Power supply unit for aerosol-generating apparatus

Abstract

To provide an aerosol-generating apparatus capable of materializing electricity saving and stable operation.SOLUTION: A power supply unit for an aerosol-generating apparatus generating aerosol added by flavor includes: a heating portion for heating a flavor source; a power source capable of supplying the heating portion with electric power; a temperature sensor which contacts or approximates the heating portion or uses the heating portion itself; an operational amplifier which connects a power source terminal to the power source and connects a non-inverting input terminal or inverting input terminal to the temperature sensor; a switch can open / close electric connection between the power source and the power source terminal; an operation part that can be operated by a user; and a controller which can control opening / closing of the switch on the basis of operation of the operation portion.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes an electronic cigarette temperature control system that includes a power supply device, a heating element, and a controller.

[0003] Patent document 2 describes a vaporizer that includes a controller coupled to a heater and configured to heat the heater to a certain temperature, and a mouthpiece configured to deliver heated air and a vaporized substance.

[0004] Patent document 3 describes an electronic cigarette that includes an atomizer, a microcontroller, a power source electrically connected to the microcontroller and the atomizer, and a mass airflow sensor electrically connected to the microcontroller. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 6667690 [Patent Document 2] Japan Special Publication No. 2019-523037 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-71897 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an aerosol generating device that can achieve power saving and stable operation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The power supply unit of an aerosol generating device of one embodiment of the present invention is a power supply unit of an aerosol generating device that generates a flavored aerosol, and includes a heating section that heats a flavor source, a power supply capable of supplying power to the heating section, a temperature sensor that is in contact with or close to the heating section, or that uses the heating section itself, an operational amplifier whose power supply terminal is connected to the power supply and whose non-inverting input terminal or inverting input terminal is connected to the temperature sensor, a switch that can open and close the electrical connection between the power supply and the power supply terminal, an operation section that can be operated by a user, and a controller configured to control the opening and closing of the switch based on an operation on the operation section. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to realize power saving and stable operation. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the aerosol generating device 200. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the aerosol generating device 200. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the aerosol generating device 200. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a left side view of the internal unit 2A. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a right side view of the internal unit 2A. [Figure 6] 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a heating section 60 and a circuit section 70 of the inner unit 2A. FIG. [Figure 7] 2 is a diagram showing a front surface 201 of the main substrate 20. FIG. [Figure 8] 2 is a diagram showing the rear surface 202 of the main board 20. FIG. [Figure 9] 1 is a plan view seen in a direction perpendicular to the element mounting surface of the puff sensor substrate 21 (in other words, in the thickness direction of the puff sensor substrate 21). [Figure 10] 10 is an exploded perspective view of the puff sensor substrate 21, the sensor holding portion 55, and the suction sensor 15 shown in FIG. [Figure 11]2 is a perspective view of the chassis 50 with the sensor holding portion 55 removed. FIG. [Figure 12] 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a circuit provided on a main board 20. FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram showing electronic components involved in the operation in a heating mode extracted from the circuit shown in FIG. 12. [Figure 14] 13 is a circuit diagram showing electronic components related to heating control of the seat heater HTR and the liquid heater, drive control of the vibration motor 13, and drive control of the LED 21D, extracted from the circuit shown in FIG. 12. [Figure 15] FIG. 14 is a circuit diagram corresponding to FIG. 13 in the case where FF9 is omitted. [Figure 16] 14 is a circuit diagram corresponding to FIG. 13 in which FF9 and AND gate 10 are omitted. [Figure 17] 7 is an exploded perspective view of a heating unit 60 and a flow path forming body 19 shown in FIG. 6. FIG. [Figure 18] 18 is a development view of the heater FPC 24 shown in FIG. 17. [Figure 19] FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram showing electronic components related to the restart of the MCU 6 extracted from the circuit shown in FIG. 12. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a modification of the restarting circuit RBT shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] The power supply unit of the aerosol generation device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below. First, the aerosol generation device including the power supply unit of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0011] (Aerosol generating device) The aerosol generating device 200 is a device for generating an aerosol to which flavor has been added without combustion and for inhaling the generated aerosol. The aerosol generating device 200 is preferably a size that fits in the hand, and has a rounded, approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape, for example, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The shape of the aerosol generating device 200 is not limited to this, and may be a rod shape, an egg shape, or the like. In the following description, the three orthogonal directions in the aerosol generating device 200 are referred to as the up-down direction, the front-rear direction, and the left-right direction in the order of length. In addition, in the following description, for convenience, the front, rear, left, right, upper, and lower directions are defined as shown in Figs. 1 to 8, and the front is indicated as Fr, the rear as Rr, the left side as L, the right side as R, the upper side as U, and the lower side as D.

[0012] 3, the aerosol generation device 200 includes a power supply unit 100, a first cartridge 110, and a second cartridge 120. The first cartridge 110 and the second cartridge 120 are detachable from the power supply unit 100. In other words, the first cartridge 110 and the second cartridge 120 are each replaceable.

[0013] (Power supply unit) The power supply unit 100 includes an internal unit 2A and a case 3a, with at least a portion of the internal unit 2A housed in the case 3a.

[0014] The case 3a is composed of a first case 3A and a second case 3B that are detachable in the left-right direction (thickness direction), and the first case 3A and the second case 3B are assembled in the left-right direction (thickness direction) to form the front, rear, left and right sides of the power supply unit 100. Specifically, the first case 3A is supported on the left side of a chassis 50 (described later) included in the internal unit 2A, and the second case 3B is supported on the right side of the chassis 50, so that the internal unit 2A is housed in the case 3. A capsule holder 4A is provided in the front of the upper surface of the power supply unit 100. The capsule holder 4A is provided with an opening 4a that opens upward. The capsule holder 4A is configured so that the second cartridge 120 can be inserted from the opening 4a. A mouthpiece 130 is provided in a detachable manner in the second cartridge 120.

[0015] The upper surface of the power supply unit 100 is formed by an OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) cover 5a arranged behind the opening 4a, and the lower surface of the power supply unit 100 is formed by a lower cover 8a provided with a charging terminal 1 and a rotatable lower lid 7a.

[0016] Between the top and rear surfaces of the power supply unit 100, there is provided an inclined surface that slopes downward toward the rear. An operation unit that can be operated by the user is provided on the inclined surface. The operation unit in this embodiment is a button-type switch BT, but may also be composed of a touch panel or the like. The operation unit is used to start / shut off / operate a Micro Controller Unit (MCU) 6 (described later) and various sensors, reflecting the user's intention to use the device.

[0017] The charging terminal 1 accessible from the lower cover 8a is configured to be electrically connectable to an external power source (not shown) capable of supplying power for charging the power source ba included in the battery pack BP to the power source unit 100. The charging terminal 1 is, for example, a receptacle into which a mating plug can be inserted. The charging terminal 1 can be a receptacle into which various USB terminals or the like can be inserted. As an example, in this embodiment, the charging terminal 1 is a USB Type-C shaped receptacle.

[0018] The charging terminal 1 may also be configured to include, for example, a power receiving coil and to be capable of contactlessly receiving power transmitted from an external power source. In this case, the method of power transmission (Wireless Power Transfer) may be an electromagnetic induction type, a magnetic resonance type, or a combination of the electromagnetic induction type and the magnetic resonance type. As another example, the charging terminal 1 may be connectable to various USB terminals and may include the above-mentioned power receiving coil.

[0019] As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the internal unit 2A includes a battery pack BP, a chassis 50, a heating section 60, a circuit section 70, a notification section, and various sensors.

[0020] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the chassis 50 comprises a cylindrical cartridge holding portion 51 located at the front, a semi-cylindrical battery holding portion 52 located at the rear with the left side cut out, a plate-shaped connecting portion 53 connecting the cartridge holding portion 51 and the battery holding portion 52, a motor holding portion 54 located below and to the right of the connecting portion 53 and straddling the cartridge holding portion 51 and the battery holding portion 52, and a sensor holding portion 55 located to the left rear of the cartridge holding portion 51.

[0021] The first cartridge 110 is inserted into the cartridge holding section 51 from below with the lower lid 7a open. When the lower lid 7a is closed with the first cartridge 110 inserted, the first cartridge 110 is accommodated in the cartridge holding section 51. A capsule holder 4A is attached to the upper part of the cartridge holding section 51. A vertically long through hole is provided in the front of the cartridge holding section 51, and the remaining amount of the aerosol source in the first cartridge 110 and light from an LED (Light Emitting Diode) 21D (described later) can be visually observed from a remaining amount confirmation window 3w provided at the joint between the first case 3A and the second case 3B. The first cartridge 110 will be described later.

[0022] A battery pack BP is disposed in the battery holding unit 52. The battery pack BP includes a power source ba and a power source thermistor for detecting the temperature of the power source ba. The power source ba is a rechargeable secondary battery, an electric double layer capacitor, or the like, and is preferably a lithium ion secondary battery. The electrolyte of the power source ba may be one of a gel electrolyte, an electrolytic solution, a solid electrolyte, and an ionic liquid, or a combination of these.

[0023] The vibration motor 13 is disposed in the motor holding portion 54. The sensor holding portion 55 is disposed with the suction sensor 15, which will be described later, that outputs in response to the user's inhalation action (puffing action).

[0024] As shown in FIG. 6, the heating unit 60 includes a cylindrical heat transfer tube 61 and a seat heater HTR wound around the heat transfer tube 61. The capsule holder 4A described above is provided around the seat heater HTR at a distance. An air layer between the capsule holder 4A and the seat heater HTR functions as a heat insulator. The heat transfer tube 61 accommodates the lower part of the second cartridge 120 inserted from the opening 4a of the capsule holder 4A, and the lower part of the second cartridge 120 is heated by the seat heater HTR. As a result, compared to the case where the heating unit 60 is not present, the flavor source stored in the second cartridge 120 is more likely to release the flavor, and the flavor is more likely to be added to the aerosol.

[0025] The heating unit 60 may be any element capable of heating the second cartridge 120. Examples of elements include a resistance heating element, a ceramic heater, and an induction heating type heater. As the resistance heating element, for example, one having a PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient) characteristic in which the resistance value increases with an increase in temperature is preferably used. Alternatively, one having an NTC (Negative Temperature Coefficient) characteristic in which the resistance value decreases with an increase in temperature may be used. The heating unit 60 has a function of defining a flow path for the air supplied to the second cartridge 120 and a function of heating the second cartridge 120.

[0026] The notification unit notifies various information such as the charging state of the power source ba, the remaining amount in the first cartridge 110, and the remaining amount in the second cartridge 120. The notification unit of this embodiment includes an LED 21D and a vibration motor 13. The notification unit may be configured with a light-emitting element such as the LED 21D, may be configured with a vibration element such as the vibration motor 13, or may be configured with a sound output element. The notification unit may be a combination of two or more elements selected from the light-emitting element, the vibration element, and the sound output element.

[0027] The various sensors include a suction sensor 15 that detects a puffing action (inhalation action) of the user, a heater temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the seat heater HTR, and the like.

[0028] The suction sensor 15 is composed of, for example, a condenser microphone, a pressure sensor, a flow rate sensor, etc. A plurality of suction sensors 15 may be arranged at a distance from each other, and the puffing operation may be detected from the difference in their output values. The heater temperature sensor includes a first thermistor th1 and a second thermistor th2. It is preferable that the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 are in contact with or close to the seat heater HTR. If the seat heater HTR has a PTC characteristic or an NTC characteristic, the seat heater HTR itself may be used as the heater temperature sensor. Although the heater temperature sensor is composed of two thermistors, it may be composed of one thermistor.

[0029] The circuit unit 70 includes four rigid circuit boards, three FPCs (Flexible Printed Circuits), multiple ICs (Integrated Circuits), and multiple elements. The four circuit boards include a main board 20, a puff sensor board 21, a pogo pin board 22, and an OLED board 26. The three FPCs include a main FPC 23, a heater FPC 24, and an OLED FPC 25.

[0030] The main board 20 is disposed between the battery pack BP and the rear surface of the case 3a (the rear surface of the power supply unit 100) so that the element mounting surface faces the front-rear direction. The main board 20 is configured by stacking multiple layers (six layers in this embodiment) of boards, and electronic components (elements) such as the MCU 6 and the charging IC 3 are mounted thereon.

[0031] The details will be described later with reference to FIG. 12 and the like, but the MCU 6 is a control device that is connected to various sensor devices such as the suction sensor 15, an operation unit, a notification unit, and a memory that stores the number or load of puffing operations and the time of energization of the seat heater HTR, and performs various controls of the aerosol generating device 200. Specifically, the MCU 6 is mainly composed of a processor, and further includes a storage medium such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) required for the operation of the processor and a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores various information. The processor in this specification is, for example, an electric circuit that combines circuit elements such as semiconductor elements. Note that some of the elements connected to the MCU 6 (for example, the suction sensor 15 and the memory) may be provided inside the MCU 6 as functions of the MCU 6 itself.

[0032] The charging IC 3 is an IC that controls charging of the power source ba using power input from the charging terminal 1, and supplies the power of the power source ba to electronic components on the main board 20, etc.

