Aerosol generating device that heats through power amplification and its operating method

Abstract

According to one embodiment, the aerosol generating device includes a battery for supplying power, a heater for heating an aerosol product, and an amplifier electrically connected to the battery and the heater, the amplifier amplifies a power signal supplied from the battery through at least two switching elements to generate a first amplified signal, removes a modulation frequency component and a harmonic component from the generated first amplified signal to generate a second amplified signal, and transmits the generated second amplified signal to the heater, the switching elements having a capacitance of 5 nC or less or a resistance of 15 mΩ or less. Various other embodiments are possible as understood throughout the specification.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an aerosol generating device and a method of operating the same, in which heating is controlled based on power amplification via a switching element. [Background technology]

[0002] Recently, there has been an increasing demand for alternative methods to overcome the shortcomings of conventional cigarettes, such as a system that generates an aerosol by heating a cigarette or an aerosol-generating substance using an aerosol-generating device, rather than by burning a cigarette to generate an aerosol.

[0003] Recently, research has been conducted on a method for more efficiently heating an aerosol-forming substrate in an aerosol generating device that employs induction heating. In particular, since an aerosol generating device is provided in a limited size for the convenience of carrying it around, a method for improving the power efficiency within the limited size is required. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an aerosol generating device that controls heating of a heating body by amplifying a power signal using a class-D amplifier.

[0005] The problems to be solved through the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the problems described above, and problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the embodiments belong from this specification and the accompanying drawings. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In one embodiment, the aerosol generating device includes a battery that supplies power, a heating element that heats the aerosol product, and an amplifier electrically connected to the battery and the heating element, wherein the amplifier amplifies a power signal supplied from the battery via at least two switching elements to generate a first amplified signal, removes modulation frequency components and harmonic components from the generated first amplified signal to generate a second amplified signal, and transmits the generated second amplified signal to the heating element, and the switching element has a capacitance of 5 nC or less or a resistance of 15 mΩ or less.

[0007] In one embodiment, an operating method of an aerosol generating device includes the steps of amplifying a power signal supplied from a battery via at least two switching elements to generate a first amplified signal, removing modulation frequency components and harmonic components from the generated first amplified signal to generate a second amplified signal, and transmitting the generated second amplified signal to a heating element, wherein the switching elements have a capacitance of 5 nC or less or a resistance value of 15 mΩ or less. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the power supply for induction heating can be efficiently controlled through power amplification, and the size of the aerosol generating device can be reduced through efficient power control, maximizing spatial advantages.

[0009] However, the effects of the embodiments are not limited to the effects described above, and effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those having ordinary skill in the art to which the embodiments pertain from this specification and the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an aerosol generating device according to one embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a signal control method for an aerosol generating device according to one embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram illustrating an amplifier according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an aerosol generating device according to one embodiment. [Diagram 5] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for correcting amplifier errors in an aerosol generating device according to one embodiment. [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for detecting dead-time of an amplifier; [Figure 7] 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for correcting an amplifier error in the aerosol generating apparatus shown in FIG. 4. [Figure 8] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an induction heating type aerosol generating device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing an induction heating type aerosol generating device according to another embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an aerosol generating device according to another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] The terms used in the examples are currently widely used general terms as much as possible while considering the function in the present invention, but this may vary depending on the intention or precedent of the technician in the field, the emergence of new technology, etc. In addition, in certain cases, the applicant may arbitrarily select a term, and in such cases, the meaning of the term will be described in detail in the description of the invention. Therefore, the terms used in the present invention must be defined based on the meaning of the term and the overall content of the present disclosure, not just the name of the term.

[0012] Throughout the specification, when a part "includes" a certain component, it does not mean excluding other components, but may further include other components, unless otherwise specified to the contrary. In addition, the terms "... unit" and "... module" described in the specification mean a unit that processes at least one function or operation, and it is realized by hardware or software, or by a combination of hardware and software.

[0013] As used herein, when a phrase such as "at least one of" precedes an element in a sequence, it modifies the entire element and not each individual member of the sequence. For example, the phrase "at least one of a, b, and c" should be interpreted as including a, b, c, or a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b, and c.

[0014] In one embodiment, the aerosol generating device is also a device that generates an aerosol by electrically heating a cigarette contained in the interior space.

[0015] The aerosol generating device may comprise a heater, in one embodiment the heater may be an electrically resistive heater, for example the heater may comprise a conductive track, and when a current flows through the conductive track the heater may be heated.

[0016] The heater may include a tubular heating element, a plate-shaped heating element, a needle-shaped heating element, or a rod-shaped heating element, and may heat the inside or outside of the cigarette depending on the shape of the heating element.

[0017] The cigarette may include a tobacco rod and a filter rod. The tobacco rod may be made in a sheet or strand form, and the tobacco sheet may be made of shredded tobacco. The tobacco rod may also be surrounded by a thermally conductive material. For example, the thermally conductive material may be a metal foil, such as, but not limited to, aluminum foil.

