Power supply system for aerosol generators

Abstract

A power supply system (101) is suitable for being part of the aerosol generating device (100). In the power supply system, the supply terminals (VDD) of the microcontroller (1) are connected to a rechargeable power supply (2), so that the voltage at the supply terminals of the microcontroller varies depending on the charge level of the rechargeable power supply. No DC-DC converter is used between the rechargeable power supply and the microcontroller, so that the microcontroller can monitor the charge level of the rechargeable power supply.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a power supply system, in particular to such a system adapted to be part of an aerosol generating device. The present invention also relates to an aerosol generating device when equipped with a power supply system according to the invention. [Background technology]

[0002] Each aerosol generator incorporates a microcontroller that performs several functions, including activating and controlling a dedicated heater that heats the aerosol precursor volume for aerosol generation. The microcontroller is typically powered by a battery via a low-dropout (LDO) regulator. The LDO regulator ensures that a nearly constant voltage is supplied to the microcontroller at its supply terminal (usually designated VDD). This ensures stable and consistent operation of the microcontroller. While most microcontrollers should be supplied with a DC voltage of approximately 3.2 V, the battery output voltage can vary from less than 2.5 V to more than 4.2 V, depending on the battery type and its current charge level. If the DC voltage fed to the microcontroller is too high for the nominal value specified for this microcontroller (e.g., 4.0 V instead of 3.2 V), the microcontroller's internal clock will be too fast, resulting in unnecessarily high energy consumption and potentially affecting some peripherals within the microcontroller. This reduces the aerosol generator's usable life between power recharges.

[0003] The battery monitoring integrated circuit has the function of preventing the battery output voltage from dropping too low to a critically depleted state. Before this state is reached, the battery monitoring integrated circuit triggers the isolation of the microcontroller from the battery to prevent further energy consumption. The battery monitoring integrated circuit also prevents the battery from being recharged after a critically depleted state has occurred. This is usually done by incorporating a charging integrated circuit (charging IC) that stops charging the battery once a full charge is achieved. This can help ensure the safety of the aerosol generating device. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, using an LDO regulator and a battery monitoring integrated circuit increases the unit cost and energy consumption of the aerosol generating device, and also complicates the device structure.

[0005] Starting from this situation, one object of the present invention is to alleviate the above-mentioned drawbacks.

[0006] In particular, the present invention allows for the avoidance of redundant components in the power supply system for the aerosol generating device, and thus contributes to minimizing the number of components in the aerosol generating device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To meet at least one of these or other objectives, a first aspect of the present invention proposes a power supply system adapted to be part of an aerosol generating device, said power supply system comprising: - a microcontroller configured to control power delivered to a load; - a rechargeable power supply having an output voltage that varies depending on the charge level of the rechargeable power supply; The microcontroller is connected to receive separate power from a rechargeable power source.

[0008] According to the invention, the supply terminals of the microcontroller dedicated to receiving power to enable operation of this microcontroller are connected to the rechargeable power source so that the voltage at the supply terminals of the microcontroller varies depending on the charge level of the rechargeable power source.

[0009] In other words, the present invention proposes connecting the VDD terminal of a microcontroller to a rechargeable power supply so that the microcontroller receives the output voltage of the rechargeable power supply, which varies depending on its current charge level. In particular, no DC-DC converter or linear regulator, such as an LDO regulator, is disposed between the output of the rechargeable power supply and the VDD terminal of the microcontroller. This supply connection allows the microcontroller to detect and monitor the current output voltage of the rechargeable power supply and thus control the management of the rechargeable power supply. In particular, the microcontroller can prevent the rechargeable power supply from supplying further power to the load to prevent the rechargeable power supply from entering a severely depleted state. In addition, if the rechargeable power supply is already in a severely depleted state for some reason, the microcontroller can also prevent recharging for security reasons. Furthermore, since the microcontroller detects the output voltage of the rechargeable power supply, it can detect when full charging has been achieved and stop the charging operation. Because this function can be realized by the microcontroller, there is no need to use a battery monitoring integrated circuit. Therefore, the power supply system of the present invention can be simplified, resulting in a lower unit cost.

[0010] In the present invention, the rechargeable power source may generally be a battery (eg, a lithium-ion secondary battery) or a capacitor, or any other rechargeable power source type.