[0033] The main board 20 will be described in more detail with reference to Figs. 7 and 8. Hereinafter, the surface of the main board 20 facing rearward will be referred to as the front surface 201 for convenience, and the surface of the main board 20 facing forward will be referred to as the back surface 202 for convenience. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the front surface 201 of the main board 20, and Fig. 8 is a diagram showing the back surface 202 of the main board 20. The main board 20 is a plate extending vertically, and Figs. 7 and 8 show an upper side surface 20SU, which is the upper side surface, and a lower side surface 20SD, which is the lower side surface, as side surfaces perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the main board 20. In addition, a left side surface 20SL, which is the left side surface, and a right side surface 20SR, which is the right side surface, are shown as side surfaces perpendicular to the lateral direction of the main board 20.

[0034] As shown in Fig. 8, the MCU 6 and the charging IC 3 are mounted on the back surface 202 of the main board 20 together with the charging terminal 1. A debug connector 20E is also mounted on the back surface 202. The debug connector 20E is an interface for rewriting the program of the MCU 6 from an external device such as a personal computer, and is, for example, one that complies with the SWD (Serial Wire Debug) standard. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 7, an OLED connector 20C, a heater connector 20B, a main connector 20A, and a battery connector 20D that is connected to the battery pack BP via lead wires 16 (see Fig. 6) are mounted on the front surface 201 of the main board 20.

[0035] 4 and 6, the puff sensor board 21 is disposed in the sensor holding portion 55 of the chassis 50 so that the element mounting surface faces the right front and left rear. On the puff sensor board 21, the suction sensor 15 is mounted.

[0036] 6, the OLED substrate 26 is disposed between the battery pack BP and the OLED cover 5a so that the element mounting surface faces up and down. The OLED substrate 26 has an OLED panel 17 mounted thereon.

[0037] As shown in Fig. 6, the pogo pin board 22 is disposed on the lower lid 7a so that the element mounting surface faces up and down when the lower lid 7a is closed. The pogo pin board 22 is provided with input side contacts P1 to P3 to which power is supplied from the main board 20 via the main FPC 23, and pogo pins p1 to p3 which are connectors electrically connected to a load provided in the first cartridge 110. The input side contacts P1 to P3 are electrically connected to the main FPC 23 only when the lower lid 7a is closed. The pogo pins p1 to p3 are provided in three numbers at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and at least two pogo pins are configured to be electrically connected to the + terminal and - terminal of the first cartridge 110 housed in the cartridge holding portion 51.

[0038] The left side of the battery pack BP held in the battery holding portion 52 is exposed from the semi-cylindrical battery holding portion 52. In the space between the left side of the battery pack BP and the first case 3A, which is formed by cutting out the battery holding portion 52, the main FPC 23, the heater FPC 24, and the OLED FPC 25 are arranged so as to overlap each other, as shown in FIGS.

[0039] Of the three FPCs, the main FPC 23 is arranged closest to the battery pack BP, the OLED FPC 25 is arranged so as to overlap a part of the main FPC 23, and the heater FPC 24 is arranged so as to overlap the OLED FPC 25. That is, the heater FPC 24 to which the largest power is supplied is arranged furthest from the battery pack BP among the three FPCs. The main FPC 23 has a substantially cross shape when unfolded, and is folded back at the portion where it overlaps with the heater FPC 24. That is, the main FPC 23 is a folded wiring that is folded back. The folded back portion of the main FPC 23 is likely to rise up in the left-right direction, but the heater FPC 24 and the OLED FPC 25 overlap this portion to prevent such rising up. The switch BT is directly mounted on the main FPC 23 without a rigid board or the like.

[0040] One end of the OLED FPC 25 is connected to the OLED connector 20C of the main substrate 20, and the other end is connected to the OLED substrate .

[0041] The main FPC 23 connects the main connector 20A of the main board 20, the switch BT of the operation section, the connector 21B of the puff sensor board 21, and the input side contacts P1 to P3 of the pogo pin board 22.

[0042] The heater FPC 24 has one end connected to the heater connector 20B of the main board 20, and the other end integrally formed with the sheet heater HTR.

[0043] (1st cartridge) The first cartridge 110 includes, inside a cylindrical cartridge case 111, a reservoir for storing an aerosol source, an electrical load for atomizing the aerosol source, a wick for drawing the aerosol source from the reservoir to the load, and an aerosol flow path through which the aerosol generated by atomizing the aerosol source flows toward the second cartridge 120. The aerosol source includes a liquid such as glycerin, propylene glycol, or water.

[0044] The load is a heating element that heats the aerosol source without combustion by power supplied from the power source ba via the pogo pins p1 to p3 of the pogo pin substrate 22, and is configured, for example, by an electric heating wire (coil) wound at a predetermined pitch. The load atomizes the aerosol source by heating it. As the load, a heating resistor, a ceramic heater, an induction heating heater, etc. can be used. Hereinafter, the load provided in the first cartridge 110 will also be referred to as a liquid heater.

[0045] The aerosol flow path is connected to second cartridge 120 via flow path forming body 19 (see FIG. 6) housed in cartridge holding portion 51 of chassis 50.

[0046] (2nd cartridge) The second cartridge 120 stores a flavor source. The second cartridge 120 is heated by the sheet heater HTR, whereby the flavor source is heated. The second cartridge 120 adds flavor to the aerosol by passing the aerosol generated by atomizing the aerosol source by the liquid heater through the flavor source. As the raw material pieces constituting the flavor source, cut tobacco or a molded product obtained by molding tobacco raw material into granules can be used. The flavor source may be composed of plants other than tobacco (e.g., mint, Chinese medicine, herbs, etc.). The flavor source may be imparted with a flavoring such as menthol.

[0047] The aerosol generating device 200 can generate a flavored aerosol by using the aerosol source and the flavor source. That is, the aerosol source and the flavor source configure an aerosol generating source that generates a flavored aerosol.

[0048] The aerosol generation source in the aerosol generation device 200 is a part that is replaced and used by the user. For example, this part is provided to the user as one set of one first cartridge 110 and one or more (for example, five) second cartridges 120. Also, the battery pack BP can be repeatedly charged and discharged as long as the power source ba does not deteriorate significantly. Therefore, in the aerosol generation device 200, the power supply unit 100 or the battery pack BP is replaced least frequently, the first cartridge 110 is replaced next least frequently, and the second cartridge 120 is replaced most frequently. Note that the first cartridge 110 and the second cartridge 120 may be integrated into one cartridge. A configuration in which a medicine or the like is added to the aerosol source instead of the flavor source may also be used.

[0049] In the aerosol generating device 200 configured in this manner, air flowing in from an air intake port (not shown) provided in the case 3a or the internal unit 2A passes near the load of the first cartridge 110. The load atomizes the aerosol source drawn from the reservoir by the wick. The atomized aerosol flows through the aerosol flow path together with the air flowing in from the intake port, and is supplied to the second cartridge 120 via the flow path forming body 19. The aerosol supplied to the second cartridge 120 passes through the flavor source to be flavored, and is supplied to the mouthpiece 131 of the mouthpiece 130.

[0050] The connectors mounted on the main board 20 supported by the chassis 50 will be described in detail below. The connector of the main FPC 23, the connector of the heater FPC 24, the connector of the OLED FPC 25, and the lead wire 16 are inserted in the right direction into the main connector 20A, the heater connector 20B, the OLED connector 20C, and the battery connector 20D mounted on the front surface 201 of the main board 20 shown in FIG. 7. Insertion in the right direction refers to insertion from left to right. The connector of the main FPC 23, the connector of the heater FPC 24, the connector of the OLED FPC 25, and the lead wire 16 are respectively routed from the position of the connector to be inserted across the left side surface 20SL of the main board 20 to the battery pack BP side. The connector of the connection cable (not shown) is inserted in the left direction into the debug connector 20E mounted on the back surface 202 of the main board 20 shown in FIG. 8. Insertion in the left direction refers to insertion from right to left. The connector of the USB cable (not shown) is inserted in the upward direction into the charging terminal 1 mounted on the back surface 202 of the main board 20. An insertion upwards refers to an insertion from bottom to top.

[0051] In this way, on the main board 20, four connectors (OLED connector 20C, heater connector 20B, main connector 20A, and battery connector 20D) to which wiring (FPC and lead wires) are always connected, and a debug connector 20E and a charging terminal 1 to which wiring (connection cable and USB cable) are connected only when necessary are mounted on different element mounting surfaces. This makes it easy to route the wiring connected to the above four connectors. In particular, by making the insertion direction of the wiring to the above four connectors the same as described above, it becomes even easier to route the wiring, and design such as reducing excess space becomes easier, so that the power supply unit 100 can be made smaller.

[0052] Moreover, the insertion direction of the wiring for the four connectors mounted on the front surface 201 is common to the right direction. On the other hand, the insertion direction of the wiring for the debug connector 20E mounted on the back surface 202 is different from the above four connectors (specifically, the opposite direction). This makes it possible to prevent the connection cable from interfering with the wiring inserted into the above four connectors when inserting the connection cable into the debug connector 20E. Also, the insertion direction of the wiring for the charging terminal 1 is different from the insertion direction of the wiring for the debug connector 20E (specifically, the direction perpendicular to the insertion direction). This makes it possible to prevent interference between these two cables even when a connection cable is inserted into the debug connector 20E and a USB cable is connected to the charging terminal 1.

[0053] Moreover, the debug connector 20E can insert and remove the connection cable by removing only the second case 3B of the case 3a from the chassis 50. In other words, the debug connector 20E can insert and remove the connection cable even when the first case 3A of the case 3a remains attached. Moreover, in a state where only the second case 3B of the case 3a is removed from the chassis 50 (while the first case 3A remains attached), the four connectors and the wiring connected thereto are not exposed. As a result, when inserting and removing the connection cable into and from the debug connector 20E, it is possible to prevent a person from touching the four connectors on the surface 201 and the wiring connected thereto.

[0054] 3, the surface 201 of the main board 20 faces the opposite side to the battery pack BP. In other words, the distance between the surface 201 of the main board 20 and the rear surface of the case 3a is smaller than the distance between the rear surface 202 of the main board 20 and the front surface of the case 3a. Furthermore, no other components constituting the internal unit 2A are present between the surface 201 of the main board 20 and the inner wall of the case 3a (the rear surface of the case 3a) facing the surface 201. This minimizes the distance between the surface 201 and the case 3a, thereby further reducing the size of the power supply unit 100.

[0055] Next, the mechanism for holding the suction sensor 15 in the case 3a will be described in detail. Fig. 9 and Fig. 10 are diagrams showing detailed configurations of the puff sensor board 21 and the sensor holding part 55. Fig. 9 is a plan view seen in a direction perpendicular to the element mounting surface of the puff sensor board 21 (in other words, in the thickness direction of the puff sensor board 21). Fig. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the puff sensor board 21, the sensor holding part 55, and the suction sensor 15 shown in Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the chassis 50 excluding the sensor holding part 55.

[0056] 10, the suction sensor 15 has a generally cylindrical outer shape and includes a fixed electrode 151 arranged at one axial end, a movable electrode 152 arranged at the other axial end and movable in the axial direction relative to the fixed electrode 151, and a ring-shaped side surface 153. A terminal group 15A including an output terminal, a ground terminal, and a power supply terminal of the suction sensor 15 is provided protruding from the surface of the suction sensor 15 on the fixed electrode 151 side.

[0057] 9 and 10, the puff sensor substrate 21 is in the shape of a plate extending in the vertical direction. Hereinafter, for convenience, the surface of the puff sensor substrate 21 opposite to the sensor holding portion 55 side will be referred to as the front surface 214, and the surface of the puff sensor substrate 21 facing the sensor holding portion 55 side will be referred to as the back surface 215. In addition, the length of the puff sensor substrate 21 in the short side direction will be referred to as the width.

[0058] As shown in Fig. 9, the puff sensor substrate 21 includes a first portion 211 that is disposed at one end (lower end) in the longitudinal direction and has the narrowest width, a third portion 213 that is disposed above and spaced apart from the first portion 211 and has the widest width, and a second portion 212 that connects the first portion 211 and the third portion 213. The width of the second portion 212 increases from the first portion 211 toward the third portion 213, and is wider than the width of the first portion 211 and narrower than the width of the third portion 213. In the puff sensor substrate 21, the width changes gradually due to the second portion 212, so that the conductive pattern that passes near the edge of the puff sensor substrate 21 does not have an acute curve at the portion where the width changes. This reduces the parasitic resistance and parasitic inductance of the conductive pattern, and reduces heat and noise that may be generated on the puff sensor substrate 21. More specifically, in the planar view of Figure 9, the angle θ1 of the vertex formed by the third portion 213 and the second portion 212 is greater than 90 degrees, and the angle θ2 of the vertex formed by the second portion 212 and the first portion 211 is greater than 90 degrees, which makes it easy to arrange a conductive pattern that follows this angle and prevents the conductive pattern from having an acute angle.

[0059] The suction sensor 15 is mounted on the back surface 215 of the first portion 211. The first portion 211 has three through holes 15B penetrating in the thickness direction. The terminal group 15A of the suction sensor 15 is inserted into the through holes 15B from the back surface 215 side. The puff sensor board 21 is provided with a puff sensor connector 21A, which is electrically connected to the connector 21B, and the terminal group 15A of the suction sensor 15 inserted into the through holes 15B is electrically connected to the puff sensor connector 21A. The output signal of the suction sensor 15 is input to the MCU 6 via the puff sensor connector 21A, the connector 21B, and the main FPC 23 connected to the connector 21B. As shown in FIG. 9, the width of the first portion 211 is small enough to allow the suction sensor 15 to protrude outward. That is, the suction sensor 15 has a portion protruding outward from the puff sensor board 21. Moreover, the width of the suction sensor 15 is the same as the width of the third portion 213. The width of the suction sensor 15 may be smaller than the width of the third portion 213. In this way, by making the width of the third portion 213 equal to or larger than the width of the suction sensor 15, more electronic components can be mounted on the puff sensor substrate 21.

