Power Unit of the Aerosol Generator

Abstract

Provided is a power supply unit for an aerosol generation device that can manage the temperature of a heater with high accuracy. This power supply unit 100 comprises: a power supply ba; a sheet heater HTR that heats a flavor source; a first thermistor th1 and a second thermistor th2 the resistance values of which change in accordance with the temperature of the sheet heater HTR; an MCU 6 that controls, on the basis of the temperature of the sheet heater HTR acquired from the resistance value of the second thermistor th2, the supply of power to the sheet heater HTR from the power supply ba such that the temperature of the sheet heater HTR converges on a target temperature; and a protective circuit (AND gate 10, FF9, and operational amplifier OP2) that stops the supply of power to the sheet heater HTR from the power supply ba when the temperature of the sheet heater HTR acquired from the resistance value of the first thermistor ht1 becomes greater than or equal to a threshold value THD1.

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes an aerosol delivery device including a housing defining a reservoir configured to hold an aerosol precursor composition, a power source housed within the housing, a heating element controllable to vaporize components of the aerosol precursor composition, and a boost converter between the electrical load including the heating element and the power source.

[0003] Patent Document 2 describes an electronic cigarette device including a power converter disposed within a housing and a power source disposed within the housing for supplying power to the power converter at least indirectly.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Since an aerosol generating device is provided with a heater, temperature management of this heater becomes an important issue.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a power supply unit for an aerosol generating device capable of performing temperature management of a heater with high precision.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The power supply unit of the aerosol generating device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a power supply, a heater that heats a flavor source for adding flavor to the aerosol, a first thermistor whose resistance value changes according to the temperature of the heater, a second thermistor whose resistance value changes according to the temperature of the heater and is separate from the first thermistor, and a controller that controls the power supply from the power supply to the heater so as to converge the temperature of the heater to a target temperature based on the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the second thermistor, and a protection circuit that stops the power supply from the power supply to the heater when the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the first thermistor becomes equal to or higher than a first threshold value. The controller is configured to be able to obtain the temperature of the heater from the resistance value of the first thermistor, and is able to determine whether the temperature of the heater can be normally obtained from the resistance value of the second thermistor. When the temperature of the heater cannot be normally obtained from the resistance value of the second thermistor, based on the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the first thermistor, it is configured to control the power supply from the power source to the heater so as to converge the temperature of the heater to the target temperature. It is.

Effects of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, the temperature of the heater can be controlled with high precision.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, the power supply unit of the aerosol generating device which is an embodiment of the present invention will be described. First, the aerosol generating device provided with the power supply unit of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8.

[0011] (Aerosol generating device) The aerosol generating device 200 is a device for generating an aerosol with added flavor without combustion and sucking the generated aerosol. The aerosol generating device 200 is preferably sized to fit in the hand and, for example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with rounded corners. Note that the shape of the aerosol generating device 200 is not limited to this, and it may be a rod shape, an oval shape, or the like. In the following description, in the aerosol generating device 200, among the three orthogonal directions, starting from the longest in length, they are referred to as the vertical direction, the front-rear direction, and the left-right direction. Also, in the following description, for convenience, as described in FIGS. 1 to 8, the front, rear, left, right, upper, and lower directions are defined, and the front is shown as Fr, the rear as Rr, the left side as L, the right side as R, the upper side as U, and the lower side as D.

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

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

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

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

[0016] Between the upper surface and the rear surface of the power unit 100, an inclined surface that slopes downward as it goes rearward is provided. An operation part operable by the user is provided on the inclined surface. The operation part in this embodiment is a button-type switch BT, but it may be composed of a touch panel or the like. The operation part is used when reflecting the user's intention to use and starting / turning off / operating an MCU (Micro Controller Unit) 6 and various sensors (to be described later).

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

[0018] Further, the charging terminal 1 may be provided with, for example, a power receiving coil and configured to be able to receive power transmitted from an external power source in a non-contact manner. The power transmission (Wireless Power Transfer) method in this case may be an electromagnetic induction type, a magnetic resonance type, or a combination of an electromagnetic induction type and a magnetic resonance type. As another example, the charging terminal 1 may be connectable to various USB terminals or the like and may have the above-described power receiving coil.

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

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

[0021] In the cartridge holding part 51, the first cartridge 110 is inserted from below with the lower lid 7a open. Also, with the first cartridge 110 inserted, the lower lid 7a is closed, and the first cartridge 110 is housed in the cartridge holding part 51. A capsule holder 4A is attached to the upper part of the cartridge holding part 51. The cartridge holding part 51 is provided with a vertically long through-hole in the front, and from the remaining amount confirmation window 3w provided at the joining part of the first case 3A and the second case 3B, the remaining amount of the aerosol source of the first cartridge 110 and the light of the LED (Light Emitting Diode) 21D described later are visible. The first cartridge 110 will be described later.

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

[0023] A vibration motor 13 is arranged in the motor holding part 54. A suction sensor 15, which will be described later and outputs in response to the user's suction operation (puff operation), is arranged in the sensor holding part 55.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 6, the heating part 60 includes a cylindrical heat transfer tube 61 and a sheet heater HTR wound around the outer periphery of the heat transfer tube 61. The aforementioned capsule holder 4A is provided at a distance around the sheet heater HTR. The air layer between the capsule holder 4A and the sheet heater HTR functions as a heat insulating material. The lower part of the second cartridge 120 inserted from the opening 4a of the capsule holder 4A is housed in the heat transfer tube 61, and the lower part of the second cartridge 120 is heated by the sheet heater HTR. As a result, compared with the case where there is no heating part 60, the fragrance source stored in the second cartridge 120 is more likely to release fragrance, so the fragrance is more likely to be added to the aerosol.

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

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

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

[0028] The suction sensor 15 is composed of, for example, a condenser microphone, a pressure sensor, a flow sensor, etc. A plurality of suction sensors 15 may be arranged at intervals, and the puff operation may be detected from the difference in their output values, etc. The heater temperature sensor includes a first thermistor th1 and a second thermistor th2. The first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 are preferably in contact with or close to the sheet heater HTR. When the sheet heater HTR has PTC characteristics or NTC characteristics, the sheet heater HTR itself may be used as the heater temperature sensor. The heater temperature sensor is described as being composed of two thermistors, but it may also be composed of one thermistor.

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

[0030] The main board 20 is arranged between the battery pack BP and the rear surface of the case 3a (the rear surface of the power supply unit 100) so that the element mounting surface faces the front-rear direction. The main board 20 is composed of a plurality of layers (six layers in this embodiment) of substrates laminated together, and electronic components (elements) such as an MCU 6 and a charging IC 3 are mounted on it.

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

[0032] The charging IC 3 is an IC that controls the charging of the power supply ba with the power input from the charging terminal 1 or supplies the power of the power supply ba to the electronic components of the main board 20 and the like.

[0033] The main board 20 will be described more specifically with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. Hereinafter, for the sake of convenience, the surface facing the rear of the main board 20 is referred to as the front surface 201, and the surface facing the front of the main board 20 is referred to as the back surface 202. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the front surface 201 of the main board 20, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the back surface 202 of the main board 20. The main board 20 is in the shape of a plate extending vertically. In FIGS. 7 and 8, as side surfaces orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the main board 20, an upper side surface 20SU which is the upper side surface and a lower side surface 20SD which is the lower side surface are shown. Also, as side surfaces orthogonal to the short side direction of the main board 20, a left side surface 20SL which is the left side surface and a right side surface 20SR which is the right side surface are shown.

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

[0035] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the perfume sensor board 21 is disposed in the sensor holding portion 55 of the chassis 50 such that the element mounting surface faces the right front and the left rear. A suction sensor 15 is mounted on the perfume sensor board 21.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 6, the OLED board 26 is disposed between the battery pack BP and the OLED cover 5a such that the element mounting surface faces the vertical direction. An OLED panel 17 is mounted on the OLED board 26.

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

[0038] The battery pack BP held by the battery holding portion 52 is exposed from the battery holding portion 52 on the left side by the semi-cylindrical battery holding portion 52. In the space between the left side of the battery pack BP formed by notching the battery holding portion 52 and the first case 3A, as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 6, the main FPC 23, the heater FPC 24, and the OLED FPC 25 are arranged so as to overlap each other.

[0039] Among the three FPCs, the main FPC 23 is routed closest to the battery pack BP, the OLED FPC 25 is routed so as to partially overlap the main FPC 23, and the heater FPC 24 is routed so as to overlap the OLED FPC 25. That is, the heater FPC 24, which is supplied with the largest power among the three FPCs, is routed farthest from the battery pack BP. The main FPC 23 has a substantially cross-shaped unfolded shape, and is folded back rearward at the location where it overlaps the heater FPC 24. That is, the main FPC 23 is a folded wiring that is folded. The folded portion of the main FPC 23 is likely to lift in the left-right direction, but such lifting is prevented by the heater FPC 24 and the OLED FPC 25 overlapping this portion. The switch BT is directly mounted on the main FPC 23 without passing through a rigid substrate or the like.

[0040] One end of the OLED FPC 25 is connected to the OLED connector 20C of the main board 20, and the other end is connected to the OLED board 26.

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

[0042] One end of the heater FPC 24 is connected to the heater connector 20B of the main board 20, and a sheet heater HTR is integrally formed at the other end.

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

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

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

[0046] (Second Cartridge) The second cartridge 120 stores a flavor source. When the second cartridge 120 is heated by the sheet heater HTR, the flavor source is heated. The second cartridge 120 adds a flavor to the aerosol by passing the aerosol generated by atomizing the aerosol source by the liquid heater through the flavor source. As the raw material piece constituting the flavor source, shredded tobacco or a molded body obtained by granulating a tobacco raw material can be used. The flavor source may be constituted by a plant other than tobacco (for example, mint, Chinese herbal medicine, herb, etc.). The flavor source may be imparted with a fragrance such as menthol.

[0047] The aerosol generating device 200 can generate an aerosol with added fragrance by means of an aerosol source and a fragrance source. That is to say, the aerosol source and the fragrance source constitute an aerosol generation source for generating an aerosol with added fragrance.

[0048] The aerosol generation source in the aerosol generating device 200 is a part that the user replaces and uses. This part is provided to the user as a set, for example, consisting of one first cartridge 110 and one or a plurality (for example, five) of second cartridges 120. Also, the battery pack BP can be repeatedly charged and discharged as long as the power supply ba does not deteriorate significantly. Therefore, in the aerosol generating device 200, the replacement frequency of the power supply unit 100 or the battery pack BP is the lowest, the replacement frequency of the first cartridge 110 is the next lowest, and the replacement frequency of the second cartridge 120 is the highest. Note that the first cartridge 110 and the second cartridge 120 may be integrated and configured as one cartridge. A configuration in which a drug or the like is added to the aerosol source instead of the fragrance source may also be possible.