[0018] The filter rod is also a cellulose acetate filter. The filter rod may be composed of at least one or more segments. For example, the filter rod may include a first segment that cools the aerosol and a second segment that filters a predetermined component contained in the aerosol.

[0019] In another embodiment, the aerosol generating device is a device that generates an aerosol using a cartridge that holds an aerosol generating substance.

[0020] The aerosol generating device may include a cartridge that holds an aerosol generating material and a body that supports the cartridge. The cartridge may be detachably coupled to the body, but is not limited thereto. The cartridge may be formed integrally with the body or assembled thereto and fixed so as not to be detached by a user. The cartridge may be attached to the body with the aerosol generating material contained therein. However, is not limited thereto, and the aerosol generating material may be injected into the cartridge when the cartridge is coupled to the body.

[0021] The cartridge may hold an aerosol generating material in any one of a variety of states, such as a liquid state, a solid state, a gas state, a gel state, etc. The aerosol generating material may include a liquid composition. For example, the liquid composition may be a liquid containing a tobacco-containing material including a volatile tobacco flavor component, or a liquid containing a non-tobacco material.

[0022] The cartridge is operated by an electric signal or a wireless signal transmitted from the main body to convert the phase of the aerosol generating material inside the cartridge into a gas phase to generate an aerosol. The aerosol refers to a gas in which vaporized particles generated from the aerosol generating material and air are mixed together.

[0023] In yet another embodiment, the aerosol generating device heats a liquid composition to generate an aerosol, and the generated aerosol may be delivered to a user through the cigarette, i.e., the aerosol generated from the liquid composition travels along an airflow passage of the aerosol generating device, and the airflow passage may be configured to allow the aerosol to be delivered to a user through the cigarette.

[0024] In still another embodiment, the aerosol generating device is a device that generates an aerosol from an aerosol generating material using an ultrasonic vibration method, where the ultrasonic vibration method refers to a method of generating an aerosol by atomizing the aerosol generating material using ultrasonic vibration generated by a vibrator.

[0025] The aerosol generating device includes a vibrator, and can atomize the aerosol generating material by generating short-period vibrations through the vibrator. The vibrations generated by the vibrator can be ultrasonic vibrations, and the frequency band of the ultrasonic vibrations can be, but is not limited to, about 100 kHz to 3.5 MHz.

[0026] The aerosol generating device may further include a wick for absorbing the aerosol generating material, for example, the wick may be positioned to surround at least a region of the transducer or to contact at least a region of the transducer.

[0027] When a voltage (e.g., an AC voltage) is applied to the transducer, heat and / or ultrasonic vibrations are generated from the transducer, and the heat and / or ultrasonic vibrations generated from the transducer can be transferred to the aerosol generating substance absorbed in the wick. The aerosol generating substance absorbed in the wick can be converted to a gas phase by the heat and / or ultrasonic vibrations transmitted from the transducer, resulting in the generation of an aerosol.

[0028] For example, the viscosity of the aerosol-generating material absorbed into the core is reduced by heat generated from the vibrator, and the reduced-viscosity aerosol-generating material is broken down into fine particles by ultrasonic vibrations generated from the vibrator, thereby generating an aerosol, but this is not limited to this.

[0029] In yet another embodiment, the aerosol generating device is a device that generates an aerosol by heating an aerosol product contained in the aerosol generating device by induction heating.

[0030] The aerosol generating device may include a susceptor and a coil. In one embodiment, the coil may apply a magnetic field to the susceptor. When power is supplied from the aerosol generating device to the coil, a magnetic field may be formed inside the coil. In one embodiment, the susceptor is also a magnetic material that generates heat due to an external magnetic field. When the susceptor is located inside the coil and a magnetic field is applied to the susceptor, the aerosol product may be heated by generating heat. Alternatively, the susceptor may be located inside the aerosol product.

[0031] In yet another embodiment, the aerosol generating device may further comprise a cradle.

[0032] The aerosol generating device may be combined with a separate cradle to form a system. For example, the cradle may charge a battery of the aerosol generating device. Alternatively, the heater may heat the aerosol generating device when the cradle and the aerosol generating device are combined.

[0033] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present disclosure. The present disclosure may be implemented in a form that can be implemented by the aerosol generating device of the various embodiments described above, or may be implemented in various different forms, and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

[0034] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0035] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an aerosol generating device according to one embodiment.

[0036] Referring to Fig. 1, the aerosol generating device 100 may include a battery 110, a heater 120, and an amplifier 130. However, the hardware components inside the aerosol generating device 100 are not limited to those shown in Fig. 1. A person having ordinary skill in the art related to this embodiment would understand that some of the hardware components shown in Fig. 1 may be omitted or new components may be added depending on the design of the aerosol generating device 100.

[0037] Hereinafter, the operation of each component included in the aerosol generating device 100 will be described without limiting the space in which the component is located.

