Aerosol generating device having wireless communication interface

Abstract

An aerosol generating device (100) is disclosed, comprising a heater (220) for heating an aerosol-forming substrate (108), a wireless communication interface (114) for communicating with a wireless-enabled device, and a controller (112) for controlling operation of the device. The controller (112) is configured to enable aerosol generation when the wireless interface (114) establishes an available link with a user electronic device (116). The controller (112) is further configured to disable aerosol generation but enable preheating of the aerosol-forming substrate when the wireless communication interface (114) does not establish an available wireless link with the user electronic device (116).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an aerosol generating device, and more particularly to an aerosol generating device having a wireless communication interface. [Background technology]

[0002] There is a demand for aerosol generating devices that have safety features that help prevent use of the device by unwanted users, such as children or thieves. However, these safety features can have a negative impact on ease of use. It is an object of the present invention to address these conflicting demands. Summary of the Invention

[0003] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an aerosol generating device configured to generate an aerosol for inhalation by a user, the aerosol generating device comprising: a heater configured to heat an aerosol-forming substrate to generate an aerosol; a wireless communication interface configured to communicate wirelessly with a user electronic device; and a controller configured to enable generation of an aerosol for inhalation by the user when the wireless communication interface establishes that a wireless link with the user electronic device is available, the controller being configured to enable pre-heating of the aerosol-forming substrate when the wireless communication interface has not established that a wireless link with the user electronic device is available, the wireless communication interface being configured to search for a wireless link for a predetermined period of time, and the controller being configured to disable pre-heating of the aerosol-forming substrate when the wireless communication interface establishes that the wireless link is not available within the predetermined period of time.

[0004] In this way, the device can simultaneously pre-heat the aerosol-forming substrate and scan the user electronic device, which improves the usability of the device since the user does not have to wait for a wireless link to be found with the user electronic device before pre-heating can begin.

[0005] Preferably, the controller is configured to prevent or inhibit generation of an aerosol for inhalation by the user when the wireless communication interface has not established that a wireless link with the user electronic device is available.

[0006] In this way, the security of the device is improved since the device cannot generate the desired aerosol until the security condition of the wireless link with the user electronic device is met. However, this security advantage does not impair the usefulness of the device since pre-heating is possible before the wireless communication interface establishes that the wireless link is available. This means that the device can be used almost immediately after the wireless link is established that it is available, and optimal aerosol can be generated quickly. The controller may inhibit aerosol generation by only allowing the heater to operate at a threshold temperature below the optimal temperature for aerosol generation. Similarly, those skilled in the art will understand that aerosol may instead be prevented from being formed or inhaled by any other means. For example, inhalation can be prevented by blocking the airflow channel.

[0007] Preferably, the controller is configured to allow aerosol generation until the end of the vaping session after the wireless communication interface has established that a wireless link with the user electronic device is available. In this way, the user does not have to wait for the device to establish whether a link with the user electronic device is available before each vaping instance, i.e., "puff", thus improving usability. Furthermore, this allows the user to establish a link at the beginning of a vaping session, for example, at the user's desk, and then move to another location, for example, outdoors, without having to maintain wireless link availability. This improves the flexibility and convenience of use of the device.

[0008] Preferably, the device further comprises an indicator arranged to indicate to the user the status of the aerosol generating device, in this way any status of the device can be conveniently displayed to the user, which enhances satisfaction and usability of the device. Preferably, the indicator comprises a light source configured to indicate the relative completion of a scanning or vaping operation, or the relative amount of consumable resources remaining in the aerosol generating device. In this way, the user may be better informed about the status of the device by illuminating a portion of the light source proportional to or otherwise corresponding to the status of the device. Examples of further improved status indicators include: the relative completion of a pre-heating operation, how much battery life is left in the device, the time until the scanning operation is completed, or how much consumable resources are left in the device. Providing such information to the user increases user satisfaction and ease of use. Furthermore, providing indicators in this way results in a stylish aerosol generating device with enhanced functionality.

[0009] In one embodiment, the light source may be, for example, a long narrow strip of contiguous LEDs configured to light a portion of the strip that corresponds to the progress of a task. In another embodiment, the light source may be, for example, a circular array of LEDs configured to light an arc of LEDs that corresponds to the amount of resources remaining in the device. Similarly, any light source and corresponding configuration capable of indicating the relative completion of a task or the amount of available resources may be used.