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

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

[0051] Thus, on the main board 20, four connectors (OLED connector 20C, heater connector 20B, main connector 20A, and battery connector 20D) to which wirings (FPCs and lead wires) are constantly connected and a debug connector 20E and a charging terminal 1 to which wirings (connection cables and USB cables) are connected only when necessary are mounted on different element mounting surfaces. For this reason, the routing of the wirings connected to the above four connectors becomes easy. In particular, as described above, by making the insertion directions of the wirings for the above four connectors the same, the routing of the wirings becomes even easier, and designs such as reduction of surplus space become easy, so that miniaturization of the power supply unit 100 can be realized.

[0052] In addition, the insertion direction of the wiring for the four connectors mounted on the front surface 201 is standardized to be in the right direction. On the other hand, the insertion direction of the wiring for the debug connector 20E mounted on the back surface 202 is different from that of the above four connectors (specifically, the opposite direction). This prevents the connection cable from interfering with the wiring inserted into the above four connectors when inserting the connection cable into the debug connector 20E. Also, the insertion direction of the wiring for the charging terminal 1 is different from that of the wiring for the debug connector 20E (specifically, a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction thereof). This can prevent interference between these two cables even when inserting a connection cable into the debug connector 20E and connecting a USB cable to the charging terminal 1.

[0053] In addition, the debug connector 20E can have its connection cable inserted and removed by only removing the second case 3B of the case 3a from the chassis 50. In other words, the debug connector 20E can have its connection cable inserted and removed even with the first case 3A of the case 3a attached. Also, in a state where only the second case 3B of the case 3a is removed from the chassis 50 (with the first case 3A attached), the above four connectors and the wiring connected thereto are not exposed. As a result, it is possible to prevent a person from touching the four connectors on the front surface 201 or the wiring connected thereto when inserting and removing the connection cable for the debug connector 20E.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 3, the front surface 201 of the main board 20 faces away from the battery pack BP side. In other words, the distance between the front surface 201 of the main board 20 and the rear surface of the case 3a is smaller than the distance between the back surface 202 of the main board 20 and the front surface of the case 3a. Furthermore, there are no other components constituting the internal unit 2A between the front surface 201 of the main board 20 and the inner wall of the case 3a (the rear surface of the case 3a) facing this front surface 201. This minimizes the distance between the front surface 201 and the case 3a, thereby further miniaturizing the power supply unit 100.

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

[0056] As shown in Fig. 10, the suction sensor 15 has a substantially cylindrical outer shape, and includes a fixed electrode 151 disposed at one end in the axial direction, a movable electrode 152 disposed at the other end in the axial direction and axially movable with respect to the fixed electrode 151, and a ring-shaped side surface 153. A terminal group 15A including an output terminal, a ground terminal, and a power supply terminal of the suction sensor 15 protrudes and is provided on the surface of the suction sensor 15 on the fixed electrode 151 side.

[0057] As shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the puff sensor substrate 21 is in the form of a plate extending in the vertical direction. Hereinafter, for the sake of convenience, the surface on the side of the puff sensor substrate 21 opposite to the sensor holding portion 55 side will be referred to as the front surface 214, and the surface on the sensor holding portion 55 side of the puff sensor substrate 21 will be referred to as the back surface 215 for the sake of convenience. Also, the length of the puff sensor substrate 21 in the short side direction will be described as the width.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 9, the puff sensor substrate 21 includes a first portion 211 that is disposed at one end (lower end) in the longitudinal direction and has the narrowest width, a third portion 213 that is disposed above and spaced apart from the first portion 211 and has the widest width, and a second portion 212 that connects the first portion 211 and the third portion 213. The width of the second portion 212 becomes wider from the first portion 211 toward the third portion 213, is wider than the width of the first portion 211, and is narrower than the width of the third portion 213. In the puff sensor substrate 21, since the width gradually changes due to the second portion 212, the conductive pattern passing near the edge of the puff sensor substrate 21 does not have an acute curve at the portion where the width changes. As a result, the parasitic resistance and parasitic inductance of the conductive pattern are reduced, and heat and noise that may occur on the puff sensor substrate 21 are reduced. More specifically, in the plan view of FIG. 9, the angle θ1 of the vertex formed by the third portion 213 and the second portion 212 is 90 degrees or more, and the angle θ2 of the vertex formed by the second portion 212 and the first portion 211 is 90 degrees or more. Thus, it becomes easy to provide a conductive pattern along this angle, and the conductive pattern can be prevented from becoming an acute angle.

[0059] The suction sensor 15 is mounted on the back surface 215 of the first part 211. Three through-holes 15B penetrating in the thickness direction are formed in the first part 211. The terminal group 15A of the suction sensor 15 is inserted into these through-holes 15B from the back surface 215 side. The puf sensor substrate 21 is provided with a puf sensor connector 21A (to be described later) that is electrically connected to the connector 21B, and the terminal group 15A of the suction sensor 15 inserted into the through-hole 15B is electrically connected to this puf sensor connector 21A. The output signal of the suction sensor 15 is input to the MCU6 via the puf sensor connector 21A, the connector 21B, and the main FPC 23 connected to the connector 21B. As shown in FIG. 9, the width of the first part 211 is small enough for the suction sensor 15 to protrude outward. That is, the suction sensor 15 has a portion that protrudes outward from the puf sensor substrate 21. Also, the width of the suction sensor 15 is the same as the width of the third part 213. Note that the width of the suction sensor 15 may be smaller than the width of the third part 213. In this way, by making the width of the third part 213 equal to or greater than the width of the suction sensor 15, more electronic components can be mounted on the puf sensor substrate 21.

[0060] As shown in FIG. 11, an opening 51H is formed in the left rear side surface of a cartridge holding part 51 that defines a substantially cylindrical cavity for accommodating the first cartridge 110. The peripheral edge part 51E of the opening 51H is slightly recessed, and a sensor holding part 55 is fixed to this peripheral edge part 51E with an adhesive or the like, and the opening 51H is closed by the sensor holding part 55.

[0061] The sensor holding part 55 has a curved shape corresponding to the curved shape of the outer peripheral surface of the substantially cylindrical cartridge holding part 51. That is, when viewed from above, the sensor holding part 55 has a shape along the circumferential direction of the cartridge holding part 51. By making the sensor holding part 55 have such a curved shape, the area inside the case 3a can be effectively utilized, contributing to the miniaturization of the power supply unit 100.

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

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

[0064] As described above, the side surface 153 of the suction sensor 15 has a portion that protrudes outward from the puff sensor substrate 21. Therefore, after mounting the suction sensor 15 on the puff sensor substrate 21, the side surface 153 can be gripped to easily press-fit the suction sensor 15 into the through hole 552A. Thereby, when manufacturing the power supply unit 100, the risk of touching sensitive components such as the movable electrode 152 and the fixed electrode 151 of the suction sensor 15 with a finger or the like is reduced, and the failure of the suction sensor 15 can be prevented.

[0065] Further, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a notch 553 is provided in a part of the peripheral edge of the lower portion 552 of the sensor holding portion 55. The presence of this notch 553 makes it easier to maintain the state of gripping the side surface 153 of the suction sensor 15 in the process of press-fitting the suction sensor 15 into the through hole 552A. Therefore, the suction sensor 15 can be easily press-fitted by the sensor holding portion 55.

[0066] Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the notch 533 of the sensor holding portion 55 is exposed to the outside in a state where the first case 3A of the case 3a is removed from the chassis 50. Therefore, compared with a configuration in which the notch 533 is not exposed to the outside in a state where the case 3a is removed from the chassis 50, the maintenance of the suction sensor 15 and the attachment work to the sensor holding portion 55 can be facilitated.

[0067] The sensor holding portion 55 is arranged such that the radial direction of the through hole 552A (the direction along the plane orthogonal to the extending direction of the through hole 552A) intersects two of the longitudinal direction (vertical direction), the lateral direction (front-rear direction), and the thickness direction (left-right direction) of the power supply unit 100 (in the example of the figure, the lateral direction and the thickness direction). For example, assuming that the sensor holding portion 55 is fixed to the rear surface of the cartridge holding portion 51 such that the lateral direction coincides with the left-right direction and the longitudinal direction coincides with the vertical direction, although the front-rear direction intersects the radial direction of the through hole 552A, both the vertical direction and the thickness direction are parallel to the radial direction of the through hole 552A. In such a configuration, the thickness (length in the left-right direction) and the width (length in the front-rear direction) of the internal unit 2A increase. On the other hand, according to the configuration of the present embodiment in which the sensor holding portion 55 is fixed to the diagonally left rear surface of the cartridge holding portion 51, the thickness and the width of the internal unit 2A can be reduced, thereby realizing miniaturization of the power supply unit 100.

[0068] Also, for example, assume that the shape of the aerosol generator 200 is generally slender and cylindrical, and the capsule holder 4A, the cartridge holding part 51, and the battery pack BP are arranged in a straight line. In this case, for example, assume a case where the sensor holding part 55 is fixed to the left side surface of the cartridge holding part 51 such that the short side direction coincides with the front-rear direction and the long side direction coincides with the vertical direction. In this case, although the thickness direction intersects the radial direction of the through hole 552A, both the vertical direction and the front-rear direction are parallel to the radial direction of the through hole 552A. In such a configuration, the thickness and width of the internal unit 2A increase. On the other hand, according to the configuration of the present embodiment in which the sensor holding part 55 is fixed to the obliquely left rear surface of the cartridge holding part 51, the thickness and width of the internal unit 2A can be reduced, and thus miniaturization of the power supply unit 100 can be achieved.

[0069] On the surface 214 of the puff sensor substrate 21, there are mounted a puff sensor connector 21A, a connector 21B electrically connected to a vibration motor connector 21C described later, a varistor V as a protection component for protecting other electrical components or the MCU6 mounted on the puff sensor substrate 21 from a signal output from the output terminal of the suction sensor 15, and a capacitor C2 as a protection component for protecting the suction sensor 15 from the power supplied to the power terminal of the suction sensor 15. Note that no IC other than the suction sensor 15 is mounted on the puff sensor substrate 21. Thus, since there is no IC that can be a noise source other than the suction sensor 15 on the puff sensor substrate 21, the suction sensor 15 can operate stably.

[0070] As shown in FIG. 9, the capacitor C2 is mounted on the first portion 211. Also, the varistor V is mounted across the first portion 211 and the second portion 212. Thus, by mounting the capacitor C2 and the varistor V at positions close to the terminal group 15A of the suction sensor 15 in the thickness direction of the puff sensor substrate 21, noise input to or output from the suction sensor 15 can be quickly processed by the protection components.

