminal, the control unit 130 recognizes this as a transition command to the heating preparation mode, and can transition from the active mode to the heating preparation mode. Specifically, the control unit 130 supplies a high level from the PC12 terminal to the EN terminal of the transformer circuit 120, and in response to this, the transformer circuit 120 supplies a V boost V on the line boost Output.

[0186] FIG. 4F shows a heating operation in the heating mode. The thick lines highlight the supply paths of voltages and signals. The control unit 130 supplies a high level from the PA2 terminal to the gate or base of the transistor that constitutes the switch SH, turning on the switch SH. As a result, the voltage V output from the VOUT terminal of the transformer circuit 120 is boost is supplied to the heater HT, which heats the aerosol source. At this time, a voltage that turns on the switch SR is supplied to the gate or base of the transistor that constitutes the switch SR. A voltage V boost is supplied through the shunt resistor RS.

[0187] FIG. 4G shows the measurement operation in the heating mode. The thick lines highlight the supply paths of the voltages and signals. The control unit 130 supplies a high level from the PB5 terminal to the gate or base of the transistor that constitutes the switch SM, turning on the switch SM. As a result, the voltage V boost is supplied to the heater HT via the shunt resistor RS. At this time, the gate or base of the transistor that constitutes the switch SR is supplied with a voltage V boost The OP amplifier A1 can be configured to supply a voltage that is correlated to the resistance value of the heater HT to the PA7 terminal of the control unit 130. The control unit 130 can detect the temperature of the heater HT based on the voltage supplied from the OP amplifier A1. The control unit 130 detects the temperature of the heater HT based on the voltage V boost A voltage corresponding to this can be taken from the PA1 terminal and used as a reference voltage for calculating the temperature of the heater HT.

[0188] During the period when the heater HT is not energized, the control unit 130 may detect the temperature of the heater HT using the thermistor TH, that is, based on the output of the OP amplifier A2.

[0189] FIG. 4H shows the operation of the power supply unit PSU in charging mode. The bold lines highlight the voltage and signal supply paths. The overvoltage protection circuit 110 protects the power supply unit PSU from the voltage V BUS In response to V USB Voltage V on the line USB It outputs the voltage V USB The voltage V USB The load switch 10 can recognize that the load switch 10 has received the power supply voltage VOUT and can transition the level of the PC9 terminal from high to low. This turns off the switch SI and a high level is supplied to the ON terminal of the load switch 10. In response to this, the load switch 10 electrically connects the VIN terminal and the VOUT terminal, and transfers the VCC5 Voltage V on the line CC5 may be output.

[0190] The control unit 130 also supplies a low level from the PB3 terminal to the / CE terminal of the charging circuit 20, allowing the charging circuit 20 to charge the power source BT. The charging circuit 20 is set to the charging mode, and V CC5 The voltage V supplied through the line CC5 from the SW terminal to V CC Voltage V on the line CC At the same time, the SYS terminal and the BAT terminal are electrically connected to supply a charging voltage from the BAT terminal through the first conductive path PT1 to the power source BT, whereby the power source BT is charged.

[0191] 4I shows the reset operation of the power supply unit PSU and the control unit 130. The thick lines highlight the supply paths of voltages and signals. When the outer panel C103 is removed from the aerosol generator AGD or the power supply unit PSU, a low level is supplied from the detection unit 140 to the SW2 terminal of the power switch driver 50 via the Schmitt trigger circuit 150. When the switch SW is pressed in this state, a low level is supplied to SW1 of the power switch driver 50.

[0192] In this way, when a low level is supplied to the SW1 terminal and the SW2 terminal of the power switch driver 50 for a predetermined time, the power switch driver 50 can supply a low level from the RSTB terminal to the ON terminal of the load switch 40. In response to this, the load switch 40 can supply a voltage V CC33 Stop the output of voltage V CC33 The control unit 130, to which the supply of V has been cut off, stops operating. After that, the power switch driver 50 can stop supplying a low level from the RSTB terminal to the ON terminal of the load switch 40. In response to this, V CC33_0 Voltage V from the line to the ON terminal of the load switch 40 CC33_0 The supply of voltage V from the VOUT terminal is resumed, and the load switch 40 CC33Then, the output of the signal may be resumed and the control unit 130 may be restarted.

[0193] Here, the control unit 130, the power switch driver 50, and the load switch 40 may be understood as constituting a circuit block that executes an operation according to a detection result by the detection unit 140 that detects the presence or absence of the outer panel C103 in response to the operation of the switch SW. Alternatively, the control unit 130, the power switch driver 50, and the load switch 40 may be understood as constituting a circuit block that executes an operation according to a detection result by the detection unit 140 that detects the state of the slider C102 in response to the operation of the switch SW in a state in which the detection unit 140 detects that the outer panel C103 is not present. Also, the control unit 130, the power switch driver 50, and the load switch 40 may be understood as constituting a circuit block that executes an operation according to a detection result by the detection unit 170 that detects the state of the slider C102 in response to the operation of the switch SW.

[0194] When the switch SW is operated in a state where the detection unit 140 detects that the outer panel C103 is present and the detection unit 170 detects that the slider C102 is in an open state, the circuit block may execute a first process related to the generation of aerosol. When the switch SW is operated in a state where the detection unit 140 detects that the outer panel C103 is present and the detection unit 170 detects that the slider C102 is in a closed state, the circuit block may execute a second process unrelated to the generation of aerosol, for example, a process related to communication with an external device. This corresponds to the pairing mode described above. When the switch SW is operated in a state where the detection unit 140 detects that the outer panel C103 is not present, the circuit block may restart the control unit 130 regardless of the detection result by the detection unit 170, i.e., the state of the slider C102.

[0195] 6, 7A, 7B, 8, 9A, and 9B show examples of the arrangement of the above-mentioned various electronic components. In these figures, the electrical connections (wiring) of the thermistors TC, TP, and TH to the thermistor connectors TC+, TC-, thermistor connectors TP+, TP-, and thermistor connectors THC+, THC- are not accurately shown. In addition, in these figures, the electrical connections (wiring) of the heater HT to the first heater connector HC+ and the second heater connector HC- are omitted. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the communication device 160, the switch SW, the detection unit 140, the Schmitt trigger circuit 150, and the notification unit NU may be arranged, for example, on the same surface of the third substrate PCB3 (the same surface of the same substrate). As illustrated in FIG. 6, the communication device 160 and the switch SW may be arranged along the insertion / removal direction DIR of the insert into the insertion hole C104. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 3A other than FIG. 6, the communication device 160 and the switch SW may be disposed in the center of the power supply unit PSU or the aerosol generating device AGD in the direction perpendicular to the insertion / removal direction DIR. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3A other than FIG. 6, the communication device 160 and the switch SW may be disposed between the first substrate PCB1 and the power supply BT in the direction perpendicular to the insertion / removal direction DIR. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the switch SW may be disposed between the communication device 160 and the notification unit NU. The switch SW may be disposed between the detection unit 140 and the communication device 160.

[0196] As illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B, at least one of the protection circuit 90 and the measurement circuit 100 may be disposed on the first surface S11 facing the power supply BT among the two surfaces of the first substrate PCB1. Alternatively, both the protection circuit 90 and the measurement circuit 100 may be disposed on the first surface S11 of the first substrate PCB1. The transformer circuit 120 may be disposed on the first surface S11 of the first substrate PCB1. As illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the transistors SD and SC may be disposed on the first surface S11 of the first substrate PCB1. As illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the switch SH may be disposed on the first surface S11 of the first substrate PCB1. The first and second resistors R1 and R2 may be disposed on the first surface S11 of the first substrate PCB1. As illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the OP amplifier A1 may be disposed on the first surface S11 of the first substrate PCB1. Arranging the protection circuit 90, the measurement circuit 100, the first resistor R1, the second resistor R2, and the transistors SD and SC on the first surface S11 of the first substrate PCB1 is advantageous for reducing the parasitic resistance value of the second conductive path PT2.

[0197] As illustrated in Fig. 8, the transformer circuit 120 may include an inductor 120', and the transformer circuit 120 and the inductor 120' may be disposed on opposite surfaces of the first substrate PCB1. Preferably, the transformer circuit 120 may be disposed on the first surface S11 of the first substrate PCB1, and the inductor 120' may be disposed on the opposite second surface S12. The USB connector USBC and the inductor 120' may be disposed on the second surface S12 of the first substrate PCB1. Since the USB connector USBC and the inductor 120' are electronic components having a fairly large size or thickness, disposing them on the same surface of the first substrate PCB1 may contribute to miniaturization of the aerosol generating device AGD or the power supply unit PSU.

[0198] As illustrated in Fig. 8, the heater connectors HC+, HC-, switches SM, SS, and shunt resistor RS may be arranged on the second surface S12 of the first substrate PCB1 (i.e., on the same surface of the same substrate). Such an arrangement is advantageous for reducing the resistance value of the heater HT or the parasitic resistance value of the conductive path of the circuit for detecting the temperature. It is preferable that the shortest distance between the second surface S12 of the first substrate PCB1 and the heater HT is shorter than the shortest distance between the first surface S11 of the first substrate PCB1 and the heater HT. Such a configuration is advantageous for shortening the lead wires connecting the heater connectors HC+, HC- and the heater HT.

[0199] As illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the second substrate PCB2 has a first surface S21 facing the second surface S12 of the first substrate PCB1 and a second surface S22 on the opposite side. The connectors THC+ and THC- of the thermistor TH for detecting the temperature of the heater HT may be disposed on the second surface S22 of the second substrate PCB2. The charging circuit 20 and the inductor 20' associated therewith may be disposed on the same surface, for example, the second surface S22, of the second substrate PCB2. The transformer circuit 30 and the inductor 30' associated therewith may be disposed on the same surface, for example, the second surface S22, of the second substrate PCB2. The load switch 10 may be disposed on the second surface S22 of the second substrate PCB2. The control unit 130 may be disposed on the second surface S22 of the second substrate PCB2. The information retention circuit F11 may be disposed on the second surface S22 of the second substrate PCB2. The non-volatile memory 70 and the information retention circuit FF2 may be disposed on the first surface S21 of the second substrate PCB2. Thermistor connectors TC+, TC- for the thermistor TC and thermistor connectors TP+, TP- for the thermistor TP may be disposed on the first surface S21 of the second substrate PCB2.

[0200] FIG. 10 shows the protection circuit 90, the measurement circuit 100, and electronic components arranged around them. The protection circuit 90 can use a second resistor R2 arranged in a path through which a current output from the power source BT flows to measure the current flowing in the path, and control the switch unit SWP, which is controlled to protect the power source BT in response to the current. Alternatively or in addition to this, the protection circuit 90 can measure the voltage of the power source BT based on the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT supplied to the VBAT terminal, and control the switch unit SWP to protect the power source BT in response to the voltage. The second resistor R2 and the switch unit SWP may be arranged in a first conductive path PT1 electrically connected to the first power connector BC+, but are preferably arranged in a second conductive path PT2 electrically connected to the second power connector BC-. This configuration is advantageous in that the common-mode input voltage of the OP amplifier built into the protection circuit 90 can be reduced, allowing the protection circuit 90 to operate stably and allowing the use of an inexpensive protection circuit 90. The switch unit SWP can include a first transistor SD and a second transistor SC connected in series. The first transistor SD can function as a switch for interrupting the second conductive path PT2 (in other words, the path through which the current output from the power supply BT flows) to stop discharging of the power supply BT. The second transistor SC can function as a switch for interrupting the second conductive path PT2 (in other words, the path through which the current output from the power supply BT flows) to stop charging of the power supply BT.

[0201] A first rectifier element may be provided in parallel with the first transistor SD, and the first rectifier element may be configured as a body diode BDD of the first transistor SD. The forward direction of the first rectifier element is the direction in which a current flows to charge the power supply BT. A second rectifier element may be provided in parallel with the second transistor SC, and the second rectifier element may be configured as a body diode BDC of the second transistor SC. The forward direction of the second rectifier element is the direction in which a current flows that is discharged from the power supply BT.

[0202] The resistance value of the second resistor R2 is known, and the protection circuit 90 can detect the current (current value) flowing through the second conductive path PT2 by detecting the voltage drop due to the second resistance value R2. The protection circuit 90 can be configured to turn off the first transistor SD when the current discharged from the power source BT, i.e., the current flowing from the second heater connector HC- to the second power source connector BC-, exceeds a first threshold value for determining an overcurrent during discharging. The protection circuit 90 can also be configured to turn off the second transistor SC when the current charging the power source BT, i.e., the current flowing from the second power source connector BC- to the second heater connector HC-, exceeds a second threshold value for determining an overcurrent during charging. The protection circuit 90 can also be configured to turn off the second transistor SC when the output voltage of the power source BT indicates an overcharged state of the power source BT. The protection circuit 90 can also be configured to turn off the first transistor SD when the output voltage of the power source BT indicates an overdischarged state of the power source BT.

[0203] The measurement circuit 100 can measure the state of the power source BT using a first resistor R1 arranged in a path through which a current output from the power source BT flows. The resistor R1 may be arranged in a first conductive path PT1 electrically connected to the first power connector BC+, but is preferably arranged in a second conductive path PT2 electrically connected to the second power connector BC-. This configuration is advantageous in that the common-mode input voltage of the OP amplifier built into the measurement circuit 100 can be reduced, allowing the measurement circuit 100 to operate stably and allowing the measurement circuit 100 to be inexpensive. The measurement circuit 100 can integrate the current (current value) flowing through the first resistor R1, that is, obtain the amount of charge (power consumption) flowing through the first resistor R1, and thereby calculate the remaining capacity (Ah) and SOC (State Of Charge) of the power source BT. The SOC (%) can be defined as "remaining capacity (Ah) / full charge capacity (Ah)×100". The measurement circuit 100 can provide the remaining capacity and SOC to the control unit 130. The measurement circuit 100 may acquire the temperature of the power supply BT using the TREG terminal, the THM terminal, and the thermistor TB, which are not shown in Fig. 10, and calculate the remaining capacity and SOC based on the acquired temperature of the power supply BT as well. Since the remaining capacity, SOC, etc. of the power supply BT are strongly affected by the temperature of the power supply BT, such a configuration is advantageous for accurately acquiring the remaining capacity, SOC, etc. of the power supply BT.

[0204] A switch SS, a first resistor R1, a switch section SWP, and a second resistor R2 may be present between the second heater connector HC- and the second power connector BC-. A parasitic resistor r1 may be present between the switch SS and the first resistor R1, and a parasitic resistor r6 may be present between the second resistor R2 and the second power connector BC-. A parasitic resistor r2 may be present between the first resistor R1 and the VRSP terminal of the measurement circuit 100, and a parasitic resistor r3 may be present between the first resistor R1 and the VRSM terminal of the measurement circuit 100.

[0205] Although not shown, parasitic resistances may also exist between the first resistor R1 and a connection node between the parasitic resistor r2 and the first resistor R1, and between the first resistor R1 and a connection node between the parasitic resistor r3 and the first resistor R1. These may cause errors in the measurement results obtained by the measurement circuit 100.

[0206] FIG. 11 shows a schematic diagram of a discharging state from the power supply BT. In FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 described later, rSS indicates the on-resistance of the switch SS, rSC indicates the on-resistance of the second transistor SC, and rSD indicates the on-resistance of the first transistor SD. During discharging, the potential of the second heater connector HC- is higher than the potential of the second power connector BC-. Parasitic resistances r1, r6, etc. are factors that increase the potential difference ΔV between the second heater connector HC- and the second power connector BC-. The increase in ΔV can increase the short-circuit current that flows when the second heater connector HC- and the second power connector BC- are short-circuited due to, for example, condensation or the intrusion of moisture from an aerosol source.