[0060] 11, an opening 51H is formed on the left rear side surface of cartridge holding part 51, which defines a substantially cylindrical cavity for accommodating first cartridge 110. A peripheral portion 51E of opening 51H is slightly recessed, and sensor holding part 55 is fixed to peripheral portion 51E with an adhesive or the like, so that opening 51H is closed by sensor holding part 55.

[0061] Sensor holding portion 55 has a curved shape corresponding to the curved shape of the outer circumferential surface of substantially cylindrical cartridge holding portion 51. In other words, when viewed from above, sensor holding portion 55 has a shape that follows the circumferential direction of cartridge holding portion 51. By making sensor holding portion 55 have such a curved shape, the area inside case 3a can be effectively utilized, which can contribute to the miniaturization of power supply unit 100.

[0062] 10, the sensor holding portion 55 has a protruding portion 550 that protrudes leftward and rearward and extends in the vertical direction. The protruding portion 550 includes an upper portion 551 having a flat surface 551A on which a recess 551B is formed, and a substantially annular lower portion 552 disposed below the upper portion 551. The inner diameter of a through hole 552A formed in the lower portion 552 is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the suction sensor 15.

[0063] When the suction sensor 15 mounted on the puff sensor substrate 21 is pressed into the through hole 552A, the inner circumferential surface of the lower portion 552 comes into contact with the side surface 153 of the suction sensor 15, and the suction sensor 15 and the puff sensor substrate 21 are supported by the sensor holding portion 55 as shown in FIG. 9. In the state shown in FIG. 9, the movable electrode 152 faces the cartridge holding portion 51, so that the suction sensor 15 can detect pressure fluctuations in the internal space of the cartridge holding portion 51. When the user inhales, pressure fluctuations occur in the internal space, so that the suction sensor 15 can detect the user's inhalation. In addition, in the state shown in FIG. 9, the LED 21D mounted on the back surface 215 of the puff sensor substrate 21 faces the recess 551B of the sensor holding portion 55. The sensor holding portion 55 or the recess 551B is made of a light-transmitting material, and the light from the LED 21D passes through the opening 51H of the cartridge holding portion 51 and illuminates the aerosol source of the first cartridge 110 housed in the cartridge holding portion 51. This makes it easier for the user to visually check the remaining amount of the aerosol source of the first cartridge 110 through the remaining amount confirmation window 3w.

[0064] As described above, the side surface 153 of the suction sensor 15 has a portion that protrudes outward from the puff sensor substrate 21. Therefore, after the suction sensor 15 is mounted on the puff sensor substrate 21, the side surface 153 can be grasped and the suction sensor 15 can be easily pressed into the through-hole 552A. This reduces the risk of touching sensitive parts such as the movable electrode 152 and the fixed electrode 151 of the suction sensor 15 with fingers during the manufacture of the power supply unit 100, thereby preventing breakdown of the suction sensor 15.

[0065] 9 and 10, a notch 553 is provided in a portion of the periphery of the lower portion 552 of the sensor holding portion 55. The presence of this notch 553 makes it easier to maintain a gripped state of the side surface 153 of the suction sensor 15 during the process of press-fitting the suction sensor 15 into the through-hole 552A. Therefore, the suction sensor 15 can be more easily press-fitted into the sensor holding portion 55.

[0066] 4, the notch 533 of the sensor holding portion 55 is exposed to the outside when the first case 3A of the cases 3a is removed from the chassis 50. Therefore, compared to a configuration in which the notch 533 is not exposed to the outside when the case 3a is removed from the chassis 50, maintenance of the suction sensor 15 and the installation work on the sensor holding portion 55 can be made easier.

[0067] The sensor holding portion 55 is disposed so that the radial direction (direction along a plane perpendicular to the extending direction of the through hole 552A) of the through hole 552A intersects with two directions (in the example of the figure, the short side direction and the thickness direction) of the power supply unit 100, among the long side direction (up-down direction), the short side direction (front-rear direction), and the thickness direction (left-right direction). For example, assuming that the sensor holding portion 55 is fixed to the rear surface of the cartridge holding portion 51 so that the short side direction coincides with the left-right direction and the long side direction coincides with the up-down direction, the front-rear direction intersects with the radial direction of the through hole 552A, but the up-down direction and the thickness direction are both parallel to the radial direction of the through hole 552A. In such a configuration, the thickness (length in the left-right direction) and width (length in the front-rear direction) of the internal unit 2A are large. In contrast, according to the configuration of this embodiment in which the sensor holding portion 55 is fixed to the diagonally left rear surface of the cartridge holding portion 51, the thickness and width of the internal unit 2A can be reduced, thereby realizing the miniaturization of the power supply unit 100.

[0068] Also, for example, assume that the aerosol generating device 200 has an overall elongated cylindrical shape, and the capsule holder 4A, the cartridge holding part 51, and the battery pack BP are arranged in a straight line. In this case, for example, if it is assumed that the sensor holding part 55 is fixed to the left surface of the cartridge holding part 51 so that the short side direction coincides with the front-rear direction and the long side direction coincides with the up-down direction, the thickness direction intersects with the radial direction of the through hole 552A, but both the up-down direction and the front-rear direction are parallel to the radial direction of the through hole 552A. In such a configuration, the thickness and width of the internal unit 2A are large. In contrast, according to the configuration of this embodiment in which the sensor holding part 55 is fixed to the diagonally left rear surface of the cartridge holding part 51, the thickness and width of the internal unit 2A can be reduced, thereby realizing the miniaturization of the power supply unit 100.

[0069] Mounted on the surface 214 of the puff sensor board 21 are a connector 21B electrically connected to the puff sensor connector 21A and a vibration motor connector 21C described below, a varistor V as a protective component that protects the MCU 6 or other electrical components mounted on the puff sensor board 21 from a signal output from the output terminal of the suction sensor 15, and a capacitor C2 as a protective component that protects the suction sensor 15 from power input to the power terminal of the suction sensor 15. No ICs are mounted on the puff sensor board 21 other than the suction sensor 15. In this way, the puff sensor board 21 does not have any ICs other than the suction sensor 15 that could be a source of noise, allowing the suction sensor 15 to operate stably.

[0070] 9, the capacitor C2 is mounted on the first portion 211. Moreover, the varistor V is mounted across the first portion 211 and the second portion 212. In this way, by mounting the capacitor C2 and the varistor V at a position close to the terminal group 15A of the suction sensor 15 when viewed in the thickness direction of the puff sensor substrate 21, noise input to or output from the suction sensor 15 can be promptly processed by the protective component.

[0071] As described above, the suction sensor 15 supported by the chassis 50 inside the case 3a is not exposed to the outside unless the first case 3A is removed from the chassis 50. In other words, the suction sensor 15 is exposed to the outside only when the first case 3A is removed from the chassis 50. For example, when only the second case 3B is removed from the chassis 50 and the debugging connector 20E is used, the suction sensor 15 is not exposed to the outside, which has the advantage that the suction sensor 15 is less likely to break down.

[0072] (Circuit configuration) Fig. 12 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the circuit provided on the main board 20. In addition to the circuit of the main board 20, Fig. 12 shows the main FPC 23 connected to the main connector 20A of the main board 20, the puff sensor board 21 connected to the main FPC 23, the pogo pin board 22 connected to the main FPC 23, and the battery pack BP connected to the battery connector 20D.

[0073] The wiring indicated by the thick solid line in FIG. 12 is wiring (a wiring connected to a ground provided in the power supply unit 100) that has the same potential as the reference potential (ground potential, hereinafter referred to as 0 V as an example) of the power supply unit 100, and this wiring will be referred to as a ground line below.

[0074] The main board 20 is provided with main ICs, which are electronic components formed by integrating multiple circuit elements into chips, including a protection IC 2, a charging IC 3, an LDO (Low Dropout) regulator (hereinafter referred to as LDO) 4, a boost circuit 5 consisting of a DC / DC converter, an MCU 6, a load switch (hereinafter referred to as LSW) 7 consisting of a combination of capacitors, resistors, transistors, etc., a multiplexer 8, a flip-flop (hereinafter referred to as FF) 9, an AND gate (simply referred to as "AND" in FIG. 12) 10, a boost circuit 11 consisting of a DC / DC converter, an operational amplifier OP1, and an operational amplifier OP2.

[0075] The main board 20 is further provided with switches Q1 to Q9 each configured with a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), resistors R1 to R12, RA, and RB each having a fixed electrical resistance, a capacitor C1, a capacitor C2, a varistor V, a reactor L3 connected to a charging IC3, a reactor L5 connected to a boost circuit 5, and a reactor L11 connected to a boost circuit 11. The switches Q3, Q4, Q7, Q8, and Q9 are each configured with an N-channel MOSFET. The switches Q1, Q2, Q5, and Q6 are each configured with a P-channel MOSFET. The switches Q1 to Q8 are switched between an ON state and an OFF state by controlling the potential of the gate terminal by the MCU 6.

[0076] In Figure 12, symbols are given to various terminals on each IC except for the op-amp. Terminals VCC and VDD mounted on the chip each indicate the high-potential side power supply terminal. Terminals VSS and GND mounted on the chip each indicate the low-potential side (reference potential side) power supply terminal. For chipped electronic components, the difference between the potential of the high-potential side power supply terminal and the potential of the low-potential side power supply terminal becomes the power supply voltage (operating voltage). Chipped electronic components use this power supply voltage to perform various functions.

[0077] In Fig. 12, the terminals GND and VSS of each IC except the operational amplifiers are each connected to the ground line. In addition, the terminal GND of the charging terminal 1, the negative power supply terminal of the operational amplifier OP1, and the negative power supply terminal of the operational amplifier OP2 are each connected to the ground line.

[0078] The battery connector 20D (see the left center of FIG. 12 ) provided on the main board 20 includes a terminal BAT connected to the detection terminal SNS of the charging IC3 and the charging terminal BAT of the charging IC3, a terminal GND connected to the ground line of the main board 20, and a terminal TH3 connected to the terminal P25 of the MCU 6. The terminal BAT of the battery connector 20D is connected to the positive terminal of the power source ba included in the battery pack BP by a lead wire 16. The terminal TH3 of the battery connector 20D is connected to the positive terminal of the power source thermistor th3 included in the battery pack BP by a lead wire 16. The terminal GND of the battery connector 20D is connected to the negative terminal of the power source ba and the negative terminal of the power source thermistor th3 by the lead wire 16.

[0079] The OLED connector 20C (see the lower left area in Figure 12) provided on the main board 20 includes a terminal VCC_R connected to the output terminal VOUT of the boost circuit 5, a terminal VDD connected to the output terminal OUT of the LDO 4, a terminal RSTB connected to the terminal P24 of the MCU 6, a communication terminal T3 connected to the communication terminal P28 of the MCU 6 by a signal line SL, and a terminal VSS connected to the ground line of the main board 20.

[0080] A terminal VCC_R of the OLED connector 20C is connected to a drive voltage supply terminal of the OLED panel 17 by an OLED FPC 25. A terminal VDD of the OLED connector 20C is connected to a power supply terminal of a control IC that controls the OLED panel 17 by an OLED FPC 25. The voltage to be supplied to the drive voltage supply terminal of the OLED panel 17 is, for example, about 15 V, which is higher than the voltage to be supplied to the power supply terminal of the control IC of the OLED panel 17. A terminal VSS of the OLED connector 20C is connected to the OLED panel 17 and each of the ground terminals of the control IC of the OLED panel 17 by an OLED FPC 25. A terminal RSTB of the OLED connector 20C is connected to a terminal for performing a restart in the control IC of the OLED panel 17 by an OLED FPC 25.

[0081] The signal line SL connected to the communication terminal T3 of the OLED connector 20C is also connected to the communication terminal T3 of the charging IC3. This signal line SL enables the MCU6 to communicate with the charging IC3 and with the control IC of the OLED panel 17. This signal line SL is for serial communication, and in reality, multiple signal lines such as a data line for data transmission and a clock line for synchronization are required. Please note that in FIG. 12, the signal line SL is illustrated as a single signal line for simplification. Note that the communication between the MCU6 and the charging IC3 and the control IC of the OLED panel 17 may be performed by parallel communication instead of serial communication.

[0082] The debug connector 20E (see the lower left area in FIG. 12) provided on the main board 20 includes a terminal VMCU connected to the output terminal OUT of the LDO4, a terminal T1 (one terminal in the figure, but actually two terminals) connected to the communication terminal P23 of the MCU6, a terminal T2 (one terminal in the figure, but actually two terminals) connected to the communication terminal P22 of the MCU6, a terminal NRST connected to the terminal P27 of the MCU6, and a terminal GND connected to the ground line of the main board 20. The terminal NRST is also connected to the drain terminal of a switch Q9 whose gate terminal is connected to the drain terminal of the switch Q7 and whose source terminal is connected to the ground line. The debug connector 20E is not used in the normal use state of the aerosol generating device 200, and is used by connecting it to a computer prepared by the manufacturer or seller only when maintenance such as rewriting information (including programs) stored in the MCU6 is required.