[0071] As described above, the suction sensor 15 supported by the chassis 50 within the case 3a is not exposed to the outside when the first case 3A is not removed from the chassis 50. In other words, the suction sensor 15 is exposed to the outside only when the first case 3A is removed from the chassis 50. For example, when only the second case 3B is removed from the chassis 50 and the debug connector 20E is used, the suction sensor 15 is not exposed to the outside, so the merit that the suction sensor 15 is less likely to fail can be obtained.

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

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

[0074] On the main board 20, as main ICs which are electronic components in which a plurality of circuit elements are chip-sized, a protection IC 2, a charging IC 3, an LDO (Low Dropout) regulator (hereinafter referred to as LDO) 4, a boost circuit 5 composed of a DC / DC converter, an MCU 6, a load switch (hereinafter referred to as LSW) 7 configured by combining a capacitor, a resistor, a transistor, etc., a multiplexer 8, a flip-flop (hereinafter referred to as FF) 9, an AND gate (simply referred to as "AND" in FIG. 12) 10, a boost circuit 11 composed of a DC / DC converter, an operational amplifier OP1, and an operational amplifier OP2 are provided.

[0075] The main board 20 is further provided with switches Q1 to Q9 each constituted by a MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor), resistors R1 to R12, RA, and RB each having a fixed electrical resistance value, capacitors C1 and C2, varistor V, reactor L3 connected to the charging IC3, reactor L5 connected to the boost circuit 5, and reactor L11 connected to the boost circuit 11. Switches Q3, Q4, Q7, Q8, and Q9 are each constituted by an N-channel MOSFET. Switches Q1, Q2, Q5, and Q6 are each constituted by a P-channel MOSFET. The gates of switches Q1 to Q8 are each controlled by the MCU6 to switch between the on state and the off state.

[0076] In FIG. 12, each IC excluding the operational amplifier has the symbols of various terminals described thereon. Terminals VCC and VDD mounted on the chip each indicate the power supply terminal on the high potential side. Terminals VSS and GND mounted on the chip each indicate the power supply terminal on the low potential side (reference potential side). For a chip-mounted electronic component, the difference between the potential of the power supply terminal on the high potential side and the potential of the power supply terminal on the low potential side is the power supply voltage (operating voltage). The chip-mounted electronic component uses this power supply voltage to execute various functions.

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

[0078] The battery connector 20D provided on the main board 20 (refer to the vicinity of the center left in FIG. 12) includes a terminal BAT connected to each of the detection terminal SNS of the charging IC 3 and the charging terminal BAT of the charging IC 3, a terminal GND connected to the ground line of the main board 20, and a terminal TH3 connected to the terminal P25 of the MCU 6. The terminal BAT of the battery connector 20D is connected by a lead wire 16 to the positive terminal of the power supply ba included in the battery pack BP. The terminal TH3 of the battery connector 20D is connected by a lead wire 16 to the positive terminal of the power supply thermistor th3 included in the battery pack BP. The terminal GND of the battery connector 20D is connected by a lead wire 16 to each of the negative terminal of the power supply ba and the negative terminal of the power supply thermistor th3.

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

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

[0081] The signal line SL connected to the communication terminal T3 of the OLED connector 20C is also connected to the communication terminal T3 of the charging IC3. Through this signal line SL, the MCU6 can communicate with the charging IC3 and with the control IC of the OLED panel 17. This signal line SL is for serial communication. In reality, a plurality of signal lines such as a data line for data transmission and a clock line for synchronization are required. Note that in FIG. 12, for simplicity, the signal line SL is shown as a single signal line. It should be noted that the communication between the MCU6, the charging IC3, and the control IC of the OLED panel 17 may also be performed by parallel communication instead of serial communication.

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

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

[0084] The terminal HT1(P1) of the main connector 20A is connected to the input-side contact P1 connected to the pogo pin p1 by the main FPC23. The terminal HT1(P2) of the main connector 20A is connected to the input-side contact P2 connected to the pogo pin p2 by the main FPC23. The terminal HT1(P3) of the main connector 20A is connected to the input-side contact P3 connected to the pogo pin p3 by the main FPC23. The terminal KEY of the main connector 20A is connected to one end of a switch BT mounted on the main FPC23 by the wiring of the main FPC23. The other end of this switch BT is connected to the ground line of the main FPC23.

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

[0086] On the puff sensor board 21 (refer to the vicinity of the lower center in FIG. 12), a puff sensor connector 21A connected to the terminal group 15A of the suction sensor 15, a connector 21B connected to the main FPC 23, a vibration motor connector 21C connected to the vibration motor 13, an LED 21D, a varistor V, and a capacitor C2 are mounted.

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

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

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

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

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

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

[0093] The charging IC3 has a charging function of charging the power supply ba based on the bus voltage V BUS input to the input terminal VBUS. The charging IC3 acquires the charging current and charging voltage of the power supply ba through the detection terminal SNS, and based on these, performs charging control of the power supply ba (power supply control from the charging terminal BAT to the power supply ba). Also, the charging IC3 acquires the temperature information of the power supply ba obtained by the MCU6 from the power supply thermistor th3 via the terminal P25 from the MCU6 by serial communication using the signal line SL and uses it for charging control.

[0094] The charging IC3 has a first function of generating the system power supply voltage V BAT from the voltage of the power supply ba input to the charging terminal BAT (hereinafter referred to as the power supply voltage V SYS ) and outputting it from the output terminal SYS, a second function of generating the system power supply voltage V BUS from the bus voltage V SYS input to the input terminal VBUS and outputting it from the output terminal SYS, and a third function of boosting the power supply voltage V BAT input to the charging terminal BAT to obtain the OTG voltage V OTG (for example, a voltage of 5V) and outputting it from the boost output terminal RN. The second function is only enabled when the USB connection is made. In this way, the system power supply voltage V SYS and the OTG voltage V OTG are in a normal state where the power supply ba can supply power to the charging IC3, and if the charging IC3 is operating normally, they can always be output from the charging IC3.

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

[0096] Charging IC3 further includes a negative logic terminal QON(￣). Terminal QON(￣) is connected to node N2 that connects resistor R3 and resistor R4, and this node N2 is connected to terminal P21 of MCU6. When a low-level signal is input to terminal QON(￣) of charging IC3, the voltage output from the output terminal SYS stops.

[0097] LDO4, boost circuit 5, and boost circuit 11 are connected in parallel to the output terminal SYS of charging IC3. Specifically, the output terminal SYS of charging IC3 is connected to the control terminal CTL and input terminal IN of LDO4, the input terminal VIN of boost circuit 5, and the input terminal VIN of boost circuit 11. The OTG voltage V OTG output from the boost output terminal RN of charging IC3 is supplied to the anode of LED21D via terminal VOTG of main connector 20A and terminal VOTG of connector 21B. The cathode of LED21D is connected to ground via terminal LED of connector 21B, terminal LED of main connector 20A, and switch Q8. Therefore, by MCU6 performing on / off control of switch Q8, lighting control of LED21D using the OTG voltage V OTG is enabled.

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

[0099] The boost circuit 11 includes an input terminal VIN, a switching terminal SW, an output terminal VOUT, a positive logic enable terminal EN, and a terminal GND. One end of the reactor L11 is connected to the switching terminal SW of the boost circuit 11. The other end of this reactor L11 is connected to the input terminal VIN of the boost circuit 11. The boost circuit 11 boosts the voltage input to the switching terminal SW via the reactor L11 by performing on / off control of the built-in transistor connected to the switching terminal SW, and outputs it from the output terminal VOUT. The heating voltage V output from the output terminal VOUT of the boost circuit 11 HEAT is, for example, a voltage of 4V. The input terminal VIN of the boost circuit 11 constitutes the high-potential side power supply terminal of the boost circuit 11. The boost circuit 11 outputs the heating voltage V when the signal input to the enable terminal EN from the output terminal Y of the AND gate 10 described later is at a high level.​HEAT Output is performed, and when the signal input to this enable terminal EN is at a low level, the heating voltage V HEAT output is stopped.

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

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

[0102] The multiplexer 8 has an input terminal B0, an input terminal B1, an output terminal A, and a select terminal SE. The multiplexer 8 switches between a state of connecting the input terminal B0 and the output terminal A and a state of connecting the input terminal B1 and the output terminal A according to a control signal input from the terminal P15 of the MCU6 to the select terminal SE.

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

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

[0105] Connected in parallel to the output terminal OUT of LDO4 are the control IC of the OLED panel 17, the MCU6, the LSW7, the suction sensor 15, a series circuit consisting of the resistor R3, the resistor R4, and the switch BT, and the debug connector 20E. Specifically, the output terminal OUT of LDO4 is connected to the terminal VDD of the OLED connector 20C, the power supply terminal VDD of the MCU6, the input terminal VIN of the LSW7, the other end of the resistor R5 whose one end is connected to the terminal VM CU of the main connector 20A (node N1 in the figure), the input end of the voltage dividing circuit consisting of the resistor R4 and the resistor R3 (node N1 in the figure), and the terminal VM CU of the debug connector 20E.

[0106] Also connected to the output terminal OUT of LDO4 is the source terminal of the switch Q6 whose gate terminal is connected to the terminal P4 of the MCU6. Connected in parallel to the drain terminal of the switch Q6 are the terminal VCC of the AND gate 10, the terminal VCC of the FF9, one end of the resistor R11, one end of the resistor R12, the positive power supply terminal of the operational amplifier OP2, one end of the resistor R8, one end of the resistor R9, and the positive power supply terminal of the operational amplifier OP1.

[0107] The other end of the resistor R12 is connected to the second thermistor terminal TH2, and a series circuit of the resistor R12 and the second thermistor th2 connected to the second thermistor terminal TH2 is connected to the system power supply voltage V MCUA voltage dividing circuit to which [voltage] is applied is configured. The output of this voltage dividing circuit corresponds to the electrical resistance value (in other words, the temperature) of the second thermistor th2, and is input to terminal P8 of the MCU6. As a result, the MCU6 can acquire the temperature of the second thermistor th2. In this embodiment, an NTC characteristic thermistor having a resistance value that decreases as the temperature increases is used as the second thermistor th2, but a PTC characteristic thermistor having a resistance value that increases as the temperature increases may also be used.

[0108] One end of resistor R10 is connected to the other end of resistor R9, and the other end of resistor R10 is connected to the ground line. The series circuit of resistor R9 and resistor R10 constitutes a voltage dividing circuit to which the system power supply voltage V MCU A voltage dividing circuit to which [voltage] is applied is configured. The output of this voltage dividing circuit is connected to the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2, and a fixed voltage value is input to this inverting input terminal. The other end of resistor R8 is connected to the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2.