[0207] FIG. 12 shows a schematic diagram of the charging state of the power source BT. During charging, the potential of the second power connector BC- is higher than the potential of the second heater connector HC-. Parasitic resistances r1, r6, etc., are factors that increase the potential difference ΔV between the second power connector BC- and the second heater connector HC-. As described above, an increase in ΔV can increase the short-circuit current that flows when the second power connector BC- and the second heater connector HC- are short-circuited due to condensation or the intrusion of moisture from an aerosol source.

[0208] FIG. 13 illustrates a physical path between the second heater connector HC- and the second power connector BC-. The power supply unit PSU or the aerosol generating device AGD may have multiple boards PCB1, PCB2, PCB3, and PCB4. FIG. 13 illustrates a configuration of the first board PCB1. The first heater connector HC+ and the second heater connector HC- may be arranged on the first board PCB1. By arranging the measurement circuit 100 and the first resistor R1 on the first board PCB1 together with the second heater connector HC-, the conductive pattern connecting them is shortened, and the parasitic resistance r1 can be reduced. This makes it possible to make the short-circuit current that flows when the second power connector BC- and the second heater connector HC- are shorted weak.

[0209] The first heater connector HC+ and the second heater connector HC- may be arranged on different surfaces of the first substrate PCB1, or may be arranged on the same surface. In the example of FIG. 13, the first heater connector HC+ and the second heater connector HC- may be arranged on the second surface S12 of the first substrate PCB1. According to a configuration in which the first heater connector HC+ and the second heater connector HC- are arranged on the same surface of the same substrate, it becomes easier to connect the lead wires of the heater HT to the first heater connector HC+ and the second heater connector HC- during manufacturing. This can reduce the cost of the aerosol generator AGD or the power supply unit PSU.

[0210] A first power connector BC+ electrically connected to the positive electrode of the power source BT and a second power connector BC- connected to the negative electrode of the power source BT may be disposed on the first board PCB1. A path through which a current output from the power source BT flows includes a first conductive path PT1 connected to the first power connector BC+ and a second conductive path PT2 connected to the second power connector BC-. The first resistor R1 and the second resistor R2 may be disposed on the second conductive path PT2. According to this configuration, the common-mode input voltage to the VRSP terminal and the VRSM terminal of the measurement circuit 100 and the common-mode input voltage to the CS terminal and the VSS terminal of the protection circuit 90 can be set to small values. This makes it possible to eliminate the need for the measurement circuit 100 and the protection circuit 90, which are expensive and / or large in size, thereby reducing the cost and size of the aerosol generator AGD or the power supply unit PSU.

[0211] The measurement circuit 100, which uses the first resistor R1 to measure the state of the power supply BT (e.g., remaining capacity, SOC, etc.), may be disposed on the same substrate as the substrate on which the first resistor R1 is disposed, i.e., the first substrate PCB1, among the multiple substrates PCB1, PCB2, PCB3, and PCB4. From another perspective, the measurement circuit 100 may be disposed on the same element placement surface as the element placement surface on which the first resistor R1 is disposed, for example, the first surface S11, among the multiple element placement surfaces (S11, S12, S21, S22, etc.). With these configurations, the first resistor R1 and the VRSP terminal and the VRSM terminal of the measurement circuit 100 can be disposed physically close to each other. This makes it possible to reduce the parasitic resistance r2 present between the first resistor R1 and the VRSP terminal of the measurement circuit 100, and the parasitic resistance r3 present between the first resistor R1 and the VRSM terminal of the measurement circuit 100. Such a reduction in parasitic resistance enables the measurement circuit 100 to measure the state of the power supply BT with high accuracy. Also, it is possible to shorten the conductive pattern connecting the first resistor R1 to the VRSP terminal and the VRSM terminal of the measurement circuit 100. Also, the length of the conductive pattern connecting the first resistor R1 to the VRSP terminal of the measurement circuit 100 can be easily made to be approximately the same as the length of the conductive pattern connecting the first resistor R1 to the VRSM terminal of the measurement circuit 100. These also enable the measurement circuit 100 to measure the state of the power supply BT with high accuracy.

[0212] The first resistor R1 and the second heater connector HC- may be disposed on opposite surfaces of the first substrate PCB1. In the example of FIG. 13, the first resistor R1 is disposed on the first surface S11 of the first substrate PCB1, and the second heater connector HC- is disposed on the second surface S12 of the first substrate PCB1. In an orthogonal projection onto one of the two surfaces S11 and S12 of the first substrate PCB1, at least a portion of the first resistor R1 may overlap with at least a portion of the second heater connector HC-. In another aspect, in an orthogonal projection onto one of the two surfaces S11 and S12 of the first substrate PCB1, the first resistor R1 may be disposed within the region of the second heater connector HC-. Such an arrangement is advantageous for reducing undesirable parasitic resistance between the second power connector BC- and the second heater connector HC- (the resistance of the aforementioned parasitic resistance r1), which is advantageous for reducing, for example, short-circuit current between the second power connector BC- and the second heater connector HC-.

[0213] The second conductive path PT2 may include a switch SS arranged between the first resistor R1 and the second heater connector HC-. The switch SS and the second heater connector HC- may be arranged on the same surface of the first substrate PCB1. In the example shown in FIG. 13, the switch SS and the second heater connector HC- are arranged on the second surface S12 of the first substrate PCB1. The switch SS may be the element closest to the second heater connector HC- among the electronic components arranged on the same surface, i.e., the second surface S12. From another perspective, the switch SS may be the element closest to the second heater connector HC- among the active elements arranged on the same surface, i.e., the second surface S12. According to this configuration, by turning off the switch SS when the aerosol generating device AGD or the power supply unit PSU is not in use, static electricity, noise, and the like that may enter from the heater HT, the first heater connector HC+, and the second heater connector HC- are less likely to enter the first resistor R1 and the second conductive path PT2.

[0214] The second conductive path PT2 may further include a switch unit SWP arranged to be connected in series with the first resistor R1. According to this configuration, when an abnormality such as an overcurrent, over-discharge, or over-charge occurs in the power supply BT, the power supply BT can be protected by opening the switch unit SWP.

[0215] The first resistor R1 and the switch section SWP are arranged on the same surface of the first substrate PCB1, the first surface S11 in the example shown in FIG. 13. In addition to the first resistor R1 and the switch section SWP, the second resistor R2 may also be arranged on the same surface of the first substrate PCB1, for example, the first surface S11. In an orthogonal projection onto one of the two surfaces S11 and S12 of the first substrate PCB1, at least a part of the switch SWP may overlap at least a part of the second heater connector HC-. With this configuration, the second conductive path PT2 can be shortened, so that the parasitic resistance of the second conductive path PT2 can be reduced. This makes it possible to make the short-circuit current that flows when the second power connector BC- and the second heater connector HC- are short-circuited weak.

[0216] The protection circuit 90 can control the switch unit SWP to protect the power supply BT according to the current flowing through the second conductive path PT2 or the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT input to the VBAT terminal (the output voltage of the power supply BT). With this configuration, the power supply BT can be protected when an abnormality such as an overcurrent, over-discharge, or over-charge occurs in the power supply BT.

[0217] The switch section SWP can be disposed between the first resistor R1 in the second conductive path PT2 and the negative electrode of the power source BT (or the second power source connector BC-). With this configuration, as described below, even when the first transistor SD is turned off, the measurement circuit 100 and the control section 130 can control their respective I 2 Communication is possible via the C interface. In addition, the protection circuit 90 can protect the power supply BT for as long as possible, and further discharge of the power supply BT can be suppressed to the utmost.

[0218] The protection circuit 90 may detect the current flowing through the second conductive path PT2 using a second resistor R2 arranged in the second conductive path PT2 so as to be connected in series with the first resistor R1. The first resistor R1 and the second resistor R2 may be arranged on the same surface of the first substrate PCB1, for example, on the first surface S11. The second resistor R2 may be arranged between the switch section SWP and the negative pole of the power source BT (or the second power connector BC-) in the second conductive path PT2. The first resistor R1 and the second resistor R2 may be arranged such that the shortest distance between the first resistor R1 and the second resistor R2 is smaller than at least one of the maximum dimension of the first resistor R1 and the maximum dimension of the second resistor R2. These configurations are advantageous for reducing parasitic resistance between the first resistor R1 and the second resistor R2.

[0219] In one example, the measurement circuit 100 may be disposed on a first substrate PCB1, and the control unit 130 may be disposed on a second substrate PCB2. The measurement circuit 100 and the control unit 130 may have a function of communicating with each other. The measurement circuit 100 and the control unit 130 each perform many calculations internally, and therefore may be a source of noise. By disposing these on different substrates, noise generated in one is less likely to affect the other.

[0220] The VDD terminal (power supply terminal) of the measurement circuit 100 is connected to V CC33 Voltage V through the line CC33 The transformer circuit 30 converts the voltage V CC Transform to voltage V CC33_0 and supplies the voltage V CC33 According to this configuration, the voltage V CC33 This stabilizes the operation of the measurement circuit 100.

[0221] In one example, the measurement circuit 100 may be disposed on a first substrate PCB1, and the transformer circuit 30 may be disposed on a second substrate PCB2. The transformer circuit 30 may generate noise when performing transformation. With this configuration, the measurement circuit 100 can be physically separated from the transformer circuit 30, which may be a noise source, and therefore the operation of the measurement circuit 100 is stabilized.

[0222] The voltage V supplied to the heater HT by transforming the voltage supplied from the power supply BT BOOST The transformer circuit 120 for generating the voltage V may be disposed on the first substrate PCB1. With this configuration, the heater HT is supplied with a voltage V appropriate for heating the aerosol source. BOOST This allows the user of the aerosol generator AGD to be provided with aerosols with highly controlled volume and flavor.

[0223] A switch SH may be disposed on a path electrically connecting the output of the transformer circuit 120 and the heater HT. The switch SH may be disposed on the first substrate PCB1. The switch SH may be disposed, for example, on the first surface S11 of the first substrate PCB1. Since a large amount of power for generating heat in the heater HT is supplied to the switch SH from the transformer circuit 120, it is preferable that the conductive pattern connecting the switch SH and the transformer circuit 120 is made thick and short. With this configuration, since the switch SH and the transformer circuit 120 are disposed on the first substrate PCB1, it is easy to form a thick and short conductive pattern. As a result, heat and noise are less likely to be generated in the conductive pattern even when the above-mentioned large current flows.

[0224] The OP amplifier A1 constituting a detection circuit that detects the resistance value or temperature of the heater HT may be disposed on the first substrate PCB1. The OP amplifier A1 may be disposed, for example, on the first surface S11 of the first substrate PCB1.

[0225] FIG. 14 shows the protection circuit 90 and the measurement circuit 100, as well as electronic components arranged around them. FIG. 14 also shows the control unit 130. The aerosol generating device AGD or the power supply unit PSU may include a first conductive path PT1 electrically connected to the positive terminal of the power supply BT or the first power connector BC+, and a second conductive path PT2 electrically connected to the negative terminal of the power supply BT or the second power connector BC-. The control unit 130 may control the heat generation of the heater HT for heating the aerosol source using the voltage or power supplied from the power supply BT. The measurement circuit 100 may measure the state of the power supply BT using a first resistor R1 that may be arranged in the second conductive path PT2. The switch unit SWP may be arranged between the first resistor R1 in the second conductive path PT2 and the negative terminal of the power supply BT (or the second power connector BC-) so as to be able to interrupt the current flowing through the second conductive path PT2 (and the first conductive path PT1). The protection circuit 90 can control the switch unit SWP to protect the power supply BT according to the current flowing through the second conductive path PT2 and the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT supplied to the VBAT terminal. The protection circuit 90 can detect the current flowing through the second conductive path PT2 using a second resistor R2 arranged between the switch unit SWP in the second conductive path PT2 and the negative electrode of the power supply BT (or the second power connector BC-).

[0226] The aerosol generating device AGD or the power supply unit PSU may include, in addition to the switch section SWP, a switch SS that is disposed on the second conductive path PT2 so as to be capable of cutting off the current flowing through the heater HT and the second conductive path PT2 and that can be used as a cutoff switch. 2 Based on the measurement result by the measurement circuit 100, the control unit 130 can control the switch SS as a cutoff switch so as to cut off the current flowing through the second conductive path PT2.

[0227] 15 shows a schematic state in which the protection circuit 90 detects an overcurrent during discharge or an overdischarge state of the power supply BT, turns off the first transistor SD, and cuts off the second conductive path PT2 (the discharge path of the power supply BT). The transformer circuit 30 can function as a voltage supply unit that supplies voltage to the control unit 130 and the measurement circuit 100. The transformer circuit 30 that can function as a voltage supply unit can be supplied with voltage or power from the power supply BT via the first conductive path PT1 and the second conductive path PT2. When the current flowing through the second conductive path PT2 is cut off, the voltage between the positive and negative poles of the power supply BT, i.e., the power supply voltage, is not supplied to the transformer circuit 30 that functions as a voltage supply unit that supplies voltage to the control unit 130 and the measurement circuit 100. Therefore, the transformer circuit 30 outputs a voltage V CC33_0 Therefore, the load switch 40 cannot output V CC33 The supply of power also stops. Therefore, the control unit 130 and the measurement circuit 100 stop operating. At this time, the current consumed by the power supply unit PSU is only the current flowing between the VBAT terminal and the VSS terminal so that the protection circuit 90 can obtain the output voltage of the power supply BT, and the current supplied to the VDD terminal (power supply terminal) so that the protection circuit 90 can operate. This is a very small current.

[0228] On the other hand, in a configuration in which the positions of the protection circuit 90 and the measurement circuit 100 are swapped, the current flowing between the VBAT terminal and the VSS terminal of the measurement circuit 100 is also consumed, and this current may cause the power supply BT to be over-discharged further or to be deeply discharged. Therefore, in terms of protecting the power supply BT, it is advantageous for the switch section SWP controlled by the protection circuit 90 to be located between the first resistor R1 in the second conductive path PT2 and the negative electrode of the power supply BT (the second power supply connector BC-).

[0229] The protection circuit 90 may be configured to fix the COUN terminal to a low level and fix the second switch SC to a permanently off state, as shown in Fig. 16, when the potential supplied from the power source BT to the VBAT terminal of the protection circuit 90 indicates that the power source BT may be in an irrecoverable deep discharge state. This makes it impossible to charge the power source BT that may be in a deep discharge state, thereby improving the safety of the power supply unit PSU or the aerosol generator AGD. Alternatively, after the protection circuit 90 detects a discharge overcurrent and turns off the first transistor SD, the protection circuit 90 may also turn off the second transistor SC for a predetermined time, as shown in Fig. 16.

[0230] When the protection circuit 90 detects an overcurrent during charging or an overcharged state of the battery BT, the protection circuit 90 can turn off the second transistor SC for a predetermined time. At this time, the protection circuit 90 may also turn off the first transistor SD.