[0038] In one embodiment, the battery 110 may provide the power required for the aerosol generating device 100 to operate. For example, the battery 110 applies a DC supply voltage to the amplifier 130, and the amplified power signal is transmitted to the heating element 120 via the amplifier 130, so that the heating element 120 can heat at least a portion of the aerosol product. In this case, the range of the DC supply voltage applied by the battery 110 to the amplifier 130 may be about 2.5V to 10V, and more specifically, about 3V.

[0039] In one embodiment, the heater 120 can heat at least a portion of the aerosol product. For example, the heater 120 can be an induction coil that generates a variable magnetic field to heat a susceptor contained inside the aerosol product or a susceptor disposed outside the aerosol product. However, without being limited thereto, in another embodiment, the heater 120 can be a film heater made of an electrically resistive material.

[0040] In one embodiment, the aerosol generating device 100 may further include a resonant circuit for the heating element 120. When the heating element 120 is an induction coil, even if a susceptor disposed inside the induction coil and heated has an electrically resistive characteristic, most of the power applied by the induction coil has a reactive component due to the inductance L of the induction coil. Therefore, in order to cancel the reactive power and make the apparent power equal to the active power, the aerosol generating device 100 may include a resonant circuit (e.g., an LC matching circuit) to which a capacitor having a capacitance C is connected.

[0041] The resonant frequency (f0) of the resonant circuit for the heater 120 can be calculated using Equation 1.

number

[0042] That is, the resonant frequency (f0) at which the susceptor is inductively heated can be calculated based on the material properties, electrical properties, etc. of the susceptor placed inside the heating body 120 (i.e., the induction coil), and the components of the resonant circuit can be set based on the calculated resonant frequency (f0).

[0043] In one embodiment, the amplifier 130 may receive a power signal provided by the battery 110 as an input signal, and output the amplified power signal through a series of stages as an output signal.

[0044] For example, if the amplifier 130 is a class-D power amplifier, the amplifier 130 may receive, as an input signal, a power signal based on a DC supply voltage applied from the battery 110. The amplifier 130 may then convert the received input signal into a pulse width modulation (PWM) waveform, amplify the PWM waveform through a switching element, and output, as an output signal, a signal obtained by filtering out modulation frequency components and harmonic components from the amplified signal. This will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 2.

[0045] In one embodiment, the amplifier 130 includes switching elements 134a and 134b, and the switching elements 134a and 134b may be switched between open and closed states to amplify a power signal received as an input signal. For example, the switching elements 134a and 134b may be implemented as transistors that amplify or switch an electronic signal or power. The switching elements 134a and 134b may be any one of a field effect transistor (FET) and a bipolar junction transistor (BJT).

[0046] Specifically, when the switching elements 134a and 134b are FETs, a DC supply voltage is applied to the gates of the switching elements 134a and 134b from the battery 110, and the switching elements 134a and 134b can control a current between a source and a drain with the applied voltage. Alternatively, when the switching elements 134a and 134b are BJTs, the DC supply voltage applied from the battery 110 is converted into a current at the base, and the switching elements 134a and 134b can control a current between a collector and an emitter.

[0047] More specifically, the switching elements 134a and 134b may be implemented by field effect transistors such as metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) or metal semiconductor field effect transistors (MESFETs).

[0048] In one embodiment, the amplifier 130 includes at least two switching elements (e.g., a first switching element 134a and a second switching element 134b), where the at least two switching elements 134a, 134b have a capacitance of about 5 nC or less and / or a resistance of about 15 mΩ or less.

[0049] In the case of a class-D power amplifier, when the switching state of one of at least two switching elements included in the amplifier is on, the switching state of the other switching element is also off. In this case, as the switching frequency indicating the operating speed of the switching elements increases, a signal delay (on delay, off delay) occurs between the switching elements in the amplifier, and the amplifier may experience increased loss due to dead time.

[0050] In this disclosure, "dead time" refers to the time it takes from the time when the open / closed state of one of at least two switching elements (e.g., a low-side switch) changes from On to Off to the time when the open / closed state of the other switching element (e.g., a high-side switch) changes from Off to On.

[0051] In one embodiment, a switching frequency in the range of about 500 KHz to 100 MHz, more preferably a switching frequency of about 6.78 MHz, can be applied to the amplifier 130. For example, when a switching frequency of about 6.78 MHz is applied to the amplifier 130, the amplifier 130 includes two switching elements 134a, 134b having a capacitance of about 5 nC or less and / or a resistance of about 15 mΩ or less, thereby minimizing the dead time of the amplifier 130 and achieving a power efficiency of about 90% or more.

[0052] Fig. 2 is a flow chart showing a signal control method for an aerosol generating device according to an embodiment Fig. 3 is a circuit diagram showing an amplifier according to an embodiment.

[0053] Referring to Figures 2 and 3, in operation 201, an aerosol generating device (e.g., the aerosol generating device 100 of Figure 1) may amplify a power signal supplied from a battery 110 via at least two switching elements 134a, 134b to generate a first amplified signal.