[0010] Preferably, the wireless communication interface is configured to stop searching for a wireless link when a wireless link with the user electronic device is found, in this way the device may be more efficient and improve battery life.

[0011] Preferably, the controller is configured to allow pre-heating for a predetermined period of time if the wireless communication interface has not established that a wireless link with the user electronic device is available, thus improving safety and efficiency by not operating the heater for longer than necessary.

[0012] Preferably, the controller is configured to allow pre-heating of the heater to a predetermined temperature below the vapor generation temperature. In this way, the device prevents the desired aerosol from being formed unless the user electronics is wirelessly available. Of course, those skilled in the art will appreciate that if the aerosol is heated to the predetermined temperature, a certain amount of poor quality aerosol may be generated. This improves the security of the device by preventing the heater from reaching the aerosol generation temperature unless the user electronics is in close proximity. The device is unable to generate the desired aerosol unless the user electronics is wirelessly available, thus preventing theft of the device. Furthermore, this improves the efficiency of the device by preventing complete heating of the aerosol-forming substrate when the user electronics is not available, such as when the pre-heat is accidentally activated.

[0013] Preferably, the device includes a temperature sensor for determining the temperature of the heater, so that the temperature of the heater can be tracked by the controller, which in turn enables the device to prevent overheating of components.

[0014] Preferably, the aerosol-forming substrate comprises tobacco. In this manner, the aerosol generating device may be used as a heated non-combustion aerosol generating device.

[0015] Preferably, the wireless communication interface is a Bluetooth interface. In this way, compatibility with user electronic devices is improved due to the prevalence of Bluetooth interfaces in common wireless devices. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any wireless protocol may be used instead or in addition.

[0016] Preferably, the user electronic device is a smartphone, in this way making device operation more convenient since carrying a smartphone is commonplace, although those skilled in the art will appreciate that any wireless-enabled electronic device, such as headphones, a computer, or a smartwatch, may be used instead or in addition.

[0017] Preferably, the device further comprises a memory in which an identifier for the user electronic device is stored. More preferably, the controller is configured to enable generation of an aerosol for inhalation by a user if an identifier for a user electronic device in wireless communication with the aerosol generating device matches an identifier stored in the memory. In this way, multiple user electronic devices may be linked or paired with the aerosol generating device simultaneously, thus allowing greater convenience for a user who may, for example, pair devices at work and at home.

[0018] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of operation for an aerosol generating device, the method comprising the steps of: establishing whether a wireless link between the aerosol generating device and a user electronic device is available over a predetermined period of time; enabling generation of an aerosol for inhalation by a user if the wireless communication interface establishes that the wireless link with the user electronic device is available; enabling pre-heating of an aerosol-forming substrate if the wireless communication interface has not established whether the wireless link with the user electronic device is available; and disabling pre-heating of the aerosol-forming substrate if the wireless communication interface establishes that the wireless link is not available within the predetermined period of time.

[0019] According to another aspect of the present invention, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause a computer to perform steps including: establishing whether a wireless link between an aerosol generating device and a user electronic device is available for a predetermined period of time; enabling generation of an aerosol for inhalation by a user if the wireless communication interface establishes that a wireless link with the user electronic device is available; enabling pre-heating of an aerosol-forming substrate if the wireless communication interface has not established whether a wireless link with the user electronic device is available; and disabling pre-heating of the aerosol-forming substrate if the wireless communication interface establishes that the wireless link is not available within the predetermined period of time.

[0020] Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings in which: [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a schematic diagram of a control system in an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing a control sequence in the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. An aerosol generating device 100 is provided, comprising an outer casing 102, a button 104 configured to detect an input signal from a user, an LED strip 106 configured to convey information regarding the status of the aerosol generating device 100, and a tobacco rod 108 that may be placed by a user inside a cavity 110 where heating may be provided by a heater (not shown). A temperature sensor (not shown) is also provided in the cavity 110. The aerosol generating device 100 comprises a controller 112 configured to instruct a Bluetooth interface 114 to wirelessly search for a user smartphone 116 when an input signal from the user is received. The controller 112 is further configured to match the smartphone's identification credentials, e.g., MAC address, with the credentials of the paired user device stored in a memory 118. The aerosol generating device further comprises a battery (not shown) for providing power to the device.