[0231] FIG. 17 shows a schematic state in which the first transistor SD is turned off and a USB cable is connected to the USB connector USBC. Here, connecting a USB cable to the USB connector USBC may be understood as connecting an external device to the USB connector USBC via the USB cable. At this time, the charging circuit 20 may operate in a first power path mode that is set by default. Specifically, the charging circuit 20 electrically connects the VBUS terminal and the SYS terminal with the SYS terminal and the BAT terminal electrically separated, and supplies a V CC5 The voltage V supplied from the USB connector USBC via the line CC5 Using V CC Voltage V on the line CC In response to this, the transformer circuit 30, which functions as a voltage supply unit that supplies voltage to the control unit 130 and the measurement circuit 100, supplies V CC33_0 Voltage V on the line CC33_0 and the load switch 40 supplies V CC33 Voltage V on the line CC33 This allows the control unit 130 and the measurement circuit 100 to receive the voltage V CC33That is, when an external device is connected to the aerosol generating device AGD or the power supply unit PSU, the transformer circuit 30 supplies the voltage V CC33 , and the control unit 130 and the measurement circuit 100 can start or resume operation. At this time, the control unit 130 can operate in a sleep mode.

[0232] The control unit 130, which has started operating again, may operate to obtain the output voltage (positive electrode potential) of the power source BT from the measurement circuit 100, and / or turn on the switch circuit 80, and obtain the potential of the power source BT based on the potential supplied to the PC2 terminal. Then, when the control unit 130 determines based on the obtained potential that the power source BT has not reached deep discharge, or when it determines that the power source BT can be charged, it supplies a low level from the PB3 terminal to the / CE terminal of the charging circuit 20, and shifts the charging circuit 20 to a charging mode. As a result, as shown in FIG. 18, the charging circuit 20 outputs a voltage for charging the power source BT between the BAT terminal and the GND terminal, and the power source BT is charged. When it is determined that the power source BT has not reached deep discharge but is in an over-discharged state, it is preferable that the charging circuit 20 charges the power source BT with a current smaller than when the power source BT is not in a deep discharged state or an over-discharged state.

[0233] When the remaining capacity of the power supply BT exceeds a predetermined value, or when the remaining capacity of the power supply BT exceeds the predetermined value due to charging, the protection circuit 90 outputs a high level from the DOUT terminal and turns on the first transistor SD, as shown typically in Fig. 19. This is because it is determined that the remaining capacity of the power supply BT has sufficiently recovered and that resuming discharging will not immediately result in an overdischarge state.

[0234] 14 to 19, the switch section SWP can be disposed between the first resistor R1 used by the measurement circuit 100 to measure the state of the power supply BT and the second power supply connector BC- connected to the negative terminal of the power supply BT. According to such a configuration, the voltage V USB The voltage V generated from CC33 Even when the measurement circuit 100 and the control unit 130 are operating and the first transistor SD is turned off, the VSS terminal of the measurement circuit 100 and the VSS terminal of the control unit 130 are at the same potential. 2 Communication is possible via the C interface. Furthermore, when the first transistor SD is in an off state, the first power connector BC+ and the second power connector BC- form a closed circuit only with the protection circuit 90. This allows the protection circuit 90 to function to protect the power supply BT for as long as possible, and also minimizes further discharge of the power supply BT.

[0235] 14 to 19, a configuration in which the measurement circuit 100 and first resistor R1 are swapped with the protection circuit 90, second resistor R2, and switch section SWP is considered. In such a configuration, the switch section SWP is provided between the VSS terminal of the measurement circuit 100 and the VSS terminal of the control section 130. Therefore, when the first transistor SD is turned off, the VSS terminal of the measurement circuit 100 and the VSS terminal of the control section 130 are disconnected and become different potentials. Between circuits in which different potentials are input to the VSS terminal to which a reference potential should be input, I 2 It becomes difficult to communicate via the C interface. In addition, when the first transistor SD is turned off, the first power connector BC+ and the second power connector BC- form a closed circuit not only with the protection circuit 90 but also with the measurement circuit 100. In other words, further discharge of the power supply BT cannot be suppressed to the utmost.

[0236] Therefore, the configuration illustrated in FIGS. 14 to 19 is more advantageous than the configuration in which the measurement circuit 100 and the first resistor R1 are interchanged with the protection circuit 90, the second resistor R2, and the switch unit SWP in terms of the fact that communication via the I 2 C interface can be performed well and the discharge of the power supply BT can be suppressed to the limit.

[0237] FIG. 20 shows an example of the arrangement of electronic components on the first substrate PCB1. The shortest distance D11 between the first resistor R1 and the measurement circuit 100 is preferably smaller than the shortest distance D12 between the second resistor R2 and the protection circuit 90. Here, the measurement circuit 100 needs to detect and integrate the current flowing through the first resistor R1 with high accuracy in order to calculate the state of the power supply BT, for example, the remaining capacity and SOC of the power supply BT, with high accuracy. Therefore, in order to eliminate the influence of the parasitic resistance as much as possible, it is advantageous to make the shortest distance D11 between the first resistor R1 and the measurement circuit 100 as small as possible. On the other hand, for the protection circuit 90, for example, it is sufficient to cut off the switch unit SWP when the current flowing through the second resistor R2 exceeds the threshold value. Therefore, the protection circuit 90 is more tolerant to noise than the measurement circuit 100. Thus, D11 < D12 can be one of the design guidelines for how to arrange electronic components within the limited substrate area. Of course, D11 < D12 is a condition from one perspective, and for example, D11 < 0.9×D12, D11 < 0.8×D12, D11 < 0.7×D12, D11 < 0.6×D12, D11 < 0.5×D12, D11 < 0.4×D12, D11 < 0.3×D12, D11 < 0.2×D12, D11 < 0.1×D12, etc., conditions corresponding to the required accuracy and the specifications of the aerosol generator AGD can be provided.

[0238] The first resistor R1 and the measurement circuit 100 can be arranged on the same plane of the same board, for example, on the first surface S11 of the first board PCB1. The configuration in which the first resistor R1 and the measurement circuit 100 are arranged on the same plane allows the two to be connected by a conductive path in the same plane without vias or through holes. This makes it possible to reduce the parasitic resistance r2 existing between the first resistor R1 and the VRSP terminal of the measurement circuit 100 and the parasitic resistance r3 existing between the first resistor R1 and the VRSM terminal of the measurement circuit 100. Such a reduction in parasitic resistance enables the measurement circuit 100 to measure the state of the power supply BT with high accuracy. In addition, the conductive pattern connecting the first resistor R1 to the VRSP terminal and the VRSM terminal of the measurement circuit 100 can be shortened. In addition, the length of the conductive pattern connecting the first resistor R1 to the VRSP terminal of the measurement circuit 100 can be easily made to be approximately the same as the length of the conductive pattern connecting the first resistor R1 to the VRSM terminal of the measurement circuit 100. These also enable the measurement circuit 100 to measure the state of the power supply BT with high accuracy.

[0239] The second resistor R2 and the protection circuit 90 may also be disposed on the same plane of the same board, for example, on the first surface S11 of the first board PCB1. With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the resistance value of the parasitic resistor r4 present between the second resistor R2 and the CS terminal of the measurement circuit 90, and the resistance value of the parasitic resistor r5 present between the second resistor R2 and the VSS terminal of the protection circuit 90. Such a reduction in the resistance value of the parasitic resistors enables the protection circuit 90 to protect the power supply BT with high accuracy.

[0240] In one example, the first resistor R1, the second resistor R2, the measurement circuit 100, and the protection circuit 90 may be arranged on the same plane of the same board, for example, on the first surface S11 of the first board PCB1. With this configuration, the resistance values ​​of the parasitic resistors r2, r3, r4, and r5 can be reduced. This allows the measurement circuit 100 to measure the state of the power supply BT with high accuracy and the protection circuit 90 to protect the power supply BT with high accuracy at the same time.

[0241] From another perspective, the first resistor R1, the second resistor R2, the measurement circuit 100, and the protection circuit 90 may be disposed on the same substrate, for example, the first substrate PCB1. The first substrate PCB1 has an end EE on the side where the heater HT is disposed, and the shortest distance between the first resistor R1 and the end EE is preferably smaller than the shortest distance between the measurement circuit 100 and the end EE. It is predicted that the end of the substrate is more susceptible to external noise such as static electricity than the center of the substrate. This is because external noise generally invades the substrate from the end of the substrate. In particular, since the end EE is the end on the side where the heater HT is disposed, there is a risk that static electricity generated when an insert is inserted into or removed from the insertion hole C104 or when the slider C102 is opened and closed may invade the end EE. In addition, since the center of the substrate is surrounded by other electronic components all around, these other electronic components become a physical barrier against external noise. In other words, according to this configuration, the measurement circuit 100 is separated from the end EE, so that the measurement circuit 100 is less susceptible to external noise.

[0242] Moreover, it is preferable that the shortest distance between the second resistor R2 and the end EE is shorter than the shortest distance between the protection circuit 90 and the end EE. With this configuration, the protection circuit 90 is separated from the end EE, so that the protection circuit 90 is less susceptible to the effects of external noise.

[0243] These provide examples embodying the idea of ​​placing the first resistor R1 and / or the second resistor R2 close to the end EE of the first substrate PCB1.

[0244] It is preferable that the shortest distance between the measurement circuit 100 and the end EE is smaller than the shortest distance between the protection circuit 90 and the end EE. The protection circuit 90 plays a role in protecting the power source BT and the aerosol generator AGD by prohibiting charging and / or discharging when an abnormality occurs in the power source BT. In other words, the protection circuit 90 is more important than the measurement circuit 100. With such a configuration, the protection circuit 90 is further away from the end EE and is less susceptible to the effects of external noise. This improves the safety of the aerosol generator AGD.

[0245] A first heater connector HC+ to which the positive terminal of the heater HT is electrically connected, and a second heater connector HC- to which the negative terminal of the heater HT is electrically connected may be arranged on the first substrate PCB1. The shortest distance between the first heater connector HC+ and the end EE and the shortest distance between the second heater connector HC- and the end EE are preferably shorter than the shortest distance between the measurement circuit 100 and the end EE. Such a configuration is advantageous from the viewpoint of protecting the measurement circuit 100 from external noise.

[0246] The first resistor R1 and the second resistor R2 may be disposed on the first surface S11 of the first substrate PCB1, and the first heater connector HC+ and the second heater connector HC- may be disposed on the second surface S12 of the first substrate PCB1. This configuration is advantageous from the viewpoint of efficiently disposing electronic components on the first surface S11 and the second surface S12 of the first substrate PCB1. In other words, if these relatively large electronic components are disposed together on either the first surface S11 or the second surface S12, the substrate area of ​​the first substrate PCB1 may become large, or it may become a significant constraint on the formation of conductive patterns and the arrangement of other electronic components.

[0247] In an orthogonal projection onto the first surface S11, at least a portion of the second heater connector HC- may be disposed so as to overlap at least a portion of at least one of the first resistor R1 and the second resistor R2. Alternatively, different from the illustrated example, in the orthogonal projection, at least a portion of the first heater connector HC+ may be disposed so as to overlap at least a portion of at least one of the first resistor R1 and the second resistor R2. Such a configuration is also advantageous from the viewpoint of efficiently arranging electronic components on the first surface S11 and the second surface S12 of the first substrate PCB1.

[0248] The switch section SWP may be disposed on the first surface S11 of the first substrate PCB1. This configuration is also advantageous from the viewpoint of efficiently disposing electronic components on the first surface S11 and the second surface S12 of the first substrate PCB1.

[0249] The switch SS, which can be used as a cutoff switch controlled by the control unit 130 to cut off the current flowing through the heater HT, can be disposed in a path electrically connecting the second heater connector HC- and the first resistor R1. As described above, the switch SS makes it difficult for static electricity, noise, and the like that may enter from the heater HT, the first heater connector HC+, and the second heater connector HC- to enter the first resistor R1 and the second conductive path PT2.

[0250] The switch SS may be disposed on the second surface 12 of the first substrate PCB1. This configuration is also advantageous in terms of efficiently disposing electronic components on the first surface S11 and the second surface S12 of the first substrate PCB1.

[0251] It is preferable that the shortest distance between the switch SS and the end EE is shorter than the shortest distance between the measurement circuit 100 and the end EE. With this configuration, the measurement circuit 100 is separated from the end EE and the switch SS serves as a physical barrier against external noise, so that the measurement circuit 100 is less susceptible to the effects of external noise.

[0252] The switch SH, which is disposed in a path electrically connecting the output of the transformer circuit 120 and the first heater connector HC+ and functions as a heater switch, may be disposed on the first substrate PCB1. The shortest distance between the switch SH and the end EE is preferably shorter than the shortest distance between the measurement circuit 100 and the end EE. With this configuration, the measurement circuit 100 is separated from the end EE and the switch SH serves as a physical barrier against external noise, making the measurement circuit 100 less susceptible to the effects of external noise.

[0253] The switch SH can be switched at high speed by a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) method or a PFM (Pulse Frequency Modulation) method so that the temperature of the heater HT is maintained at a target temperature. A large amount of power for generating heat in the heater HT is supplied to the switch SH and the switch SH can be switched at high speed.

[0254] The switch SH may be disposed on the first surface S11 of the first substrate PCB1. In an orthogonal projection onto the first surface S11 of the first substrate PCB1, at least a portion of the switch SH may be disposed to overlap at least a portion of the first heater connector HC+. Such a configuration is advantageous for reducing parasitic resistance between the switch SH and the first heater connector HC+. Alternatively, although different from the illustrated example, in the orthogonal projection, at least a portion of the switch SH may be disposed to overlap at least a portion of the second heater connector HC-.

[0255] In such a configuration, the shortest distance between the first resistor R1 and the second resistor R2 may be smaller than at least one of the maximum dimension of the first resistor R1 and the maximum dimension of the second resistor R2. This configuration is also advantageous in terms of efficiently arranging electronic components on the first surface S11 and the second surface S12 of the first substrate PCB1.

[0256] 21 shows an example of the arrangement of electronic components on the first substrate PCB1. A thermistor TB for measuring the temperature of the power supply BT has two terminals, which can be electrically connected to two thermistor connectors TBC1 and TBC2, respectively. The measurement circuit 100 can be configured to measure the state of the power supply BT (e.g., remaining capacity, SOC, etc.) using the first resistor R1, and to measure the temperature of the power supply BT using the thermistor TB.

[0257] The first resistor R1, the two thermistor connectors TBC1 and TBC2, and the measurement circuit 100 may be disposed on the first substrate PCB1. In one aspect, the shortest distance D13 between the two thermistor connectors TBC1 and TBC2 and the measurement circuit 100 is preferably smaller than the shortest distance D11 between the first resistor R1 and the measurement circuit 100. The first resistor R1 and the thermistor TB connected to the two thermistor connectors TBC1 and TBC2 are both important parameters used in measuring the state of the power supply BT by the measurement circuit 100. Unlike the first resistor R1, the temperature of the power supply BT, which is indirectly obtained from the resistance value of the thermistor TB, is prone to error. With this configuration, at least when the measurement circuit 100 obtains the temperature of the power supply BT, an error due to parasitic resistance can be reduced. As a result, the measurement circuit 100 can obtain parameters necessary for measuring the state of the power supply BT from the first resistor R1 and the thermistor TB with little error.

[0258] The power source BT may be, for example, the component with the largest volume among all components constituting the aerosol generator AGD or the power supply unit PSU. The power source BT may occupy, for example, 20% or more, 25% or more, or 30% or more of the volume of the aerosol generator AGD or the power supply unit PSU. The thermistor TB may be arranged along at least a part of the side surface of the power source BT. The thermistor TB may also be arranged between the outer case C101 and the power source BT, or in the vicinity of the inner surface of the outer case C101. Considering this point, it is advantageous for efficient use of space that the thermistor connectors TBC1 and TBC2 to which the thermistor TB is electrically connected are arranged in the vicinity of the outer edge of the entire area (effective area) of the first substrate PCB1. In other words, if the thermistor connectors TBC1 and TBC2 are arranged in the center or in the vicinity of the center of the first substrate PCB1, it is disadvantageous in terms of the arrangement of other electronic components, the formation of a conductive pattern on the substrate surface, and the formation of a ground layer inside the substrate.