[0011] Such a supply connection may also improve the power consumption of the aerosol generator, since there is no longer any power loss in the LDO regulator due to its power regulation, and the power consumption of the battery monitoring integrated circuit may also be eliminated.

[0012] Thus, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller may be configured to monitor the voltage at its supply terminals and prevent charging of the rechargeable power source if this voltage is below a low level threshold.

[0013] According to a refinement of the present invention, the microcontroller may be adapted to operate in either a standard mode or a low-power mode, with the microcontroller consuming less power in the low-power mode than in the standard mode. The microcontroller may then be further configured to activate the low-power mode for operation when the voltage at its supply terminals exceeds a voltage threshold, and switch to the standard mode when the voltage at the supply terminals falls below the voltage threshold. This avoids unnecessary power consumption by the microcontroller due to the microcontroller's VDD voltage being higher than the nominal value. This saves the duration of use of the aerosol generating device before the next recharge of the rechargeable power supply is provided. Depending on the type of microcontroller, several types of low-power modes for the microcontroller can be implemented. For example, some modules within the microcontroller can be switched to an idle mode.

[0014] Generally, the clock frequency value of a microcontroller is proportional to its VDD voltage. One of the reasons why a microcontroller consumes excessive power due to a high VDD voltage can be explained by such a high internal clock frequency value.

[0015] Alternatively, if the microcontroller is internally clocked, the clock frequency value effective in the low-power mode may be configured to be lower than another clock frequency value effective in the standard mode for the same value of voltage at the supply terminals of the microcontroller. Such operation may allow the microcontroller to operate more stably. In general, a changing clock frequency of a microcontroller may cause unstable operation of the microcontroller. Activating the low-power mode when the voltage at the supply terminals is below a voltage threshold may suppress such clock frequency changes.

[0016] According to another refinement of the invention, in particular for aerosol generating devices, the power supply system comprises: - a DC-DC converter connected so that power is delivered from the rechargeable power supply to a load through the DC-DC converter; - a MOSFET switch connected in series with the load between the output of the DC-DC converter and a ground terminal of the power supply system, the MOSFET switch having a gate connected to a first control output terminal of the microcontroller for allowing or preventing the microcontroller from supplying power to the load; It may further comprise:

[0017] According to an optional but preferred additional feature of the present invention, the MOSFET switch may be p-type and may be connected between the output of the DC-DC converter and the load. By implementing such a configuration, control of power delivery to the load can be achieved by the microcontroller even when the rechargeable power supply is in a low-level charge state. In fact, to achieve such control, the microcontroller never needs to provide the MOSFET switch with a control voltage that may be higher than its VDD voltage; this is actually impossible. Specifically, the source of the p-type MOSFET switch is connected to the output of the DC-DC converter, the gate of the p-type MOSFET switch is connected to the microcontroller, and the drain of the p-type MOSFET switch is connected to the load. A typical p-type MOSFET turns on when the potential of its source electrode is higher than the potential of its gate electrode by more than a predetermined threshold. Because the boosted voltage from the DC-DC converter is supplied to the source terminal of the p-type MOSFET, the microcontroller can turn on the p-type MOSFET simply by supplying a low-level voltage to the gate terminal of the p-type MOSFET, which is sufficient even when the rechargeable power supply is in a low-level charge state.

[0018] According to yet another refinement of the invention, the microcontroller may comprise a second control output terminal and may be arranged to provide a pulse width modulated control signal at said second control output terminal. a light emitting diode connected to a second control output terminal of the microcontroller for the microcontroller to control the illumination of the light emitting diode; a capacitor connected in parallel with the light-emitting diode to convert the pulse-width-modulated control signal into a direct current that is conducted through the light-emitting diode and whose value varies in accordance with the pulse-width-modulated control signal; It may further comprise:

[0019] Generally, the light intensity of an LED is proportional to the voltage applied to the LED, and the microcontroller outputs only a voltage equal to its VDD voltage, in a continuous waveform manner or a pulse waveform manner (e.g., pulse-width modulated). This means that the light intensity of the LED can change based on the charge level of the rechargeable power supply. Such a capacitor can maintain the light intensity of the LED at approximately the same level even when the charge level of the rechargeable power supply changes. Such a capacitor can function as a bypass capacitor or a smoothing capacitor, so that the voltage applied to the LED can be maintained at approximately the same level when such a pulse-width modulated control signal is controlled based on the charge level of the rechargeable power supply.