[0109] Also, the other end of resistor R8 is further connected to the first thermistor terminal TH1 and terminal P9 of the MCU6. The series circuit of resistor R8 and the first thermistor th1 connected to the first thermistor terminal TH1 constitutes a voltage dividing circuit to which the system power supply voltage V MCU A voltage dividing circuit to which [voltage] is applied is configured. The output of this voltage dividing circuit corresponds to the electrical resistance value (in other words, the temperature) of the first thermistor th1, and is input to terminal P9 of the MCU6. As a result, the MCU6 can acquire the temperature of the first thermistor th1 (in other words, the temperature of the seat heater HTR). Also, the output of this voltage dividing circuit is also input to the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2. In this embodiment, an NTC characteristic thermistor having a resistance value that decreases as the temperature increases is used as the first thermistor th1. Therefore, when the temperature of the first thermistor th1 (the temperature of the seat heater HTR) becomes high and the temperature becomes equal to or higher than the threshold value THD1, the output of the operational amplifier OP2 becomes low level. In other words, as long as the temperature of the first thermistor th1 (the temperature of the seat heater HTR) is within the normal range, the output of the operational amplifier OP2 becomes high level.

[0110] In addition, when using, as the first thermistor th1, one having a PTC characteristic in which the resistance value increases as the temperature increases, the output of the voltage dividing circuit composed of the first thermistor th1 and the resistor R8 may be connected to the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2, and the output of the voltage dividing circuit composed of the resistor R9 and the resistor R10 may be connected to the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP2. Even in this case, when the temperature of the first thermistor th1 (the temperature of the seat heater HTR) becomes high and the temperature becomes equal to or higher than the threshold value THD1, the output of the operational amplifier OP2 becomes low level.

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

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

[0113] The other input terminal A of the AND gate 10 is connected to terminal P6 of the MCU6. The output terminal Y of the AND gate 10 is connected to the positive logic enable terminal EN of the boost circuit 11. The AND gate 10 outputs a high-level signal from the output terminal Y only when both the signal input to the input terminal A and the signal input to the input terminal B are at a high level.

[0114] When a control signal is input from terminal P10 of the MCU6 to the control terminal CTL of the LSW7, the LSW7 outputs the system power supply voltage V MCU input to the input terminal VIN from the output terminal OUT. The output terminal OUT of the LSW7 is connected to the vibration motor 13 via the terminal VIB of the main board 20 and the terminal VIB of the perfume sensor board 21. Therefore, by the MCU6 inputting a control signal to the LSW7, the vibration motor 13 can be operated using the system power supply voltage V MCU .

[0115] (Transition from Standby Mode to Heating Mode) The power supply unit 100 has, as operation modes, a sleep mode for power saving, a standby mode that can be transitioned from the sleep mode, and a heating mode (a mode for aerosol generation by heating a liquid heater or a sheet heater HTR) that can be transitioned from the standby mode. When the MCU6 detects a specific operation (for example, a long press operation) on the switch BT in the sleep mode, it switches the operation mode to the standby mode. When the MCU6 detects a specific operation (for example, a short press operation) on the switch BT in the standby mode, it switches the operation mode to the heating mode.

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

[0117] When the MCU6 transitions to the heating mode, it controls the switch Q6 shown in FIG. 13 to be in the on state. As a result, the system power supply voltage V is applied to each of the AND gate 10, the FF9, the voltage dividing circuit composed of the resistor R11, the operational amplifier OP2, the resistor R11, the resistor R9, and the resistor R10, the voltage dividing circuit composed of the resistor R8 and the first thermistor th1, the voltage dividing circuit composed of the resistor R12 and the second thermistor th2, and the operational amplifier OP1. MCUwill be supplied. Further, when the MCU6 transitions to the heating mode, it controls the signal input from the terminal P6 to the input terminal A of the AND gate 10 to a high level. Also, the MCU6 starts inputting a clock signal to the clock terminal CLK of the FF9. In this state, if the temperature of the first thermistor th1 (the temperature of the seat heater HTR) is within the normal range (less than the threshold value THD1), the output of the operational amplifier OP2 will be at a high level. As a result, the output of the FF9 will be at a high level, and as a result, the output of the AND gate 10 will be at a high level. For this reason, the output of the boost circuit 11 supplies the heating voltage V HEAT is started, and the seat heater HTR and the liquid heater can be heated.

[0118] (Determination of the connection destination of the liquid heater) When the output of the heating voltage V from the boost circuit 11 HEAT is started, as shown in FIG. 14, power can be supplied to the seat heater HTR connected to the seat heater terminal HT2 and the liquid heater (in FIG. 14, the liquid heater htr connected to the terminal HT1(P1) and the terminal HT1(P2)) connected to any two of the terminals HT1(P1) to HT1(P3). In this state, first, the MCU6 determines which pair of the pogo pins p1, pogo pin p2, and pogo pin p3 the liquid heater is connected to based on the output of the operational amplifier OP1 shown in FIG. 12. This determination process includes the following first process, second process, and third process.

[0119] (First process) The MCU6 controls to connect the input terminal B0 and the output terminal A of the multiplexer 8 with only the switch Q4 of the switches Q1 - Q4 turned on. In this state, if the electrical resistance value between the terminal HT1(P1) and the terminal HT1(P2) is Rx, the divided voltage value = V HEAT*{Rx / (Ra + Rx)} is input to the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier OP1. In the operational amplifier OP1, the voltage input to the non-inverting input terminal is compared with the value of the above-mentioned voltage division value when a liquid heater is connected between the terminal HT1(P1) and the terminal HT1(P2). When the difference is small, the output of the operational amplifier OP1 becomes a low level. Therefore, when the output of the operational amplifier OP1 becomes a low level, the MCU6 determines that a liquid heater is connected between the terminal HT1(P1) and the terminal HT1(P2).

[0120] (Second step) When the output of the operational amplifier OP1 becomes a high level in the first step, the MCU6 controls to connect the input terminal B0 and the output terminal A of the multiplexer 8 with only the switch Q3 among the switches Q1 - Q4 turned on. In this state, when a liquid heater is connected between the terminal HT1(P1) and the terminal HT1(P3), the output of the operational amplifier OP1 becomes a low level. Therefore, when the output of the operational amplifier OP1 becomes a low level, the MCU6 determines that a liquid heater is connected between the terminal HT1(P1) and the terminal HT1(P3).

[0121] (Third step) When the output of the operational amplifier OP1 becomes a high level in the second step, the MCU6 controls to connect the input terminal B1 and the output terminal A of the multiplexer 8 with only the switch Q3 among the switches Q1 - Q4 turned on. In this state, when a liquid heater is connected between the terminal HT1(P2) and the terminal HT1(P3), the output of the operational amplifier OP1 becomes a low level. Therefore, when the output of the operational amplifier OP1 becomes a low level, the MCU6 determines that a liquid heater is connected between the terminal HT1(P2) and the terminal HT1(P3).

[0122] When the output of the operational amplifier OP1 does not become a low level in any of the first step to the third step, the MCU6 performs an error notification.

[0123] (Start of heating control) When the output level of the suction sensor 15 changes to a value corresponding to the case where suction is performed by the user after the above determination process is completed, the MCU6 starts the heating control of the seat heater HTR and the liquid heater. Specifically, the MCU6 controls the on / off (for example, PWM control or PFM control) of the switch Q5 shown in FIG. 14 to perform the heating control of the seat heater HTR. At this time, the MCU6 performs the heating control of the seat heater HTR so that the temperature of the seat heater HTR converges to the target temperature based on the temperature of the second thermistor th2 (in other words, the temperature of the seat heater HTR) obtained from the signal input to the terminal P8. For this heating control, for example, PID (Proportional-Integral-Differential) control is used.

[0124] In addition, when a liquid heater is connected between the terminals HT1(P1) and HT1(P2), the MCU6 controls the switch Q4 among the switches Q1 to Q4 shown in FIG. 14 to be in the on state, controls the switches Q2 and Q3 to be in the off state, and controls the on / off (for example, PWM control or PFM control) of the switch Q1 to perform the heating control of the liquid heater. When a liquid heater is connected between the terminals HT1(P1) and HT1(P3), the MCU6 controls the switch Q3 among the switches Q1 to Q4 to be in the on state, controls the switches Q2 and Q4 to be in the off state, and controls the on / off of the switch Q1 to perform the heating control of the liquid heater. When a liquid heater is connected between the terminals HT1(P2) and HT1(P3), the MCU6 controls the switch Q3 among the switches Q1 to Q4 to be in the on state, controls the switches Q1 and Q4 to be in the off state, and controls the on / off of the switch Q2 to perform the heating control of the liquid heater.

[0125] As shown in FIG. 13, the system power supply voltage V output from the LDO4 is constantly supplied to the suction sensor 15 connected to the pressure sensor connector 21A. On the other hand, for the electronic components that need to operate only in the heating mode, the system power supply voltage V MCU is constantly supplied to the suction sensor 15 connected to the pressure sensor connector 21A. On the other hand, for the electronic components that need to operate only in the heating mode, the system power supply voltage V MCUis supplied via switch Q6. With such a configuration, it becomes possible to reduce the power consumption of the above-mentioned electronic components except in the heating mode. The system power supply voltage V to the suction sensor 15 MCU Immediately after the turn-on, the operation of the suction sensor 15 may become unstable. Therefore, the system power supply voltage V is always supplied to the suction sensor 15 MCU so that even when suction is performed immediately after transitioning to the heating mode, the suction operation can be detected with high accuracy by the suction sensor 15. Also, in this embodiment, the perf sensor board 21 on which the suction sensor 15 is mounted and the main board 20 on which the MCU6 that is likely to be a noise source is mounted are physically separated. As a result, the suction sensor 15 that operates constantly can be made to operate more stably. Also, the switch BT, which is likely to be an entry point for noise such as static electricity, is not mounted on the perf sensor board 21, and the switch BT is directly mounted on the main FPC23. This also enables the suction sensor 15 that operates constantly to operate more stably. Also, by mounting the switch BT on the flexible main FPC23, it is possible to easily increase the distance between the switch BT and the suction sensor 15.

[0126] Fig. 14 shows a connector (main connector 20A and heater connector 20B) electrically connected to the power supply ba, an LED21D and a vibration motor 13 connected to the main connector 20A via a cable such as an FPC or a lead wire, a switch Q8 electrically connected to the low potential side of the main connector 20A and capable of opening and closing the electrical connection between the power supply ba and the LED21D, and an LSW7 electrically connected to the high potential side of the main connector 20A and capable of opening and closing the electrical connection between the power supply ba and the vibration motor 13.