[0054] In one embodiment, the amplifier 130 may receive a power signal supplied from the battery 110 as an input signal via the pulse width modulation processing circuit 300. For example, the amplifier 130 may receive a power signal having a sine wave form from the battery 110 as an input signal. Then, the pulse width modulation processing circuit 300 of the amplifier 130 may combine the power signal received from the battery 110 and a triangular wave generated by a triangular wave generator 302 to convert the combined power signal into a pulse width modulation (PWM) waveform having a square wave form. The converted pulse width modulation waveform may be transmitted to an amplification circuit 310 of the amplifier 130.

[0055] In one embodiment, the amplifier 130 may amplify the converted pulse width modulated waveform through the amplifier circuit 310 to generate a first amplified signal. For example, the amplifier circuit 310 may be a push-pull switching amplifier circuit. The amplifier circuit 310 includes a first switching element 134a and a second switching element 134b, each of which has a capacitance Q of about 5 nC or less. g and / or a resistance value R of approximately 15 mΩ or less ds has.

[0056] The first switching element 134a and the second switching element 134b may switch between on and off states, so that output nodes of the switching elements 134a and 134b may be connected to VDD and ground. Thus, the first switching element 134a and the second switching element 134b may convert the pulse width modulation waveform received from the pulse width modulation processing circuit 300 into a first amplified signal by switching between on and off states. In this case, the "first amplified signal" refers to an amplified signal including an amplified fundamental wave component, odd harmonics components, and a modulation frequency component.

[0057] According to one embodiment, the aerosol generating device 100 may remove modulation frequency components and harmonic components from the first amplified signal generated in operation 203 to generate a second amplified signal.

[0058] In one embodiment, the amplifier 130 can remove the modulation frequency component and the harmonic components from the generated first amplified signal through a low pass filter 320. For example, the low pass filter 320 can be a filter having an inductor L F and capacitor C F are connected in series, and the modulation frequency component and the harmonic components of the first amplified signal are F and capacitor C F Thus, the low-pass filter 320 can convert the first amplified signal into a second amplified signal from which the modulation frequency component and the harmonic components have been removed. In this case, the "second amplified signal" refers to an amplified signal that includes only the amplified fundamental component, unlike the first amplified signal.

[0059] According to one embodiment, the aerosol generation device 100 can transmit the second amplified signal generated in operation 205 to a heating element (e.g., heating element 120 in FIG. 1) that heats the aerosol product.

[0060] In an embodiment, the aerosol generating apparatus 100 may further perform output matching before transmitting the generated second amplified signal to the heater 120. In this case, "output matching" refers to controlling the frequency of the second amplified signal to control the temperature to which the heater 120 heats the susceptor to a predetermined temperature. For example, the aerosol generating apparatus 100 may control the frequency of the second amplified signal at a resonant frequency (f0) so that the susceptor is heated to a maximum temperature.

[0061] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an aerosol generating device according to one embodiment.

[0062] Referring to Fig. 4, the aerosol generating device 400 may include a battery 110, a heater 120, an amplifier 130, and a processor 150. However, the hardware components inside the aerosol generating device 400 are not limited to those shown in Fig. 4. A person having ordinary skill in the art related to this embodiment would understand that some of the hardware components shown in Fig. 4 may be omitted or new components may be added depending on the design of the aerosol generating device 400. In addition, contents that correspond to, are the same as, or are similar to the contents described above in the description related to Fig. 4 may be omitted.

[0063] In one embodiment, the battery 110 may provide the power required for the aerosol generating device 100 to operate. For example, the battery 110 applies a DC supply voltage to the amplifier 130, and the amplified power signal is transmitted to the heating element 120 via the amplifier 130, so that the heating element 120 can heat at least a portion of the aerosol product. In this case, the range of the DC supply voltage applied by the battery 110 to the amplifier 130 may be about 2.5V to 10V, and more specifically, may be about 3V.

[0064] In one embodiment, the heater 120 can heat at least a portion of the aerosol product. For example, the heater 120 can be an induction coil that generates a variable magnetic field to heat a susceptor contained inside the aerosol product or a susceptor disposed outside the aerosol product. However, the heater 120 is not limited thereto, and in another embodiment, the heater 120 can be a film heater made of an electrically resistive material.

[0065] In one embodiment, the amplifier 130 may receive a power signal supplied from the battery 110 as an input signal, and output a power signal amplified through a series of steps as an output signal. For example, when the amplifier 130 is a class-D power amplifier, the amplifier 130 may receive a power signal based on a DC supply voltage applied from the battery 110 as an input signal. Thereafter, the amplifier 130 may convert the received input signal into a pulse width modulation (PWM) waveform, amplify the PWM waveform through a switching element, and output a signal obtained by filtering a modulation frequency component and a harmonic component of the amplified signal as an output signal.