[0259] The measurement circuit 100 can measure or detect the temperature of the power supply TB by measuring the resistance value of the thermistor TB, and calculate the remaining amount of the power supply BT (for example, remaining capacity and SOC) using the temperature as one parameter value. Therefore, accurately measuring the temperature of the power supply TB is important for accurately measuring the remaining amount of the power supply BT. Also, an increase in the distance between the thermistor connectors TBC1, TB2 and the measurement circuit 100 results in an increase in the parasitic resistance value of the conductive path electrically connecting the thermistor connectors TBC1, TB2 and the measurement circuit 100, which can reduce the measurement accuracy of the temperature of the power supply BT.

[0260] Therefore, imposing placement constraints to minimize the shortest distance D13 between the thermistor connectors TBC1, TBC2 and the measurement circuit 100 is an advantageous design concept regarding how to arrange electronic components within a limited board area. D13 < D11 is a condition from one perspective. For example, conditions such as D13 < 0.9×D11, D13 < 0.8×D11, D13 < 0.7×D11, D13 < 0.6×D11, D13 < 0.5×D11, D13 < 0.4×D11, D13 < 0.3×D11, D13 < 0.2×D11, D13 < 0.1×D11 can be set according to the required accuracy and the specifications of the aerosol generator AGD.

[0261] The measurement circuit 100 may include a first function of providing information indicating the temperature of the power supply BT to the control unit 130, and a second function of notifying the control unit 130 of an abnormality in the temperature of the power supply BT. The control unit 130 may be configured to stop at least one of the discharge and charging of the power supply BT in response to a notification from the measurement circuit 100 by the second function. According to these configurations, the measurement circuit 100 can not only provide information indicating the temperature of the power supply BT to the control unit 130 in response to polling from the control unit 130, but also notify the control unit 130 of an abnormality in the temperature of the power supply BT without waiting for polling from the control unit 130. Thereby, while suppressing the power consumption of the control unit 130 and the measurement circuit 100 when the temperature of the power supply BT is normal, when the temperature of the power supply BT becomes abnormal, the power supply BT and the aerosol generator AGD can be protected.

[0262] The measurement circuit 100 can calculate the remaining amount (e.g., remaining capacity and SOC) of the power supply BT based on information (e.g., integrated current amount) obtained using the first resistor R1 and information obtained using the thermistor TB. The remaining amount of the power supply BT depends not only on the information (e.g., integrated current amount) obtained using the first resistor R1 but also on the temperature of the power supply BT. With this configuration, the measurement circuit 100 can calculate the remaining amount (e.g., remaining capacity and SOC) of the power supply BT with high accuracy.

[0263] The two terminals of the thermistor TB can be directly connected to the two thermistor connectors TBC1 and TBC2, respectively. In other words, the two terminals of the thermistor TB can be connected to the two thermistor connectors TBC1 and TBC2, respectively, without passing through conductive lines, active elements, and passive elements. This is consistent with the idea of ​​reducing the parasitic resistance between the thermistor connectors TBC1 and TBC2 and the two terminals of the thermistor TB.

[0264] The thermistor TB is disposed to at least partially surround the periphery of the power source BT, which is advantageous for measuring the averaged temperature of the surface of the power source BT when the power source BT has a corresponding temperature distribution. In one example, the power source BT has a cylindrical shape, and the thermistor TB may include an arc-shaped portion that follows the cylindrical shape of the power source BT. In another example, the power source BT has a rectangular shape, and the thermistor TB may have a structure or shape that follows the rectangular shape of the power source BT.

[0265] The measurement circuit 100 and the first resistor R1 can be arranged on the same surface of the first substrate PCB1, for example, the first surface S11 or the second surface S12. As described above, this configuration enables the measurement circuit 100 to measure the state of the power supply BT with high accuracy. Alternatively, the measurement circuit 100 and the first resistor R1 may be arranged on different surfaces of the first substrate PCB1.

[0266] The distance between the geometric center of the figure (closed figure) formed by the outer edge of the first substrate PCB1 and the geometric center of the measurement circuit 100 is preferably smaller than the distance between the geometric center of the figure and the first resistor R1. Alternatively, the distance between the geometric center of the figure (closed figure) formed by the outer edge of the first substrate PCB1 and the geometric center (or the area center of gravity) of the measurement circuit 100 is preferably smaller than the shortest distance between the geometric center of the figure and the two thermistor connectors TB1 and TB2. Alternatively, the distance between the geometric center of the figure (closed figure) formed by the outer edge of the first substrate PCB1 and the geometric center of the measurement circuit 100 is preferably smaller than the shortest distance between the geometric center of the figure and the first resistor R1, and is preferably smaller than the shortest distance between the geometric center of the figure and the two thermistor connectors TBC1 and TBC2. The outer edge of the substrate is more susceptible to the influence of external noise such as static electricity than the geometric center of the substrate. Such a configuration is therefore advantageous in making the precision continuous circuit 100 less susceptible to noise.

[0267] Two power connectors to which the power supply BC is connected, that is, the first power connector BC+ and the second power connector BC-, can be arranged on the first substrate PCB1. The distance between the geometric center of a figure (closed figure) formed by the outer edge of the first substrate PCB1 and the geometric center of the measurement circuit 100 is preferably smaller than the shortest distance between the geometric center of the figure and the two power connectors BC+, BC-. With this configuration, the bus bar connected to the two power connectors BC+, BC- becomes a physical barrier against external noise entering from the outer edge of the substrate. This bus bar is thick because a large current flows through it, and is therefore suitable as a physical barrier. Therefore, the measurement circuit 100 becomes even less susceptible to the effects of noise.

[0268] The control unit 130 may be arranged on a board, for example, a second board PCB2, different from the first board PCB1 on which the first resistor R1, the two thermistor connectors TB1 and TB2, and the measurement circuit 100 are arranged. The measurement circuit 100 and the control unit 130 each perform many calculations internally, and therefore may become a noise source. By arranging them on different boards, noise generated in one is less likely to affect the other.

[0269] FIG. 22 illustrates functions related to the protection of the power supply BT. The columns "measurement circuit", "charging circuit", and "protection circuit" in the figure indicate functions that can be provided by the measurement circuit 100, the charging circuit 20, and the protection circuit 90, respectively. 2 The "C" column is 2 The table shows examples of conditions under which the control unit 130 executes error processing based on information provided from the measurement circuit 100 to the control unit 130 via the C interface. The "nGAUGE_INT1" column shows an example of the nGAUGE_INT1 signal output from the ALERT terminal of the measurement circuit 100. The "nGAUGE_INT2" column shows an example of the nGAUGE_INT2 signal output from the IO5 terminal of the measurement circuit 100. 2 The column "I" 2 The column "Protection Circuit" shows examples of conditions under which the control unit 130 executes error processing based on information provided to the control unit 130 from the charging circuit 20 via the C interface. The column "Protection Circuit" shows examples of conditions under which the protection circuit 90 turns off the switch unit SWP.

[0270] The control unit 130 2By polling via the .C interface, information indicating the charging current during charging of the power source BT, the discharging current during discharging of the power source BT, the voltage of the power source BT, and the temperature of the power source BT during discharging and charging of the power source BT can be acquired from the measurement circuit 100. For example, the control unit 130 can execute error processing when the charging current acquired by the measurement circuit 100 becomes 1.1 times or more of a set value. The set value may be a charging current value in constant current (CC) charging among CCCV (constant current-constant voltage) charging executed by the charging circuit 20. Furthermore, the control unit 130 can execute error processing when the temperature of the power source BT during discharging of the power source BT becomes 55° C. or higher. Furthermore, the control unit 130 can execute error processing when the temperature of the power source BT during charging of the power source BT becomes 51° C. or higher. Furthermore, the control unit 130 can execute error processing when the temperature of the power source BT during charging becomes 0° C. or lower ... 2 The power supply BT may be periodically monitored via the C interface and, based on the results, it may be determined whether the power supply BT is in a deep discharge state. In the table shown in Fig. 22, the conditions for determining whether the power supply BT is in a deep discharge state are described as an "internal algorithm." Details of this "internal algorithm" will be described later.

[0271] Furthermore, the measurement circuit 100 may transition the nGAUGE_INT1 signal to an active level when it detects, for example, that the discharge current from the power supply BT is 10 A or more, that the charge current of the power supply BT is 3.0 A or more, and that the temperature during discharge from the power supply BT is 60° C. or more for 2 seconds. The active level of the nGAUGE_INT1 signal is, for example, a low level.

[0272] Furthermore, the measurement circuit 100 may transition the nGAUGE_INT2 signal to an active level when it detects that the discharge current from the power supply BT is 9.75 A or more, the charging current of the power supply BT is 2.75 A or more, the temperature during discharging from the power supply BT is 85° C. or more for 2 minutes, the temperature during charging of the power supply BT is 85° C. or more for 2 minutes, the temperature during discharging from the power supply BT is −5° C. or less for 5 seconds, the positive electrode potential of the power supply BT during charging of the power supply BT is 4.235 V or more, or the positive electrode potential of the power supply BT during discharging from the power supply BT is 2.8 V or less. The active level of the nGAUGE_INT2 signal is, for example, a low level. The positive electrode potential of the power supply BT acquired by the measurement circuit 100 corresponds to the difference between the positive electrode potential of the power supply BT and the potential of the VSS terminal. Since the VSS terminal and the second power connector BC- of the measurement circuit 100 are both connected to the ground line, the positive electrode potential of the power supply BT acquired by the measurement circuit 100 corresponds to the output voltage of the power supply BT.

[0273] In addition, the control unit 130 2 By polling via the C interface, information indicating the potential of the BAT terminal (positive electrode potential of the power supply BT) during charging of the power supply BT can be acquired from the charging circuit 20. The potential of the BAT terminal (positive electrode potential of the power supply BT) acquired by the charging circuit 20 corresponds to the difference between the potential of the BAT terminal (positive electrode potential of the power supply BT) and the potential of the GND terminal. Since the GND terminal of the charging circuit 20 and the second power connector BC- are both connected to the ground line, the potential of the BAT terminal (positive electrode potential of the power supply BT) acquired by the charging circuit 20 corresponds to the output voltage of the power supply BT. The control unit 130 can execute error processing, for example, when the potential of the BAT terminal (positive electrode potential of the power supply BT) during charging becomes 4.343V or higher.

[0274] The protection circuit 90 may change the first transistor SD to the cut-off state when, for example, the discharge current from the power supply BT becomes 12.67 A or more. The protection circuit 90 may acquire the positive electrode potential of the power supply BT based on the input to the VBAT terminal. The positive electrode potential of the power supply BT acquired by the protection circuit 90 corresponds to the difference between the positive electrode potential of the power supply BT and the potential of the V- terminal. Since the V- terminal and the second power connector BC- of the protection circuit 90 are both connected to the ground line, the positive electrode potential of the power supply BT acquired by the protection circuit 90 corresponds to the output voltage of the power supply BT. The protection circuit 90 may change the second transistor SC to the cut-off state when, for example, the positive electrode potential of the power supply BT during charging of the power supply BT becomes 4.28 V or more. In addition, the protection circuit 90 may change the first transistor SD to the cut-off state when, for example, the positive electrode potential of the power supply BT during discharging from the power supply BT becomes 2.5 V or less. The state in which the positive electrode potential of the power supply BT during charging of the power supply BT is 4.28 V or more corresponds to the above-mentioned overcharge state of the power supply BT. The state in which the positive electrode potential of the power supply BT is 2.5 V or less during charging of the power supply BT corresponds to the above-mentioned over-discharge state of the power supply BT.

[0275] 23 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the measurement circuit 100 for realizing the function of the measurement circuit 100 shown in FIG. 22. The measurement circuit 100 may include, for example, a detection circuit ABD that detects that the state of the power supply BT has become abnormal, and an output unit ABN that outputs an abnormality notification in response to the detection by the detection circuit ABD. The detection circuit ABD may include a first detection logic circuit that individually detects that the discharge current from the power supply BT is 10 A or more, that the charge current of the power supply BT is 3.0 A or more, and that the temperature during discharging from the power supply BT is 60° C. or more for two seconds. The output unit ABN may include a first output logic circuit that transitions the nGAUGE_INT1 signal to an active level as an operation for outputting an abnormality notification when the first detection logic circuit detects at least one of them.

[0276] The measurement circuit 100 may also include a second detection logic circuit that individually detects any of the following: a discharge current from the power supply BT is 9.75 A or more, a charging current of the power supply BT is 2.75 A or more, a temperature during discharging from the power supply BT is 85° C. or more for two minutes, a temperature during charging of the power supply BT is 85° C. or more for two minutes, a temperature during discharging from the power supply BT is −5° C. or less for five seconds, a positive electrode potential of the power supply BT during charging of the power supply BT is 4.235 V or more, and a positive electrode potential of the power supply BT during discharging from the power supply BT is 2.8 V or less. The output unit ABN may include a second output logic circuit that transitions the nGAUGE_INT2 signal to an active level as an operation to output an abnormality notification when the second detection logic circuit detects at least one of them.

[0277] 24 shows an example of connections between the measurement circuit 100, the control unit 130, the transformer circuit 120, the charging circuit 20, the information retention circuits FF1 and FF2, the OP amplifiers A2 and A3, etc. The control unit 130 can be configured to control the supply of power to the heater HT for heating the aerosol source using power supplied from the power source BT, and the charging of the power source BT.

[0278] The measurement circuit 100 may be configured to measure the state of the power supply BT (e.g., remaining capacity, SOC, temperature, etc.). As illustrated in FIG. 23, the measurement circuit 100 may include a detection circuit ABD that detects that the power supply BT has entered an abnormal state, and an output unit ABN that outputs an abnormality notification in response to detection by the detection circuit ABD. The output unit ABN may be configured to output a first abnormality signal by, for example, transitioning the nGAUGE_INT1 signal output from the ALERT terminal to an active level (here, a low level), and to output a second abnormality signal by transitioning the nGAUGE_INT2 signal output from the IO5 terminal to an active level (here, a low level). The measurement circuit 100 may include an interface, for example, an I 2 It may contain a C interface. 2The C interface may be comprised of an SCL terminal and an SDA terminal, which are separate from the ALERT terminal and the IO5 terminal.

[0279] The control unit 130 may be configured to execute a protective operation to protect the power source BT in response to the abnormality notification and the status information. The protective operation may include, for example, prohibiting charging of the power source BT and / or prohibiting discharging from the power source BT to the heater HT.

[0280] The output circuit ABN of the measurement circuit 100 may output an abnormality notification in response to at least one of the fact that the charging current of the power supply BT exceeds a first reference value and the fact that the discharging current from the power supply BT exceeds a second reference value. In the example shown in FIG. 22, the output circuit ABN of the measurement circuit 100 transitions the nGAUGE_INT1 signal to an active level (here, a low level) as an output of the abnormality notification in response to the charging current of the power supply BT being 3.0 A or more. The output circuit ABN of the measurement circuit 100 transitions the nGAUGE_INT1 signal to an active level (here, a low level) as an output of the abnormality notification in response to the discharging current from the power supply BT being 10 A or more. The output circuit ABN of the measurement circuit 100 transitions the nGAUGE_INT2 signal to an active level (here, a low level) as an output of the abnormality notification in response to the discharging current from the power supply BT being 9.75 A or more. Furthermore, in response to the charging current of the power supply BT being equal to or greater than 2.75 A, the output circuit ABN of the measurement circuit 100 transitions the nGAUGE_INT2 signal to an active level (here, a low level) as an output to notify of an abnormality.