[0020] In the present invention, the power supply system generally comprises: - a charger module arranged to charge the rechargeable power supply with energy originating from an external power source; - a first detection circuit arranged to detect whether an external power source is currently available to the charger module during use of the power supply system; - a second detection circuit arranged to detect whether a load is connected to the power supply system such that the load conducts an output current provided by the power supply system; - placed in series between the rechargeable power supply and the supply terminals of the microcontroller, in the following two cases, namely: If an external power source is currently available to the charger module, and When the load is connected to the power supply system a power switch connected to the first detection circuit and the second detection circuit to allow additional power to be transferred from the rechargeable power source to the microcontroller only when at least one of It may further comprise: Such a supply connection scheme ensures that power to the microcontroller is delivered only when charging or discharging of the rechargeable power supply is expected, which may lead to further improvements in the energy consumption of the aerosol generating device.

[0021] In a possible simple embodiment, the first sensing circuit comprises: a first sense resistor connected in parallel between the external power supply and ground; a first operational amplifier, the first operational amplifier having a non-inverting input terminal and an inverting input terminal connected to both ends of a first sense resistor and an output terminal connected to a control terminal of a power switch; Such a supply connection automatically establishes a power supply to the microcontroller in response to the availability of an external power source.

[0022] The power supply system may further include a pull-up resistor connected in series between the external power source and the first sense resistor. The enable terminal of the charger module may then be configured to receive a divided voltage generated by the pull-up resistor and the first sense resistor. With such a supply connection, the charger module is also automatically enabled in response to the availability of the external power source and simultaneously provides power to the microcontroller.

[0023] The second detection circuit includes: a second sense resistor connected in series with the load; a second operational amplifier, the second operational amplifier having a non-inverting input terminal and an inverting input terminal connected to both ends of the second sense resistor and an output terminal connected to a control terminal of the power switch; a bypass circuit connected between the rechargeable power supply and the load, bypassing the DC-DC converter and the MOSFET switch; Such a supply connection allows the microcontroller to distinguish whether the load is available or not without enabling the DC-DC converter.

[0024] The bypass circuit may include a blocking diode with its anode connected to the rechargeable power supply and its cathode connected to the load. The DC-DC converter may then be a boost converter. With such a supply connection, reverse current through the bypass circuit, which may lead to unstable operation of the aerosol generating device, can be prevented primarily by the blocking diode.

[0025] The bypass circuit may also include a current-limiting resistor connected in series between the rechargeable power supply and the load. Such a supply connection allows the microcontroller to distinguish whether the load is available at very low current.

[0026] In a first possible embodiment of the invention, the power supply system then: a first NOT gate having an input terminal connected to the output terminal of the first operational amplifier; a second NOT gate having an input terminal connected to the output terminal of the second operational amplifier; an AND gate, the input terminal of which is connected to the output terminal of the first NOT gate and the output terminal of the second NOT gate, and the output terminal of which is connected to a control terminal of the power switch; It may further comprise:

[0027] In such a first embodiment, the power switch may be a p-type MOSFET. Such a supply connection automatically forms a power supply to the microcontroller in response to the availability of an external power source or load.

[0028] Alternatively, in another possible embodiment of the present invention, the power supply system comprises: a NOR gate, the input terminals of which are connected to the output terminals of the first operational amplifier and the second operational amplifier, and the output terminal of the NOR gate is connected to a control terminal of a power switch; It may further comprise:

[0029] In such other embodiments, the power switch may again be a p-type MOSFET. Such a supply connection automatically forms a power supply to the microcontroller in response to the availability of an external power source or load.

[0030] In the present invention, the microcontroller may generally be further connected to receive a sense signal representative of the current being delivered to the load, thus enabling the microcontroller to provide feedback control of the power currently being delivered to the load.

[0031] A second aspect of the present invention provides an aerosol generating device, the aerosol generating device comprising: - a power supply system according to the first aspect of the present invention; a heater connected to the power supply system so as to be powered by the power supply system, forming a load; Equipped with.

[0032] These and other features of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings of preferred, but non-limiting, embodiments of the invention. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0033] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram of an aerosol generating device according to the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 illustrates the mode management possible in the microcontroller used in the aerosol generating device of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a detailed view of a first possible embodiment of the aerosol generating device of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] A second embodiment possible for the aerosol generating device of FIG. 1 corresponds to FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0034] For clarity, the same reference numbers appearing in different ones of the figures refer to identical elements or elements with identical functionality.