[0083] A main connector 20A (see the center right area in FIG. 12) provided on the main board 20 includes a terminal PUFF connected to a terminal P19 of the MCU 6, a terminal LED connected to a drain terminal of a switch Q8 whose gate terminal is connected to a terminal P20 of the MCU 6 and whose source terminal is connected to a ground line, a terminal VIB connected to an output terminal OUT of the LSW7, a terminal VOTG connected to a boost output terminal RN of the charging IC3, a terminal VMCU connected to the output terminal OUT of the LDO4 via a resistor R5, a terminal GND connected to the ground line, a terminal KEY connected to the output terminal OUT of the LDO4 via a voltage divider circuit consisting of a resistor R4 and a resistor R3 connected in series thereto, and a gate terminal VIB connected to the output terminal OUT of the LSW7. The circuit is provided with a terminal HT1 (P1) connected to the drain terminal of a switch Q1 having a gate terminal connected to a terminal P12 of the MCU6 and a source terminal connected to the output terminal VOUT of the boost circuit 11, a drain terminal of a switch Q2 having a gate terminal connected to a terminal P13 of the MCU6 and a source terminal connected to the output terminal VOUT of the boost circuit 11, a terminal HT1 (P2) connected to the drain terminal of a switch Q4 having a gate terminal connected to a terminal P17 of the MCU6 and a source terminal connected to the ground line, and a terminal HT1 (P3) connected to the drain terminal of a switch Q3 having a gate terminal connected to a terminal P18 of the MCU6 and a source terminal connected to the ground line.

[0084] A terminal HT1 (P1) of the main connector 20A is connected to an input contact P1 connected to a pogo pin p1 via the main FPC 23. A terminal HT1 (P2) of the main connector 20A is connected to an input contact P2 connected to a pogo pin p2 via the main FPC 23. A terminal HT1 (P3) of the main connector 20A is connected to an input contact P3 connected to a pogo pin p3 via the main FPC 23. A terminal KEY of the main connector 20A is connected to one end of a switch BT mounted on the main FPC 23 via wiring of the main FPC 23. The other end of the switch BT is connected to the ground line of the main FPC 23.

[0085] The heater connector 20B (see the upper right vicinity in FIG. 12) provided on the main board 20 includes a first thermistor terminal TH1 connected to a positive terminal of a first thermistor th1 mounted on the heater FPC 24 via the wiring of the heater FPC 24, a second thermistor terminal TH2 connected to a positive terminal of a second thermistor th2 mounted on the heater FPC 24 via the wiring of the heater FPC 24, a seat heater terminal HT2 connected to a positive terminal of a seat heater HTR formed by the conductive pattern of the heater FPC 24 via the wiring of the heater FPC 24, and a terminal GND connected to a ground line of the main board 20. The heater FPC 24 is provided with wiring connected to the negative terminal of the first thermistor th1, the negative terminal of the second thermistor th2, and the negative terminal of the seat heater HTR, and this wiring is connected to the terminal GND of the heater connector 20B. The seat heater terminal HT2 is connected to the drain terminal of a switch Q5, whose gate terminal is connected to the terminal P11 of the MCU 6 and whose source terminal is connected to the output terminal VOUT of the boost circuit 11.

[0086] The puff sensor board 21 (see near the bottom center in Figure 12) is equipped with a puff sensor connector 21A connected to the terminal group 15A of the suction sensor 15, a connector 21B connected to the main FPC 23, a vibration motor connector 21C connected to the vibration motor 13, an LED 21D, a varistor V, and a capacitor C2.

[0087] The connector 21B of the puff sensor board 21 includes terminals (terminal PUFF, terminal LED, terminal VIB, terminal VOTG, terminal VMCU, and terminal GND) connected to the terminal PUFF, terminal LED, terminal VIB, terminal VOTG, terminal VMCU, and terminal GND of the main connector 20A by wiring formed on the main FPC 23. As described above, the main FPC 23 is provided with a switch BT connected between the terminal KEY of the main connector 20A and the ground line. When the switch BT is pressed, the terminal KEY is connected to the ground line of the main FPC 23, and the potential of the terminal KEY becomes the ground potential. On the other hand, when the switch BT is not pressed, the terminal KEY is not connected to the ground line of the main FPC 23, and the potential of the terminal KEY is undefined.

[0088] The puff sensor connector 21A of the puff sensor board 21 includes a terminal GATE connected to the output terminal of the suction sensor 15, a terminal GND connected to the ground terminal of the suction sensor 15, and a terminal VDD connected to the power supply terminal of the suction sensor 15. The terminal GATE of the puff sensor connector 21A is connected to the terminal PUFF of the connector 21B. The terminal VDD of the puff sensor connector 21A is connected to the terminal VMCU of the connector 21B. The terminal GND of the puff sensor connector 21A is connected to the terminal GND of the connector 21B. One end of the varistor V is connected to the connection line between the terminal GATE of the puff sensor connector 21A and the terminal PUFF of the connector 21B, and the other end of the varistor V is connected to the ground line. Even if a large voltage is input to the terminal GATE from the suction sensor 15 side, the varistor V can prevent the voltage from being input to other components of the puff sensor board 21 or the MCU 6. One end of the capacitor C2 is connected to the connection line between the terminal VDD of the puff sensor connector 21A and the terminal VMCU of the connector 21B, and the other end of the capacitor C2 is connected to the ground line. Even if an unstable voltage is input from the main board 20 to the terminal VDD of the puff sensor connector 21A, the capacitor C2 makes it possible to input a voltage smoothed by the capacitor C2 to the suction sensor 15.

[0089] The vibration motor connector 21C of the puff sensor board 21 has a positive terminal connected to the terminal VIB of the connector 21B and a negative terminal connected to the ground line. The vibration motor 13 is connected to the positive terminal and the negative terminal.

[0090] The LED 21D of the puff sensor board 21 has an anode connected to the terminal VOTG of the connector 21B and a cathode connected to the terminal LED of the connector 21B.

[0091] The charging terminal 1 in the upper left of Fig. 12 has four terminals GND and four power input terminals BUS. Each power input terminal BUS of the charging terminal 1 is connected in parallel to the input terminal VIN of the protection IC2. When a USB plug is connected to the charging terminal 1 and a USB cable including this USB plug is connected to an external power source, i.e., when a USB connection is made, the USB voltage V USB is entered.

[0092] Protection IC2 detects the USB voltage V USB Adjust the bus voltage V to the default value (5.0V as an example below). BUS from the output terminal OUT. The output terminal OUT of the protection IC2 is connected in parallel to the charging IC3, a voltage dividing circuit consisting of a series circuit of resistors R1 and R2, and a switch Q7. Specifically, the output terminal OUT of the protection IC2 is connected to one end of the resistor R2 that constitutes the voltage dividing circuit, the input terminal VBUS of the charging IC3, and the drain terminal of the switch Q7 whose gate terminal is connected to the terminal P21 of the MCU6 and whose source terminal is connected to the ground line. The other end of the resistor R2 is connected to one end of the resistor R1, and the other end of the resistor R1 is connected to the ground line. The node connecting the resistors R1 and R2 is connected to the terminal P2 of the MCU6. When a low-level signal is input from the MCU6 to the negative logic enable terminal CE(￣), the protection IC2 outputs the bus voltage V from the output terminal OUT. BUSWhen a high-level signal is input from the MCU6 to the enable terminal CE(￣), the bus voltage V BUS Stops output of.

[0093] The charging IC3 detects the bus voltage V BUS The charging IC3 has a charging function that charges the power source ba based on the detected charging current and charging voltage of the power source ba using the detection terminal SNS, and controls the charging of the power source ba (controls the power supply from the charging terminal BAT to the power source ba) based on these. The charging IC3 also obtains temperature information of the power source ba, which the MCU6 obtains from the power source thermistor th3 via the terminal P25, from the MCU6 through serial communication using the signal line SL, and uses this information for charging control.

[0094] The charging IC3 detects the voltage of the power supply ba (hereafter referred to as the power supply voltage V BAT ) to the system power supply voltage V SYS The first function generates and outputs the bus voltage V from the output terminal SYS. BUS to system power supply voltage V SYS The second function is to generate and output from the output terminal SYS, and the power supply voltage V BAT The OTG voltage V obtained by boosting OTG The third function is to output a voltage of 5 V (for example) from the boost output terminal RN. The second function is enabled only when the USB connection is established. In this way, the system power supply voltage V SYS and OTG voltage V OTG indicates a normal state in which the power supply ba can supply power to the charging IC3, and as long as the charging IC3 is operating normally, output from the charging IC3 is always possible.

[0095] One end of reactor L3 is connected to switching terminal SW of charging IC3. The other end of reactor L3 is connected to output terminal SYS of charging IC3. Charging IC3 has a negative logic enable terminal CE(￣), which is connected to terminal P1 of MCU6. When a high-level signal is input to terminal P2 as a result of USB connection, MCU6 controls the potential of terminal P1 to a low level, thereby permitting charging control of power source ba by charging IC3 and enabling the second function.

[0096] The charging IC3 further includes a negative logic terminal QON(￣). The terminal QON(￣) is connected to a node N2 that connects the resistors R3 and R4, and this node N2 is connected to a terminal P21 of the MCU 6. When a low-level signal is input to the terminal QON(￣), the charging IC3 stops outputting voltage from the output terminal SYS.

[0097] The output terminal SYS of the charging IC3 is connected in parallel to the LDO4, the boost circuit 5, and the boost circuit 11. Specifically, the output terminal SYS of the charging IC3 is connected to the control terminal CTL and the input terminal IN of the LDO4, the input terminal VIN of the boost circuit 5, and the input terminal VIN of the boost circuit 11. The OTG voltage V OTG is supplied to the anode of the LED 21D via the terminal VOTG of the main connector 20A and the terminal VOTG of the connector 21B. The cathode of the LED 21D is connected to the ground via the terminal LED of the connector 21B, the terminal LED of the main connector 20A, and the switch Q8. Therefore, the MCU 6 controls the on / off of the switch Q8 to control the OTG voltage V OTG It is possible to control the lighting of LED21D using this.

[0098] The boost circuit 5 includes a switching terminal SW, a positive logic enable terminal EN connected to a terminal P26 of the MCU 6, an output terminal VOUT, and a terminal GND. One end of a reactor L5 is connected to the switching terminal SW of the boost circuit 5. The other end of the reactor L5 is connected to an input terminal VIN of the boost circuit 5. The boost circuit 5 boosts the voltage input to the switching terminal SW via the reactor L5 by controlling the on / off of an internal transistor connected to the switching terminal SW, and outputs the boosted voltage from the output terminal VOUT. The OLED voltage V OLED is a sufficiently large voltage suitable for driving the OLED panel 17, and is, for example, a voltage of 15 V. The input terminal VIN of the boost circuit 5 constitutes a high-potential power supply terminal of the boost circuit 5. When the signal input from the terminal P26 of the MCU 6 to the enable terminal EN is at a high level, the boost circuit 5 raises the OLED voltage V OLED When the signal input from the MCU6 terminal P26 to the enable terminal EN is at low level, the OLED voltage V OLED In this manner, the OLED panel 17 is driven and controlled by the MCU 6.

[0099] The boost circuit 11 includes an input terminal VIN, a switching terminal SW, an output terminal VOUT, a positive logic enable terminal EN, and a terminal GND. One end of a reactor L11 is connected to the switching terminal SW of the boost circuit 11. The other end of the reactor L11 is connected to the input terminal VIN of the boost circuit 11. The boost circuit 11 boosts the voltage input to the switching terminal SW via the reactor L11 by controlling on and off of an internal transistor connected to the switching terminal SW, and outputs the boosted voltage from the output terminal VOUT. The heating voltage V HEAT is, for example, a voltage of 4 V. The input terminal VIN of the boost circuit 11 constitutes a power supply terminal on the high potential side of the boost circuit 11. The boost circuit 11 outputs a heating voltage VHEAT When the signal input to the enable terminal EN is at a low level, the heating voltage V HEAT Stops output of.

[0100] A voltage dividing circuit consisting of a capacitor C1, a series circuit of resistors R7 and R6, a multiplexer 8, a switch Q1, a switch Q2, and a switch Q5 are connected in parallel to the output terminal VOUT of the boost circuit 11. Specifically, the output terminal VOUT of the boost circuit 11 is connected to one end of the capacitor C1 connected to the ground line, the other end of the capacitor C1 connected to the ground line, an input terminal (the terminal of the resistor R7 opposite to the resistor R6 side) of the voltage dividing circuit consisting of a resistor R6 connected to the ground line and a resistor R7 connected in series to the resistor R6, a terminal VCC of the multiplexer 8, a source terminal of the switch Q1, a source terminal of the switch Q2, and a source terminal of the switch Q5.

[0101] A resistor RA having an electrical resistance value Ra is connected in parallel to the switch Q1. A resistor RB having an electrical resistance value Rb is connected in parallel to the switch Q2.

[0102] The multiplexer 8 has an input terminal B0, an input terminal B1, an output terminal A, and a select terminal SE. The multiplexer 8 switches between a state in which the input terminal B0 and the output terminal A are connected and a state in which the input terminal B1 and the output terminal A are connected, depending on a control signal input from a terminal P15 of the MCU 6 to the select terminal SE.