[0127] Here, focus on the LED 21D and the vibration motor 13, which are loads receiving power supply from the power supply ba. The vibration motor 13 can generate a back electromotive force (a reverse current flowing from the low potential side to the high potential side) when vibrating. In this embodiment, the switch used for power supply control to the vibration motor 13 is a high - function LSW7 with a reverse - current prevention function, rather than a simple switch. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the back electromotive force and reverse current generated in the vibration motor 13 from being input to the MCU 6, improving the durability of the MCU 6.

[0128] On the other hand, although there is no concern about the back electromotive force for the LED 21D, it is driven at an operating voltage (specifically, the OTG voltage V MCU ) larger than the operating voltage of the vibration motor 13 (specifically, the system power supply voltage V OTG ). This is because it is necessary to increase the operating voltage to increase the brightness of the LED 21D. In this embodiment, the switch Q8 for performing power supply control to the LED 21D is connected to the low - potential side of the main connector 20A. Thereby, even if the switch Q8 is short - circuited, it is possible to prevent an OTG voltage V MCU higher than the system power supply voltage V OTG from being input to the MCU 6 from the switch Q8. In this way, by providing the switch Q8 on the low - potential side, the OTG voltage V OTG can be set to a high value without being restricted by the system power supply voltage V MCU , and the brightness of the LED 21D can be effectively increased.

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

[0130] Here, attention is paid to the seat heater HTR and the liquid heater, which are loads receiving power supply from the power supply ba. Since the liquid heater needs to atomize the aerosol source, it is necessary to supply a large amount of power per unit time. On the other hand, for the seat heater HTR, since it is sufficient to supply power to such an extent that the amount of fragrance released from the fragrance source is improved, the power required to be supplied per unit time is not more than that of the liquid heater. Therefore, regarding the switches Q1 to Q4 for performing power supply control to the liquid heater, the possibility of short circuit is higher than that of the switch Q5 for performing power supply control to the seat heater HTR.

[0131] In this embodiment, for the liquid heater, switches Q1 and Q2 are connected to the high potential side (in other words, between the power supply ba), and switches Q3 and Q4 are connected to the low potential side (in other words, between the ground). As a result, even if either one of the switches Q1 and Q2 connected to the liquid heater and either one of the switches Q3 and Q4 connected to the liquid heater are short-circuited, by controlling the other switch to the off state, it is possible to suppress the short-circuit current of one switch from continuing to be supplied to the liquid heater. Thereby, the safety of the power supply unit 100 can be improved. Note that the electrical resistance value Ra of the resistor RA connected in parallel with the switch Q1 and the electrical resistance value Rb of the resistor RB connected in parallel with the switch Q2 are sufficiently high values. That is, it should be noted that the short-circuit current passing through the resistor RA and the resistor RB is not supplied to the liquid heater.

[0132] Also, in this embodiment, for the seat heater HTR, only the switch Q5 is connected to the high potential side (in other words, between the power supply ba). As described above, since the switch Q5 has a low possibility of short-circuiting, safety can be ensured without providing another switch between the seat heater HTR and the ground. Also, for the seat heater HTR, its temperature is controlled by a protection circuit described later so as not to become excessively high. Therefore, even if the switch Q5 is short-circuited, the function of the protection circuit can prevent the seat heater HTR from being continuously heated. From this perspective as well, safety can be ensured without providing another switch between the seat heater HTR and the ground. Thus, by using only one switch connected to the seat heater HTR, the number of components of the power supply unit 100 is reduced, and the manufacturing cost of the power supply unit 100 can be reduced.

[0133] (Overheating protection of the heater) In the power supply unit 100, in the heating mode, when the temperature of the first thermistor th1 becomes equal to or higher than the threshold value THD1, the electrical resistance values of the resistor R8, the resistor R9, and the resistor R10 are determined such that the output of the operational amplifier OP2 becomes a low level. When the temperature of the first thermistor th1 becomes equal to or higher than the threshold value THD1 and the output of the operational amplifier OP2 becomes a low level, a low level is input to the clear terminal CLR(￣) of the FF9. As a result, the data held by the FF9 is canceled, so that the output of the FF9 is forced to become a low level, and thus the output of the AND gate 10 also becomes a low level, and the boost circuit 11 stops the output of the heating voltage V HEAT . That is, the output of the operational amplifier OP2 becoming a low level means that the signal input to the enable terminal EN of the boost circuit 11 becomes a low level.

[0134] If the power supply control from the MCU6 to the seat heater HTR functions normally, in principle, the temperature of the first thermistor th1 does not become equal to or higher than the threshold value THD1. That is, when the temperature of the first thermistor th1 becomes equal to or higher than the threshold value THD1, it is highly likely that there is some problem in the circuit (specifically, the switch Q5) that supplies power to the seat heater HTR or in the MCU6.

[0135] In this embodiment, instead of controlling the MCU6 and the switch Q5 by the low-level signal output from the operational amplifier OP2, the boost circuit 11 that outputs the heating voltage V HEAT is controlled to stop the heating of the seat heater HTR. In this way, by inputting the output signal of the operational amplifier OP2 to the boost circuit 11 that can surely stop the power supply to the seat heater HTR, the safety when the seat heater HTR becomes high temperature is enhanced. For example, when the temperature of the first thermistor th1 becomes equal to or higher than the threshold value THD1 due to the MCU6 freezing or the switch Q5 short-circuiting, the MCU6 or the switch Q5 cannot be controlled. Even in such a case, by ensuring that a low-level signal from the operational amplifier OP2 is input to the enable terminal EN of the boost circuit 11, the power supply to the seat heater HTR can be surely stopped.

[0136] Also, as a method for stopping the output of the heating voltage V from the boost circuit 11, a method of inputting a high-level signal to the enable terminal CE(￣) of the charging IC that generates the system power supply voltage V input to the boost circuit 11 can also be considered. According to the configuration in which the output of the operational amplifier OP2 can be input to the enable terminal EN of the boost circuit 11 for this method, there is an advantage that the circuit configuration can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. HEAT In addition, in order to return the output of FF9 to the high level, it is necessary to re-input the clock signal to the clock terminal CLK of FF9 by the MCU6 (in other words, restart FF9). That is, even if the temperature of the first thermistor th1 returns below the threshold value THD1 after the output from the boost circuit 11 stops, the output from the boost circuit 11 will not resume unless the MCU6 performs the restart process of FF9. SYS

[0137]

[0138] ​​Assume that the reason for the temperature of the first thermistor th1 to be equal to or higher than the threshold value THD1 is the freeze of the MCU6. In this case, a high-level signal continues to be input to the input terminal A of the AND gate 10, and a clock signal continues to be input to the FF9. The aerosol generator 200 is provided with a restart circuit RBT (see FIG. 19) that can restart (reset) the MCU6 by the operation of the switch BT by the user, although details will be described later. When the reason for the protection circuit to function is the freeze of the MCU6, the MCU6 is restarted by the user. When the MCU6 restarts, the FF9 is restarted. Also, when the MCU6 restarts, the signal input to the input terminal A of the AND gate 10 becomes a low level. Also, at the timing when the MCU6 restarts, since the switch Q6 is in the off state, the potential of the signal at the input terminal B of the AND gate 10 becomes indeterminate. Therefore, just by the restart of the MCU6, the output from the boost circuit 11 is not resumed. After the restart of the MCU6, when the operation mode is shifted to the heating mode by the user operation, the signal input to the input terminal A of the AND gate 10 becomes a high level. Also, when the switch Q6 is turned on, the signal input to the input terminal B of the AND gate 10 becomes a high level. As a result, the output from the boost circuit 11 is resumed.

[0139] In this way, the restart of the output from the boost circuit 11 is controlled by the MCU6 (performing control to resume the output after reflecting the user's intention), preventing the heating of the seat heater HTR from resuming against the user's intention, and improving safety and convenience.

[0140] As described above, the AND gate 10, the FF9, and the operational amplifier OP2 constitute a protection circuit that stops the power supply to the seat heater HTR to provide protection when the seat heater HTR becomes hot. This protection circuit can autonomously stop the output from the boost circuit 11 according to the temperature of the first thermistor th1 without receiving a command from the MCU6 to disable the boost circuit 11. In other words, even when a high-level signal is input to the input terminal A of the AND gate 10 and a clock signal is input to the clock terminal CLK of the FF9, the output from the boost circuit 11 can be stopped. As a result, even if a failure such as a freeze occurs in the MCU6, the heating by the seat heater HTR or the liquid heater can be stopped immediately, thus improving the safety of the aerosol generator 200.

[0141] Also, when the MCU6 determines that the temperature of the second thermistor th2 obtained based on the signal input to the terminal P8 is equal to or higher than the threshold value THD2 (this value is smaller than the threshold value THD1), the signal input to the input terminal A of the AND gate 10 is set to the low level. As a result, the output of the AND gate 10 becomes the low level, and the boost circuit 11 stops the output of the heating voltage V HEAT In this way, when the MCU6 is operating normally, the output from the boost circuit 11 can also be stopped by a command from the MCU6. As a result, for example, even when the first thermistor th1 is not operating normally, the output from the boost circuit 11 can be stopped by a command from the MCU6 to enhance the safety. Also, the threshold value THD2 is smaller than the threshold value THD1. Therefore, if the MCU6 is operating normally, when the temperature of the seat heater HTR increases, the MCU6 can stop the output from the boost circuit 11 earlier than the protection circuit, further enhancing the safety.

[0142] In this embodiment, the MCU 6 can obtain the temperature of the first thermistor th1 from the signal input to terminal P9. Therefore, the MCU 6 determines whether it can normally obtain the temperature of the second thermistor th2. If it cannot normally obtain the temperature of the second thermistor th2, it is preferable to perform heating control of the seat heater HTR based on the temperature of the first thermistor th1 so that the temperature of the seat heater HTR converges to the target temperature. Thereby, even if some abnormality occurs in the second thermistor th2, the heating control of the seat heater HTR can be executed by the first thermistor th1. The determination of whether the temperature of the second thermistor th2 can be normally obtained can be made by determining whether the signal input to terminal P8 indicates an abnormal value or whether the signal can be obtained.

[0143] However, basically, the MCU 6 executes heating control of the seat heater HTR based on the temperature of the second thermistor th2. Therefore, it is preferable that the second thermistor th2 is arranged at a position where it can more accurately reflect the temperature of the seat heater HTR. On the other hand, the first thermistor th1 is mainly used to stop the output from the boost circuit 11 by the protection circuit when the seat heater HTR becomes high temperature. For this reason, it is preferable that the first thermistor th1 is arranged at a position where the seat heater HTR is more likely to become high temperature so that the high temperature state of the seat heater HTR can be reliably detected. The detailed configuration of the heater FPC24 on which the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 are mounted will be described later.