[0035] Referring to Figure 1, an aerosol generating device 100 comprises a microcontroller 1, a battery 2, a heater 3, and a DC-DC converter 4. For clarity of the diagram, the following labels have been added: "MCU" stands for Microcontroller Unit, "Step-up DC-DC" for DC-DC converter 4, "Overvoltage protection" for charging input port 5, and "Charger" for charging circuit 6.

[0036] The heater 3 is intended to heat an amount of aerosol precursor coming from the pod 102 under the control of the microcontroller 1 to generate an aerosol for inhalation by a user of the aerosol generating device 100. The heater 3 is powered by the battery 2 via a DC-DC converter 4 to adapt the voltage supplied to the heater 3 regardless of the current output voltage value of the battery 2. Generally, the DC-DC converter 4 generates a voltage increase. Therefore, it can be a boost converter, which is a converter type well known in the art. The operation of the DC-DC converter 4 is controlled by the microcontroller 1 based on the current output voltage value of the battery 2. The DC-DC converter 4 can also be a buck-boost converter.

[0037] To enable charging of the battery 2, the aerosol generating device 100 may further include a charging input port 5 and a charger module 6. The charging input port 5 may incorporate an input protection chip directly connected to a USB-C receptacle or a wireless receiving coil. Reference numeral 200 denotes an external power source that is physically or wirelessly connected to the charging input port 5 for charging the battery 2. The charging input port 5 preferably incorporates input protection and input cutoff. Specifically, a protection IC may be incorporated in the charging input port 5. The input cutoff may be accessed by the microcontroller 1 to prevent further charging of the battery 2, particularly if the output voltage of the battery 2 detected by the microcontroller 1 indicates a deep battery depletion. The deep battery depletion state may be detected by the microcontroller 1 when the monitored VDD value falls below a predetermined low-level threshold. The charger module 6 may have the function of adapting the voltage and current charging values ​​to the actual charge level of the battery 2. Specifically, the charger module 6 may be or include a charging IC.

[0038] According to the present invention, the battery 2 (e.g., a lithium-ion secondary battery) is connected to the VDD terminal of the microcontroller 1 without an intermediate voltage converter. In this way, the microcontroller 1 can measure the current and output voltage of the battery 2 and control the operation of the DC-DC converter 4 based on the measurement results. With such a power supply connection configuration, the microcontroller 1 can accommodate a wide range of VDD voltage values. For example, it can operate with VDD values ​​ranging from 1.7V to 5.5V.

[0039] As is generally known, operating the microcontroller 1 at an actual VDD value different from the nominal value specified for the microcontroller may result in higher power consumption by the microcontroller. However, such an increase in power consumption by the microcontroller 1 is unnecessary for the aerosol generation device 100 to deliver aerosol. Consequently, if excessive consumption occurs due to the current VDD value, the microcontroller 1 can be switched from the standard mode to a low-power mode. This may occur when the VDD value exceeds a threshold value, e.g., 2.55 V, since the internal clock frequency of the microcontroller 1 may become too high. Therefore, the microcontroller 1 is advantageously configured to operate in the low-power mode when the VDD voltage is higher than the threshold value and to switch to the standard mode when the VDD voltage is lower than this threshold. Figure 2 shows possible variations in the clock frequency of the microcontroller 1 as a function of the VDD voltage. The horizontal axis indicates the value of the VDD voltage in volts (V), and the vertical axis indicates the value of the clock frequency, labeled CLK, in megahertz (MHz). The normal mode for operation of the microcontroller 1 may correspond to a clock frequency value directly derived from the VDD value according to the diagram in Figure 2. Therefore, in a possible refinement of the present invention, the normal mode can be implemented only when the current VDD value is less than 2.55 V, which corresponds to a frequency value less than 9 MHz. If the current VDD value is higher than 2.55 V, a low-power mode can be implemented to reduce the effective clock frequency to 9 MHz or less. Furthermore, since changes in the VDD value can be suppressed, stable operation of the microcontroller 1 can be achieved.