[0281] In response to the transition of the nGAUGE_INT2 signal to an active level (here, a low level), the control unit 130 2 The control unit 130 may obtain status information from the measurement circuit 100 via the I / C interface. The status information may include at least one of information for the control unit 130 to determine whether or not to transition to the permanent failure mode described above, and information indicating a transition to the permanent failure mode. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 22, the control unit 130 may 2When the status information acquired from the measurement circuit 100 via the C interface indicates that the temperature during discharging from the power supply BT is 85° C. or higher for two minutes, or the temperature during charging of the power supply BT is 85° C. or higher for two minutes, the measurement circuit 100 can determine to transition to the permanent failure mode. Alternatively, when the temperature during discharging from the power supply BT is 85° C. or higher for two minutes, or when the temperature during charging of the power supply BT is 85° C. or higher for two minutes, the measurement circuit 100 may provide the control unit 130 with information indicating a transition to the permanent failure mode as status information in response to polling from the control unit 130.

[0282] The control unit 130 receives information from the measurement circuit 100, such as I 2 Based on information acquired from the measurement circuit 100 via the C interface, the control unit 130 may determine whether an abnormality has occurred in the power supply BT. In addition to this, or instead of this, the control unit 130 may determine whether an abnormality has occurred in the power supply BT based on the output from the output unit ABN of the measurement circuit 100. Furthermore, when the control unit 130 determines that an abnormality has occurred in the power supply BT, it may control the notification unit NU to issue a notification indicating this. Such a notification may be to prompt the user to perform a predetermined operation for resetting. Such a notification may be any one of the following: generation of a light of a predetermined color, a flashing display, generation of a predetermined sound, generation of a predetermined vibration, or the like, or a combination of two or more of them.

[0283] When the control unit 130 determines that the aerosol generating device AGD or the power supply unit PSU is to be in a permanent failure mode, the control unit 130 may transition the aerosol generating device AGD or the power supply unit PSU to an unusable state. 2 By sending a command to prohibit operation in all power pass modes via the C interface, the output of voltage from the SYS terminal and SW terminal of the charging circuit 20 can be stopped. CC , voltage V CC33_0 , voltage V CC33Since the output of the power supply to the control unit 130 is stopped, the supply of power to the control unit 130 is cut off, and the control unit 130 is put into an inoperable state. Since the charging circuit 20 continues to hold the command for prohibiting operation in all power pass modes sent from the control unit 130, the voltage V BUS is supplied, no voltage is output from the SYS terminal and SW terminal of the charging circuit 20. This prohibits transition from the permanent failure mode to all other modes. This operation is useful for prohibiting charging and discharging of the power supply BT that is determined to have failed, thereby enhancing safety.

[0284] The aerosol generating device AGD or the power supply unit PSU may include a protection unit PPP having a function of protecting the power supply BT without being controlled by the control unit 130 in response to an abnormality notification from the measurement circuit 100. The protection unit PPP may further include a function of protecting the power supply BT by being controlled by the control unit 130. The protection unit PPP may include, for example, an information holding circuit FF1. Although described in detail later, the information holding circuit FF1 transitions the nALARM_Latched signal to an active level (here, a low level) in response to the nGAUGE_INT1 signal output from the ALERT terminal of the measurement circuit 100 being driven to an active level (here, a low level) (i.e., a first abnormality signal), thereby turning off the switch SS arranged in the current path that drives the heater HT. Information that the nGAUGE_INT1 signal has been driven to an active level (i.e., a first abnormality signal) may also be provided to the PA10 terminal of the control unit 130 via the information holding circuit FF1. Specifically, the information holding circuit FF1 may be configured as a D-type flip-flop having a / CLR terminal. As is well known, a D-type flip-flop can hold one bit of information that can be at a high level or a low level, and therefore can be used as an information holding circuit. The nGAUGE_INT1 signal may be supplied to the / CLR terminal of the information holding circuit FF1 (D-type flip-flop). The nALARM_Latched signal may be output from the Q terminal of the information holding circuit FF1 (D-type flip-flop). When the nGAUGE_INT1 signal, which is supplied to the / CLR terminal, which is a negative logic, transitions to a low level, the information holding circuit FF1 (D-type flip-flop) fixes the level of the information it holds to a low level. The same level as the level of the information it holds is output from the Q terminal of the information holding circuit FF1 (D-type flip-flop). With this configuration, the nALARM_Latched signal can be transitioned to an active level (here, a low level) in response to the transition of the nGAUGE_INT1 signal to an active level (here, a low level). As described below, the nALARM_Latched signal may also be provided to the EN terminal of the transformer circuit 120 and to the base or gate of the transistor that constitutes the switch SL.

[0285] In other words, when the measurement circuit 100 determines that the criteria (conditions) for prohibiting the energization (heat generation) of the heater HT or the charging of the power source BT are met, the measurement circuit 100 drives the nGAUGE_INT1 signal output from the ALERT terminal of the measurement circuit 100 to an active level, and in response to this, the protection unit PPP turns off the switch SS without going through the control of the control unit 130. This prohibits the heater HT from generating heat (supplying power to the heater HT).

[0286] In the example of Fig. 22, when any one of the following criteria is satisfied: the current is 10 A or more, the charging current of the power supply BT is 3.0 A or more, and the temperature during discharging from the power supply BT is 60°C or more for 2 seconds, the nGAUGE_INT1 signal transitions to the active level. As such criteria, other criteria may be set. For example, the measurement circuit 100 can drive the nGAUGE_INT1 signal to the active level in response to at least one of the value of the discharge current, the value of the charging current, the temperature of the power supply BT during discharging of the power supply BT, the temperature of the power supply BT during charging of the power supply BT, the positive electrode potential (output voltage) of the power supply BT during discharging of the power supply BT, and the positive electrode potential (output voltage) of the power supply BT during charging of the power supply BT satisfying a criterion for prohibiting the supply of power to the heater HT or charging of the power supply BT.

[0287] After the protection unit PPP protects the power supply BT in response to the abnormality notification, the control unit 130 2 When the status information acquired from the measurement circuit 100 via the I / C interface indicates that the power supply BT is not in an abnormal state, the supply of power to the heater HT and the charging of the power supply BT may be enabled. For example, after the protection unit PPP protects the power supply BT in response to an abnormality notification, the control unit 130 may use the notification unit NU to prompt the user to perform a reset or restart operation. When the control unit 130 is reset or restarted as a result, the control unit 130 may 2The control unit 130 may obtain status information from the measurement circuit 100 via the I / C interface, or check the level of the nGAUGE_INT1 signal, and if the power supply BT is not in an abnormal state, enable the supply of power to the heater HT and the charging of the power supply BT. Conversely, the control unit 130 may be reset or restarted to enable the supply of power to the heater HT. In this case, the control unit 130 may 2 The control circuit 102 can obtain status information from the measurement circuit 100 via the C interface, and depending on the status information, can prohibit the supply of power to the heater HT, if necessary.

[0288] As described above, the protection of the power source BT by the protection unit PPP in response to the nGAUGE_INT1 signal can be treated as a reversible protection. This is because the protection of the power source BT by the protection unit PPP is not controlled by the control unit 130, and the protection may occur due to a malfunction of any of the electronic components constituting the protection unit PPP. In addition, if the protection occurs due to a fault in the control unit 130, such as freezing, the aerosol generator AGD or the power source unit PSU may be restored to a normal state by resetting or restarting the control unit 130. The reason why the conditions shown in the "nGAUGE_INT2" column in FIG. 22 are set to be satisfied before the conditions shown in the "nGAUGE_INT1" column is also to determine whether a fault such as freezing has occurred in the control unit 130.

[0289] On the other hand, the inoperable state due to the decision to transition to the permanent failure mode cannot be released in principle. If the temperature of the power source BT is 85° C. or higher for two minutes during discharging or charging, the aerosol generator AGD or the power supply unit PSU is transitioned to the permanent failure mode by the control unit 130. In other words, as is clear from the fact that the control unit 130 can acquire the temperature of the power source BT, there is no fault such as freezing in the control unit 130. Nevertheless, if the temperature of the power source BT becomes high, an unrecoverable error has occurred other than in the control unit 130, and the error cannot be expected to be resolved by resetting or restarting the control unit 130. Therefore, it is necessary to transition the aerosol generator AGD or the power supply unit PSU to the permanent failure mode.

[0290] The control unit 130 periodically polls the I 2 The first information on the state of the power supply BT is obtained from the measurement circuit 100 via the I C interface, and in response to the abnormality notification, 2 The second information on the state of the power supply BT can be acquired from the measurement circuit 100 via the C interface. When the first information indicates that the power supply BT is in the first state, the control unit 130 executes an operation to protect the power supply BT, and the measurement circuit 100 can output an abnormality notification in response to the power supply BT entering a second state that is more important than the first state. As an example with reference to FIG. 22, when the first information indicates that the power supply BT is in the first state (a state in which the temperature of the power supply BT is 55° C. or higher during discharging to the heater HT), the control unit 130 executes an operation to protect the power supply BT (e.g., a request for reset), and the measurement circuit 100 can output an abnormality notification (drive the nGAUGE_INT1 signal to an active level) in response to the power supply BT entering a second state that is more important than the first state (a state in which the temperature of the power supply BT is 60° C. or higher for 2 seconds during discharging or charging to the heater HT). In this example, the first information and the second information are information indicating the temperature of the power supply BT, but the first information and the second information may be information indicating another state (e.g., a discharge current, a charge current).

[0291] In one configuration example, the control unit 130 executes an operation to protect the power source BT when the first information indicates that the state of the power source BT satisfies any of the conditions included in the first condition group when the power source BT is charged, and executes an operation to protect the power source BT when the first information indicates that the state of the power source BT satisfies any of the conditions included in the second condition group when the power source BT is discharged, where the number of conditions included in the first condition group is greater than the number of conditions included in the second condition group. In other words, this means that the protection of the power source BT based on the first information functions more strongly when charging than when discharging. This is because, unlike when discharging, the energy stored in the power source BT continues to increase when charging, so protection of the power source BT becomes more important when charging. Also, unlike when discharging, charging at low temperatures may cause irreversible changes in the internal structure of the power source BT, such as electrodeposition at the negative electrode, so protection of the power source BT becomes more important when charging.

[0292] In another configuration example, the control unit 130 executes an operation to protect the power source BT when the second information indicates that the state of the power source BT satisfies any of the conditions included in the third condition group when the power source BT is being charged, and executes an operation to protect the power source BT when the second information indicates that the state of the power source BT satisfies any of the conditions included in the fourth condition group when the power source BT is being discharged, where the number of conditions included in the third condition group is less than the number of conditions included in the fourth condition group. In other words, this means that the protection of the power source BT based on the second information functions more strongly when discharging than when charging. This is because, as described above, the energy stored in the power source BT continues to increase during charging, and there is a risk of irreversible changes being caused to the internal structure of the power source BT.

[0293] 25 is a schematic diagram showing protection of the power supply BT based on the state of the power supply BT acquired by the control unit 130 periodically polling the measurement circuit 100. The control unit 130 can acquire state information on the state of the power supply BT from the measurement circuit 100 by periodically polling the measurement circuit 100. Then, when the state information satisfies a standard for protecting the power supply BT, the control unit 130 can perform a protection operation to protect the power supply BT. The protection operation can include, for example, an operation of transitioning the Heater_Enable signal output from the PC12 terminal to an inactive level (here, a low level) to stop the operation of the transformer circuit 120 and turning off the switch SS arranged in the current path of the heater HT. The protection operation can also include, for example, an operation of transitioning the nCharger_Enable signal output from the PB3 terminal to an inactive level (here, a high level) to stop the charging of the power supply BT by the charging circuit 20. As a specific example, if the EN terminal of the transformer circuit 120 is set to positive logic and the switch SS is configured with an N-channel MOSFET, the operation of the transformer circuit 120 can be stopped and the switch SS can be turned off by supplying a Heater_Enable signal transitioned to a low level to the EN terminal of the transformer circuit 120 and the gate terminal of the switch SS. Also, if the / CE terminal of the charging circuit 20 is set to negative logic, the charging of the power source BT by the charging circuit 20 can be stopped by supplying an nCharger_Enable signal transitioned to a high level to the / CE terminal of the charging circuit 20.

[0294] The protection operation may include an operation of continuing the error processing mode until a predetermined condition is satisfied, and transitioning to a sleep mode after the predetermined condition is satisfied. For example, in the case of an example of Fig. 22, the control unit 130 may transition to the error processing mode when the temperature of the power supply BT becomes 51°C or higher during discharging from the power supply BT, and then transition to the sleep mode when the temperature of the power supply BT becomes 45°C or lower.

[0295] FIG. 26 shows a schematic diagram of protection of the power supply BT in response to the measurement circuit 100 outputting the second abnormality signal by transitioning the nGAUGE_INT2 signal to an active level (here, a low level). The control unit 130 may poll the measurement circuit 100 in response to the transition of the nGAUGE_INT2 signal to the active level (second abnormality signal) and obtain status information on the status of the power supply BT from the measurement circuit 100. Then, when the status information satisfies a criterion for protecting the power supply BT, the control unit 130 may perform a protection operation to protect the power supply BT. The protection operation may be the same as or different from the protection operation described with reference to FIG. 25. When the control unit 130 has stopped periodic polling of the measurement circuit 100 because the aerosol generating device AGD or the power supply unit PSU is in a sleep mode, the control unit 130 may resume periodic polling of the measurement circuit 100 based on the nGAUGE_INT2 signal that has transitioned to the active level. In other words, the nGAUGE_INT2 signal can also be understood as an interrupt signal for the control unit 130.

[0296] The protection operation may include an operation of continuing the error processing mode until a predetermined condition is satisfied, and transitioning to the sleep mode after the predetermined condition is satisfied. For example, referring to the example of Fig. 22, the control unit 130 may transition to the sleep mode via the error processing mode if the temperature of the power source BT becomes -5° or lower for 5 seconds or more during discharging from the power source BT. Alternatively, the control unit 130 may transition to the sleep mode via the error processing mode if the positive electrode potential of the power source BT becomes 2.8 V or lower during discharging from the power source BT.

[0297] On the other hand, if the status information indicates that the temperature during discharging from the power source BT is 85° C. or higher for two minutes, or that the temperature during charging from the power source BT is 85° C. or higher for two minutes, the control unit 130 can determine to transition the aerosol generator AGD or the power supply unit PSU to a permanent failure mode. In this case, the control unit 130 can transition the aerosol generator AGD or the power supply unit PSU to a permanently disabled state.