[0066] In one embodiment, the processor 150 can obtain the dead time of the amplifier 130 to correct for errors in the switching elements 134a, 134b.

[0067] An amplifier may include a switching element having predetermined specification information (e.g., a capacitance Qg of 3 nC or a resistance Rds of 10 mΩ) according to a design by a manufacturer. However, even if a switching element that exceeds the allowable error range related to the predetermined specification information is manufactured during the process of manufacturing the switching element, it is difficult to know whether the error occurs or not before applying the switching element to a circuit board and obtaining experimental data. Furthermore, if a switching element that exceeds the allowable error range is applied to a circuit board, an amplifier may be manufactured that has a lower efficiency than the power efficiency of the amplifier targeted by the manufacturer.

[0068] This allows the processor 150 to account for the dead time of the amplifier 130 and correct for errors in the switching elements 134a, 134b before amplifying the power signal through the amplifier 130.

[0069] Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing a method for correcting an error of an amplifier by the aerosol generating apparatus according to an embodiment. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example for explaining a method for detecting a dead time of an amplifier. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example for explaining a method for correcting an error of an amplifier by the aerosol generating apparatus 400 according to Fig. 4.

[0070] Referring to FIG. 5, in operation 501, a processor (e.g., processor 150 of FIG. 4) may obtain a dead time based on an input signal, an output signal, and a signal level at a connection point to a switching element (e.g., switching elements 134a, 134b of FIG. 4).

[0071] In one embodiment, the processor 150 may obtain an input signal and an output signal for an amplifier circuit 310 including two switching elements in an amplifier (e.g., the amplifier 130 of FIG. 4). For example, referring to graph (a) of FIG. 6, if one node of any one of at least two switching elements (e.g., a high-side switch) of the amplifier circuit 310 is connected to VDD and the other node is connected to ground, the processor 150 may obtain that the input signal of the high-side switch is switched from a low (L) state to a high (H) state at time t1.

[0072] From time t1 when the input signal of the high-side switch is changed from a low (L) state to a high (H) state, the signal level at the connection point gradually increases, and the processor 150 detects whether the signal level at the connection point exceeds the threshold value V th At time t2, when time reaches t1, the output signal of the high-side switch may be switched from a low (L) state to a high (H) state. Then, the input signal and the output signal of the high-side switch may be switched from a high (H) state to a low (L) state at the same time at time t3.

[0073] That is, the difference between the time when the input signal of the switching element changes from a low (L) state to a high (H) state and the time when the output signal of the switching element changes from a low (L) state to a high (H) state corresponds to the dead time generated in the amplifier, and the processor 150 can obtain the dead time based on the input signal, output signal, and signal levels at the connection point of the switching element.

[0074] According to one embodiment, the processor 150 may compare the dead time obtained in operation 503 and a preset dead time to determine whether the dead time obtained exceeds the preset dead time.

[0075] For example, the processor 150 may calculate the dead time t dead1 and the dead time t dead2 That is, the first threshold for the signal level at the node in the switching element is V th1 If so, the processor 150 determines whether the threshold V th1 The time it takes to reach the dead time t dead1 It can be obtained as.

[0076] Thereafter, the processor 150 calculates the acquired dead time t dead1 The preset dead time t dead2 In comparison, the preset dead time t dead2 " means the maximum dead time set by the manufacturer for the switching element.

[0077] According to one embodiment, if the acquired dead time exceeds the preset dead time, the processor 150 changes the threshold for the signal level at the connection point in operation 505. If the acquired dead time does not exceed the preset dead time, the processor 150 performs operations following operation 201 in FIG.

[0078] For example, the acquired dead time tdead1 is the preset dead time t dead2 If it is longer, the processor 150 sets a first threshold V th1 The preset dead time t dead2 A second threshold V th2 In this case, the second threshold value V th2 is the first threshold V th1 That is, the processor 150 sets a threshold for the signal level at the node in the switching element to a first threshold V th1 to the second threshold V th2 can correct for errors for switching elements that are fabricated outside the tolerance range.

[0079] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing an induction heating type aerosol generating device according to one embodiment.

[0080] 8, the aerosol generating device 800 may include a battery 110, an amplifier 130, a processor 150, and a heating element 120 in a housing 10. In this case, the heating element 120 may include an induction coil and a susceptor. In one embodiment, the housing 10 may include a receiving space into which an aerosol product 810 is inserted, and the susceptor of the heating element 120 may be disposed to surround at least a portion of the receiving space.

[0081] In one embodiment, the aerosol generating device 800 can include a battery 110 that outputs a power signal and an amplifier 130 that generates an amplified signal, thereby controlling the induction coil to operate in a predetermined frequency range (e.g., approximately 6.78 MHz).

[0082] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing an induction heating type aerosol generating device according to another embodiment.