[0040] Returning to FIG. 1 , a p-type MOSFET switch 7 can be inserted in series between the DC-DC converter 4 and the heater 3. The drain of the p-MOSFET switch 7 may be connected to the supply terminal of the heater 3, and its source may be connected to the output terminal (VOUT) of the DC-DC converter 4. The other supply terminal of the heater 3 is connected to the ground of the aerosol generating device 100. The gate of the p-MOSFET switch 7 is connected to the first control output terminal of the microcontroller 1 so that the microcontroller 1 can drive the switch 7 to a blocking state or a conducting state to activate, regulate, or prevent the operation of the heater 3. By using a p-MOSFET type switch 7, it can be controlled by the microcontroller 1 even when the current VDD value is low. Because the boost voltage provided by the DC-DC converter 4 is supplied to the source of the p-MOSFET switch 7, the microcontroller 1 can drive the switch 7 to a conducting state simply by applying a low-level voltage (e.g., 0 V corresponding to the ground potential) to the gate of the p-MOSFET switch 7.

[0041] Within the aerosol generating device 100, the microcontroller 1 and the battery 2, connected together as described above, together form the minimum configuration of a power supply system according to the present invention. Such a power supply system has the reference numeral 101 in the figures. A charging input port combined with an overvoltage protection IC 5 and a charger module 6 may advantageously be further included in this power supply system 101. The addition of a DC-DC converter 4 and a p-type MOSFET switch 7 to the power supply system 101 makes it particularly suitable for application to the aerosol generating device 100. The heater 3 constitutes an electrical load of this power supply system 101.

[0042] The power supply system 101 may further comprise a detection circuit 30 suitable for detecting whether the heater 3 is in fact connected to this power supply system 101. Preferably, the detection circuit 30 may further be adapted to measure the electrical output current currently supplied to the heater 3 by the power supply system 101. The results of such a measurement may advantageously be used by the microcontroller 1 to regulate the aerosol generation using a loop arrangement with feedback control.

[0043] Optionally, the microcontroller 1 may further be adapted to control a user interface 9 such as a light-emitting diode (LED). For this purpose, the microcontroller 1 may be provided with a second control output terminal 12 suitable for sending a pulse-width modulated signal. This second control output terminal of the microcontroller 1 may then be provided with a capacitor 10, which is then connected in parallel with the LED 9 between the microcontroller output terminal and the ground of the aerosol generating device 100. In this way, the light intensity emitted by the LED 9 can be adjusted by the microcontroller 1. The capacitor 10 smoothes the current supplied to the LED 9 in such operation. That is, the capacitor 10 may function as a bypass capacitor or a smoothing capacitor. In particular, the voltage applied to the LED 9, which corresponds to the light intensity emitted by the LED 9, can be maintained at approximately the same level when such a pulse-width modulated control signal is controlled based on the charge level of the battery 2.

[0044] The description of the aerosol generating device 100 for the first embodiment will now continue with reference to Figure 3, whose elements are in addition to those already described and will only be described here. BUS denotes the charging DC voltage that can be supplied from an external power source 200 (not shown in FIG. 3) to the charging input port associated with overvoltage protection IC5, and V BAT indicates the output voltage of battery 2, and V HTRindicates the voltage supplied to the heater 3 from the output terminal of the DC-DC converter 4. The acronyms of the terminals shown on the integrated circuit have the following common meanings: IN is the DC voltage input, OVLO is the overvoltage lockout comparator, GND is the ground terminal, OUT is the DC voltage output, SW is the switch terminal, CE is the enable terminal of the charger module 6, SYS is the power path function, BAT is the terminal of the charger module 6 connected to the battery 2, VIN is the DC voltage input terminal of the DC-DC converter 4, EN is the enable terminal, VOUT is the output terminal of the DC-DC converter 4, FB is the feedback terminal, VDD is the power supply terminal of the microcontroller 1, and I / O is the input / output control terminal. The charging input port combined with the overvoltage protection IC5 can disconnect from the external power supply based on the input voltage of the OVLO terminal. The divided V BUS When the input voltage of the OVLO terminal corresponding to exceeds a threshold, the charging input port combined with the overvoltage protection IC5 can determine the occurrence of an overvoltage input to the power supply system 101. Reference numeral 11 denotes a first control output terminal of the microcontroller 1 connected to the gate of the p-MOSFET switch 7 so that the microcontroller 1 allows or prevents the supply of power from the DC-DC converter 4 to the heater 3. Reference numeral 12 denotes a second control output terminal of the microcontroller 1 connected to the LED 9 and the capacitor 10 so that the microcontroller 1 controls the intensity of light emitted by the LED 9.