[0023] The casing 102 may comprise any suitable material, such as plastic, metal, wood, or a composite thereof. In this embodiment, the button 104 is an activation unit configured to detect an input from a user and respond by becoming active (or "waking up"). Alternative activation units may include a shake sensor, a touch screen, a fingerprint sensor, a voice recognition unit, or any other method of recognizing an input from a user. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the aerosol generating device 100 may comprise two or more activation units, each of which may be mapped to a different function.

[0024] In this embodiment, the LED strip 106 is a long narrow strip of adjacent LEDs. Similarly, any indicator or feedback method may be used, such as other light sources, mechanical indicators, LCD displays, acoustic emitters, vibration units, or any other configuration of LEDs, for example, a circular array of LEDs. The LED strip 106 may comprise multiple strips of LEDs, each strip optionally being of a different color of LEDs. The LED strip 106 may indicate any status of the device, such as indicating that the smartphone 116 is being scanned, that the battery has a low charge level, that an error has occurred, or that a wireless link cannot be found. In addition, it may indicate the progress of a continuous operation, such as pre-heating progress, scanning progress, or charging progress. This may be achieved by turning one or more LEDs on or off, turning LEDs of a particular color on or off, or any such convenient selection of LEDs that conveniently informs the user of the status of the device. The remaining available resources of the device, such as remaining battery charge or remaining aerosol-forming substrate, may be communicated to the user using the LED strip 106 by proportionally or otherwise correspondingly turning on or off a number of successive LEDs in the strip. The progress of any operation, such as those described above, may also be indicated in this manner. Alternatively or additionally, information may be conveyed to the user by changing the brightness of one or more LEDs, or by blinking an LED at a predetermined frequency.

[0025] The tobacco rod 108 may be any aerosol-forming substrate as well. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any method of using a substrate with the aerosol-generating device 100 may be used as an alternative or in addition to the rod and cavity system disclosed in FIG. 1. Similarly, any method of heating the substrate may be used, such as resistive heating or laser heating. The temperature sensor may directly monitor the temperature of the heater or aerosol-generating substrate. The temperature sensor may indirectly measure the heater or aerosol-generating substrate temperature by monitoring the temperature of another component. The temperature sensor may be any temperature-sensing component as known in the art, such as a thermocouple.

[0026] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the Bluetooth interface 114 may similarly be any wireless protocol interface. The smartphone 116 may be any wireless-enabled device equipped with a wireless interface, such as wireless headphones, a smartwatch, or a laptop.

[0027] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a control system in an embodiment of the present invention. The diagram illustrates an exemplary flow of information or instructions to and from the controller 212. In an exemplary use, the button 204 is pressed to initiate a vaping session comprising one or more aerosol generating instances or "puffs". The button 204 transmits the initiation of the user's vaping session to the controller 212. The controller 212 then communicates with the Bluetooth interface 214 to direct a wireless search for the user's smartphone 216. At the same time, the controller 212 directs the heater 220 to begin pre-heating the tobacco rod 108 to a first threshold temperature, while the Bluetooth interface 214 wirelessly searches for the smartphone 216. The Bluetooth interface 214 provides the controller 212 with identification and authentication information of available wireless devices. The controller 212 then performs a match with identification and authentication information previously stored in the memory 218, for example from a Bluetooth pairing operation. The controller 212 may direct the progress of any of these operations to be displayed on the LED strip 206. If the controller 212 identifies a match between the device found by the Bluetooth interface 214 and the device stored in the memory 218, the controller 212 enables and directs the heater 220 to operate at a second threshold temperature that is higher than the first threshold temperature. This may also be indicated to the user in the LED strip 206. Once the tobacco rod 108 is heated to the second threshold temperature, the user inhales air through the exposed end of the tobacco rod 108. The airflow through the fully heated aerosol-generating substrate generates an aerosol for the user to enjoy.

[0028] 3 is a flow diagram showing a control sequence in an embodiment of the present invention.With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the detailed operation of the device in one embodiment of the present invention will now be described.