[0103] An input terminal B0 of the multiplexer 8 is connected to a line connecting the switch Q1 and the terminal HT1 (P1). An input terminal B1 of the multiplexer 8 is connected to a line connecting the switch Q2 and the terminal HT1 (P2). An output terminal A of the multiplexer 8 is connected to a non-inverting input terminal of an operational amplifier OP1. An inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP1 is connected to a node connecting the resistors R7 and R6. An output terminal of the operational amplifier OP1 is connected to a terminal P14 of the MCU6.

[0104] LDO4 operates when the signal input to the control terminal CTL is at a high level (in other words, when the system power supply voltage V SYS is output from the output terminal SYS of the charging IC3), the voltage input to the input terminal VIN (i.e., the system power supply voltage V SYS ) is converted to the system power supply voltage V MCU The output terminal OUT outputs the voltage as the system power supply voltage V SYS is, for example, a value in the range of 3.5V to 4.2V, and the system power supply voltage V MCU For example, it is 3.1V.

[0105] The output terminal OUT of the LDO4 is connected in parallel to the control IC of the OLED panel 17, the MCU 6, the LSW 7, the suction sensor 15, a series circuit consisting of resistors R3, R4, and a switch BT, and the debug connector 20E. Specifically, the output terminal OUT of the LDO4 is connected to the terminal VDD of the OLED connector 20C, the power supply terminal VDD of the MCU 6, the input terminal VIN of the LSW7, one end of the resistor R5 connected to the other end of the terminal VMCU of the main connector 20A (node ​​N1 in the figure), the input end of a voltage divider circuit consisting of resistors R4 and R3 (node ​​N1 in the figure), and the terminal VMCU of the debug connector 20E.

[0106] In addition, the output terminal OUT of the LDO4 is connected to the source terminal of a switch Q6, whose gate terminal is connected to the terminal P4 of the MCU 6. The drain terminal of the switch Q6 is connected in parallel to the terminal VCC of the AND gate 10, the terminal VCC of FF9, one end of a resistor R11, one end of a resistor R12, the positive power supply terminal of the operational amplifier OP2, one end of a resistor R8, one end of a resistor R9, and the positive power supply terminal of the operational amplifier OP1.

[0107] The other end of the resistor R12 is connected to the second thermistor terminal TH2. A series circuit of the resistor R12 and the second thermistor th2 connected to the second thermistor terminal TH2 is connected to the system power supply voltage V MCUThe second thermistor th2 constitutes a voltage divider circuit to which a voltage is applied. The output of this voltage divider circuit corresponds to the electrical resistance value (in other words, temperature) of the second thermistor th2, and is input to a terminal P8 of the MCU 6. This allows the MCU 6 to acquire the temperature of the second thermistor th2. In this embodiment, the second thermistor th2 has an NTC characteristic in which the resistance value decreases with increasing temperature, but it may also have a PTC characteristic in which the resistance value increases with increasing temperature.

[0108] The other end of the resistor R9 is connected to one end of a resistor R10, and the other end of the resistor R10 is connected to the ground line. MCU This voltage divider circuit is connected to the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2, to which a fixed voltage value is input. The other end of resistor R8 is connected to the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2.

[0109] The other end of the resistor R8 is further connected to a first thermistor terminal TH1 and a terminal P9 of the MCU 6. A series circuit of the resistor R8 and the first thermistor th1 connected to the first thermistor terminal TH1 is connected to the system power supply voltage V MCU The voltage divider circuit is applied with the voltage THD1. The output of the voltage divider circuit corresponds to the electric resistance value (in other words, the temperature) of the first thermistor th1, and is input to a terminal P9 of the MCU6. This allows the MCU6 to obtain the temperature of the first thermistor th1 (in other words, the temperature of the seat heater HTR). The output of the voltage divider circuit is also input to the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2. In this embodiment, the first thermistor th1 has an NTC characteristic in which the resistance value decreases with increasing temperature. Therefore, when the temperature of the first thermistor th1 (the temperature of the seat heater HTR) increases and becomes equal to or higher than the threshold value THD1, the output of the operational amplifier OP2 becomes low level. In other words, as long as the temperature of the first thermistor th1 (the temperature of the seat heater HTR) is within the normal range, the output of the operational amplifier OP2 becomes high level.

[0110] When using a thermistor having a PTC characteristic in which the resistance value increases with an increase in temperature as the first thermistor th1, the output of a voltage dividing circuit consisting of the first thermistor th1 and resistor R8 may be connected to the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2, and the output of a voltage dividing circuit consisting of resistors R9 and R10 may be connected to the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2. Even in this case, the output of the operational amplifier OP2 becomes low level when the temperature of the first thermistor th1 (the temperature of the seat heater HTR) rises and exceeds the threshold value THD1.

[0111] The output terminal of the operational amplifier OP2 is connected to the input terminal D of FF9. The node connecting the input terminal D of FF9 and the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP2 is connected to the other end of the resistor R11 and the negative logic clear terminal CLR(￣) provided in FF9. In other words, the input terminal D of FF9, the clear terminal CLR(￣) of FF9, and the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP2 are each connected to the system power supply voltage V MCU The supply line is pulled up by resistor R11.

[0112] FF9 has a clock terminal CLK, which is connected to a terminal P7 of the MCU6. FF9 has an output terminal Q, which is connected to one input terminal B of the AND gate 10. When a clock signal is input from the MCU6 to the clock terminal CLK and a high-level signal is input to the clear terminal CLR(￣), FF9 holds data (high or low data) according to the level of the signal input to the input terminal D, and outputs the held data from the output terminal Q. When a clock signal is input from the MCU6 to the clock terminal CLK and a low-level signal is input to the clear terminal CLR(￣), FF9 performs a reset process to output a low-level signal from the output terminal Q regardless of the data being held. This reset process is released by re-inputting the clock signal to the clock terminal CLK with a high-level signal being input to the clear terminal CLR(￣). That is, with a high-level signal input to the clear terminal CLR(￣), the supply of the clock signal to the clock terminal CLK is stopped, and then the supply of the clock signal is resumed, thereby releasing the state.

[0113] The other input terminal A of the AND gate 10 is connected to a terminal P6 of the MCU 6. An output terminal Y of the AND gate 10 is connected to a positive logic enable terminal EN of the boost circuit 11. The AND gate 10 outputs a high level signal from the output terminal Y only when the signal input to the input terminal A and the signal input to the input terminal B are both at a high level.

[0114] When a control signal is input from the pin P10 of the MCU6 to the control pin CTL, the LSW7 is MCU The output terminal OUT of the LSW 7 is connected to the vibration motor 13 via the terminal VIB of the main board 20 and the terminal VIB of the puff sensor board 21. Therefore, when the MCU 6 inputs a control signal to the LSW 7, the system power supply voltage V MCU can be used to activate the vibration motor 13.

[0115] (Transition from standby mode to heating mode) The power supply unit 100 has, as operation modes, a sleep mode for saving power, a standby mode to which the power supply unit 100 can be transitioned from the sleep mode, and a heating mode to which the power supply unit 100 can be transitioned from the standby mode (a mode in which the power supply unit 100 generates an aerosol by heating the liquid heater or the sheet heater HTR). When the MCU 6 detects a specific operation (e.g., a long press) on the switch BT in the sleep mode, the MCU 6 switches the operation mode to the standby mode. When the MCU 6 detects a specific operation (e.g., a short press) on the switch BT in the standby mode, the MCU 6 switches the operation mode to the heating mode.

[0116] (Heating mode operation) Fig. 13 is a circuit diagram showing electronic components related to the operation of the heating mode, extracted from the circuit shown in Fig. 12. Fig. 13 additionally shows a capacitor C3, which was not shown in Fig. 12. Fig. 14 is a circuit diagram showing electronic components related to the heating control of the seat heater HTR and the liquid heater, the drive control of the vibration motor 13, and the drive control of the LED 21D, extracted from the circuit shown in Fig. 12. Hereinafter, the operation of the heating mode will be described with reference to Figs. 13 and 14.

[0117] When the MCU 6 transitions to the heating mode, it controls the switch Q6 shown in Fig. 13 to be in the on state. As a result, the system power supply voltage V is supplied to each of the AND gate 10, FF9, resistor R11, operational amplifier OP2, resistor R11, a voltage dividing circuit consisting of resistors R9 and R10, a voltage dividing circuit consisting of resistor R8 and the first thermistor th1, a voltage dividing circuit consisting of resistor R12 and the second thermistor th2, and operational amplifier OP1. MCUis supplied. Furthermore, when the MCU 6 transitions to the heating mode, it controls the signal input from the terminal P6 to the input terminal A of the AND gate 10 to be at high level. The MCU 6 also starts inputting a clock signal to the clock terminal CLK of FF9. In this state, if the temperature of the first thermistor th1 (the temperature of the seat heater HTR) is within the normal range (less than the threshold value THD1), the output of the operational amplifier OP2 becomes high level, and as a result, the output of FF9 becomes high level, and as a result, the output of the AND gate 10 becomes high level. Therefore, the heating voltage V HEAT The output of the heater starts, and the seat heater HTR and the liquid heater are ready to be heated.

[0118] (Determining where to connect the liquid heater) Heating voltage V from boost circuit 11 HEAT When output of the signal starts, as shown in Fig. 14, power can be supplied to the seat heater HTR connected to the seat heater terminal HT2 and to the liquid heaters connected to any two of the terminals HT1 (P1) to HT1 (P3) (Fig. 14 shows the liquid heater htr connected to the terminals HT1 (P1) and HT1 (P2)). In this state, first, the MCU 6 determines which pair of the pogo pins p1, p2, and p3 the liquid heater is connected to, based on the output of the operational amplifier OP1 shown in Fig. 12. This determination process includes the following first, second, and third processes.

[0119] (first step) The MCU 6 controls the connection between the input terminal B0 and the output terminal A of the multiplexer 8 with only the switch Q4 of the switches Q1-Q4 controlled to be on. In this state, if the electrical resistance between the terminal HT1 (P1) and the terminal HT1 (P2) is Rx, the divided voltage value = V HEAT*{Rx / (Ra+Rx)} is input to the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP1. The operational amplifier OP1 compares the voltage input to the non-inverting input terminal with the above-mentioned divided voltage value when a liquid heater is connected between terminals HT1 (P1) and HT1 (P2), and if the difference is small, the output of the operational amplifier OP1 becomes low level. Therefore, when the output of the operational amplifier OP1 becomes low level, the MCU 6 determines that a liquid heater is connected between terminals HT1 (P1) and HT1 (P2).

[0120] (Second process) When the output of the operational amplifier OP1 becomes high level in the first step, the MCU 6 controls to connect the input terminal B0 and the output terminal A of the multiplexer 8 with only the switch Q3 of the switches Q1-Q4 controlled to be on. In this state, if a liquid heater is connected between the terminal HT1 (P1) and the terminal HT1 (P3), the output of the operational amplifier OP1 becomes low level. Therefore, when the output of the operational amplifier OP1 becomes low level, the MCU 6 determines that a liquid heater is connected between the terminal HT1 (P1) and the terminal HT1 (P3).

[0121] (Third step) When the output of the operational amplifier OP1 becomes high level in the second step, the MCU 6 controls to connect the input terminal B1 and the output terminal A of the multiplexer 8 with only the switch Q3 of the switches Q1-Q4 controlled to be on. In this state, if a liquid heater is connected between the terminal HT1 (P2) and the terminal HT1 (P3), the output of the operational amplifier OP1 becomes low level. Therefore, when the output of the operational amplifier OP1 becomes low level, the MCU 6 determines that a liquid heater is connected between the terminal HT1 (P2) and the terminal HT1 (P3).

[0122] If the output of the operational amplifier OP1 does not become low level in any of the first to third steps, the MCU 6 issues an error notification.

[0123] (Start of heating control) When the output level of the suction sensor 15 changes to a value corresponding to when the user inhales the liquid after the above-mentioned determination process, the MCU 6 starts the heating control of the seat heater HTR and the liquid heater. Specifically, the MCU 6 controls the heating of the seat heater HTR by controlling the switch Q5 shown in FIG. 14 to be on and off (e.g., PWM control or PFM control). At this time, the MCU 6 controls the heating of the seat heater HTR based on the temperature of the second thermistor th2 (in other words, the temperature of the seat heater HTR) acquired from the signal input to the terminal P8 so that the temperature of the seat heater HTR converges to a target temperature. For example, PID (Proportional-Integral-Differential) control is used for this heating control.

[0124] Furthermore, when a liquid heater is connected between terminal HT1 (P1) and terminal HT1 (P2), the MCU 6 controls the switch Q4 of the switches Q1 to Q4 shown in Fig. 14 to the on state, controls the switches Q2 and Q3 to the off state, and controls the switch Q1 on and off (for example, PWM control or PFM control), thereby controlling the heating of the liquid heater. When a liquid heater is connected between terminal HT1 (P1) and terminal HT1 (P3), the MCU 6 controls the heating of the liquid heater by controlling the switch Q3 of the switches Q1 to Q4 to the on state, controls the switches Q2 and Q4 to the off state, and controls the switch Q1 on and off. When a liquid heater is connected between terminal HT1 (P2) and terminal HT1 (P3), MCU6 controls the heating of the liquid heater by controlling switch Q3 to the on state, switches Q1 and Q4 to the off state, and controlling switch Q2 on and off, among switches Q1 to Q4.