[0298] 27 shows a schematic diagram of protection of the power supply BT performed by the protection unit PPP in response to the measurement circuit 100 transitioning the nGAUGE_INT1 signal to an active level. The information retention circuit FF1 can transition the nALARM_Latched signal to an active level (here, a low level) in response to the nGAUGE_INT1 signal output from the ALERT terminal of the measurement circuit 100 being driven to an active level (here, a low level) (i.e., a first abnormality signal). In response to this, the switch SS arranged in the current path that drives the heater HT is turned off, and the voltage V boost The transformer circuit 120 which generates an nALARM_Latched signal may stop operating, and the charging circuit 20 may stop operating. As a specific example, if the EN terminal of the transformer circuit 120 is set to positive logic and the switch SS is configured with an N-channel MOSFET, the operation of the transformer circuit 120 may be stopped and the switch SS may be turned off by supplying the nALARM_Latched signal, which has been transitioned to a low level, to the EN terminal of the transformer circuit 120 and the gate terminal of the switch SS. Also, if the / CE terminal of the charging circuit 20 is set to negative logic and the switch SL is configured with a pnp-type bipolar transistor, the switch SL may be turned on by supplying the nALARM_Latched signal, which has been transitioned to a low level, to the base terminal of the switch SL. When the switch SL is turned on, a voltage V CC33 As a result, the / CE terminal of the charging circuit 20 is supplied with a high-level voltage V CC33 is supplied via the switch SL. Since the / CE terminal of the charging circuit 20 is negative logic, the operation of the charging circuit 20 may stop.

[0299] The data retention circuit FF1 may also transition the nALARM_Latched signal to an active level (here, a low level) when the temperature of the heater HT measured using a thermistor TH for detecting the temperature of the heater HT exceeds its upper limit value. Specifically, the electrical resistance value of the resistor connected to the non-inverting input terminal and the inverting input terminal of the OP amplifier A2 and the physical properties of the thermistor TH may be selected so that the output of the OP amplifier A2 becomes a low level when the temperature of the heater HT exceeds the condition value. The low level output by the OP amplifier A2 is supplied to the / CLR terminal of the data retention circuit FF1 in the same manner as the nGAUGE_INT1 signal that has transitioned to the active level, so that the nALARM_Latched signal can transition to an active level (here, a low level).

[0300] The data retention circuit FF1 may also transition the nALARM_Latched signal to an active level when the temperature of the outer case C101 measured using a thermistor TC for detecting the temperature of the outer case C101 exceeds its upper limit. Specifically, the electrical resistance value of the resistor connected to the non-inverting input terminal and the inverting input terminal of the OP amplifier A3 and the physical properties of the thermistor TC may be selected so that the output of the OP amplifier A3 becomes a low level when the temperature of the heater HT exceeds the condition value. The low level output by the OP amplifier A3 is supplied to the / CLR terminal of the data retention circuit FF1 in the same manner as the nGAUGE_INT1 signal that has transitioned to the active level, so that the nALARM_Latched signal can transition to an active level (here, a low level).

[0301] The protection unit PPP may further include an information retention circuit FF2. In one example, the information retention circuit FF2 is connected to a voltage V CC33_0Since the OP amplifier A2 is driven by the OP amplifier A2, if the power supply BT is normal, the information is held unless the permanent failure mode is not in progress. When the temperature of the heater HT measured using the thermistor TH for detecting the temperature of the heater HT exceeds its upper limit, the information holding circuit FF2 holds information indicating that and can transition the Heater_Latched signal to an active level (here, a high level). Specifically, the information holding circuit FF2 can be configured as a D-type flip-flop having a / CLR terminal. The output signal of the OP amplifier A2 can be supplied to the / CLR terminal of the information holding circuit FF2 (D-type flip-flop). The Heater_Latched signal can be output from the / Q terminal of the information holding circuit FF2 (D-type flip-flop). When the output signal of the OP amplifier A2 supplied to the / CLR terminal, which is a negative logic, transitions to a low level, the information holding circuit FF2 (D-type flip-flop) fixes the level of the information it holds to a low level. The / Q terminal of the information retention circuit FF2 (D-type flip-flop) outputs a level opposite to the level of the retained information. With this configuration, the Heater_Latched signal can be transitioned to an active level (high level here) in response to the temperature of the heater HT exceeding its upper limit. The Heater_Latched signal may be output from the Q terminal of the information retention circuit FF2 (D-type flip-flop). In this case, it should be noted that the active level of the Heater_Latched signal is low unless an inverter is connected to the Q terminal. In this case, the information retention circuit FF2 (D-type flip-flop) does not need to have a / Q terminal.

[0302] When the Heater_Latched signal transitions to the active level, the control unit 130 may determine that overheating of the heater HT has occurred, and may control the notification unit NU to notify the user of this. Such notification may be to prompt the user to perform a predetermined operation for resetting. Such notification may be any one of the following, or a combination of two or more of them: generation of a light of a predetermined color, a blinking display, generation of a predetermined sound, or generation of a predetermined vibration.

[0303] When the control unit 130 is reset or restarted, it checks the information held in the information holding circuit FF2 based on the state (logical level) of the Heater_Latched signal, and can further check whether or not overheating has occurred in the heater HT. When the control unit 130 recognizes that overheating has occurred in the heater HT, it can transition the aerosol generator AGD or the power supply unit PSU to a permanent failure mode. As described above, the transition of the aerosol generator AGD or the power supply unit PSU to the permanent failure mode is performed when the control unit 130 issues a command to the charging circuit 20 to 2 This can be achieved by sending a command to prohibit operation in all power pass modes via the C interface. However, in a situation where the heater HT overheats, there is a risk that a fault such as freezing occurs in the control unit 130 at the same time. Therefore, in order to reliably shift the aerosol generator AGD or the power supply unit PSU to the permanent failure mode, the control unit 130 is reset or restarted. Note that even if a fault such as freezing occurs in the control unit 130, if the temperature of the heater HT exceeds the upper limit, the information holding circuit FF1 transitions the nALARM_Latched signal to an active level (here, a low level), so that the overheating of the heater HT does not progress further.

[0304] When the information retention circuit FF2 is configured with a D-type flip-flop, the information retention circuit FF2 (D-type flip-flop) may include a CLK (clock) terminal (not shown) that is connected to the control unit 130. By inputting a CLK signal to the CLK terminal, the level of information retained by the information retention circuit FF2 (D-type flip-flop) can be made the same as the level input to the D terminal. However, it is preferable that the control unit 130 not input a CLK signal to the CLK terminal of the information retention circuit FF2 (D-type flip-flop) at least immediately after resetting or restarting so that the reset or restarted control unit 130 can recognize the occurrence of overheating of the heater HT.

[0305] FIG. 28 shows a schematic diagram of changes in the state of the power supply BT with respect to discharging and charging. S1 to S8 show timings. The upper part of FIG. 28 shows an example of a potential (dotted line) detected by the protection circuit 90 as the positive potential of the power supply BT, a potential (gray solid line) detected by the measurement circuit 100 as the positive potential of the power supply BT, and a potential (black solid line) detected by the control unit 130 as the positive potential of the power supply BT. The potential detected by the protection circuit 90 as the positive potential of the power supply BT corresponds to a voltage detected by the protection circuit 90 as the output voltage of the power supply BT. The potential detected by the measurement circuit 100 as the positive potential of the power supply BT corresponds to a voltage detected by the measurement circuit 100 as the output voltage of the power supply BT. The potential detected by the control unit 130 as the positive potential of the power supply BT corresponds to a voltage detected by the control unit 130 as the output voltage of the power supply BT. The middle part of FIG. 28 shows an example of a charging current for charging the power supply BT. The lower part of FIG. 28 shows an example of a level of the DOUT terminal of the protection circuit 90.

[0306] At timing S1, the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT (output voltage output between the positive electrode and the negative electrode) is normal. Here, "normal" can be understood as a state in which the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT (output voltage output between the positive electrode and the negative electrode) is equal to or lower than the full charge voltage of the power supply BT and higher than the discharge cut-off voltage. Discharge from the power supply BT progresses until timing S2, and the state of the power supply BT enters the overdischarge region at timing S2. In FIG. 28, 2.5V is illustrated as the discharge cut-off voltage of the power supply BT, and the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT (output voltage output between the positive electrode and the negative electrode) falls below this discharge cut-off voltage, causing the state of the power supply BT to enter the overdischarge region. At timings S2 to S6, the potential detected by the protection circuit 90 (dotted line), the potential detected by the measurement circuit 100 (gray solid line), and the potential detected by the control unit 130 (black solid line) can be significantly different from one another. In the example described here, as will be described later in detail, during the period from timing S2 to S5, the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT drops, and therefore the switch circuit 80 is unable to electrically connect the first conductive path PT1 to the PC2 terminal of the control unit 130. Therefore, during the period from timing S2 to S5, the potential (black solid line) detected by the control unit 130 is zero. Also, in the example described here, in the overdischarge region of the power source BT, the measurement circuit 100 is unable to accurately detect the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT. This is because the measurement circuit 100 assigns 0 mAh, which is the minimum remaining capacity, and 0%, which is the minimum SOC, to a state in which the output voltage of the power source BT is equal to its discharge end voltage, and is not designed to accurately measure a state below these minimum values.

[0307] At a timing S3 when the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT is further decreased by the discharge and falls below the first level, the protection circuit 90 opens the first transistor (switch) SD of the switch unit SWP in order to protect the power source BT, and stops the discharge from the power source BT to other than the protection circuit 90. Here, as described above, the first transistor SD is a switch arranged on the path through which the current output from the power source BT flows, more specifically, on the second conductive path PT2 electrically connected to the second power connector BC-. Note that even if the first transistor (switch) SD is opened, a closed circuit is formed between the first power connector BC+, the VDD terminal of the protection circuit 90, the VSS terminal of the protection circuit 90, and the second power connector BC-, so that the protection circuit 90 can maintain the state in which the first transistor (switch) SD is open. When the first transistor (switch) SD is opened, the control unit 130 and the measurement circuit 100 are supplied with a voltage V CC33 Since no power is supplied to them, they stop working.

[0308] At timing S4, in order to charge the power supply BT, a user connects a USB cable connected to an external device (e.g., a charger or electronic device) to the USB connector USBC. In this state, the voltage V CC33 Since no power is supplied to the ON terminal of the load switch 10, a low level is supplied to the base or gate of the transistor that constitutes the switch SI, and the switch SI is turned off. USB Therefore, the load switch 10 can be supplied with a high level voltage obtained by dividing the voltage V USB to the voltage V CC5 As V CC5 The charging circuit 20 operates in a first power path mode, electrically connects the VBUS terminal and the SW terminal, and supplies the V CC5 The voltage V supplied through the line CC5 Using V CC Voltage V on the line CC It can supply the voltage V CC The transformer circuit 30 receives the voltage V CC33_0The load switch 40 generates the voltage V CC33_0 Voltage V CC33 This allows the control unit 130 and the measurement circuit 100 to output a voltage V CC33 are provided and they may resume operation.

[0309] After timing S4, the measurement circuit 100 can detect the potential of the power source BT supplied to the VBAT terminal. The control unit 130 can determine whether a fault has occurred in the power source BT that should cause the aerosol generator AGD or the power supply unit PSU to transition to a permanent failure mode. If the control unit 130 determines that the fault has occurred in the power source BT, it can transition the aerosol generator AGD or the power supply unit PSU to a permanent failure mode. On the other hand, if the control unit 130 determines that the fault has not occurred in the power source BT, it can perform the operation described below.

[0310] At timing S5, the control unit 130 may output a low level from the PB3 terminal and supply a low level (enable level) to the / CE terminal of the charging circuit 20. This may cause the charging circuit 20 to start an operation of supplying a charging voltage (first voltage) to the power source BT from the BAT terminal. The charging current of the power source BT at this time may be a first current value (540 mA in FIG. 28) that is smaller than a predetermined current value. The potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT begins to rise due to charging. In addition, the charging circuit 20 may output a V CC Voltage V on the line CC , and the transformer circuit 30 supplies V CC33_0 Voltage V on the line CC33_0 The load switch 40 may supply a voltage V CC33_0 In response, this is V CC33 (Second voltage) as V CC33The voltage supply circuit 20 can supply the control unit 130 and the measurement circuit 100 through the line. Here, the charging circuit 20, the transformer circuit 30, and the load switch 40 can be understood as constituting one voltage supply circuit. The voltage supply circuit can supply a first voltage for charging the power supply BT between the first conductive path PT1 and the second conductive path PT2, and generate a second voltage for operating the control unit 130, using the voltage supplied from the external device through the USB cable. With this configuration, the voltage supply circuit can restart the control unit 130 that has stopped operating and recover the power supply BT that has reached an over-discharged state, using the voltage supplied from the external device through the USB cable. In other words, the voltage supply circuit can return the aerosol generator AGD or the power supply unit PSU to a normal state.

[0311] At timing S6, the switch circuit 80 is turned on by the rise in the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT, and a potential ADC_B+ obtained by dividing the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT at a predetermined voltage division ratio can be supplied to the PC2 terminal of the control unit 130. The control unit 130 can convert the potential of the PC2 terminal into the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT based on the voltage division ratio.

[0312] In this example, after timing S5, when the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT exceeds a certain level, the potential detected by the measurement circuit 100 may rise suddenly. This timing coincides with timing S6 in the example of Fig. 28, but this is merely an example.

[0313] At this stage, the value detected by the control unit 130 and the measurement circuit 100 as the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT (the output voltage of the power supply BT) is the forward voltage V of the body diode BDD, which is the first rectifier element connected in parallel to the first transistor SD, as described later, because the first transistor SD of the switch unit SWP is in the off state. F to the output voltage of the power supply BT.

[0314] The control unit 130 determines whether the output voltage of the power supply BT obtained from the measurement circuit 100 has exceeded a second level that is greater than the first level, and if the output voltage has exceeded the second level, it can increase the charging current of the power supply BT by the charging circuit 20 to a second current value (2640 mA in FIG. 28) that is greater than the predetermined current value.

[0315] In addition, the control unit 130 determines whether the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT, which is converted or detected based on the potential supplied to the PC2 terminal, has exceeded the second level, and if the potential of the positive electrode has exceeded the second level, the control unit 130 may increase the charging current of the power source BT by the charging circuit 20 to the second current value (for example, 2640 mA). Here, the difference between the second level and the first level is the forward voltage V of the body diode BDD. F According to these configurations, the forward voltage V of the body diode BDD included in the apparent potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT detected by the control unit 130 is set to a value larger than the F Taking this into consideration, it is possible to determine with high accuracy whether the over-discharged state of the power source BT has been resolved. This not only improves the charging speed of the power source BT whose over-discharged state has been resolved, but also suppresses high-rate charging of the power source BT whose over-discharged state has not been resolved.

[0316] Note that the above determination by the control unit 130 may become affirmative between timing S6 and timing S7 in Fig. 28. In other words, if the above determination becomes affirmative, timing S8 may arrive without waiting for timing S7, unlike the example in Fig. 28.

[0317] At a timing S7 when the potential of the power supply BT detected by the protection circuit 90 as the potential of the power supply BT further increases and exceeds a third level higher than the first level, the protection circuit 90 closes the first transistor SD. As a result, the potential detected by the control unit 130 and the measurement circuit 100 as the potential of the power supply BT coincides with the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT. In other words, by closing the first transistor SD, the potential detected by the protection circuit 90 drops by the forward voltage VF of the body diode BDD, which is the first rectifier element.

[0318] Thereafter, the control unit 130 judges whether the output voltage of the power source BT acquired from the measurement circuit 100 has exceeded a fourth level that is lower than the second level, and if the potential of the positive electrode has exceeded the fourth level, the control unit 130 can increase the charging current of the power source BT by the charging circuit 20 to the second current value (2640 mA in FIG. 28). The control unit 130 also judges whether the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT, which is converted or detected based on the potential supplied to the PC2 terminal, has exceeded the third level that is higher than the first level, and if the potential of the positive electrode has exceeded the third level, the control unit 130 can increase the charging current of the power source BT by the charging circuit 20 to the second current value (2640 mA in FIG. 28).