[0029] In step 302, the user presses button 204 to "wake up" the device and allow it to become active. Similarly, this step may be performed by a shake sensor and shaking of the device by the user, or any other means of input and input detection.

[0030] In step 304, the controller 212 checks the temperature of the heater 220 or any other component, e.g., the aerosol-forming substrate, against a first predefined threshold temperature value using the temperature sensor 222. The first predefined threshold temperature corresponds to a safe preheating temperature below the optimal temperature for generating aerosol. The first threshold preheating temperature may be any temperature below the optimal aerosol-generating temperature, such as 150 or 170° C. Those skilled in the art will understand that the optimal temperature will be selected according to a particular embodiment of the invention, taking into account, for example, the type of aerosol-generating substrate used. If the measured temperature is below the first threshold temperature, a preheating operation is initiated in step 308. If the measured temperature is found to be higher than the first threshold temperature, an initial preheating of the tobacco rod 108 has already been completed, e.g., from a previous vaping session. The controller 212 then instructs the heater 220 to maintain its temperature at the first threshold preheating temperature in step 306.

[0031] During the pre-heating operation in step 308, heat is applied to the tobacco rod 108 by the heater 220. This allows the temperature of the tobacco rod 108 to increase from the temperature of the local environment toward the first threshold temperature. It may take several seconds, for example 20 seconds, for the aerosol-forming substrate to reach the first threshold pre-heat temperature. During the temperature maintenance in step 306, the temperature may be continuously monitored by the temperature sensor 222. In response, the controller 212 may adjust the power supply to the heater 220 to maintain the temperature at the first threshold pre-heat temperature. Optionally, the controller 212 may be configured to allow the heater 220 to pre-heat or maintain the temperature, or both, only for a predetermined period of time.

[0032] In step 310, the controller 212 instructs the Bluetooth interface 214 to search for available wireless links. The controller 212 may be configured to instruct the Bluetooth interface 214 to scan for user electronic devices only for a predetermined period of time. A search timer may be started in step 312 to keep track of the time the system is searching for user electronic devices. This helps to improve efficiency by ensuring that the device cannot be searched for indefinitely. While the Bluetooth interface 214 is searching in step 310, the pre-heating operation may continue, provided that the temperature of the aerosol-forming substrate was found to be below the threshold temperature in step 304.

[0033] In step 314, the controller 212 checks whether a wireless link with the user device is available. This step may include the controller 212 matching the identification and authentication information (e.g., MAC address) of the wireless device found by the Bluetooth interface 214 with that stored in the memory 218 and identifying a positive result if a match is found. The Bluetooth interface 214 may establish the availability of the wireless device via a direct wireless link with the smartphone 216, or may establish the availability of an indirect link with the smartphone 216 via communication with an intermediate wireless-enabled device. Prior to a vaping session, the user may pair a device, such as the smartphone 216, with the aerosol generating device 200 so that the aerosol generating device recognizes the device as a known user device. Such pairing may be performed, for example, by a standard Bluetooth pairing procedure. In one embodiment, pairing may be initiated by pressing and holding the button 204 for a long period of time. However, one skilled in the art will understand that pairing may also be performed via any other means, such as online registration or physical connection via an interface, such as a micro USB interface.

[0034] If a wireless link with the smartphone 216 is not immediately found to be available in step 314, the temperature of the heater 220 may be checked again in step 316, as described above in step 304. The controller 212 then instructs the heater 220 to maintain its temperature at the first threshold pre-heat temperature in step 320, exactly like in step 306. Otherwise, if the temperature of the heater 220 does not exceed the first threshold temperature, step 320 is skipped. In step 322, the controller 212 may check the time that the Bluetooth interface 214 has been performing a search operation. If the threshold time has not been exceeded, the controller 212 may return to step 314 and execute the loop comprising steps 314, 316, and 322 until the user device is found or the threshold time is exceeded.