[0144] In the above-described protection circuit, FF9 is not essential and can be omitted. FIG. 15 is a circuit diagram corresponding to FIG. 13 when FF9 is omitted. When omitting FF9, as shown in FIG. 15, the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP2 may be connected to the input terminal B of the AND gate 10. In the configuration shown in FIG. 15, when the temperature of the first thermistor th1 becomes equal to or higher than the threshold value THD1 and the output of the operational amplifier OP2 becomes low level, the output of the AND gate 10 becomes low level. Thereby, when the seat heater HTR becomes high temperature, the output from the boost circuit 11 can be stopped. According to the configuration shown in FIG. 15, since FF9 can be deleted, miniaturization, weight reduction, and power saving of the power supply unit 100 can be realized.

[0145] Also, in the above-described protection circuit, it is also possible to omit both FF9 and the AND gate 10. FIG. 16 is a circuit diagram corresponding to FIG. 13 when FF9 and the AND gate 10 are omitted. When omitting FF9 and the AND gate 10, as shown in FIG. 16, the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP2 and the terminal P6 of the MCU6 may be connected to the enable terminal EN of the boost circuit 11, respectively. In the configuration shown in FIG. 16, when the temperature of the first thermistor th1 becomes equal to or higher than the threshold value THD1 and the output of the operational amplifier OP2 becomes low level, even if a high-level signal is being output from the terminal P6 of the MCU6, the enable terminal EN of the boost circuit 11 becomes low level. Thereby, when the seat heater HTR becomes high temperature, the output from the boost circuit 11 can be stopped. According to the configuration shown in FIG. 16, since FF9 and the AND gate 10 can be deleted, miniaturization, weight reduction, and power saving of the power supply unit 100 can be realized.

[0146] (Configuration of the heater FPC24) FIG. 17 is an exploded perspective view of the heating unit 60 and the flow path forming body 19 shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 18 is a developed view of the heater FPC 24 shown in FIG. 17. The heat transfer tube 61 and the flow path forming body 19 are fixed in a state where the upper end portion of the flow path forming body 19 is inserted into the lower end portion of the heat transfer tube 61. Thereby, the flow path forming body 19 functions as a pedestal on which the bottom of the second cartridge 120 abuts in a state where the second cartridge 120 is accommodated inside the heat transfer tube 61. The flow path forming body 19 is preferably made of a material with high heat insulation performance, for example, silicone or the like. When the flow path forming body 19 is made of a material with high heat insulation performance, the heat of the sheet heater HTR is transmitted not only to the second cartridge 120 but also to the flow path forming body 19 on the lower end side of the heat transfer tube 61.

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

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

[0149] As shown in FIG. 17, the winding region 24A is wound around the outer peripheral surface 61S of the heat transfer tube 61 in a state where the thermistor mounting region 240A overlaps the heater region 240B on the side opposite to the heat transfer tube 61 when viewed in the radial direction of the heat transfer tube 61. With this configuration, the sheet heater HTR, the first thermistor th1, and the second thermistor th2 can be arranged as close to each other as possible, so that the accuracy of the heating control of the sheet heater HTR and the protection control by the protection circuit can be improved.

[0150] As shown in FIG. 18, in the thermistor mounting region 240A, a terminal T11, a terminal T12, a terminal T13, and a terminal T14 are arranged side by side in the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61. The plus-side terminal of the first thermistor th1 is connected to the terminal T11, and the minus-side terminal of the first thermistor th1 is connected to the terminal T12. The minus-side terminal of the second thermistor th2 is connected to the terminal T13, and the plus-side terminal of the second thermistor th2 is connected to the terminal T14. As shown in the enlarged view in the upper left of FIG. 18, the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 are mounted side by side in the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61 in the thermistor mounting region 240A in a state where their longitudinal directions coincide with the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61, respectively.

[0151] In this way, when the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 are arranged side by side in the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61, the axial width of the thermistor mounting region 240A can be made wider compared to a configuration where the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 are arranged side by side in the circumferential direction of the heat transfer tube 61. Also, since the longitudinal directions of the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 coincide with the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61, the axial width of the thermistor mounting region 240A can be made wider compared to a configuration where the longitudinal directions of the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 are orthogonal to the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61. Thereby, the durability of the heater FPC24 can be improved.

[0152] In addition, if the longitudinal directions of the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2 are non-orthogonal to the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61, an effect of increasing the axial width of the thermistor mounting region 240A can be obtained.

[0153] The second thermistor th2 is disposed closer to the center of the sheet heater HTR in the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61 (synonymous with the short-side direction of the sheet heater HTR and the vertical direction of the power supply unit 100) than the first thermistor th1. That is, the shortest distance between the center of the sheet heater HTR in the axial direction of the heat transfer tube 61 (the vertical direction in FIG. 18) and the second thermistor th2 is shorter than the shortest distance between the center of the sheet heater HTR in the axial direction and the first thermistor th1. According to this configuration, the second thermistor th2 disposed closer to the axial center of the sheet heater HTR is less likely to be affected by air cooling than the first thermistor t1. Therefore, the accurate temperature of the sheet heater HTR can be reflected. By performing the heating control of the heater using such a second thermistor th2, the accuracy of the heating control of the sheet heater HTR can be improved.

[0154] Further, the second thermistor th2 is disposed closer to the flow path forming body 19 than the first thermistor th1 in the vertical direction of the power supply unit 100. That is, the shortest distance between the second thermistor th2 and the flow path forming body 19 is shorter than the shortest distance between the first thermistor th1 and the flow path forming body 19. When a highly heat-insulating material such as silicone is used as the flow path forming body 19, the temperature of the second thermistor th2 closer to the flow path forming body 19 is lower than the temperature of the first thermistor th1 by the amount of heat taken away by the flow path forming body 19. In this embodiment, since the heating control of the seat heater HTR is executed using the second thermistor th2 that exhibits such a relatively low temperature, an effect can be obtained that the seat heater HTR is less likely to become high temperature. On the other hand, the temperature of the first thermistor th1 is higher than the temperature of the second thermistor th2 by the amount of being away from the flow path forming body 19. That is, when the seat heater HTR is overheated, the first thermistor th1 quickly reaches a high temperature state reflecting its temperature. For this reason, when the seat heater HTR becomes high temperature, the protection circuit can be quickly activated, and the safety can be enhanced.

[0155] As shown in the enlarged view at the lower center in FIG. 18, in the connector region 24B, the terminal T1, the terminal T2, the terminal T3, the terminal T4, and the terminal T5 are arranged in this order in the vertical direction. In FIG. 18, for each of the terminals T1 to T5, the terminal name of the heater connector 20B which is its connection destination is described in parentheses. In FIG. 12, one terminal GND included in the heater connector 20B is shown, but actually, as shown in FIG. 18, the heater connector 20B includes two terminals GND.

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

[0157] One end of a conductive pattern 243 composed of a single conductive wire is connected to terminal T2. The other end of the conductive pattern 243 is connected to terminal T11. One end of a conductive pattern 245 composed of a single conductive wire is connected to terminal T4. The other end of the conductive pattern 245 is connected to terminal T14. One end of a conductive pattern 244 composed of a single conductive wire is connected to terminal T3. Terminals T12 and T13 are connected in parallel to the other end of the conductive pattern 244. Each conductive pattern in the heater FPC24 is insulated from each other. In FIG. 18, the terminal names of the heater connector 20B, which is the electrical connection destination, are described in parentheses for each of terminals T11 to T14.

[0158] In the heater FPC24, the conductive pattern 244 for connecting to the ground is shared by the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2. As a result, compared with the case where a conductive pattern for connecting to the ground is provided for each of the first thermistor th1 and the second thermistor th2, the wiring of the heater FPC24 can be made simpler, and the manufacturing cost of the power supply unit 100 can be reduced. Also, the widths of the conductive pattern 241 and the conductive pattern 242 connected to the conductive pattern Ph can be made as thick as possible within the limited heater FPC24. Thereby, the parasitic resistance of the conductive pattern 241 and the conductive pattern 242 can be reduced, so that power can be supplied to the sheet heater HTR with higher efficiency.

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

[0160] (Configuration and Operation of the Reboot Circuit RBT) FIG. 19 is a circuit diagram showing the electronic components related to the reboot of the MCU 6 extracted from the circuit shown in FIG. 12. FIG. 19 shows the reboot circuit RBT. The reboot circuit RBT includes a voltage dividing circuit composed of a resistor R3 and a resistor R4, a switch BT, terminals KEY and GND of the main connector 20A, a switch Q7, a switch Q9, a charging IC 3, an LDO 4, and a terminal NRST of the debug connector 20E. In this embodiment, the reboot circuit RBT enables the reboot of the MCU 6 to be performed by the operation of the switch BT (for example, a long-press operation) and a command from an external device connected to the debug connector 20E. The MCU 6 is configured to perform a reboot when the state where the signal input to the terminal P27 is at a low level continues for a predetermined time. Also, the charging IC 3 is configured to perform a reboot when the state where the signal input to the terminal QON(￣) is at a low level continues for a predetermined time.

[0161] (Reset of the MCU 6 Using the Switch BT) First, the operation when restarting the MCU6 without using the debug connector 20E will be described. Resistors R3 and R4 have resistance values such that the output of the voltage dividing circuit of resistors R3 and R4 is at a high level when the switch BT is not pressed. This high-level signal is input to the terminal QON(￣) of the charging IC3. Therefore, in this state, the charging IC3 is not reset, and the system power supply voltage V SYS output from the output terminal SYS continues. The system power supply voltage V SYS continues to be output, so the system power supply voltage V MCU output from the output terminal OUT of the LDO4 also continues. For this reason, the MCU6 operates continuously without stopping. Also, this high-level signal is input to the gate terminal of the switch Q7. Therefore, when USB is connected (when the bus voltage V BUS is output from the charging IC3), the switch Q7 is turned on, and as a result, the potential of the gate terminal of the switch Q9 becomes a low level (ground level) and the switch Q9 is turned off. When the switch Q9 is off, the potential of the terminal P27 of the MCU6 becomes indeterminate, so the MCU6 does not perform a restart.

[0162] Resistors R3 and R4 have resistance values such that the output of the voltage dividing circuit of resistors R3 and R4 becomes a low level when the switch BT is pressed. In other words, resistors R3 and R4 have resistance values such that the value obtained by dividing the system power supply voltage V MCU becomes a low level. This low-level signal is input to the terminal QON(￣) of the charging IC3. Therefore, when this state continues for a predetermined time, the charging IC3 stops the output of the system power supply voltage V SYS from the output terminal SYS. When the output of the system power supply voltage V SYS is stopped, the voltage output from the LDO4 is stopped, and the system power supply voltage V MCU is no longer input to the terminal VDD of the MCU6, and the MCU6 stops.