[0125] As shown in Figure 13, the system power supply voltage V MCU is constantly supplied to the suction sensor 15 connected to the puff sensor connector 21A. On the other hand, the system power supply voltage V MCUis supplied via switch Q6. With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the power consumption of the above electronic components in modes other than the heating mode. MCU Immediately after the power is turned on, the operation of the suction sensor 15 may become unstable. MCU By constantly supplying the electric current, even if suction is performed immediately after the mode is switched to the heating mode, the suction operation can be detected with high accuracy by the suction sensor 15. Also, in this embodiment, the puff sensor board 21 on which the suction sensor 15 is mounted and the main board 20 on which the MCU 6, which is likely to become a noise source, are mounted are physically separated. This allows the suction sensor 15, which operates constantly, to operate more stably. Furthermore, the switch BT, which is likely to be an inlet for noise such as static electricity, is not mounted on the puff sensor board 21, and the switch BT is mounted directly on the main FPC 23. This also allows the suction sensor 15, which operates constantly, to operate more stably. Furthermore, by mounting the switch BT on the flexible main FPC 23, it is possible to easily increase the distance between the switch BT and the suction sensor 15.

[0126] Figure 14 shows connectors (main connector 20A and heater connector 20B) electrically connected to a power supply ba, an LED 21D and a vibration motor 13 connected to the main connector 20A via a cable such as an FPC or a lead wire, a switch Q8 electrically connected to the low potential side of the main connector 20A and capable of opening and closing the electrical connection between the power supply ba and the LED 21D, and an LSW7 electrically connected to the high potential side of the main connector 20A and capable of opening and closing the electrical connection between the power supply ba and the vibration motor 13.

[0127] Here, attention is focused on the LED 21D and the vibration motor 13, which are loads receiving power from the power supply ba. When the vibration motor 13 vibrates, a back electromotive force (a reverse current flowing from the low potential side to the high potential side) can occur. In this embodiment, the switch used to control the power supply to the vibration motor 13 is not a simple switch, but a highly functional LSW7 with a backflow prevention function. This makes it possible to prevent the back electromotive force and the reverse current generated in the vibration motor 13 from being input to the MCU 6, improving the durability of the MCU 6.

[0128] On the other hand, although there is no concern about back electromotive force, the LED21D is MCU ) operating voltage (specifically the OTG voltage V OTG ) because it is necessary to increase the operating voltage in order to increase the brightness of the LED 21D. In this embodiment, a switch Q8 for controlling the power supply to the LED 21D is connected to the low potential side of the main connector 20A. As a result, even if the switch Q8 is shorted, the system power supply voltage V MCU OTG voltage higher than V OTG In this way, by placing the switch Q8 on the low potential side, the OTG voltage V OTG , the system power supply voltage V MCU can be set to a high value without being limited by, and the brightness of the LED 21D can be effectively increased.

[0129] Figure 14 further shows a seat heater HTR connected to the heater connector 20B via a cable such as an FPC, a liquid heater (liquid heater htr is shown as an example in the figure) connected to the main connector 20A via a cable such as an FPC, a switch Q5 that is electrically connected to the high potential side of the heater connector 20B and is capable of opening and closing the electrical connection between the power source ba and the seat heater HTR, switches Q1 and Q2 that are electrically connected to the high potential side of the main connector 20A and are capable of opening and closing the electrical connection between the power source ba and the liquid heater, and switches Q3 and Q4 that are electrically connected to the low potential side of the main connector 20A and are capable of opening and closing the electrical connection between the power source ba and the liquid heater.

[0130] Here, attention is focused on the seat heater HTR and the liquid heater, which are loads that receive power from the power source ba. The liquid heater needs to atomize the aerosol source, so it needs to be supplied with a large amount of power per unit time. On the other hand, the seat heater HTR only needs to be supplied with enough power to improve the amount of flavor released from the flavor source, so the power it needs to supply per unit time is not as much as the liquid heater. Therefore, the switches Q1 to Q4 for controlling the power supply to the liquid heaters are more likely to short-circuit than the switch Q5 for controlling the power supply to the seat heater HTR.

[0131] In this embodiment, the switches Q1 and Q2 are connected to the high potential side (i.e., between the power supply ba) of the liquid heater, and the switches Q3 and Q4 are connected to the low potential side (i.e., between the ground). As a result, even if one of the switches Q1 and Q2 connected to the liquid heater and the switches Q3 and Q4 connected to the liquid heater is short-circuited, the other switch is controlled to an off state to prevent the short-circuit current of one switch from continuing to be supplied to the liquid heater. This improves the safety of the power supply unit 100. Note that the electrical resistance value Ra of the resistor RA connected in parallel to the switch Q1 and the electrical resistance value Rb of the resistor RB connected in parallel to the switch Q2 are sufficiently high. In other words, it should be noted that the short-circuit current is not supplied to the liquid heater via the resistors RA and RB.

[0132] In addition, in this embodiment, only the switch Q5 is connected to the high potential side (in other words, between the power source ba) of the seat heater HTR. As described above, since the switch Q5 is unlikely to short-circuit, safety can be ensured without providing another switch between the seat heater HTR and ground. In addition, the seat heater HTR is controlled by a protection circuit described later so that its temperature does not become excessively high. Therefore, even if the switch Q5 is short-circuited, the function of the protection circuit can prevent the seat heater HTR from continuing to be heated. From this viewpoint, safety can be ensured without providing another switch between the seat heater HTR and ground. In this way, by providing only one switch to connect to the seat heater HTR, the number of parts of the power supply unit 100 can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost of the power supply unit 100 can be reduced.

[0133] (Heater overheat protection) In the power supply unit 100, the electrical resistance values ​​of resistors R8, R9, and R10 are determined so that in the heating mode, when the temperature of the first thermistor th1 becomes equal to or higher than the threshold value THD1, the output of the operational amplifier OP2 becomes low level. When the temperature of the first thermistor th1 becomes equal to or higher than the threshold value THD1 and the output of the operational amplifier OP2 becomes low level, a low level signal is input to the clear terminal CLR(￣) of FF9. As a result, the data held by FF9 is cancelled, forcing the output of FF9 to become low level, so that the output of the AND gate 10 also becomes low level, and the boost circuit 11 outputs the heating voltage V HEAT In other words, when the output of the operational amplifier OP2 goes low, it means that the signal input to the enable terminal EN of the boost circuit 11 goes low.

[0134] If the control of the power supply from the MCU 6 to the seat heater HTR is functioning normally, the temperature of the first thermistor th1 will not, in principle, exceed the threshold value THD1. In other words, if the temperature of the first thermistor th1 exceeds the threshold value THD1, it means that there is a high possibility that some malfunction has occurred in the circuit that supplies power to the seat heater HTR (specifically, the switch Q5) or the MCU 6.

[0135] In this embodiment, the low-level signal output from the operational amplifier OP2 does not control the MCU 6 or the switch Q5, but the heating voltage V HEAT The boost circuit 11 outputs a signal from the operational amplifier OP2 to stop heating the seat heater HTR. In this way, the output signal from the operational amplifier OP2 is input to the boost circuit 11, which can reliably stop the power supply to the seat heater HTR, thereby improving safety when the seat heater HTR becomes hot. For example, if the MCU 6 freezes or the switch Q5 shorts, causing the temperature of the first thermistor th1 to be equal to or higher than the threshold value THD1, it is not possible to control the MCU 6 or the switch Q5. Even in such a case, the power supply to the seat heater HTR can be reliably stopped by inputting a low-level signal from the operational amplifier OP2 to the enable terminal EN of the boost circuit 11.

[0136] In addition, the heating voltage V HEAT As a method for stopping the output of the boost circuit 11, the system power supply voltage V SYS Alternatively, a high-level signal can be input to the enable terminal CE(￣) of the charging IC that generates the boost circuit 11. In contrast to this method, a configuration in which the output of the operational amplifier OP2 can be input to the enable terminal EN of the boost circuit 11 has the advantage of simplifying the circuit configuration and reducing manufacturing costs.

[0137] In order to return the output of FF9 to a high level, the MCU 6 must re-input the clock signal to the clock terminal CLK of FF9 (in other words, restart FF9). In other words, even if the temperature of the first thermistor th1 returns to below the threshold value THD1 after the output from the boost circuit 11 has stopped, the output from the boost circuit 11 will not resume unless the MCU 6 performs a process to restart FF9.

[0138] Assume that the cause of the temperature of the first thermistor th1 becoming equal to or higher than the threshold THD1 is the freezing of the MCU6. In this case, a high-level signal continues to be input to the input terminal A of the AND gate 10, and a clock signal continues to be input to the FF9. The aerosol generating device 200 is provided with a restart circuit RBT (see FIG. 19) that allows the user to restart (reset) the MCU6 by operating the switch BT, as will be described later in detail. If the cause of the protection circuit functioning is the freezing of the MCU6, the user restarts the MCU6. The restart of the MCU6 restarts the FF9. Furthermore, the restart of the MCU6 causes the signal input to the input terminal A of the AND gate 10 to become low level. Furthermore, since the switch Q6 is in an off state at the timing when the MCU6 restarts, the potential of the signal at the input terminal B of the AND gate 10 becomes indefinite. Therefore, the output from the boost circuit 11 does not resume simply because the MCU6 restarts. After the MCU 6 is restarted, the operation mode is shifted to the heating mode by a user operation, and the signal input to the input terminal A of the AND gate 10 becomes high level. Also, the switch Q6 is turned on, and the signal input to the input terminal B of the AND gate 10 becomes high level. This causes the output from the boost circuit 11 to resume.

[0139] In this way, the MCU 6 controls the resumption of output from the boost circuit 11 (controlling the resumption of output after reflecting the user's intention), thereby preventing the seat heater HTR from resuming heating against the user's intention, thereby improving safety and convenience.

[0140] As described above, the AND gate 10, FF9, and operational amplifier OP2 constitute a protection circuit that stops the power supply to the seat heater HTR to protect the seat heater HTR when the seat heater HTR becomes too hot. This protection circuit can autonomously stop the output from the boost circuit 11 according to the temperature of the first thermistor th1 without receiving a command from the MCU 6 to disable the boost circuit 11, in other words, even when a high-level signal is input to the input terminal A of the AND gate 10 and a clock signal is input to the clock terminal CLK of FF9. As a result, even if a fault such as freezing occurs in the MCU 6, an emergency stop of heating by the seat heater HTR and the liquid heater can be executed, thereby improving the safety of the aerosol generating device 200.

[0141] Furthermore, when the MCU 6 determines that the temperature of the second thermistor th2 acquired based on the signal input to the terminal P8 is equal to or higher than the threshold value THD2 (this value is smaller than the threshold value THD1), it sets the signal input to the input terminal A of the AND gate 10 to a low level. As a result, the output of the AND gate 10 becomes a low level, and the boost circuit 11 raises the heating voltage V HEAT In this way, when the MCU 6 is operating normally, the output from the boost circuit 11 can be stopped also by a command from the MCU 6. As a result, even when the first thermistor th1 is not operating normally, for example, the output from the boost circuit 11 can be stopped by a command from the MCU 6, thereby improving safety. Furthermore, the threshold value THD2 is smaller than the threshold value THD1. Therefore, when the MCU 6 is operating normally, the MCU 6 can stop the output from the boost circuit 11 before the protection circuit when the temperature of the seat heater HTR becomes high, thereby further improving safety.

[0142] In this embodiment, the MCU 6 can obtain the temperature of the first thermistor th1 from a signal input to the terminal P9. For this reason, the MCU 6 judges whether the temperature of the second thermistor th2 can be normally obtained, and when the temperature of the second thermistor th2 cannot be normally obtained, it is preferable to perform heating control of the seat heater HTR based on the temperature of the first thermistor th1 so that the temperature of the seat heater HTR converges to a target temperature. This makes it possible to execute heating control of the seat heater HTR by the first thermistor th1 even if some abnormality occurs in the second thermistor th2. The judgment of whether the temperature of the second thermistor th2 can be normally obtained can be performed by judging whether the signal input to the terminal P8 indicates an abnormal value or whether the signal can be obtained.

[0143] However, basically, the MCU 6 executes heating control of the seat heater HTR based on the temperature of the second thermistor th2. Therefore, it is preferable that the second thermistor th2 is disposed at a position where the temperature of the seat heater HTR can be more accurately reflected. On the other hand, the first thermistor th1 is mainly used to stop the output from the boost circuit 11 by the protection circuit when the seat heater HTR becomes too hot. Therefore, it is preferable that the first thermistor th1 is disposed at a position of the seat heater HTR where the temperature is more likely to become high so that the high temperature state of the seat heater HTR can be reliably detected. The detailed configuration of the heater FPC 24 on which the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 are mounted will be described later.

[0144] In the above-mentioned protection circuit, FF9 is not essential and can be omitted. FIG. 15 is a circuit diagram corresponding to FIG. 13 when FF9 is omitted. When FF9 is omitted, as shown in FIG. 15, the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP2 may be connected to the input terminal B of the AND gate 10. In the configuration shown in FIG. 15, when the temperature of the first thermistor th1 becomes equal to or higher than the threshold value THD1 and the output of the operational amplifier OP2 becomes low level, the output of the AND gate 10 becomes low level. This makes it possible to stop the output from the boost circuit 11 when the seat heater HTR becomes hot. According to the configuration shown in FIG. 15, the power supply unit 100 can be made smaller, lighter, and more energy-efficient by the amount that FF9 can be omitted.

