Improved prevention of access for aerosol generators by minors

Abstract

An aerosol generator is provided, comprising a control circuit with a controller configured to operate the aerosol generator in either a locked state where aerosol generation by the aerosol generator is prohibited, or an unlocked state where aerosol generation by the aerosol generator is permitted, and a motion sensor operably connected to the controller, wherein the motion sensor is configured to receive a series of vibration signals, and The controller is configured to transition the aerosol generator from a locked state to an unlocked state based on a series of vibration signals.

Claims

1. Aerosol generator, A control circuit is provided which is configured to operate the aerosol generator in either a locked state in which the generation of aerosols by the aerosol generator is prohibited, or an unlocked state in which the generation of aerosols by the aerosol generator is permitted. The system includes a motion sensor that is operably connected to the controller, The motion sensor is configured to receive a series of vibration signals, and An aerosol generator wherein the controller is configured to transition the aerosol generator from the locked state to the unlocked state based on the series of vibration signals.

2. The aerosol generator according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to convert the series of vibration signals into a release code, and preferably, when it determines that the release code is associated with the device identifier of the aerosol generator, the controller is configured to transition the aerosol generator from the locked state to the released state.

3. The aerosol generator according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the controller is configured to transition the aerosol generator from the unlocked state to the locked state when it determines that a predetermined period of time has elapsed, or that a predetermined number of uses of the aerosol generator has been reached, or that a specific control signal has been received, and preferably the controller is configured to transition the aerosol generator from the locked state to the unlocked state only when it receives a unlock code that is associated with the device identifier, or is correct for the device identifier, or matches the device identifier, and preferably is different from a previous unlock code.

4. An aerosol generating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising an aerosol generating article or substrate.

5. A companion device configured to charge an aerosol generator using electrical energy, A control circuit equipped with a controller, Motion sensor and Equipped with communication infrastructure, The motion sensor is configured to receive a series of vibration signals, and A companion device in which the controller is configured to provide a release command to the aerosol generator via the communication configuration.

6. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the motion sensor is configured to distinguish between periods when the apparatus is idle and periods when the apparatus is moving or vibrating, preferably the motion sensor is configured to exclusively generate two different signals, wherein a first signal is generated when movement or vibration of the apparatus is detected by the motion sensor, and a second signal is generated when no movement or vibration of the apparatus is detected by the motion sensor.

7. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the motion sensor is configured to detect vibrations of the apparatus at a frequency of 20 Hz to 200 Hz, preferably 120 Hz to 180 Hz.

8. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the motion sensor is an accelerometer.

9. A computing device configured to provide a release command to one of an aerosol generator and a companion device configured to charge the aerosol generator using electrical energy, Oscillating exciter and, It includes data connection to a server device, The computing device is configured to receive unlock data from the server device. A computing device configured to provide a lock release command by providing the lock release data as a series of vibration signals via the vibration exciter.

10. The computing device according to Embodiment 9, wherein the series of vibration signals are derived from the lock release code.

11. A server device configured to provide unlock data to a computing device for one of an aerosol generator and a companion device configured to charge the aerosol generator using electrical energy, An age verification test is conducted for the user of the aerosol generator through the computing device. If it is determined that the age verification test has been passed, the lock release data is provided to the computing device, and A server device configured to provide the unlock data as an instruction to the computing device for providing a series of vibration signals.

12. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the series of vibration signals are provided as a series of vibrations of different frequencies and / or durations, and preferably, each frequency and / or duration of the vibrations represents a bit value encoded in the series of vibration signals.

13. A system for preventing access by minors to an aerosol generator, comprising: a server device according to any one of claims 11 to 12; a computing device according to any one of claims 9, 10, and 12; and at least one of an aerosol generator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, 6 to 8, and 12, and a companion device according to any one of claims 5 to 8 and 12.

14. A computer-implemented method for preventing access by minors to an aerosol generator, preferably an aerosol generator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, 6 to 8, and 12, The age verification test will be conducted on the server device, If it is determined that the person has passed the aforementioned age verification test, the lock release data will be read, By providing a series of vibration signals that encode the lock-release data on a computing device The aforementioned release data is transferred to an aerosol generator, or a companion device configured to charge the aerosol generator using electrical energy. The aerosol generator or the motion sensor on the companion device receives the series of vibration signals, A method comprising unlocking the aerosol generator based on a series of vibration signals received.

15. Use of a motion sensor provided by the aerosol generator or a companion device configured to charge the aerosol generator using electrical energy in order to receive a release code for unlocking the aerosol generator and permitting the generation of aerosols.

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