[0163] Also, this low-level signal is input to the gate terminal of switch Q7. Therefore, when USB is connected (when the bus voltage V BUS is output from the charging IC3), switch Q7 turns off. As a result, the potential of the gate terminal of switch Q9 becomes high level (bus voltage V BUS ), and switch Q9 turns on. When switch Q9 turns on, the potential of terminal P27 of MCU6 becomes low level (ground level). When switch BT is continuously pressed for a predetermined time, a low-level signal is input to terminal P27 of MCU6 for a predetermined time, so MCU6 executes a restart process. When the pressing of switch BT ends, the charging IC3 resumes the output of the system power supply voltage V SYS . Therefore, the system power supply voltage V MCU is input to terminal VDD of the stopped MCU6, and MCU6 starts up.

[0164] (Reset of MCU6 Using Debug Connector 20E) When restarting MCU6 using the debug connector 20E, connect USB and further connect an external device to the debug connector 20E. In this state, if switch BT is not pressed, switch Q9 is off, so the potential of terminal P27 of MCU6 depends on the input from the external device. Therefore, by the operator's operation such that the external device inputs a low-level restart signal to terminal NRST, the restart signal is continuously input to terminal P27 for a predetermined time. By receiving this input of the restart signal, MCU6 executes a restart process.

[0165] According to the restart circuit RBT shown in FIG. 19, the low-level signal generated by pressing the switch BT is input not only to the terminal QON(￣) of the charging IC3 but also to the terminal P27 of the MCU6. Therefore, even when the MCU6 is frozen, the MCU6 can be restarted by stopping the output from the charging IC3. Also, even when the charging IC3 is not reset for some reason, if the MCU6 is not frozen, the MCU6 can be restarted by inputting a low-level signal to the terminal P27. In this way, since restart is possible in two systems, the MCU6 can be surely restarted by a simple operation of just pressing the switch BT.

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

[0167] Also, in the restart circuit RBT shown in FIG. 19, the restart of the MCU6 using the switch BT is possible only when a USB connection is made. By making it possible to restart the MCU6 only when the power supply ba can be charged in this way, even if the remaining amount of the power supply ba decreases when the MCU6 is restarted, the MCU6 can be surely restarted by an external power supply.

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

[0169] In the restart circuit RBT shown in Figure 20, when the USB is connected and the switch BT is not pressed, the output of the voltage dividing circuit of resistor R3 and resistor R4 becomes high level. This high-level signal is input to the gate terminal of switch Q7. Therefore, switch Q7 turns on, and as a result, the potential of the gate terminal of switch Q9 becomes low level (ground level) and switch Q9 turns off. When switch Q9 is off, a low-level signal is not input to the control terminal CTL of LDO4. Therefore, the MCU6 continues to operate.

[0170] In the restart circuit RBT shown in Figure 20, when the USB is connected and the switch BT is pressed, the output of the voltage dividing circuit of resistor R3 and resistor R4 becomes low level. This low-level signal is input to the gate terminal of switch Q7. Therefore, switch Q7 turns off, and as a result, the potential of the gate terminal of switch Q9 becomes high level (bus voltage V BUS ) and switch Q9 turns on. When switch Q9 turns on, since the control terminal CTL of LDO4 is connected to ground, the signal input to this control terminal CTL becomes low level. When a low-level signal is continuously input to the control terminal CTL of LDO4 for a predetermined time, LDO4 stops the voltage output from the output terminal OUT. Therefore, when the switch BT is continuously pressed for a predetermined time, the system power supply voltage V to the MCU6 MCUThe supply of SYS is stopped, and the MCU6 stops. When the pressing of the switch BT ends, the switch Q9 turns off, so the signal input to the control terminal CTL becomes high level (system power supply voltage V MCU ). As a result, the LDO4 restarts the output of the system power supply voltage V MCU , and the system power supply voltage V MCU is input to the terminal VDD of the stopped MCU6, and the MCU6 starts up.

[0171] In the restart circuit RBT shown in FIG. 20, when restarting the MCU6 using the debug connector 20E, an external device is connected to the debug connector 20E. In this state, the operator operates so that the external device inputs a low-level restart signal to the terminal NRST, and the restart signal is continuously input to the terminal P27 for a predetermined time. By receiving the input of this restart signal, the MCU6 executes the restart process.

[0172] In the restart circuit RBT shown in FIG. 20, even if the switch BT is long-pressed, a low-level signal is not input to the terminal P27 of the MCU6. Therefore, the circuit can be made simpler than the restart circuit RBT shown in FIG. 19, and the manufacturing cost of the power supply unit 100 can be reduced.

[0173] In addition, in the restart circuit RBT shown in FIG. 20, a wiring PU shown by a broken line in the figure may be added. The wiring PU is provided to pull up the potential of the terminal P27 of the MCU6 to a high level by the bus voltage V BUS . By adding this wiring PU, even when a low-level signal is not input to the terminal P27, the potential of the terminal P27 does not become indefinite, so the operation of the power supply unit 100 can be stabilized.

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

[0175] The present specification describes at least the following matters. In the parentheses, corresponding components and the like in the above-described embodiments are shown, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0176] (1) A power source (power source ba), A heater (sheet heater HTR) that heats a flavor source that adds flavor to the aerosol, A first thermistor (first thermistor th1) whose resistance value changes according to the temperature of the heater, A second thermistor (second thermistor th2) whose resistance value changes according to the temperature of the heater and is separate from the first thermistor, A controller (MCU6) that controls the power supply from the power source to the heater so as to converge the temperature of the heater to a target temperature based on the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the second thermistor, A protection circuit (AND gate 10, FF9, and operational amplifier OP2) that stops the power supply from the power source to the heater when the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the first thermistor becomes equal to or higher than a first threshold value (threshold value THD1). A power supply unit of an aerosol generating device.

[0177] According to (1), since a thermistor for heating control of the heater and a thermistor for stopping heating by the heater are provided separately, by using appropriate thermistors for each, temperature management of the heater such as heating control of the heater and emergency stop of heating of the heater can be accurately performed.

[0178] (2) The power supply unit of the aerosol generating device according to (1), The protection circuit stops the power supply from the power source to the heater without requiring a command from the controller when the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the first thermistor becomes equal to or higher than the first threshold value. A power supply unit of an aerosol generating device.

[0179] According to (2), even if a failure such as a freeze occurs in the controller, the emergency stop of heating by the heater can be executed, so the safety of the aerosol generating device is improved.

[0180] (3) A power supply unit of the aerosol generating device according to (1) or (2), the controller is configured to stop the power supply from the power supply to the heater when the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the second thermistor becomes equal to or higher than a second threshold value (threshold value THD2), the second threshold value is smaller than the first threshold value, A power supply unit of an aerosol generating device.

[0181] According to (3), double safety measures by the controller and the protection circuit can be provided. Further, as long as no failure such as a freeze occurs, the protection by the controller functions first, so while reliably preventing overheating of the heater, the protection by the controller with excellent controllability can be preferentially applied.

[0182] (4) A power supply unit of the aerosol generating device according to any one of (1) to (3), the controller is configured to be able to obtain the temperature of the heater from the resistance value of the first thermistor, A power supply unit of an aerosol generating device.

[0183] According to (4), the controller can execute control using not only the second thermistor but also the first thermistor, so the aerosol generating device can be made more highly functional.

[0184] (5) A power supply unit of the aerosol generating device according to (4), the controller is able to determine whether the temperature of the heater can be normally obtained from the resistance value of the second thermistor, When the temperature of the heater cannot be normally obtained from the resistance value of the second thermistor, based on the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the first thermistor, the power supply from the power source to the heater is controlled so that the temperature of the heater converges to the target temperature. The power supply unit of the aerosol generating device.

[0185] (5) According to this, even when some abnormality occurs in the second thermistor, the heating control of the heater can be executed by the first thermistor, so the durability of the aerosol generating device is improved.

[0186] (6) The power supply unit of the aerosol generating device according to any one of (1) to (5), The protection circuit is configured to be unable to obtain the temperature of the heater from the resistance value of the second thermistor. The power supply unit of the aerosol generating device.

[0187] (6) According to this, the circuit configuration of the power supply unit can be made simple, so the cost of the power supply unit can be reduced.

[0188] (7) The power supply unit of the aerosol generating device according to any one of (1) to (6), The shortest distance between the center of the heater in the short side direction (vertical direction) of the heater and the second thermistor is shorter than the shortest distance between the center of the heater in the short side direction of the heater and the first thermistor. The power supply unit of the aerosol generating device.

[0189] (7) According to this, the second thermistor arranged closer to the center of the heater is less likely to be affected by air cooling than the first thermistor, so the accurate temperature of the heater can be reflected. Since the heating control of the heater is executed using such a second thermistor, the accuracy of the heating control of the heater is improved.

[0190] (8) A power supply unit for an aerosol generating device according to any one of (1) to (6), a cylindrical body (heat transfer tube 61) into which a cartridge (second cartridge 120) containing the flavor source can be inserted and removed, a pedestal (flow path forming body 19) against which the bottom of the cartridge inserted into the cylindrical body abuts, and the shortest distance between the second thermistor and the pedestal is shorter than the shortest distance between the first thermistor and the pedestal, A power supply unit for an aerosol generating device.

[0191] According to (8), the location where the temperature is measured by the second thermistor is more likely to transfer heat to the pedestal than the location where the temperature is measured by the first thermistor. That is, the second thermistor will indicate a lower temperature than the first thermistor. Since the heating control of the heater is executed using such a second thermistor, it becomes difficult for the temperature of the heater to become high.

[0192] (9) A power supply unit for an aerosol generating device according to any one of (1) to (6), the temperature of the first thermistor becomes higher than the temperature of the second thermistor when power is supplied from the power supply to the heater, A power supply unit for an aerosol generating device.

[0193] According to (9), since the protection circuit functions for the first thermistor that is likely to become hot, the protection circuit can be made to function more quickly than when using the second thermistor, improving the safety of the power supply unit.

[0194] (10) A power supply unit for an aerosol generating device according to any one of (1) to (9), a flexible circuit board (heater FPC24) on which a heating pattern (heating pattern Ph), which is a conductive pattern constituting the heater, is formed and on which the first thermistor and the second thermistor are mounted, A power supply unit for an aerosol generating device.

[0195] According to (10), compared with the case where the heater and the plurality of thermistors are provided on separate substrates, a simpler structure can be achieved, so that the cost and size of the power supply unit can be reduced.

[0196] (11) A power supply unit for an aerosol generating device according to (10), comprising a cylindrical body (heat transfer tube 61) into which a cartridge (second cartridge 120) containing the flavor source can be inserted and removed, the flexible circuit board is wound around the outer periphery of the cylindrical body, the heating pattern overlaps the first thermistor and the second thermistor in the radial direction of the cylindrical body, A power supply unit for an aerosol generating device.