[0319] That is, the protection circuit 90 can operate to open the first transistor (switch) SD so as to cut off the discharge of the power supply BT in response to the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT (the output voltage of the power supply BT) falling below a first level. Also, the control unit 130 can operate to increase the charging current of the power supply BT in response to the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT detected based on the potential supplied to the PC2 terminal exceeding a second level that is higher than the first level due to charging of the power supply BT.

[0320] 29 shows the protection circuit 90, the switch unit SWP, the measurement circuit 100, the control unit 130, and the switch circuit 80 together with the first conductive path PT1 and the second conductive path PT2. The switch circuit 80 may include, for example, a PMOS transistor SBVC, an npn-type bipolar transistor SBEN, and two resistors (10 kΩ, 470 Ω), but is not limited to this configuration. The switch circuit 80 may be formed of, for example, a single transistor that is turned on when the ADCB+_EN signal output from the PB4 terminal of the control unit 130 is at an active level.

[0321] In the example shown in FIG. 29, when the power supply BT is in a normal state, the PMOS transistor SBVC is turned on when the ADCB+_EN signal is set to an active level (high level in this case). More specifically, when the ADCB+_EN signal that has transitioned to an active level (high level in this case) is supplied to the base terminal of the npn bipolar transistor SBEN, the npn bipolar transistor SBEN is turned on. Since the gate terminal of the PMOS transistor SBVC is connected to the second conductive path PT2, which is the ground line, via the npn bipolar transistor SBEN, the potential of the gate terminal of the PMOS transistor SBVC is approximately 0 V. Since the positive potential of the power supply BT is supplied to the source terminal of the PMOS transistor SBVC via the first conductive path PT1, the source-gate voltage (absolute value) of the PMOS transistor SBVC becomes larger than the threshold value (absolute value) of the PMOS transistor SBVC, and the PMOS transistor SBVC is turned on. When the PMOS transistor SBVC is turned on, the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT divided by the voltage dividing resistors R11 and R12 is input to the PC2 terminal of the control unit 130. Since the magnitude of the signal input to the PC2 terminal of the control unit 130 depends on the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT, the control unit 130 can obtain the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT based on the signal input to the PC2 terminal as well. Note that the VSS terminal of the control unit 130 and the second power source connector BC- are both connected to the second conductive path PT2. In other words, the VSS terminal of the control unit 130 and the second power source connector BC- are at approximately the same potential. Therefore, the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT obtained by the control unit 130 is approximately equal to the output voltage of the power source BT.

[0322] On the other hand, when the power supply BT is in an over-discharged or deep-discharged state, the PMOS transistor SBVC does not turn on even if the ADCB+_EN signal is set to an active level. Here, the lower limit value of the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT when the PMOS transistor SBVC turns on is determined by the voltage division ratio of the two resistors of the switch circuit 80. In order for the PMOS transistor SBVC to turn on, the potential of the gate must be lower than the potential of the source by the threshold value of the PMOS transistor SBVC, and for this purpose, the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT must be equal to or higher than the value determined by the voltage division ratio. In the example shown in FIG. 29, when the power supply BT is in an over-discharged or deep-discharged state, a current is prevented from flowing from the power supply BT through the switch circuit 80 (PMOS transistor SBVC) and the voltage division resistors R11 and R12. This prevents the power supply BT from further discharging when the power supply BT is in an over-discharged or deep-discharged state.

[0323] Figures 29A, 28B, 29C, 29D, 29E, and 29F show a configuration similar to that of Figure 29. Figures 29A, 28B, 29C, 29D, 29E, and 29F respectively show schematic diagrams of states at timings S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, and S7 shown in Figure 28.

[0324] At timing S2 shown in FIG. 29A, the power supply BT enters an overdischarge state, and the potential of its positive electrode (the potential of the first power supply connector BC+) drops to the potential of the overdischarge state (here, 2.5V). As a result, the source-gate voltage (absolute value) of the PMOS transistor SBVC becomes smaller than the threshold value (absolute value) of the PMOS transistor SBVC, and the PMOS transistor SBVC turns off. When the PMOS transistor SBVC turns off, a current is prevented from flowing from the power supply BT through the switch circuit 80 (PMOS transistor SBVC) and the voltage dividing resistors R11 and R12, so that the potential of the second conductive path PT2 is input to the PC2 terminal of the control unit 130 through the resistor R12. As a result, the control unit 130 obtains 0V as the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT. The VBAT terminals of the protection circuit 90 and the measurement circuit 100 are directly connected to the first conductive path PT1. Therefore, the protection circuit 90 and the measurement circuit 100 can obtain a value greater than 0 V as the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT (the output voltage of the power supply BT) at the timing S2.

[0325] At timing S3 shown in FIG. 29B, the discharge of the power supply BT progresses further, and the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT falls below the first threshold, causing the protection circuit 90 to turn off the first transistor (switch) SD to protect the power supply BT. This blocks the path from the positive electrode of the power supply BT through the first power connector BC+, the first conductive path PT1, the second conductive path PT2, and the second power connector BC- to the negative electrode of the power supply BT. This cuts off the supply of power or voltage to the charging circuit 20 to which power or voltage is supplied from the power supply BT via the first conductive path PT1 and the second conductive path PT2, and to the transformer circuit 30 and the load switch 40 which receive the supply of power or voltage via the charging circuit 20. This cuts off the supply of voltage V to the measurement circuit 100 and the control unit 130. CC33The supply of power stops, and the measurement circuit 100 and the control unit 130 stop operating. In other words, the measurement circuit 100 and the control unit 130 cannot obtain the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT (the output voltage of the power supply BT). On the other hand, the protection circuit 90 can continue to operate because it receives power or voltage directly from the power supply BT through the above-mentioned closed circuit regardless of the state of the first transistor (switch) SD. At this time, the operation of the measurement circuit 100 and the control unit 130 is stopped, so the progress of discharge of the power supply BT can be suppressed.

[0326] At timing S4 shown in FIG. 29C, the user connects the USB cable to the USB connector USBC in order to charge the power supply BT. In response to this, the voltage supplied through the USB cable is reduced by the overvoltage protection circuit 110, V USB Line, Load Switch 10 and V CC5 The charging circuit 20 is supplied with power via the line, and the charging circuit 20 operates in the first power path mode, which is set by default, to supply V CC Voltage V on the line CC In response to this, a voltage V CC33 The supply of the current is resumed or started. Therefore, the measurement circuit 100 and the control unit 130 resume or start their operations.

[0327] At timing S5 shown in Fig. 29D, the control unit 130 outputs a low level from the PB3 terminal and supplies a low level (enable level) to the / CE terminal of the charging circuit 20. This causes the charging circuit 20 to start supplying a charging voltage from the BAT terminal to the power source BT, and the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT begins to rise. The charging current of the power source BT at this time may be a first current value (540 mA in Fig. 28) that is smaller than a predetermined current value. This is because if the power source BT is charged at a current value similar to that during normal charging when it has reached an over-discharged or deep-discharged state, the power source BT may enter an unrecoverable state.

[0328] During the period from timing S5 to S7, the first transistor SD is off, but the forward direction of the body diode BDD connected in parallel to the first transistor SD coincides with the direction of the charging current that charges the power supply BT, so the power supply BT can be charged. However, when the ground node GN (the same node as the ground terminal of the USB connector USBC) is used as the reference, the potential of the second power supply connector BC- to which the negative electrode of the power supply BT is connected is higher by the voltage drop in the path therebetween. In the example of FIG. 29D, the potential of the second power supply connector BC- to which the negative electrode of the power supply BT is connected is higher than the forward voltage V of the body diode BDD. F The potential of the second power connector BC- is higher than the potential of the ground node GN by the voltage drop due to the resistors R1 and R2. Since the electrical resistance values ​​of the resistor R2 connected to the protection circuit 90 and the resistor R1 connected to the measurement circuit 100 are extremely small, the voltage drop due to the resistors R1 and R2 is negligible. Therefore, when the power supply BT is in a normal state, the potential of the second power connector BC- is approximately equal to the potential of the ground node GN. However, the forward voltage V of the body diode BDD F is generally on the order of several hundred mV, and is not negligible.

[0329] At a timing S6 when the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT rises to the potential before entering the overdischarge region, the switch circuit 80 turns on, and a potential ADC_B+ obtained by dividing the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT at a predetermined voltage division ratio is supplied to the PC2 terminal of the control unit 130. The control unit 130 can convert the potential of the PC2 terminal into the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT based on the voltage division ratio. This voltage division ratio is determined by the resistance values ​​of resistors R11 and R12.

[0330] 29F, the protection circuit 90 closes the first transistor SD. As a result, a path passing through the first transistor SD is formed, and the on-resistance of the first transistor SD is negligible, so that the potential detected by the control unit 130 and the measurement circuit 100 as the potential of the power supply BT coincides with the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT. In other words, by closing the first transistor SD, the potential detected by the protection circuit 90 becomes equal to the forward voltage V of the body diode BDD. F The protection circuit 90 obtains the potential difference between the VBAT terminal and the VSS terminal as the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT (the output voltage of the power supply BT). In other words, the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT obtained by the protection circuit 90 (the output voltage of the power supply BT) includes the forward voltage V of the body diode BDD. F 29B, and the first transistor (switch) SD is turned on at a timing S7 shown in FIG. 29F. As is clear from FIG. 28 and other figures, the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT when the first transistor (switch) SD is turned off (the output voltage of the power supply BT) may differ from the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT when the first transistor (switch) SD is turned on (the output voltage of the power supply BT). More specifically, the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT when the first transistor (switch) SD is turned off (the output voltage of the power supply BT) is lower than the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT when the first transistor (switch) SD is turned on (the output voltage of the power supply BT). This may function as a hysteresis for suppressing a situation in which the first transistor (switch) SD is turned off immediately after the first transistor (switch) SD is turned on.

[0331] 30 and 31 show an example of the operation of the protection circuit 90, the control unit 130, the charging circuit 20, and the measurement circuit 100 in chronological order. Also, FIG. 32 shows an example of the operation of the control unit 130 when an interrupt due to completion of charging is received. First, the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT continues to decrease due to discharging from the power supply BT, and in step P11, the protection circuit 90 detects that the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT has fallen below a first level. In response to this, in step P12, the protection circuit 90 turns off the first transistor (switch) SD (timing S3 in FIG. 28 and FIG. 29B). As a result, the voltage V CC33 Therefore, the control unit 130 stops the operation in step M11, and the measurement circuit 100 stops the operation in step K11. Steps P12, M11, and K11 may occur substantially simultaneously.

[0332] After that, the USB cable connected to the external device is connected to the USB connector USBC (timing S4 in FIG. 28 and FIG. 29C). This allows power to be supplied from the external device to the VBUS terminal of the charging circuit 20. The charging circuit 20 operates in the first power path mode, electrically connects the VBUS terminal and the SW terminal, and supplies V CC5 The voltage V supplied through the line CC5 Using V CC Voltage V on the line CC (Step C11). CC The transformer circuit 30 receives the voltage V CC33_0 The load switch 40 generates the voltage V CC33_0 Voltage V CC33 This causes the control unit 130 and the measurement circuit 100 to output a voltage V CC33 is supplied.

[0333] In step M12, the control unit 130 is started (restarted), and in parallel, in step K12, the measurement circuit 100 is also started (restarted). In step M13, the control unit 130 instructs the measurement circuit 100 to 2Through the C interface, the output voltage information of the power supply BT (V BAT In step K13, the measurement circuit 100 requests the control unit 130 to provide I 2 Through the C interface, the output voltage information of the power supply BT (V BAT In step M14, the control unit 130 receives from the measurement circuit 100 the I 2 Through the C interface, the output voltage information of the power supply BT (V BAT Receive the information.

[0334] In step M15, the control unit 130 transitions the ADCB+_EN signal to an active level, and in step M16, the control unit 130 acquires the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT (the output voltage of the power supply BT) based on the potential supplied to the PC2 terminal (also referred to as the ADCB+ signal).

[0335] In step M17, the control unit 130 determines whether the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT (the output voltage of the power supply BT) acquired in step M16 is equal to or lower than a first predetermined threshold value (for example, 0.1 V) or whether the information on the output voltage of the power supply BT acquired from the measurement circuit 100 in step M14 (V BAT information) is less than or equal to a second predetermined threshold (eg, 1.5V).

[0336] Then, if the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT (the output voltage of the power supply BT) acquired in step M16 is equal to or lower than the first predetermined threshold value, or if the information on the output voltage of the power supply BT acquired from the measurement circuit 100 in step M14 (V BAT If the information) is equal to or less than the second predetermined threshold, in step M21, 2 A command is sent to the charging circuit 20 via the C interface to charge the power source BT at a first current value that is smaller than the predetermined current value (timing S5 in FIG. 28 and timing S6 in FIG. 29D). On the other hand, if the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT (output voltage of the power source BT) acquired in step M16 is not equal to or lower than the first predetermined threshold value, and the information on the output voltage of the power source BT acquired from the measurement circuit 100 in step M14 (V BAT If the information) is not equal to or less than the second predetermined threshold, in step M18,2 A command is sent to the charging circuit 20 via the C interface to charge the power source BT with a second current value (normal charging sequence) that is greater than the predetermined current value.

[0337] A normal charging sequence is a typical CCCV charging, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. When the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT (the output voltage of the power supply BT) drops to such an extent that the transistor (switch) SD is turned off by the protection circuit 90, the potential of the second conductive path PT2 (i.e., the ground potential) is input to the PC2 terminal through the resistor R12. In other words, the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT (the output voltage of the power supply BT) acquired in step M16 should be 0.1 V or less. In other words, when the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT (the output voltage of the power supply BT) acquired in step M16 exceeds 0.1 V, it can be considered that the power supply BT has been erroneously determined to be in an over-discharged state or a deep-discharged state due to noise, being placed in an extremely low-temperature environment, or the like.

[0338] As another example, in step M17, the control unit 130 judges whether the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT (output voltage of the power source BT) acquired in step M16 is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value (for example, 0.1 V). If the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT (output voltage of the power source BT) acquired in step M16 is equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold value (for example, 0.1 V), the control unit 130 performs the following in step M21. 2 A command is sent to the charging circuit 20 via the I C interface to charge the power source BT at a first current value smaller than the predetermined current value (timing S5 in FIG. 28 and timing S1 in FIG. 29D). On the other hand, if the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT (output voltage of the power source BT) acquired in step M16 is not equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold value (for example, 0.1 V), in step M18, 2 A command is sent to the charging circuit 20 via the C interface to charge the power source BT with a second current value (normal charging sequence) that is greater than the predetermined current value.

[0339] As another example, in step M17, the control unit 130 receives the information on the output voltage of the power supply BT from the measurement circuit 100 in step M14 (VBAT Then, it is determined whether the output voltage information (V BAT If the voltage Vcc is equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold (for example, 1.5 V), the control unit 130 in step M21 2 A command is sent to the charging circuit 20 via the I C interface to charge the power source BT at a first current value that is smaller than the predetermined current value (timing S5 in FIG. 28 and timing S1 in FIG. 29D). On the other hand, if the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT (output voltage of the power source BT) acquired in step M14 is not equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold value (for example, 1.5 V), in step M18, 2 A command is sent to the charging circuit 20 via the C interface to charge the power source BT with a second current value (normal charging sequence) that is greater than the predetermined current value.