[0145] In addition, in the above-mentioned protection circuit, both FF9 and the AND gate 10 can be omitted. FIG. 16 is a circuit diagram corresponding to FIG. 13 in the case where FF9 and the AND gate 10 are omitted. In the case where FF9 and the AND gate 10 are omitted, as shown in FIG. 16, the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP2 and the terminal P6 of the MCU 6 may be connected to the enable terminal EN of the boost circuit 11, respectively. In the configuration shown in FIG. 16, when the temperature of the first thermistor th1 becomes equal to or higher than the threshold THD1 and the output of the operational amplifier OP2 becomes low level, the enable terminal EN of the boost circuit 11 becomes low level even if a high level signal is output from the terminal P6 of the MCU 6. This makes it possible to stop the output from the boost circuit 11 when the seat heater HTR becomes high temperature. According to the configuration shown in FIG. 16, the power supply unit 100 can be made smaller, lighter, and more energy-efficient by the amount that can be eliminated by omitting FF9 and the AND gate 10.

[0146] (Heater FPC24 configuration) FIG. 17 is an exploded perspective view of the heating unit 60 and the flow path forming body 19 shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 18 is a development view of the heater FPC 24 shown in FIG. 17. The heat transfer tube 61 and the flow path forming body 19 are fixed in a state in which the upper end of the flow path forming body 19 is inserted into the lower end of the heat transfer tube 61. In this way, the flow path forming body 19 functions as a base against which the bottom of the second cartridge 120 abuts when the second cartridge 120 is housed inside the heat transfer tube 61. The flow path forming body 19 is preferably made of a material with high thermal insulation properties, such as silicone. When the flow path forming body 19 is made of a material with high thermal insulation properties, the heat of the seat heater HTR is transferred not only to the second cartridge 120 but also to the flow path forming body 19 at the lower end side of the heat transfer tube 61.

[0147] The heater FPC 24 is composed of a winding region 24A that is wound around and fixed to the outer peripheral surface 61S of the heat transfer tube 61 that is composed of a cylindrical body, a connector region 24B that is inserted into the heater connector 20B of the main board 20, and a connecting region 24C that connects the winding region 24A and the connector region 24B.

[0148] The winding region 24A is composed of a thermistor mounting region 240A where the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 are mounted, a heater region 240B where the conductive pattern Ph constituting the seat heater HTR is formed, and an intermediate region 240C between the thermistor mounting region 240A and the heater region 240B. By mounting the seat heater HTR, the first thermistor th1, and the second thermistor th2 on the same FPC in this way, a simpler structure can be achieved compared to a case where the seat heater HTR and the thermistors are provided on separate substrates, and the cost and size of the power supply unit 100 can be reduced.

[0149] 17, the winding region 24A is wound around the outer circumferential surface 61S of the heat transfer tube 61 in a state in which the thermistor mounting region 240A overlaps with the heater region 240B on the opposite side of the heat transfer tube 61 when viewed in the radial direction of the heat transfer tube 61. With this configuration, the seat heater HTR, the first thermistor th1, and the second thermistor th2 can be disposed as close as possible to each other, thereby improving the accuracy of heating control of the seat heater HTR and protection control by the protection circuit.

[0150] As shown in Fig. 18, in the thermistor mounting area 240A, terminals T11, T12, T13, and T14 are arranged side by side in the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61. The positive terminal of the first thermistor th1 is connected to the terminal T11, and the negative terminal of the first thermistor th1 is connected to the terminal T12. The negative terminal of the second thermistor th2 is connected to the terminal T13, and the positive terminal of the second thermistor th2 is connected to the terminal T14. As shown in the enlarged view in the upper left of Fig. 18, the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 are mounted side by side in the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61 in the thermistor mounting area 240A with their longitudinal directions coinciding with the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61.

[0151] In this way, by arranging the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 in the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61, the axial width of the thermistor mounting area 240A can be made wider than a configuration in which the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 are arranged in the circumferential direction of the heat transfer tube 61. Also, by having the respective longitudinal directions of the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 coincide with the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61, the axial width of the thermistor mounting area 240A can be made wider than a configuration in which the respective longitudinal directions of the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 are perpendicular to the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61. This can improve the durability of the heater FPC 24.

[0152] If the longitudinal directions of the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 are not perpendicular to the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61, the effect of increasing the axial width of the thermistor mounting region 240A can be obtained.

[0153] The second thermistor th2 is disposed closer to the center of the seat heater HTR in the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61 (synonymous with the short-side direction of the seat heater HTR and the up-down direction of the power supply unit 100) than the first thermistor th1. That is, the shortest distance between the center of the seat heater HTR and the second thermistor th2 in the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61 (the up-down direction in FIG. 18) is shorter than the shortest distance between the center of the seat heater HTR and the first thermistor th1 in the axial direction. According to this configuration, the second thermistor th2 disposed closer to the axial center of the seat heater HTR is less susceptible to the effect of air cooling than the first thermistor th1. Therefore, the accurate temperature of the seat heater HTR can be reflected. By executing heating control of the heater using such a second thermistor th2, the accuracy of heating control of the seat heater HTR can be improved.

[0154] Moreover, the second thermistor th2 is disposed at a position closer to the flow path forming body 19 than the first thermistor th1 in the vertical direction of the power supply unit 100. That is, the shortest distance between the second thermistor th2 and the flow path forming body 19 is shorter than the shortest distance between the first thermistor th1 and the flow path forming body 19. When a highly insulating material such as silicone is used as the flow path forming body 19, the temperature of the second thermistor th2, which is closer to the flow path forming body 19, shows a lower value than the temperature of the first thermistor th1 by the amount of heat lost by the flow path forming body 19. In this embodiment, the heating control of the seat heater HTR is performed using the second thermistor th2, which shows such a relatively low temperature, so that the effect of making it difficult for the seat heater HTR to become high temperature can be obtained. On the other hand, the temperature of the first thermistor th1 shows a higher value than the temperature of the second thermistor th2 by the amount of distance from the flow path forming body 19. That is, when the seat heater HTR is overheated, the first thermistor th1 becomes in a high temperature state reflecting that temperature more quickly. This allows the protection circuit to be activated quickly when the seat heater HTR becomes too hot, thereby improving safety.

[0155] As shown in the enlarged view at the bottom center of Fig. 18, in connector area 24B, terminals T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5 are arranged in this order in the vertical direction. In Fig. 18, the name of the terminal of heater connector 20B to which each of terminals T1 to T5 is connected is written in parentheses. In Fig. 12, heater connector 20B is shown to include one terminal GND, but in reality, heater connector 20B includes two terminals GND as shown in Fig. 18.

[0156] One end of a conductive pattern 242 formed of a single conductor is connected to terminal T1. The other end of the conductive pattern 242 is connected to one end of a conductive pattern Ph formed of a single conductor. One end of a conductive pattern 241 formed of a single conductor is connected to the other end of the conductive pattern Ph. The other end of the conductive pattern 241 is connected to terminal T5.

[0157] One end of a conductive pattern 243 made of a single conductor is connected to the terminal T2. The other end of the conductive pattern 243 is connected to the terminal T11. One end of a conductive pattern 245 made of a single conductor is connected to the terminal T4. The other end of the conductive pattern 245 is connected to the terminal T14. One end of a conductive pattern 244 made of a single conductor is connected to the terminal T3. The other end of the conductive pattern 244 is connected in parallel to the terminals T12 and T13. The conductive patterns in the heater FPC 24 are insulated from each other. In FIG. 18, the terminal names of the heater connector 20B to which the terminals T11 to T14 are electrically connected are written in parentheses.

[0158] In the heater FPC 24, the conductive pattern 244 for connecting to ground is shared by the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2. This simplifies the wiring of the heater FPC 24 compared to the case where a conductive pattern for connecting to ground is provided for each of the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2, and reduces the manufacturing cost of the power supply unit 100. In addition, the width of the conductive patterns 241 and 242 connected to the conductive pattern Ph can be made as wide as possible within the limited heater FPC 24. This reduces the parasitic resistance of the conductive patterns 241 and 242, and therefore allows power to be supplied to the seat heater HTR with higher efficiency.

[0159] In addition, in the heater FPC 24, the conductive pattern 244 for connecting the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 to the ground and the conductive pattern 241 for connecting the conductive pattern Ph to the ground are separately provided. This makes it possible to prevent the fluctuation in the potential of the conductive pattern 241 connected to the conductive pattern Ph from affecting the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2. Therefore, the accuracy of the control using the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 can be improved, and the safety of the power supply unit 100 can be improved. Note that the conductive pattern for connecting the first thermistor th1 to the ground and the conductive pattern for connecting the second thermistor th2 to the ground may be separately provided in the heater FPC 24, and one of these two conductive patterns may be connected to the terminal T5. Even in this configuration, the accuracy of the control using either the first thermistor th1 or the second thermistor th2 can be improved.

[0160] (Configuration and operation of the restart circuit RBT) FIG. 19 is a circuit diagram showing electronic components related to the restart of the MCU6 extracted from the circuit shown in FIG. 12. FIG. 19 shows a restart circuit RBT. The restart circuit RBT includes a voltage dividing circuit including resistors R3 and R4, a switch BT, a terminal KEY and a terminal GND of the main connector 20A, a switch Q7, a switch Q9, a charging IC3, an LDO4, and a terminal NRST of the debug connector 20E. In this embodiment, the restart circuit RBT allows the MCU6 to be restarted by operating the switch BT (for example, by pressing and holding the switch BT) and by a command from an external device connected to the debug connector 20E. The MCU6 is configured to restart when the signal input to the terminal P27 remains at a low level for a predetermined period of time. The charging IC3 is configured to restart when the signal input to the terminal QON(￣) remains at a low level for a predetermined period of time.

[0161] (Resetting MCU6 using switch BT) First, the operation when the MCU 6 is restarted without using the debug connector 20E will be described. Resistors R3 and R4 have resistance values ​​such that when switch BT is not pressed, the output of the voltage divider circuit of resistors R3 and R4 is at a high level. This high-level signal is input to terminal QON(￣) of charging IC3, so in this state charging IC3 is not reset and the system power supply voltage V from output terminal SYS is SYS The system power supply voltage V SYS By continuing to output the LDO4 output, the system power supply voltage V MCU The output of the high level signal is also continued. Therefore, the MCU6 continues to operate without stopping. This high level signal is also input to the gate terminal of the switch Q7. Therefore, when the USB is connected (bus voltage V BUS is being output from the charging IC3), the switch Q7 is turned on, and as a result, the potential of the gate terminal of the switch Q9 becomes low level (ground level), and the switch Q9 is turned off. When the switch Q9 is off, the potential of the terminal P27 of the MCU6 becomes undefined, and therefore the MCU6 does not restart the MCU6.

[0162] The resistors R3 and R4 have resistance values ​​such that the output of the voltage divider circuit of the resistors R3 and R4 becomes low when the switch BT is pressed. In other words, the resistors R3 and R4 are connected to the system power supply voltage V MCU This low-level signal is input to the terminal QON(￣) of the charging IC3, and if this state continues for a certain period of time, the charging IC3 will SYS The output of the system power supply voltage V SYS When the output of the LDO4 is stopped, the voltage output from the LDO4 is stopped and the system power supply voltage V MCU is no longer input and MCU6 stops.

[0163] This low-level signal is also input to the gate terminal of switch Q7. Therefore, when the USB connection is established (bus voltage V BUS is output from the charging IC3), the switch Q7 is turned off, and as a result, the potential of the gate terminal of the switch Q9 is at a high level (bus voltage V BUS ), and switch Q9 is turned on. When switch Q9 is turned on, the potential of terminal P27 of MCU6 becomes low level (ground level). If switch BT is continuously pressed for a predetermined time, a low level signal is input to terminal P27 of MCU6 for the predetermined time, and MCU6 executes restart processing. When pressing down of switch BT is stopped, charging IC3 is charged with system power supply voltage V SYS In order to resume the output of MCU is entered and MCU6 starts up.

[0164] (Resetting MCU6 using debug connector 20E) When restarting the MCU6 using the debug connector 20E, a USB connection is made, and further, an external device is connected to the debug connector 20E. In this state, if the switch BT is not pressed, the switch Q9 is in the off state, and the potential of the terminal P27 of the MCU6 depends on the input from the external device. Therefore, when an operator operates the external device to input a low-level restart signal to the terminal NRST, the restart signal is input to the terminal P27 continuously for a predetermined time. Upon receiving the input of this restart signal, the MCU6 executes the restart process.

[0165] According to the restart circuit RBT shown in Fig. 19, the low-level signal generated by pressing the switch BT is input not only to the terminal QON(￣) of the charging IC3, but also to the terminal P27 of the MCU6. Therefore, even if the MCU6 has frozen, the MCU6 can be restarted by stopping the output from the charging IC3. Furthermore, even if the charging IC3 is not reset for some reason, as long as the MCU6 is not frozen, the MCU6 can be restarted by inputting a low-level signal to the terminal P27. In this way, the ability to restart in two systems ensures that the MCU6 can be reliably restarted by the simple operation of pressing the switch BT.