[0035] If the threshold time is found to have been exceeded in step 322, the controller 212 disables the heater 220 in step 324, thus stopping any ongoing preheating or temperature maintenance. To further improve device efficiency, the controller 212 instructs the Bluetooth interface 214 to stop searching for an available wireless link in step 326. The controller 212 may reset the search timer in step 328 and instruct the LED strip 206 to indicate to the user that a wireless link with the smartphone 216 is unavailable. The controller 212 may then enter an inactive mode and wait for a further button press in step 332 before reinitiating the control sequence. Optionally, the controller 212 may be configured to allow a predetermined number of preheating operations to occur before a wireless link is found to be available, after which preheating operations may be disabled until a link is available. This advantageously increases the safety of the device, for example, by preventing children from repeatedly preheating the device. This may be implemented by incrementing a counter every time a pre-heat operation stops, resetting the counter when a wireless link with the user electronic device is available, and checking the value of the counter before each pre-heat operation.

[0036] If a wireless link with the user smartphone is available in step 314, the controller 212 instructs the Bluetooth interface 214 to stop searching for the user electronic device in step 334. Optionally, the controller 212 may instruct the LED strip 206 to indicate to the user that a wireless link was found to be available in step 336. If not, the controller 212 proceeds to step 337.

[0037] In step 337, the controller 212 enables and directs the heater 220 to operate at or ramp up to a second threshold temperature corresponding to an optimal temperature for generating aerosol. The second threshold temperature may be, for example, 230 or 235° C. The tobacco rod 108 is then brought to the optimal aerosol generating temperature by the heater 220.

[0038] In this way, the security of the device is improved since it can be used to generate optimal vapor only if it is established in step 314 that a wireless link with the user smartphone is available. This generally means that the device is within a predetermined physical distance of the user's smartphone, which means that the owner of the smartphone can be presumed to be the person who operates the device. The device can quickly generate optimal aerosol in step 337 because pre-heating to the first threshold temperature has already occurred, which means that the aerosol-forming substrate already has a temperature that is elevated from the temperature of the environment to just below the temperature at which the optimal aerosol is generated. This improves the usefulness of the device since the user does not have to wait for the aerosol-forming substrate to be pre-heated from the local environmental temperature after the security condition is met (i.e., the wireless signal with the user smartphone is found to be available).

[0039] In step 338, the controller 212 checks the temperature of the heater 220 again. If the heater 220 has not reached the second threshold preheat temperature, the heating timer may be started in step 340, or continued if it has already been started. The value of the heating timer is checked against a threshold value, which may correspond to a predetermined "timeout" time, in step 342. If the heating timer exceeds the timeout time, this indicates that the heater 220 has not reached the desired temperature in the normal time. This may indicate an error in the system, for example, the presence of a faulty heater 220, or that the tobacco rod 108 has not been properly inserted into the cavity 110. If the timeout time is exceeded, an error message is displayed on the LED strip 206 in step 344. For safety, the heater 220 is then disabled in step 346. Similarly, the sequence of steps 338-346 to detect errors with the preheat process may be performed at any other suitable point in the control sequence, such as when the first threshold temperature is checked.

[0040] During normal operation of the aerosol generating device 200, the second threshold pre-heat temperature is reached before the timeout condition is met, which is indicated in step 348. In step 350, the controller 212 instructs the heater 220 to maintain its temperature at the second threshold temperature for the duration of the vaping session. This in turn also maintains or "floats" the tobacco rod 108 at the second threshold temperature throughout the vaping session. By floating the temperature of the tobacco rod 108, aerosol can be generated at any point during the vaping session by inhaling on the exposed end of the tobacco rod.

[0041] Any number of further checks may be performed by the controller 212 before allowing aerosol generation. For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the cavity 110 may be provided with an LED and photodiode to detect the presence of a properly inserted tobacco rod 108. Alternatively or additionally, the controller 212 may be configured to check the battery level remaining in the device and instruct the LED indicator 214 to display a warning if insufficient charge remains in the battery for a standard vaping session. Similarly, these checks may be applied at any other convenient point in the control sequence.

[0042] A vaping session may be defined as a series of aerosol generation instances over a relatively short period of time. For example, a vaping session may be defined as including multiple aerosol generation instances or puffs after a single pre-heating operation. In step 337, the controller 212 may be configured to enable aerosol generation throughout the vaping session once the Bluetooth interface 214 establishes that a link with the user electronic device is available. This advantageously increases the utility of the device by preventing the need for continuous wireless link availability with the user electronic device 212. This allows a user to travel to areas where a wireless link may, for example, be unavailable during a vaping session.