[0083] 9, the aerosol generating devices 900a and 900b may include a battery 110, an amplifier 130, a processor 150, and a heating element 120 in a housing 10. In this case, the heating element 120 may include only an induction coil. In one embodiment, the housing 10 may include a receiving space into which the aerosol generating product 910a or 910b is inserted, and the induction coil of the heating element 120 may be disposed to surround the receiving space. In this case, the induction coil of the heating element 120 may be disposed to correspond to a region in which a susceptor is disposed in the aerosol generating product 910a or 910b.

[0084] For example, if the aerosol product 910a includes a susceptor at its upstream end, the induction coil of the heater 120 may be disposed to surround the lower end of the receiving space. As another example, if the aerosol product 910b includes a susceptor at its middle region, the induction coil of the heater 120 may be disposed to surround the upper end of the receiving space.

[0085] However, without being limited thereto, in other embodiments, the aerosol product may include a susceptor made of a material such as a metal foil, in which case the susceptor may be included in the aerosol product as part of a wrapper that surrounds the aerosol product.

[0086] FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an aerosol generating device 1000 according to another embodiment.

[0087] The aerosol generating device 1000 may include a control unit 1010, a sensing unit 1020, an output unit 1030, a battery 1040, a heater 1050, a user input unit 1060, a memory 1070, and a communication unit 1080. However, the internal structure of the aerosol generating device 1000 is not limited to that shown in Fig. 10. That is, a person having ordinary skill in the art related to this embodiment will understand that some of the components shown in Fig. 10 may be omitted or new components may be added depending on the design of the aerosol generating device 1000.

[0088] The sensing unit 1020 may sense the state of the aerosol generating device 1000 or the state around the aerosol generating device 1000, and transmit the sensed information to the control unit 1010. The control unit 1010 may control the aerosol generating device 1000 based on the sensed information to perform various functions such as controlling the operation of the heater 1050, restricting smoking, determining whether an aerosol product (e.g., cigarette, cartridge, etc.) is inserted, and displaying notifications.

[0089] The sensing unit 1020 may include at least one of a temperature sensor 1022, an insertion detection sensor 1024, and a puff sensor 1026, but is not limited thereto.

[0090] The temperature sensor 1022 may sense the temperature to which the heater 1050 (or the aerosol generating substance) is heated. The aerosol generating device 1000 may include a separate temperature sensor for sensing the temperature of the heater 1050, or the heater 1050 itself may function as a temperature sensor. Alternatively, the temperature sensor 1022 may be disposed around the battery 1040 to monitor the temperature of the battery 1040.

[0091] The insertion detection sensor 1024 may detect the insertion and / or removal of the aerosol product article. For example, the insertion detection sensor 1024 may include at least one of a film sensor, a pressure sensor, an optical sensor, a resistive sensor, a capacitive sensor, an inductive sensor, and an infrared sensor, and may detect a signal change due to the insertion and / or removal of the aerosol product article.

[0092] The puff sensor 1026 may sense a user's puff based on various physical changes in the airflow passage or channel, for example, the puff sensor 1026 may sense a user's puff based on any one of a temperature change, a flow change, a voltage change, and a pressure change.

[0093] The sensing unit 1020 may further include at least one of a temperature / humidity sensor, an air pressure sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a position sensor (e.g., GPS), a proximity sensor, and an RGB (illuminance) sensor in addition to the above-mentioned sensors (temperature sensor 1022, insertion sensor 1024, and puff sensor 1026). A person skilled in the art can intuitively infer the function of each sensor from its name, so a detailed description thereof may be omitted.

[0094] The output unit 1030 may output information related to the status of the aerosol generating device 1000 to provide it to a user. The output unit 1030 may include, but is not limited to, at least one of a display unit 1032, a haptic unit 1034, and an audio output unit 1036. When the display unit 1032 and the touchpad are layered to form a touch screen, the display unit 1032 may be used as an input device in addition to an output device.

[0095] The display unit 1032 visually provides a user with information related to the aerosol generating device 1000. For example, the information related to the aerosol generating device 1000 means various information such as a charge / discharge state of the battery 1040 of the aerosol generating device 1000, a preheat state of the heater 1050, an insertion / removal state of an aerosol product, or a state in which the use of the aerosol generating device 1000 is restricted (e.g., abnormal item detection), and the display unit 1032 can output the information to the outside. The display unit 1032 may be, for example, a liquid crystal display panel (LCD), an organic light emitting display panel (OLED), etc. The display unit 1032 may also be in the form of an LED light emitting element.

[0096] The haptic unit 1034 converts an electrical signal into a mechanical or electrical stimulus to tactilely provide a user with information related to the aerosol generating device 1000. For example, the haptic unit 1034 may include a motor, a piezoelectric element, or an electrical stimulation device.

[0097] The acoustic output unit 1036 audibly provides the user with information related to the aerosol generating device 1000. For example, the acoustic output unit 1036 can convert an electric signal into an acoustic signal and output it to the outside.