[0045] In the first embodiment of Figure 3 and the alternative embodiment of Figure 4 (described below), the CE terminal of the charger module 6 and the EN terminal of the DC / DC converter 4 function according to positive logic. This means that when a high-level voltage is input to the respective enable terminals, the charger module 6 and the DC / DC converter 4 are enabled. Alternatively, the CE terminal of the charger module 6 and / or the EN terminal of the DC / DC converter 4 may function according to negative logic.

[0046] The first detection circuit 60 is dedicated to detecting whether the external power source 200 is currently available to the charger module 6. As shown in FIG. 3 , this first detection circuit 60 may include a resistor divider bridge connected between the VBUS terminal of the charger module 6 and the ground GND of the power supply system 101. It includes a first detection resistor 61 and a pull-up resistor 63 connected in series to form a resistor divider bridge. A high-level voltage is input to the CE terminal of the charger module 6 via the pull-up resistor 63 while the external power source 200 is available. As described above, the CE terminal of the charger module 6 functions according to positive logic, so that the charger module 6 is automatically enabled when the external power source 200 becomes available. The detection resistor 61 is connected between the CE terminal of the charger module 6 and the ground GND, and the pull-up resistor 63 is connected between the VBUS terminal and the CE terminal of the charger module 6. The first detection circuit 60 also includes a first operational amplifier 62 having its non-inverting input terminal connected to the node between the detection resistor 61 and the pull-up resistor 63, and its inverting input terminal connected to the ground GND of the power supply system 101. In this manner, when the external power source 200 is connected to the charging input port 5, the output terminal of the operational amplifier 62 goes high and the charging input port 5 transfers power to the charger module 6.

[0047] The detection circuit 30 is primarily dedicated to detecting whether a current can flow through the load formed by the heater 3. This circuit 30 is referred to as the second detection circuit 30 in the general part of this specification. For this purpose, it comprises a second detection resistor 31 connected in series with the heater 3, for example between the heater 3 and the ground GND of the power supply system 101. In addition, the second detection circuit 30 comprises a second operational amplifier 32 and a bypass circuit that supplies the test current from the battery 2 directly to the heater 3 without passing through the DC-DC converter 4. The input terminals of the operational amplifier 32 are connected across the detection resistor 31, so that when the heater 3 is connected to the power supply system 101, the output terminal of this operational amplifier 32 goes high, regardless of whether the microcontroller 1 activates the heating operation. This is because when the heater 3 is connected to the power supply system 101, the test current from the battery 2 automatically flows through the second detection circuit 30. Because a small value of the test current through the detection resistor 31 is appropriate, the bypass circuit comprises a current-limiting resistor 34. For example, the resistance value of the current-limiting resistor 34 may be greater than 1 kΩ, which may also be greater than the resistance values ​​of other resistors in the power supply system 101 (e.g., the heater 3). The bypass circuit also includes a backflow prevention diode 33 oriented to prevent current from flowing back from the output terminal of the DC-DC converter 4 to the battery 2 when the DC-DC converter 4 generates a voltage increase, for example in the case of a boost type. In particular, the anode of the backflow prevention diode 33 is connected to the battery 2, and the cathode of the backflow prevention diode 33 is connected to the current-limiting resistor 34.

[0048] The VDD terminal of the microcontroller 1 can be connected to the battery 2 through a dedicated power switch 40 controlled by the detection circuits 60 and 30. In this way, power can be prevented from being supplied to the microcontroller 1 when the heater 3 is turned off and the external power source 200 is unavailable to the power supply system 101. The power switch 40 may be a p-type MOSFET with its source S connected to the battery 2 and its drain I connected to the VDD terminal of the microcontroller 1. The gate G of the switch 40 is controlled by the detection circuits 60 and 30, for example, using two NOT gates 64 and 35 and an AND gate 41. The output terminal of the first operational amplifier 62 is connected to the input terminal of the NOT gate 64, whose output terminal is connected to the first input terminal of the AND gate 41, labeled A in FIG. 3 . At the same time, the output terminal of the second operational amplifier 32 is connected to the input terminal of the NOT gate 35, whose output terminal is connected to the second input terminal of the AND gate 41, labeled B. The output terminal of the AND gate 41 is connected to the gate G of the p-MOSFET switch 40. Therefore, the truth table for powering the microcontroller 1 is as follows:

[0049] [Table 1]

[0050] Therefore, the microcontroller 1 is powered by the battery 2 or the charger module 6 unless both the heater 3 and the external power source 200 are simultaneously unavailable or disconnected. In other words, the microcontroller 1 is powered when at least one of the external power source 200 and the heater 3 becomes available or is connected to the power supply system 101. This prevents the microcontroller 1 from operating from the battery 2 while aerosol cannot be generated by the aerosol generating device 100 in order to conserve battery charge.