[0043] Alternatively or additionally, the controller 212 may be configured to allow aerosol generation in step 337 for a predetermined period of time. This may be implemented by starting a timer between steps 337 and 338, and performing an additional check at regular intervals after step 348 to determine whether the timer has exceeded a "timeout" time value. A similar method may be used to implement a timeout function that disables aerosol generation if a threshold interval between successive puffs is exceeded. Such a check may also be performed periodically after step 348. This detects the end of a vaping session without requiring the user to take a specific action to turn off the device or enter an inactive mode, thus improving efficiency and convenience. Any other method of defining and detecting the end of a vaping session may be used as well.

[0044] When the user presses button 204 to power up the device in step 302, controller 212 may instruct LED strip 206 to indicate the relative progress of a scanning operation or a pre-heating operation. This may be done, for example, in steps 308 and 310. Controller 212 may instruct LED strip 206 to indicate the progress of a scanning operation until a wireless link is found, after which point it may indicate pre-heating progress until pre-heating is complete. In another embodiment, where multiple strips of adjacent LEDs are provided, the progress of multiple actions may be displayed simultaneously.

[0045] To indicate the progress of the pre-heating operation, the controller 212 may instruct the LED strip 206 to illuminate an increasing number of adjacent LEDs as the temperature of the tobacco rod 108 increases toward a first or second threshold temperature. Once the first or second respective threshold temperature is reached, all LEDs may be illuminated. Similarly, the progress of a wireless link search may be indicated by incrementally illuminating the LEDs in the strip at regular intervals until a link is found or a search timer exceeds a threshold time.

[0046] The controller 212 may instruct the LED strip 206 to flash or change color to indicate whether a wireless link with the user electronic device is found to be available. Advantageously, the aerosol generating device 200 may be equipped with multiple indicators to indicate different states or information to the user. For example, the end of the pre-heating operation may be indicated by a vibrator unit in addition to or as an alternative to the LED strip 206. Using multiple indicator types improves the usability of the device by making the indicators more obvious to the user. In addition, accessibility is improved by providing more than one sensory method of providing feedback, such as vibration feedback for the visually impaired.

[0047] The preheat and temperature maintenance, or "float" operation as described above will now be described in more detail.

[0048] In an embodiment of the invention, the controller 212 controls the temperature of the heater 220 by adjusting the duty cycle (or power cycle) of a power signal (e.g., a pulse width modulated, PWM, signal) provided to the heater 220, or in other words, by adjusting the duty cycle of the heater 220. Roughly speaking, a duty cycle is the fraction of the time period during which a signal, system, or device is active. The duty cycle of a device such as the heater 220 can be described as a percentage or ratio. For example, for a period of one second, a maximum duty cycle of 100% corresponds to continuous operation of the heater 220, while a lower duty cycle of 50% corresponds to the heater 220 being active for 0.5 seconds of each one second period. In an exemplary embodiment, the period of the duty cycle of the heater 220 may be on the order of 1-2 ms, or may be significantly shorter or longer than 1-2 ms.

[0049] While the heater 220 is active, a constant predetermined heating voltage may be supplied to the heater 220 from the battery. While the heater 220 is not active, no voltage may be supplied to the battery. Thus, when the heater 220 is operated with a high duty cycle, the heater 220 generates a higher amount of heat or energy and the battery power consumption is also high. Conversely, when operated with a lower duty cycle, the heater 220 generates a relatively lower amount of heat or energy and therefore also consumes less power from the battery. It has been found that operation of the heater 220 with a high duty cycle places the highest demands on the battery compared to any other component or mode of operation of the aerosol generating device 100. Thus, in order to maximize the battery life of the device, it is desirable to minimize the time unnecessarily spent in this mode of operation, for example as performed by step 324 as described above.

[0050] During temperature increase operations of the aerosol generating device 100, such as when the temperature of the heater 220 increases towards the first or second threshold temperature (in embodiments functioning as a heat-non-combustion device, these operations typically involve heating the tobacco stick from ambient temperature), the heater 220 requires a higher energy demand to increase the temperature of the tobacco stick. Thus, the controller 212 operates the heater 220 with a high duty cycle to provide the required energy. In an exemplary embodiment, the duty cycle may be 50% or more during the temperature increase operations, which may correspond to a power consumption of 16 W by the heater 220.