[0098] The battery 1040 may supply power used for operating the aerosol generating device 1000. The battery 1040 may supply power to heat the heater 1050. The battery 1040 may also supply power necessary for the operation of other components (e.g., the sensing unit 1020, the output unit 1030, the user input unit 1060, the memory 1070, and the communication unit 1080) included in the aerosol generating device 1000. The battery 1040 may be a rechargeable battery or a disposable battery. For example, the battery 1040 may be a lithium polymer (LiPoly) battery, but is not limited thereto.

[0099] The heater 1050 may heat the aerosol-generating material by receiving power from the battery 1040. Although not shown in Fig. 10, the aerosol generating device 1000 may further include a power conversion circuit (e.g., a DC / DC converter) that converts the power of the battery 1040 and supplies the converted power to the heater 1050. In addition, when the aerosol generating device 1000 generates an aerosol by an induction heating method, the aerosol generating device 1000 may further include a DC / AC converter that converts the DC power of the battery 1040 into an AC power.

[0100] The control unit 1010, the sensing unit 1020, the output unit 1030, the user input unit 1060, the memory 1070, and the communication unit 1080 may perform their functions by receiving power from a battery 1040. Although not shown in FIG 10, the device may further include a power conversion circuit, for example, an LDO (low dropout) circuit or a voltage regulator circuit, that converts the power of the battery 1040 and supplies it to each component.

[0101] In one embodiment, the heater 1050 may be made of any suitable electrically resistive material. For example, suitable electrically resistive materials may be metals or metal alloys including, but not limited to, titanium, zirconium, tantalum, platinum, nickel, cobalt, chromium, hafnium, niobium, molybdenum, tungsten, tin, gallium, manganese, iron, copper, stainless steel, nichrome, etc. The heater 1050 may also be embodied by, but not limited to, a metal hot wire, a metal hot plate having a conductive track disposed thereon, a ceramic heating element, etc.

[0102] In another embodiment, heater 1050 is an inductively heated heater. For example, heater 1050 can include a susceptor that generates heat via a magnetic field applied by a coil to heat the aerosol generating material.

[0103] The user input unit 1060 receives information input by a user or outputs information to a user. For example, the user input unit 1060 may be, but is not limited to, a key pad, a dome switch, a touch pad (a touch pad using a contact-type capacitance type, a pressure-type resistive film type, an infrared sensing type, a surface ultrasonic conduction type, an integral type tension measurement type, a piezoelectric effect type, etc.), a jog wheel, a jog switch, etc. In addition, although not shown in FIG. 10, the aerosol generating device 1000 may further include a connection interface such as a USB (universal serial bus) interface, and may connect to another external device through the connection interface such as a USB interface to transmit and receive information or charge the battery 1040.

[0104] The memory 1070 is hardware that stores various data processed in the aerosol generating device 1000, and can store data processed by the control unit 1010 and data to be processed. The memory 1070 can include at least one type of recording medium among a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a multimedia card micro type, a card type memory (e.g., SD or XD memory, etc.), a random access memory (RAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), a magnetic memory, a magnetic disk, and an optical disk. The memory 1070 can store the operation time of the aerosol generating device 1000, the maximum number of puffs, the current number of puffs, at least one temperature profile, and data related to the smoking pattern of the user.

[0105] The communication unit 1080 may include at least one component for communication with other electronic devices. For example, the communication unit 1080 may include a short-range communication unit 1082 and a wireless communication unit 1084.

[0106] The short-range wireless communication unit 1082 may include, but is not limited to, a Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication unit, a BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy) communication unit, a Near Field Communication unit, a WLAN (Wi-Fi) communication unit, a Zigbee (registered trademark) communication unit, an IrDA (infrared Data Association) communication unit, a WFD (Wi-Fi Direct) communication unit, a UWB (ultra wideband) communication unit, an Ant+ communication unit, and the like.

[0107] The wireless communication unit 1084 may include, but is not limited to, a cellular network communication unit, an Internet communication unit, a computer network (e.g., a LAN or WAN) communication unit, etc. The wireless communication unit 1084 can identify and authenticate the aerosol generating device 1000 within the communication network using subscriber information (e.g., an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)).

[0108] The control unit 1010 can control the overall operation of the aerosol generating device 1000. In one embodiment, the control unit 1010 can include at least one processor. The processor can be realized by an array of a number of logic gates, and can be realized by a combination of a general-purpose microprocessor and a memory in which a program executed by the microprocessor is stored. A person skilled in the art to which this embodiment belongs will understand that the processor can also be realized by other types of hardware.

[0109] The control unit 1010 can control the temperature of the heater 1050 by controlling the supply of power from the battery 1040 to the heater 1050. For example, the control unit 1010 can control the power supply by controlling the switching of a switching element between the battery 1040 and the heater 1050. In another example, a heating direct circuit may control the power supply to the heater 1050 according to a control command from the control unit 1010.