[0166] In addition, according to the restart circuit RBT shown in FIG. 19, the MCU6 can be restarted from an external device using the debug connector 20E. Even if a low-level signal is input from an external device to the terminal P27 of the MCU6, the presence of the switch Q9 prevents this signal from being transmitted to the terminal QON(￣) of the charging IC. In this way, the signal input to the debug connector 20E and the signal generated by the operation of the switch BT can be separated, so that the operation of the restart circuit RBT can be stabilized. Note that, although a configuration in which the terminal NRST and the terminal QON(￣) of the charging IC3 are connected in FIG. 19, such a configuration is not adopted in FIG. 19. This simplifies the restart circuit RBT compared to the case in which the debug connector 20E is connected to the terminal QON(￣), and therefore the manufacturing cost of the power supply unit 100 can be reduced.

[0167] 19, restarting the MCU6 using the switch BT is possible only when the USB connection is established. In this way, by making it possible to restart the MCU6 only when the power supply ba is chargeable, it is possible to reliably restart the MCU6 from an external power supply even if the remaining charge of the power supply ba is low when restarting the MCU6.

[0168] (Modification of the restart circuit RBT) Figure 20 is a diagram showing a modified example of the restart circuit RBT shown in Figure 19. The restart circuit RBT shown in Figure 20 has the same configuration as that of Figure 19, except that the connection destination of the drain terminal of the switch Q9 is changed from the terminal P27 to the control terminal CTL of the LDO4, and the connection between the voltage divider circuit of the resistors R3 and R4 and the terminal QON(￣) of the charging IC3 is deleted. In the restart circuit RBT shown in Figure 20, a USB connection is required when restarting the MCU6 without using the debug connector 20E.

[0169] In the restart circuit RBT shown in Fig. 20, when the USB is connected and the switch BT is not pressed, the output of the voltage divider circuit of resistors R3 and R4 is at high level. This high level signal is input to the gate terminal of switch Q7. Therefore, switch Q7 is turned on, and as a result, the potential of the gate terminal of switch Q9 becomes low level (ground level), and switch Q9 is turned off. When switch Q9 is turned off, no low level signal is input to the control terminal CTL of LDO4. Therefore, MCU6 continues to operate.

[0170] In the restart circuit RBT shown in FIG. 20, when the USB is connected and the switch BT is pressed, the output of the voltage divider circuit made up of resistors R3 and R4 is at a low level. This low level signal is input to the gate terminal of switch Q7. Therefore, switch Q7 is turned off, and as a result, the potential of the gate terminal of switch Q9 is at a high level (bus voltage V BUS ), and switch Q9 is turned on. When switch Q9 is turned on, the control terminal CTL of LDO4 is connected to ground, and the signal input to this control terminal CTL becomes low level. When a low level signal is input to the control terminal CTL of LDO4 for a predetermined period of time, LDO4 stops outputting voltage from the output terminal OUT. Therefore, when switch BT is pressed for a predetermined period of time, the system power supply voltage V MCUWhen the pressing of the switch BT is stopped, the switch Q9 is turned off, and the signal input to the control terminal CTL becomes high level (the system power supply voltage V SYS This causes LDO4 to supply the system supply voltage V MCU In order to resume the output of MCU is entered and MCU6 starts up.

[0171] In the restart circuit RBT shown in Fig. 20, when the MCU6 is restarted using the debug connector 20E, an external device is connected to the debug connector 20E. In this state, when an operator operates the external device to input a low-level restart signal to the terminal NRST, the restart signal is input to the terminal P27 for a predetermined period of time. Upon receiving the input of this restart signal, the MCU6 executes the restart process.

[0172] In the restart circuit RBT shown in Fig. 20, even if the switch BT is pressed and held down, a low-level signal is not input to the terminal P27 of the MCU 6. Therefore, the circuit can be simplified compared to the restart circuit RBT shown in Fig. 19, and the manufacturing cost of the power supply unit 100 can be reduced.

[0173] 20, a wiring PU indicated by a dashed line in the figure may be added. The wiring PU connects the potential of the terminal P27 of the MCU 6 to the bus voltage V BUS By adding this wiring PU, even when no low-level signal is input to the terminal P27, the potential of the terminal P27 does not become unstable, so that the operation of the power supply unit 100 can be stabilized.

[0174] 12, the switch Q5 may be connected between the terminal GND of the heater connector 20B connected to the negative terminal of the seat heater HTR and the ground provided on the main board 20. In this configuration, the switch Q5 is preferably an N-channel type.

[0175] This specification describes at least the following items. Note that, in parentheses, components corresponding to those in the above-mentioned embodiment are shown, but the present invention is not limited to these.

[0176] (1) A power source (power source ba) capable of supplying power to an atomizer (liquid heater) that atomizes the aerosol source; A load (AND gate 10, FF9, operational amplifier OP2, first thermistor th1, second thermistor th2) that can be operated by the power supplied from the power supply; a switch (switch Q6) capable of opening and closing an electrical connection between the power supply and the load; A user-operable operation unit (switch BT), A controller (MCU6) configured to be able to control the opening and closing of the switch based on an operation on the operation unit; a suction sensor (suction sensor 15) capable of outputting an output in response to the user's suction and electrically connected to the power source at all times; A power supply unit for the aerosol generating device (power supply unit 100).

[0177] According to (1), the suction sensor, whose output may become unstable immediately after power-on, is always powered on, so that the operation of the aerosol generation device based on the output of the suction sensor can be stabilized. On the other hand, the loads other than the suction sensor can be powered on as needed by a switch, so that power saving can be realized.

[0178] (2) A power supply unit for the aerosol generating device according to (1), a first circuit board (puff sensor board 21) on which the suction sensor is mounted; a second circuit board (main board 20) on which the controller is mounted and which is spaced apart from the first circuit board; Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

[0179] According to (2), the suction sensor, which is a fine IC, and the controller, which is prone to generating noise, are arranged apart from each other. This allows the suction sensor to operate stably, and makes the operation of the aerosol generation device more stable.

[0180] (3) A power supply unit for the aerosol generating device according to (2), No integrated circuits other than the suction sensor are mounted on the first circuit board. Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

[0181] According to (3), ICs that are prone to generating noise are not present near the suction sensor, which allows the suction sensor to operate stably, thereby making the operation of the aerosol generation device more stable.

[0182] (4) A power supply unit for the aerosol generating device according to (1), The suction sensor is mounted on a first circuit board (puff sensor board 21) on which the operation unit is not mounted. Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

[0183] According to (4), the operation unit that is likely to be an intrusion point for noise such as static electricity is not located near the suction sensor, which allows the suction sensor to operate more stably, thereby making the operation of the aerosol generation device more stable.

[0184] (5) A power supply unit for the aerosol generating device according to (4), a flexible circuit board (main FPC 23) connected to the first circuit board and on which the operation unit is mounted; Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

[0185] According to (5), it is not necessary to provide a dedicated rigid circuit board for mounting the operation unit or to use a rigid circuit board with a complex shape. In addition, a flexible circuit board can be passed through a narrow space inside the device. As a result, the size and weight of the aerosol generation device are reduced, and at the same time, the freedom of arrangement of the operation unit in the aerosol generation device is improved.

[0186] (6) A power supply unit for the aerosol generating device according to any one of (1) to (5), The device includes a thermistor (a first thermistor th1 and a second thermistor th2) disposed near a heater (a sheet heater HTR) that heats a flavor source that adds flavor to the aerosol source atomized by the atomizer, The load includes the thermistor. Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

[0187] According to (6), the power supply to the thermistor, which only needs to be turned on when it is necessary to obtain the heater temperature, can be controlled by a switch. In addition, the thermistor, which is a simple passive element, is unlikely to exhibit unstable behavior even immediately after power is turned on. This makes it possible to reduce power consumption of the aerosol generating device without impairing its functionality.

[0188] (7) A power supply unit for the aerosol generating device according to (6), an operational amplifier (op-amp OP2) whose non-inverting input terminal or inverting input terminal is connected to the thermistor (first thermistor th1); the load includes the operational amplifier; Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

[0189] According to (7), even if power is applied to the operational amplifier when the thermistor is not powered, it is not possible to obtain an output that corresponds to the resistance value of the thermistor. By using a switch to control the power application to such an operational amplifier, which does not need to be powered on all the time, it is possible to achieve power savings.

[0190] (8) A power supply unit for the aerosol generating device according to (7), a power supply terminal of the operational amplifier and an output terminal of the operational amplifier are connected in parallel to the switch; Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

[0191] According to (8), the output of the op-amp immediately after power-on, which may cause unstable behavior, is pulled up, thereby stabilizing the operation of the op-amp.

[0192] (9) A power supply unit for the aerosol generating device according to (7) or (8), The IC (booster circuit 11) has an input terminal (enable terminal EN), The input terminal is connected to the output terminal of the operational amplifier and to the controller. Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

[0193] According to (9), even if the op-amp outputs an unstable signal immediately after power-on, the signal itself, rather than that signal itself, is input to the input terminal of the IC, and a signal synthesized with the signal output by the controller is input. This improves the accuracy of control using this IC.

[0194] (10) A power supply unit for the aerosol generating device according to (7) or (8), An IC (booster circuit 11) having an input terminal (enable terminal EN); and an AND gate (AND gate 10) including a first input terminal (input terminal A) connected to the controller, a second input terminal (input terminal B) connected to the output terminal of the operational amplifier, and an output terminal (output terminal Y) connected to the input terminal. Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

[0195] According to (10), the output signal of the operational amplifier and the output signal of the controller are combined using an AND gate, thereby stabilizing the signal input to the IC. This stabilizes the operation of the aerosol generating device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0196] 100 Power Supply Units 6 MCU 15 Suction Sensor BA Power Supply th1 1st thermistor th2 Second thermistor 10. AND Gate 9 FF OP2 Operational Amplifier Q6 Switch BT Switch

Claims

1. A power supply unit of an aerosol generating device for generating a flavored aerosol, comprising: A heating unit for heating the flavor source; A power source capable of supplying power to the heating unit; A temperature sensor that is in contact with or close to the heating unit, or that uses the heating unit itself; an operational amplifier having a power supply terminal connected to the power supply and a non-inverting input terminal or an inverting input terminal connected to the temperature sensor; a switch capable of opening and closing an electrical connection between the power source and the power source terminal; An operation unit operable by a user; and a controller configured to be able to control the opening and closing of the switch based on an operation on the operation unit. Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

2. A power supply unit for the aerosol generating device according to claim 1, an LDO having a first input terminal and a first output terminal; the LDO converts a voltage input from the power supply to the first input terminal to obtain a first voltage, and outputs the first voltage from the first output terminal; The first output terminal is connected in parallel to a power supply terminal of the controller and the switch. Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

3. A power supply unit for the aerosol generating device according to claim 2, a charging terminal electrically connectable to an external power source; a charging IC including: a second input terminal electrically connected to the charging terminal; a power supply terminal connected to the power supply; and a second output terminal capable of outputting a voltage generated from a voltage input to the second input terminal; The second output terminal of the charging IC is connected to the first input terminal of the LDO. Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

4. A power supply unit for the aerosol generating device according to claim 3, When the operation unit is operated, one end is connected to ground, and the other end is connected in parallel to the switch and to the first output terminal of the LDO via a resistor, the charging IC includes a negative logic terminal connected to the other end of the operation unit, and is configured to restart when a low-level signal is input to the negative logic terminal for a predetermined period of time. Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

5. A power supply unit for the aerosol generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, when the controller detects that a specific operation has been performed on the operation unit, the controller closes the switch to electrically connect the power source and the power source terminal; The controller further controls the heating unit to start heating when it detects that a user has performed an operation to start heating with the switch closed. Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

6. A power supply unit for the aerosol generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, a voltage divider circuit configured with two resistors connected in series and dividing a voltage supplied from the power supply; one of the inverting input terminal and the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier to which the temperature sensor is not connected is connected to an output of the voltage divider circuit; Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

7. A power supply unit for the aerosol generating device according to claim 6, the power supply terminal of the operational amplifier and one end of the voltage divider circuit are electrically connected to each other; Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

8. A power supply unit for the aerosol generating device according to claim 6 or 7, the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier is connected to an output from the temperature sensor; the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier is connected to the output of the voltage divider circuit; Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

9. A power supply unit for an aerosol generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, an output terminal of the operational amplifier is connected to a first terminal of the controller, and when the temperature of the temperature sensor becomes equal to or higher than a threshold value, a logic level of an output from the output terminal changes; Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

10. A power supply unit for the aerosol generating device according to claim 9, When the logic level of the output from the output terminal changes, the supply of power to the heating unit is stopped. Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

11. A power supply unit for the aerosol generating device according to claim 9 or 10, an IC including a third input terminal electrically connected to the power supply, a third output terminal that outputs a heating voltage generated by on / off control of a built-in transistor and is connected to the heating unit, and an enable terminal that is connected to the output terminal of the operational amplifier; Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

12. A power supply unit for the aerosol generating device according to claim 11, the enable terminal of the IC is positive logic; When the temperature of the temperature sensor becomes equal to or higher than a threshold value, the operational amplifier outputs a signal at a low level from the output terminal. Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

13. A power supply unit for an aerosol generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, comprising: the controller includes a second terminal connected to an output from the temperature sensor without passing through the operational amplifier; Power supply unit for the aerosol generator.

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