[0051] The output of the second operational amplifier 32 may further be connected to the input terminal 13 of the microcontroller 1 to enable the microcontroller 1 to verify that the heater 3 is in fact being properly powered. However, the sense resistor 31 and operational amplifier 32 may be dedicated solely to detecting the flow of the test current conducted by the bypass circuit comprising the diode 33 and resistor 34, and another sense resistor (not shown) may be placed in series with the sense resistor 31, together with suitable voltage measurement means to provide a quantitative assessment of the current flowing through the heater 3. The result of such heater current measurement may also be sent to a dedicated input terminal of the microcontroller 1 for quantitative feedback control of the heater operation.

[0052] 4 shows an alternative embodiment in which AND gate 41 is replaced by a NOR gate 42 along with NOT gates 64 and 35. The A input terminal of NOR gate 42 is connected directly to the output terminal of the first operational amplifier 62, and the B input terminal of the same NOR gate 42 is connected directly to the output terminal of the second operational amplifier 32. The truth table for powering microcontroller 1 is then as follows:

[0053] [Table 2]

[0054] This truth table for the power supply of the microcontroller 1 is the same as that of the embodiment of Figure 3. The embodiment of the invention of Figure 4 also implements a p-MOSFET transistor for switch 40.

[0055] The following variants shown in FIG. 4 are also compatible with the embodiment of FIG. An additional output control terminal 14 of the microcontroller 1 may be dedicated to the start-up of the DC-DC converter 4. This output control terminal 14 is connected to the enable terminal EN of the DC-DC converter 4 instead of using a bias resistor to connect this enable terminal EN of the DC-DC converter 4 to its VIN terminal as shown in Figure 3. Another additional output control terminal 15 of the microcontroller 1 may be dedicated to starting up the charger module 6. Such output control terminal 15 may be connected to the enable terminal CE of the charger module 6 instead of connecting this enable terminal CE of the charger module 6 to the node intermediate the pull-up resistor 63 and the sense resistor 61. This may be another way to prevent charging of the battery 2 if a deep depletion of the battery 2 is detected by the microcontroller 1 via its VDD terminal.

[0056] It will be understood by one that variations and adaptations may be made to the detailed embodiments of the invention provided hereinabove while retaining at least some of the advantages cited. Additionally, all numerical values ​​cited are for illustrative purposes only and may vary depending on each implementation of the invention.

Claims

1. adapted to be part of an aerosol generating device (100), a microcontroller (1) configured to control the power supplied to a load; a rechargeable power source (2) having an output voltage that varies depending on the charge level of said rechargeable power source; A power supply system (101) comprising: The microcontroller (1) is connected to receive separate power from the power supply (2), a supply terminal (VDD) of the microcontroller (1) dedicated to receiving power to enable the operation of the microcontroller is connected to the rechargeable power source (2) in such a way that the voltage at the supply terminal of the microcontroller varies depending on the charge level of the rechargeable power source, Power supply system (101).

2. 2. The power supply system (101) of claim 1, wherein the microcontroller (1) is configured to monitor the voltage at the supply terminal (VDD) of the microcontroller and prevent charging of the rechargeable power source (2) if the voltage at the supply terminal of the microcontroller is below a low-level threshold.

3. 3. The power supply system (101) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the microcontroller (1) is adapted to operate in either a standard mode or a low-consumption mode, wherein power consumption of the microcontroller is less in the low-consumption mode compared to the standard mode, and the microcontroller is further configured to activate the low-consumption mode for operation when the voltage at the supply terminal (VDD) exceeds a voltage threshold and switch to the standard mode when the voltage at the supply terminal falls below the voltage threshold.

4. 4. The power supply system (101) of claim 3, wherein the microcontroller (1) is clocked internally to the microcontroller and configured such that, for the same value of the voltage at the supply terminal (VDD) of the microcontroller, a clock frequency value of the microcontroller valid in the low consumption mode is lower than another clock frequency value valid for the standard mode.