[0110] The controller 1010 may analyze the result sensed by the sensing unit 1020 and control the process to be performed thereafter. For example, the controller 1010 may control the power supplied to the heater 1050 so that the operation of the heater 1050 is started or stopped based on the result sensed by the sensing unit 1020. As another example, the controller 1010 may control the amount of power and the power supply time supplied to the heater 1050 so that the heater 1050 is heated to a predetermined temperature or maintained at an appropriate temperature based on the result sensed by the sensing unit 1020.

[0111] The control unit 1010 can control the output unit 1030 based on the result sensed by the sensing unit 1020. For example, when the number of puffs counted through the puff sensor 1026 reaches a preset number, the control unit 1010 notifies the user through at least one of the display unit 1032, the haptic unit 1034, and the audio output unit 1036 that the aerosol generating device 1000 will soon be shut down.

[0112] An embodiment may also be embodied in the form of a recording medium containing computer executable instructions such as a program module executed by a computer. A computer readable medium is any available medium that can be accessed by a computer, and includes both volatile and non-volatile media, and separate and non-separate media. In addition, a computer readable medium may include both a computer recording medium and a communication medium. A computer recording medium includes both volatile and non-volatile, separate and non-separate media embodied in any method or technology for storing information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. A communication medium typically includes computer readable instructions, data structures, other data in a modulated data signal such as a program module, or other transmission mechanism, and includes any information delivery medium.

[0113] The above description of the embodiment is merely an example, and a person having ordinary skill in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent embodiments are possible. Therefore, the true scope of protection of the invention should be determined by the claims, and all differences within the scope equivalent to the contents of the claims should be interpreted as being included in the scope of protection determined by the claims.

Claims

1. In the aerosol generating device, A battery for supplying power; a heating element for heating the aerosol product; an amplifier electrically connected to the battery and the heater; The amplifier comprises: amplifying a power signal supplied from the battery through at least two switching elements to generate a first amplified signal; removing the modulation frequency component and the harmonic components from the generated first amplified signal to generate a second amplified signal; transmitting the generated second amplified signal to the heater; An aerosol generating device, wherein the switching element has a capacitance of 5 nC or less or a resistance of 15 mΩ or less.

2. The aerosol generating device of claim 1 , wherein the switching frequency range of the power signal supplied from the battery is 500 KHz to 100 MHz.

3. The aerosol generating device of claim 1 , wherein the switching frequency of the power signal supplied from the battery is 6.78 MHz.

4. The amplifier comprises: a pulse width modulation processing circuit for generating a pulse width modulated signal from the power signal supplied from the battery; an amplifier circuit including at least two switching elements to which a high-speed switching frequency is applied; 2. The aerosol generating device according to claim 1, further comprising a low pass filter that passes frequency components lower than a cut off frequency of the first amplified signal amplified through the amplifier circuit to generate the second amplified signal.

5. a processor electrically coupled to the amplifier; The processor, obtaining a dead-time based on the input signal, the output signal, and the signal level at the connection point of the switching element; The aerosol generating device of claim 1 , further comprising: a threshold value for a signal level at the connection point being changed if the acquired dead time is longer than a preset dead time.

6. The processor, a dead time is obtained based on a time when an input signal of any one of the switching elements is changed from a low state to a high state and a time when a signal level at the connection point reaches a first threshold value; The aerosol generating device according to claim 5 , wherein, when the dead time is longer than the preset dead time, the first threshold value for the signal level at the connection point is changed to a second threshold value lower than the first threshold value.

7. a processor electrically coupled to the amplifier; The processor, The aerosol generating device according to claim 1 , further comprising: a heater that inductively heats a susceptor disposed within the aerosol product based on the second amplified signal.

8. a processor electrically coupled to the amplifier; The processor, The aerosol generating device according to claim 1 , further comprising: a heater that inductively heats a susceptor that is disposed to surround the aerosol product based on the second amplified signal.

9. 1. A method of operating an aerosol generating device, comprising: amplifying a power signal provided from a battery through at least two switching elements to generate a first amplified signal; removing a modulation frequency component and a harmonic component from the generated first amplified signal to generate a second amplified signal; transmitting the generated second amplified signal to a heater; The method of claim 1, wherein the switching element has a capacitance of 5 nC or less or a resistance of 15 mΩ or less.

10. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the switching frequency range of the power signal supplied from the battery is 500 KHz to 100 MHz.

11. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the switching frequency of the power signal supplied by the battery is 6.78 MHz.

12. obtaining a dead-time based on an input signal, an output signal, and a signal level at a node of the switching element; 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of: modifying a threshold for a signal level at the node if the acquired dead time is longer than a preset dead time.

13. acquiring a dead time based on a time when an input signal of any one of the switching elements is switched from a low state to a high state and a time when a signal level at the connection point reaches a first threshold; 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: if the dead time is longer than the preset dead time, changing the first threshold for the signal level at the node to a second threshold that is lower than the first threshold.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of inductively heating a susceptor disposed within the aerosol product via the heater based on the second amplified signal.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of inductively heating a susceptor disposed to surround the aerosol product article via the heating element based on the second amplified signal.

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