[0340] In step M22, the control unit 130 waits for a predetermined time. During this predetermined time, charging of the power source BT progresses in step C12, which will be described later. In step M23, the control unit 130 transitions the ADCB+_EN signal to the active level, and in step M24, the control unit 130 acquires the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT (the output voltage of the power source BT) based on the potential (ADCB+ signal) supplied to the PC2 terminal. In step M25, the control unit 130 determines whether the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT (the output voltage of the power source BT) acquired in step M24 is equal to or higher than a second level (e.g., 3.35 V). Then, if the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT (the output voltage of the power source BT) acquired in step M24 is equal to or higher than the second level (e.g., 3.35 V), the control unit 130 in step M26 2 A command is sent to the charging circuit 20 via the C interface to charge the power source BT with a second current value (normal charging sequence) that is greater than the predetermined current value.

[0341] On the other hand, if the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT (output voltage of the power supply BT) acquired in step M24 is not equal to or higher than the second level (e.g., 3.35 V), the control unit 130 determines in step M27 whether the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT (output voltage of the power supply BT) acquired in step M24 is lower than the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT (output voltage of the power supply BT) acquired in the previous step M24 by a forward voltage V F This determination is made based on whether the value obtained by subtracting the positive electrode potential of the power supply BT (output voltage of the power supply BT) obtained in this step M24 from the positive electrode potential of the power supply BT (output voltage of the power supply BT) obtained in the previous step M24 is equal to or exceeds the forward voltage V of the body diode SDD. F This can be executed depending on whether the above conditions are met. If it is determined that the first transistor (switch) SD is on, the control unit 130 advances the process to step M28. On the other hand, if it is determined that the first transistor (switch) SD is not on, the control unit 130 returns the process to step M23. In the time series illustrated in FIG. 31, in step P21, the protection circuit 90 closes the first transistor SD (timing S7 in FIG. 28 and FIG. 29F).

[0342] In step M28, the control unit 130 instructs the measurement circuit 100 to 2 Through the C interface, the output voltage information of the power supply BT (V BAT In step K21, the measurement circuit 100 requests the control unit 130 to provide I 2 Through the C interface, the output voltage information of the power supply BT (V BAT In step M29, the control unit 130 receives from the measurement circuit 100 the I 2 Through the C interface, the output voltage information of the power supply BT (V BAT Receive the information.

[0343] In step M30, the control unit 130 determines whether the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT (output voltage of the power source BT) acquired in step M29 is equal to or higher than a fourth level (for example, 2.35 V). If the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT (output voltage of the power source BT) acquired in step M29 is equal to or higher than the fourth level, the control unit 130 performs step M31 to 2 A command is sent to the charging circuit 20 via the C interface to charge the power supply BT at a second current value (normal charging sequence) greater than the predetermined current value (timing S8 in FIG. 28). On the other hand, if the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT (output voltage of the power supply BT) acquired in step M29 is not equal to or greater than the fourth level, the control unit 130 returns the process to step S28. The fourth level is a standard used when the first transistor (switch) SD is on, and so can be a value smaller than the second level. Also, the fourth level is a value greater than the first level.

[0344] After starting charging of the power source BT in step C12, the charging circuit 20 waits for the charging of the power source BT to be completed in step C13, and when the charging is completed, it can send an interrupt request to the control unit 130 in step C14. On the other hand, when the control unit 130 receives an interrupt request from the charging circuit 20, it can execute the process shown in Fig. 32 separately from the processes shown in Figs. 30 and 31.

[0345] In step M41, the control unit 130 2The control unit 130 obtains the total charging time required for charging the power source BT from the charging circuit 20 via the C interface. In step M42, the control unit 130 judges whether the state immediately before receiving the interrupt request from the charging circuit 20 was charging the power source BT with the first current value, and if the state immediately before receiving the interrupt request was not charging the power source BT with the first current value, ends the processing of FIG. 32. On the other hand, if the state immediately before receiving the interrupt request was charging the power source BT with the first current value, the control unit 130 executes error processing. This error processing may include two types of processing, as described below. In other words, the control unit 130 judges whether the state immediately before receiving the interrupt request was before the charging current was changed from the first current value to the second current value, and if the state immediately before receiving the interrupt request was before the charging current was changed from the first current value to the second current value, the control unit 130 executes permanent failure processing. On the other hand, if the state immediately before receiving the interrupt request was after the charging current was changed from the first current value to the second current value, the control unit 130 executes charging error processing.

[0346] Specifically, in step M43, the control unit 130 determines whether the total charging time obtained from the charging circuit 20 in step M41 is shorter than a reference time, and if the total charging time is shorter than the reference time, the control unit 130 executes permanent failure processing as one type of error processing in step SM44. For example, as the permanent failure processing, the control unit 130 may execute processing to transition the aerosol generation device AGD or the power supply unit PSU to an unusable state. This may be equivalent to transitioning the aerosol generation device AGD or the power supply unit PSU to a permanent failure mode as described above. The control unit 130 may, for example, instruct the charging circuit 20 to 2 By sending a command to prohibit all operations in the power pass mode via the C interface, the output of voltage from the SYS terminal and SW terminal of the charging circuit 20 can be stopped. This cuts off the supply of power to the control unit 130, causing the control unit 130 to enter an inoperable state. This operation prohibits charging and discharging of the power source BT that is determined to have reached a deep discharge state, thereby contributing to improving safety.

[0347] On the other hand, if the total charging time acquired from the charging circuit 20 in step M41 is not shorter than the reference time, in step M45, the control unit 130 executes a charging error process as another error process. The charging error process may include a process of prohibiting charging of the power source BT and supply of power to the heater HT. The charging error process may include a process of prompting the user to perform an operation for resetting or restarting using the notification unit NU. When the control unit 130 is reset or restarted, the control unit 130 may enter a sleep mode. In this case, the user can charge the power source BT again by reconnecting the USB cable to the USB connector. Also, if the power source BT is in a normal state, power can be supplied to the heater HT.

[0348] As described above, the control unit 130 can be configured to execute error processing when the charging circuit 20 (voltage supply circuit) ends charging before the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT detected based on the potential supplied to the PC2 terminal exceeds the second threshold. When the time required for the charging circuit 20 to charge the power source BT is shorter than the reference time, the control unit 130 can prohibit the charging of the power source BT and the supply of power to the heater HT as error processing, and in this case, the state in which the charging of the power source BT and the supply of power to the heater HT are prohibited can be made unrecoverable. When the time required for the charging circuit 20 to charge the power source BT is not shorter than the reference time, the control unit 130 can prohibit the charging of the power source BT and the supply of power to the heater HT as error processing, and in this case, the state in which the charging of the power source BT and the supply of power to the heater HT are prohibited can be released by restarting or resetting the control unit 130.

[0349] The embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 28, 29, 29A to 29F, and 30 to 32 also has the following aspects.

[0350] The control unit 130 has a PC2 terminal as a first terminal for receiving information correlated with the state of the power supply BT, and can obtain a first index corresponding to the information supplied to the PC2 terminal. The first information is an index indicating the state of the power supply BT.

[0351] The measurement circuit 100 has a VBAT terminal as a second terminal for receiving information correlated with the state of the power supply BT, and can generate a second indicator according to the information supplied to the VBAT terminal and provide the second indicator to the control unit 130. The second indicator is provided to the control unit 130 by I 2 This can be done using the C interface.

[0352] The control unit 130 can control the charging operation of the power source BT according to the first index and the second index. For example, steps M23, M24, M25, and M26 in FIG. 31 are an example of a sequence for controlling the charging operation of the power source BT based on a first index corresponding to information supplied to the PC2 terminal of the control unit 130. Also, steps M28, M29, M30, and M31 in FIG. 31 are an example of a sequence for controlling the charging operation of the power source BT based on a second index generated by the measurement circuit 100 and provided to the control unit 130. It is extremely difficult to determine the state of the power source BT that is not in a normal state using only one index. According to this configuration, the control unit 130 obtains the state of the power source BT from the first index and the second index, so that it can perform appropriate charging even for a power source BT that is not in a normal state.

[0353] The charging circuit 20 may be understood as a charging circuit capable of operating in a first mode in which the power source BT is charged with a first current value smaller than a predetermined current value, and in a second mode in which the power source BT is charged with a second current value larger than the predetermined current value.

[0354] When at least one of the first index and the second index indicates that the power source BT is in an over-discharged state, the control unit 130 can control the charging operation of the power source BT by the charging circuit 20 so that the power source BT is charged in the first mode (step C12). It is not easy to distinguish with high accuracy whether the power source BT is in an over-discharged state. With this configuration, even if one of the first index and the second index cannot detect the over-discharged state of the power source BT, if the other can detect the over-discharged state, the power source BT is charged in the first charging mode. In other words, a high-rate charging is not performed on the power source BT that may be in an over-discharged state, so that the power source BT in an over-discharged state does not break down due to high-rate charging.

[0355] Alternatively, when at least one of the first index and the second index indicates that the overdischarge state of the power source BT has been resolved, the control unit 130 may control the charging operation of the power source BT by the charging circuit 20 so that the power source BT is charged in the second mode (steps M26 and M31). During charging of the power source BT, the control unit 130 detects the potential of the positive electrode of the power source BT and information on the output voltage of the power source BT (V BAT Forward voltage V of the body diode BDD F The influence of the forward voltage V F Since the first and second indices vary depending on the temperature and the charging current value, it is not easy to determine whether the over-discharged state of the power supply BT has been resolved using only one of them. With this configuration, even if one of the first and second indices cannot detect the elimination of the over-discharged state of the power supply BT, if the other can detect the elimination, the power supply BT is charged in the second charging mode. In other words, the elimination of the over-discharged state of the power supply BT is less likely to be overlooked, so that the remaining capacity of the power supply BT, which has returned to a normal state, can be quickly restored.

[0356] Alternatively, when at least one of the first and second indicators indicates that the power source BT is in an over-discharged state, the control unit 130 may control the charging operation of the power source BT by the charging circuit 20 so that the power source BT is charged in the first mode (step C21), and when at least one of the first and second indicators indicates that the over-discharged state of the power source BT has been resolved, the control unit 130 may control the charging operation of the power source BT by the charging circuit 20 so that the power source BT is charged in the second mode (steps M26, M31).

[0357] In the above example, the first index and the second index are the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT or the output voltage of the power supply BT, which are indexes that can be compared on the same scale. Also, as described above, in the above example, the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT is approximately equal to the output voltage of the power supply BT.

[0358] As illustrated by M23 to M31 in FIG. 31, the control unit 130 may be configured to control the charging operation based on the first index when the first transistor (first switch) SD is open, and to control the charging operation based on the second index when the first transistor (first switch) SD is closed. Here, the VBAT terminal of the measurement circuit 100 may be directly connected to the first path PT1 (positive electrode of the power supply BT). Meanwhile, the PC2 terminal of the control unit 130 may be connected to the first path PT1 (positive electrode of the power supply BT) via a transistor such as a PMOS transistor SBVC and / or a voltage divider circuit configured of resistors R11 and R12. Alternatively, from another perspective, the PC2 terminal of the control unit 130 may be connected to the first path PT1 (positive electrode of the power supply BT) via an analog circuit. Therefore, the measurement circuit 100 has a higher accuracy in detecting or measuring the potential of the positive electrode of the power supply BT or the output voltage of the power supply BT than the control unit 130. Therefore, the first transistor (first switch) SD is closed, and the forward voltage V F The state where the effect of the forward voltage V F In the state where the error factor due to the measurement circuit 100 is eliminated), it is advantageous for the control unit 130 to control the charging operation based on the second indicator provided by the measurement circuit 100.

[0359] The notification unit NU can notify information regarding the remaining amount of the power source BT, and the control unit 130 can be configured to acquire a third indicator indicating the remaining amount of the power source BT (e.g., remaining capacity, SOC, etc.) from the measurement circuit as the state of the power source BT, and to cause the notification unit NU to notify information corresponding to the third indicator.

[0360] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention.

[0361] This application claims priority based on Japanese patent application No. 2021-079754, filed on May 10, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

1. A power supply unit for an aerosol generating device, comprising: a connector to which a heater is connected for heating the aerosol source using power supplied from a power source; a control unit having a terminal to which a potential corresponding to a potential of the positive electrode of the power source is supplied, the control unit controlling the supply of power to the heater and the charging of the power source; a switch disposed in a path through which a current output from the power supply flows, the switch being capable of cutting off discharge of the power supply; a protection circuit that opens the switch so as to cut off discharge of the power source in response to the potential of the positive electrode falling below a first level; The control unit increases a charging current of the power supply in response to the potential of the positive electrode detected based on the potential supplied to the terminal exceeding a second level that is greater than the first level due to charging of the power supply.

2. 2. The power supply unit according to claim 1, further comprising a rectifying element connected in parallel with the switch so as to be able to supply a charging current to the power supply.

3. 3. The power supply unit of claim 2, wherein the rectifying element is a body diode associated with the switch.

4. 4. The power supply unit according to claim 2, wherein the protection circuit is supplied with the output voltage of the power supply regardless of the state of the switch.

5. The power supply unit according to claim 2 , wherein the power supply to the control unit is cut off by opening the switch.

6. 6. The power supply unit according to claim 2, wherein a difference between the second level and the first level is greater than a forward voltage of the rectifier element.

7. 7. The power supply unit according to claim 1, wherein a potential obtained by dividing a potential of the positive electrode of the power supply is supplied to the terminal.

8. 8. The power supply unit according to claim 2, wherein the path includes a first conductive path connected to the positive terminal of the power supply and a second conductive path connected to the negative terminal of the power supply, and the switch is disposed in the second conductive path.

9. a voltage supply circuit that uses a voltage supplied from an external device to supply a first voltage between the first conductive path and the second conductive path for charging the power source and generates a second voltage for operating the control unit; The power supply unit according to claim 8 , wherein the control unit controls the charging of the power supply by controlling the voltage supply circuit.

10. 10. The power supply unit according to claim 9, wherein the voltage supply circuit includes: a charging circuit that generates a third voltage in addition to the first voltage using a voltage supplied from the external device; and a transformer circuit that converts the third voltage output from the charging circuit into the second voltage.

11. 11. The power supply unit according to claim 9, wherein the control unit executes error processing when the voltage supply circuit terminates charging before the potential of the positive electrode detected based on the potential supplied to the terminal exceeds the second level.

12. 12. The power supply unit according to claim 11, wherein the control unit prohibits charging of the power supply and supply of power to the heater as the error processing when the time required for the voltage supply circuit to charge the power supply is shorter than a reference time.

13. The power supply unit according to claim 12 , wherein the state in which charging of the power source and supply of power to the heater are prohibited as the error processing cannot be released.

14. 13. The power supply unit according to claim 12, wherein when the time required for the voltage supply circuit to charge the power source is not shorter than the reference time, the control unit cancels a state in which charging of the power source and supply of power to the heater are prohibited as the error processing by restarting the control unit.

15. 15. The power supply unit of claim 1, wherein the protection circuit closes the switch in response to the potential of the positive electrode exceeding a third level that is greater than the first level.

16. A measurement circuit for measuring a voltage of the power supply is further provided, 16. The power supply unit according to claim 15, wherein the control unit increases a charging current of the power supply in response to the potential of the positive electrode measured by the measurement circuit exceeding a fourth level lower than the second level after the protection circuit closes the switch.

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