[0051] During temperature maintenance operation, the heater 220 does not require much energy (i.e., lower demand), and therefore the heater 220 may be operated using a lower duty cycle. In one example, the heater 220 may be operated using a duty cycle less than or much lower than 50%. In an exemplary embodiment, the lower duty cycle corresponding to the temperature maintenance operation may consume 3 W of power. Thus, the pre-heat operation may place significantly higher demands on the battery than during a temperature floating operation, such as when the temperature is floating at the second threshold for vaporization.

[0052] The duty cycle D1 during temperature increase operation and the duty cycle D2 during temperature maintenance operation can be related by D1=k×D2, where k is a dimensionless coefficient much greater than 1 that is selected according to the design parameters of a particular embodiment.

[0053] At the end of the vaping session, the duty cycle may be set to 0%, where no power is provided to the heater 220.

Claims

1. 1. An aerosol generating device configured to generate an aerosol for inhalation by a user, comprising: a heater configured to heat the aerosol-forming substrate to generate an aerosol; a wireless communication interface configured to wirelessly communicate with a user electronic device; a controller configured to enable generation of an aerosol for inhalation by a user when the wireless communication interface establishes that a wireless link with the user electronic device is available; the controller is configured to enable pre-heating of an aerosol-forming substrate when the wireless communication interface has not established that a wireless link with the user electronic device is available; the wireless communication interface is configured to search for a wireless link for a predetermined period of time; the controller is configured to disable pre-heating of the aerosol-forming substrate when the wireless communication interface establishes that a wireless link is not available within the predetermined period of time. Aerosol generator.

2. The aerosol generating device of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to allow aerosol generation until the end of the vaping session after the wireless communication interface establishes that a wireless link with a user electronic device is available.

3. 3. The aerosol generating device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an indicator configured to indicate the status of the aerosol generating device to the user.

4. The aerosol generating device of claim 3 , wherein the indicator comprises an elongated light source configured to indicate relative completion of a scanning or vaping operation, or a relative amount of consumable resource remaining within the aerosol generating device.

5. An aerosol generating device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the wireless communication interface is configured to stop searching for a wireless link when a wireless link with a user electronic device is found.

6. An aerosol generating device as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the controller is configured to allow pre-heating for a predetermined period of time when the wireless communication interface has not established that a wireless link with the user electronic device is available.

7. 7. The aerosol generating device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to enable pre-heating of the aerosol-forming substrate to a predetermined temperature below a steam generation temperature.

8. 8. The aerosol generating device according to claim 7, further comprising a temperature sensor for determining a temperature of the aerosol-forming substrate.

9. 9. The aerosol generating device of claim 1, wherein the aerosol-forming substrate comprises tobacco.

10. An aerosol generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the wireless communication interface is a Bluetooth interface.

11. The aerosol generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the user electronic device is a smartphone.

12. An aerosol generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising a memory in which an identifier for a user electronic device is stored.

13. The aerosol generating device of claim 12, wherein the controller is configured to enable generation of an aerosol for inhalation by a user when an identifier for a user electronic device that wirelessly communicates with the aerosol generating device matches an identifier stored in the memory.

14. 1. A method of operation for an aerosol generating device, comprising: establishing whether a wireless link between the aerosol generating device and a user electronic device is available for a predetermined period of time; enabling the generation of an aerosol for inhalation by a user when the wireless communication interface establishes that a wireless link with the user electronic device is available; enabling pre-heating of an aerosol-forming substrate if the wireless communication interface has not established whether a wireless link with the user electronic device is available; disabling pre-heating of the aerosol-forming substrate if the wireless communication interface establishes that a wireless link is not available within the predetermined time period. method.

15. When executed by a computer, establishing whether a wireless link between the aerosol generating device and the user electronic device is available for a predetermined period of time; enabling the generation of an aerosol for inhalation by a user when the wireless communication interface establishes that a wireless link with the user electronic device is available; enabling pre-heating of an aerosol-forming substrate if the wireless communication interface has not established whether a wireless link with the user electronic device is available; disabling pre-heating of the aerosol-forming substrate if the wireless communication interface establishes that a wireless link is not available within the predetermined time period; comprising executable instructions for causing the computer to perform steps including: Non-transitory computer-readable medium.

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