[0197] According to (11), not only can the flavor source be heated with high efficiency by the heater formed on the flexible circuit board, but also the heating pattern and the thermistor can be arranged close to each other. As a result, the resistance value of the thermistor becomes a value that accurately corresponds to the temperature of the heating pattern. Therefore, while improving the generation efficiency of the aerosol, the accuracy of the heating control of the heater can be improved.

[0198] (12) A power supply unit for an aerosol generating device according to (11), the first thermistor and the second thermistor are mounted at the ends of the portion (wrapping region 24A) of the flexible circuit board that is wound around the outer periphery of the cylindrical body, the first thermistor and the second thermistor are arranged side by side in the axial direction of the cylindrical body, A power supply unit for an aerosol generating device.

[0199] According to (12), compared with the case where two thermistors with the same axial position of the cylindrical body are mounted on the flexible circuit board, the wiring on the flexible circuit board is not made complex, and the axial width of the portion where the two thermistors are mounted can be increased. Therefore, while reducing the cost of the flexible circuit board, it can be made less likely to be damaged.

[0200] (13) A power supply unit of the aerosol generating device according to (12), wherein the longitudinal direction of the first thermistor and the axial direction of the cylindrical body are non - orthogonal, and the longitudinal direction of the second thermistor and the axial direction of the cylindrical body are non - orthogonal. A power supply unit of an aerosol generating device.

[0201] According to (13), compared with the case where the longitudinal direction of the thermistor is orthogonal to the axial direction of the cylindrical body, the axial width of the portion where the two thermistors are mounted can be increased, so that the flexible circuit board can be made less likely to be damaged.

[0202] (14) A power supply unit of the aerosol generating device according to any one of (10) to (13), wherein a first GND pattern (conductive pattern 244), which is a conductive pattern connected to the ground, is formed on the flexible circuit board, and the negative - side terminals of the first thermistor and the second thermistor are connected to the first GND pattern. A power supply unit of an aerosol generating device.

[0203] According to (14), compared with the case where a GND pattern is provided for each of the two thermistors, the wiring of the flexible circuit board can be made simple, so that the manufacturing cost of the power supply unit can be reduced.

[0204] (15) A power supply unit of the aerosol generating device according to any one of (10) to (13), The flexible circuit board is formed with a first GND pattern (conductive pattern 244) which is a conductive pattern connected to the ground, and a second GND pattern (conductive pattern 241) which is a conductive pattern connected to the ground and insulated from the first GND pattern. At least one of the negative terminals of the first thermistor and the negative terminal of the second thermistor is connected to the first GND pattern. The heating pattern is connected to the second GND pattern. A power supply unit of an aerosol generating device.

[0205] The potential of the second GND pattern connected to the heating pattern may fluctuate. According to (15), by connecting the thermistor to the first GND pattern whose potential is likely to be stabilized by being insulated from such a pattern, the safety of the control of the power supply unit is improved.

Explanation of symbols

[0206] 100 Power supply unit 6 MCU ba Power supply HTR Sheet heater th1 First thermistor th2 Second thermistor 10 AND gate 9 FF OP2 Operational amplifier

Claims

1. A power supply, a heater that heats a flavor source for adding flavor to an aerosol, a first thermistor whose resistance value changes according to the temperature of the heater, a second thermistor whose resistance value changes according to the temperature of the heater and is separate from the first thermistor, a controller that controls the power supply from the power supply to the heater so as to converge the temperature of the heater to a target temperature based on the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the second thermistor, a protection circuit that stops the power supply from the power supply to the heater when the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the first thermistor becomes equal to or higher than a first threshold value, wherein the controller, is configured to be able to obtain the temperature of the heater from the resistance value of the first thermistor, is able to determine whether the temperature of the heater can be normally obtained from the resistance value of the second thermistor, when the temperature of the heater cannot be normally obtained from the resistance value of the second thermistor, is configured to control the power supply from the power supply to the heater so as to converge the temperature of the heater to a target temperature based on the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the first thermistor, a power supply unit of an aerosol generating device.

2. The power supply unit of the aerosol generating device according to Claim 1, wherein the protection circuit stops the power supply from the power supply to the heater without requiring a command from the controller when the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the first thermistor becomes equal to or higher than the first threshold value, a power supply unit of an aerosol generating device.

3. The power supply unit of the aerosol generating device according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the controller is configured to stop the power supply from the power supply to the heater when the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the second thermistor becomes equal to or higher than a second threshold value, wherein the second threshold value is smaller than the first threshold value, a power supply unit of an aerosol generating device.

4. The power supply unit of the aerosol generating device according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the protection circuit is configured to be unable to obtain the temperature of the heater from the resistance value of the second thermistor, a power supply unit of an aerosol generating device.

5. A power supply, a heater that heats a flavor source for adding flavor to an aerosol, a first thermistor whose resistance value changes according to the temperature of the heater, A second thermistor that is separate from the first thermistor and whose resistance value changes according to the temperature of the heater, A controller that controls the power supply from the power source to the heater so as to converge the temperature of the heater to a target temperature based on the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the second thermistor, A protection circuit that stops the power supply from the power source to the heater when the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the first thermistor becomes equal to or higher than a first threshold value, The shortest distance between the center of the heater in the short side direction of the heater and the second thermistor is shorter than the shortest distance between the center of the heater in the short side direction of the heater and the first thermistor, A power supply unit of an aerosol generating device.

6. A power source, A heater that heats a flavor source that adds flavor to the aerosol, A first thermistor whose resistance value changes according to the temperature of the heater, A second thermistor that is separate from the first thermistor and whose resistance value changes according to the temperature of the heater, A controller that controls the power supply from the power source to the heater so as to converge the temperature of the heater to a target temperature based on the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the second thermistor, A protection circuit that stops the power supply from the power source to the heater when the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the first thermistor becomes equal to or higher than a first threshold value, A cylindrical body into which a cartridge containing the flavor source can be inserted and removed, A pedestal that abuts against the bottom of the cartridge inserted into the cylindrical body, The shortest distance between the second thermistor and the pedestal is shorter than the shortest distance between the first thermistor and the pedestal, A power supply unit of an aerosol generating device.

7. A power source, A heater that heats a flavor source that adds flavor to the aerosol, A first thermistor whose resistance value changes according to the temperature of the heater, A second thermistor that is separate from the first thermistor and whose resistance value changes according to the temperature of the heater, A controller that controls the power supply from the power source to the heater so as to converge the temperature of the heater to a target temperature based on the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the second thermistor, A protection circuit that stops the power supply from the power source to the heater when the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the first thermistor becomes equal to or higher than a first threshold value, The temperature of the first thermistor becomes higher than the temperature of the second thermistor when power is supplied from the power source to the heater. A power supply unit of an aerosol generating device.

8. A power source, A heater that heats a flavor source that adds flavor to the aerosol, A first thermistor whose resistance value changes according to the temperature of the heater, A second thermistor whose resistance value changes according to the temperature of the heater and is separate from the first thermistor, A controller that controls the power supply from the power source to the heater so that the temperature of the heater converges to a target temperature based on the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the second thermistor, A protection circuit that stops the power supply from the power source to the heater when the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the first thermistor becomes equal to or higher than a first threshold value, A flexible circuit board on which a heating pattern, which is a conductive pattern constituting the heater, is formed, and the first thermistor and the second thermistor are mounted, A cylindrical body into which a cartridge containing the flavor source can be inserted and removed, The flexible circuit board is wound around the outer periphery of the cylindrical body, The heating pattern overlaps the first thermistor and the second thermistor in the radial direction of the cylindrical body. A power supply unit of an aerosol generating device.

9. The power supply unit of the aerosol generating device according to claim 8, The first thermistor and the second thermistor are mounted at the ends of the portion of the flexible circuit board that is wound around the outer periphery of the cylindrical body, The first thermistor and the second thermistor are arranged side by side in the axial direction of the cylindrical body. A power supply unit of an aerosol generating device.

10. The power supply unit of the aerosol generating device according to claim 9, The longitudinal direction of the first thermistor and the axial direction of the cylindrical body are non - orthogonal, The longitudinal direction of the second thermistor and the axial direction of the cylindrical body are non - orthogonal. A power supply unit of an aerosol generating device.

11. The power supply unit of the aerosol generating device according to any one of claims 8 to 10, A first GND pattern, which is a conductive pattern connected to the ground, is formed on the flexible circuit board, The negative - side terminals of the first thermistor and the second thermistor are connected to the first GND pattern. A power supply unit of an aerosol generating device.

12. A power supply unit for an aerosol generating device according to any one of Claims 8 to 10, wherein a first GND pattern, which is a conductive pattern connected to ground, and a second GND pattern, which is a conductive pattern connected to ground and insulated from the first GND pattern, are formed on the flexible circuit board, at least one of the minus-side terminals of the first thermistor and the minus-side terminal of the second thermistor is connected to the first GND pattern, the heating pattern is connected to the second GND pattern, A power supply unit for an aerosol generating device.

13. A power supply, a heater for heating a flavor source that adds flavor to the aerosol, a first thermistor whose resistance value changes according to the temperature of the heater, a second thermistor whose resistance value changes according to the temperature of the heater and is separate from the first thermistor, a controller that controls the power supply from the power supply to the heater so as to converge the temperature of the heater to a target temperature based on the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the second thermistor, a protection circuit that stops the power supply from the power supply to the heater when the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the first thermistor becomes equal to or higher than a first threshold value, wherein a heating pattern, which is a conductive pattern constituting the heater, is formed, and a flexible circuit board on which the first thermistor and the second thermistor are mounted is provided, a first GND pattern, which is a conductive pattern connected to ground, is formed on the flexible circuit board, the minus-side terminals of the first thermistor and the second thermistor are connected to the first GND pattern, A power supply unit for an aerosol generating device.

14. A power supply, a heater for heating a flavor source that adds flavor to the aerosol, a first thermistor whose resistance value changes according to the temperature of the heater, a second thermistor whose resistance value changes according to the temperature of the heater and is separate from the first thermistor, a controller that controls the power supply from the power supply to the heater so as to converge the temperature of the heater to a target temperature based on the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the second thermistor, a protection circuit that stops the power supply from the power supply to the heater when the temperature of the heater obtained from the resistance value of the first thermistor becomes equal to or higher than a first threshold value, A flexible circuit board is provided on which a heating pattern, which is a conductive pattern constituting the heater, is formed, and the first thermistor and the second thermistor are mounted. On the flexible circuit board, a first GND pattern, which is a conductive pattern connected to the ground, and a second GND pattern, which is a conductive pattern connected to the ground and insulated from the first GND pattern, are formed. At least one of the negative side terminals of the first thermistor and the negative side terminal of the second thermistor is connected to the first GND pattern. The heating pattern is connected to the second GND pattern. The power supply unit of the aerosol generating device.

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