5. The power supply system (101) a DC-DC converter (4) connected to deliver power from the rechargeable power source (2) to the load via the DC-DC converter; a MOSFET switch (7) connected in series with the load between the output of the DC-DC converter (4) and the ground terminal (GND) of the power supply system (101), the MOSFET switch having a gate connected to a first control output terminal (11) of the microcontroller (1) in order to allow or prevent the microcontroller from supplying power to the load; Further provided with The MOSFET switch (7) is a p-type and is connected between the output of the DC-DC converter (4) and the load. A power supply system (101) according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. the microcontroller (1) has a second control output terminal (12) and is configured to provide a pulse width modulated control signal to the second control output terminal; The power supply system (101) - said light emitting diode (9) connected to said second control output terminal (12) of said microcontroller (1) in order for said microcontroller to control the emission of said light emitting diode; a capacitor (10) connected in parallel with said light-emitting diode (9) so as to convert said pulse-width modulated control signal into a direct current conducted through said light-emitting diode and whose value varies according to said pulse-width modulated control signal; The power supply system (101) of any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising:

7. The power supply system (101) a charger module (6) arranged to charge said rechargeable power source (2) with energy coming from an external power source (200); a first detection circuit (60) arranged to detect whether the external power source (200) is currently available to the charger module (6) during use of the power supply system (101); a second detection circuit (30) arranged to detect whether said load is connected to said power supply system (101) so that said load conducts an output current provided by said power supply system; - placed in series between said rechargeable power source (2) and said supply terminal (VDD) of said microcontroller (1) in two cases: if the external power source (200) is currently available to the charger module (6); and When the load is connected to the power supply system (101) a power switch (40) connected to the first detection circuit (60) and the second detection circuit (30) to allow the additional power to be transferred from the rechargeable power source to the microcontroller only when at least one of The power supply system (101) of any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising:

8. The first detection circuit (60) a first sense resistor (61) connected in parallel between said external power supply (200) and ground (GND); a first operational amplifier (62) whose non-inverting and inverting input terminals are connected across said first sense resistor (61) and whose output terminal is connected to a control terminal of said power switch (40); The power supply system (101) of claim 7, comprising:

9. Further comprising a pull-up resistor (63) connected in series between the external power supply (200) and the first sense resistor (61); The charger module (6) is configured so that a divided voltage generated by the pull-up resistor (63) and the first detection resistor (61) is input to an enable terminal (CE) of the charger module (6). The power supply system (101) according to claim 8.

10. The second detection circuit (30) a second sense resistor (31) connected in series with said load; a second operational amplifier (32) whose non-inverting and inverting input terminals are connected across said second sense resistor (31) and whose output terminal is connected to said control terminal of said power switch (40); a bypass circuit (33) connected between the rechargeable power source (2) and the load, bypassing the DC-DC converter (4) and the MOSFET switch (7); The power supply system (101) according to claim 5 or any one of claims 7 to 9, comprising:

11. The bypass circuit includes a reverse current prevention diode (33) having an anode connected to the rechargeable power source (2) and a cathode connected to the load; The DC-DC converter (4) is a boost converter. The power supply system (101) according to claim 10.

12. 12. The power supply system (101) of claim 10 or 11, wherein the bypass circuit comprises a current limiting resistor (34) connected in series between the rechargeable power source (2) and the load.

13. The power supply system (101) a first NOT gate (64) whose input terminal is connected to said output terminal of said first operational amplifier (62); a second NOT gate (35) whose input terminal is connected to said output terminal of said second operational amplifier (32); an AND gate (41) whose input terminals are connected to the output terminals of the first NOT gate (64) and the second NOT gate (35) and whose output terminal is connected to the control terminal (G) of the power switch (40); Further provided with The power switch (40) is a p-type MOSFET. A power supply system (101) according to any one of claims 8, 9 or 10-12.

14. The power supply system (101) a NOR gate (42) whose input terminals are connected to the output terminals of the first operational amplifier (62) and the second operational amplifier (32) and whose output terminal is connected to the control terminal (G) of the power switch (40); Further provided with The power switch (40) is a p-type MOSFET. A power supply system (101) according to any one of claims 8, 9 or 10-12.

15. The power supply system (101) of any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the microcontroller (1) is further connected to receive a detection signal representative of the electrical output current supplied to the load.

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