An electrically operated smoking device including an optical projection system for identifying a smoking article having a mark

Abstract

The present invention relates to an aerosol-generating consumable article (1) comprising at least one indicia (10) disposed on a surface of the article (1) containing coded information relating to the article (1), the coded information being embodied in at least one array of readable code elements readable upon illumination by an optically variable magnification reader system (200), the readable code elements having a density of at least 10 elements per square mm of the indicia (10). The present invention also relates to an aerosol-generating device (2) configured to receive a consumable item (1), the aerosol-generating device (2) including an optically scaled reader system (200) configured to provide an optically scaled image of at least a portion of the indicia (10) on a detector (30), read the coded information, and recognize the authenticity of the consumable item (1).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of tobacco, and in particular, to reconstructed tobacco and aerosol-generating articles. The present invention further relates to smoking devices, and in particular, to electrically heated e-liquid systems or electrically heated aerosol-generating systems.

Background Art

[0002] Electronic cigarettes based on aerosol-generating consumable articles have gained popularity in recent years. They mainly fall into two categories, namely, liquid vaporizers and heated tobacco inhalation devices. Heated tobacco inhalation devices are referred to as "heat-not-burn" (HNB) systems. They provide a more authentic tobacco flavor compared to electronic cigarettes that deliver inhalable aerosols from the heating of a liquid filling containing an aerosol former, flavoring materials, and often nicotine. The operating principle of the HNB system is to heat a tobacco material comprising an aerosol-forming substance (such as glycerin and / or propylene glycol) that evaporates during heating and creates a vapor that extracts nicotine and flavor components from the tobacco material. The tobacco substance is heated to 200 - 400 °C, which is lower than the normal combustion temperature of conventional cigarettes. The inhalation device is typically a handheld heater configured to receive a rod-shaped consumable article.

[0003] The illegal trading of aerosol-generating articles is a problem as, whether they are standard cigarettes, e-liquids, or HNB articles, counterfeit articles in particular may be of inferior quality or, in the case of e-liquids or HNB consumable articles, may not be suitable for a specified smoking system. In order to identify whether an aerosol-generating consumable article is genuine, a code or equivalent marking containing information about the article may be placed on the outer surface of the article so that it is detected during or prior to use with a particular device. This enables the authenticity of the consumable article to be checked and, in the case of a negative check, the power supply to the heating system used with it to be switched off. Thus, the mark may desirably also contain information about specific parameters to be used by an inhalation device, such as an ideal temperature range, or a heating profile as a function of time, or parameters enabling different smoking flavors or strengths to be provided to a smoker. To provide accurate authentication of a mark on a consumable article such as an HNB article, the recognition probability has to be made extremely high so that a suitable article is not rejected. However, existing marks are limited by the low density of the information that they may contain and the most well-known marks rely on classical codes, such as one-dimensional or two-dimensional barcodes, which can be easily copied, for example, by simply visualizing the code with the human eye without using a particular optical device.

[0004] Various attempts to provide aerosol-generating articles that can be authenticated have already been proposed in the prior art. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20190008206A1 discloses a smoking article having a mark on the outer surface of the smoking article, which represents the type of the smoking article and may be in the form of a pattern that may be a one-dimensional or two-dimensional barcode. The mark includes different gray levels that can be generated by printing with dots having a smaller size. Such a mark is easily detectable and reproducible, but may contain only a low information density or may be provided in an unacceptable large size. Due to space limitations, the system described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20190008206A1 is limited to a simple optical reader having a detector near the mark. Also, the optical reader of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20190008206A1 cannot be used near the heater of the device because it may damage the detector of the reader, and the position where the mark on the smoking article is placed is limited.

[0005] WO 2019 / 185747 A1 discloses a smoking article comprising a marker arrangement or a mark indicating parameters associated with the article such that the marker element extends around the article. Further, this reference discloses an optical sensor arrangement configured to read the mark of the article received inside the chamber of a device for generating an aerosol. The optical sensor may be located inside a hollow tube, may be in contact with the article, or may be retractable relative to the article to provide a wider field of view. The configuration described in WO 2019 / 185747 A1 is limited to a simple optical sensor such as a photodiode that detects intensity or color, so the readable mark may be of a simple type, for example, a barcode or a reflective surface, or may have fluorescent features. The mark in WO 2019 / 185747 A1 may thus be easily copied and replicated.

[0006] U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20160302488A1 describes a smoking article having an indicia on an outer surface thereof. The indicia may be in the form of a one-dimensional / two-dimensional barcode. The code has a distinguishable spectral signature of a layer of indicia applied by spraying. The spectral signature is detected by an optical reader, which is a simple optical reader disposed within a very limited space and close to the cavity of the smoking device. Due to lack of space, only simple optical filters can be used, so the system described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20160302488A1 is limited to detecting only a simple spectrum or color, or using one or more narrowband filters. Therefore, the spectral effect provided by the system of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20160302488A1 is easy to copy or reproduce.

[0007] Accordingly, there is a need for improved technology to enable authentication of aerosol-generating articles such as HNB, vaping, and smoking articles. In particular, authentication based on codes or indicia with much higher information density would be preferred to improve authentication quality and make it difficult to counterfeit the articles. It is further desirable that at least the detector portion of the optical reader be maintained at less than 50°C, generally at room temperature. The prior art systems can only use simple optical readers and require indicia that cannot be placed close to the heater of the smoking device, so they are limited to simple codes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEM

[0008] The inventors of the present invention have found a solution to the problems discussed above by providing an aerosol-generating article having an optical reading device comprising an optical zoom system arranged in the available space of the aerosol-generating device. The device of the present invention enables an optical solution for detecting and identifying information contained in a mark disposed on or in an aerosol-generating article which may comprise high-density coded information that cannot be read by a simple optical reading device placed in the vicinity of said mark. Further, in an embodiment, the present invention enables a solution for reading the mark by an optical system which may have a portion arranged in the vicinity of or in contact with a heater of the aerosol-generating device.

[0009] In a first aspect, the present invention thus relates to an aerosol-generating consumable article comprising at least one mark containing coded information regarding the article, said coded information being implemented in at least one array of readable code elements readable upon illumination by an optical zoom reading device system. The readable code elements have a density of at least 10 elements per square mm of the mark.

[0010] The aerosol-generating consumable article according to the present invention is thus arranged to comprise a mark, the details of which are difficult or impossible to detect by the human eye without using an optical system which must at least magnify an image of the mark.

[0011] In one embodiment, the readable code elements are structural and / or color-coded code elements. By using structural and / or color-coded code elements, it becomes more difficult to duplicate the mark. In a variant, at least three of the code elements have different colors. The code elements may be black or gray, or may have any color as defined in the 1976 CIE chromaticity diagram. The code elements can be non-uniform code elements with different shapes, dimensions, and different optical properties. By using various different code elements in the mark, recognition and forgery become more difficult.

[0012] In one embodiment, at least a part of the mark comprises at least eight code elements having different colors. By using at least eight different code elements, it is possible to complicate the mark and provide a huge amount of embedded information.

[0013] In one embodiment, at least a part of the code elements are easily changeable code elements. By using easily changeable code elements, it is possible to provide information regarding the use of aerosol-generating articles such as consumption time, or information regarding the heating of the article, for example, a solution that provides the maximum temperature.

[0014] In one embodiment, at least a part of the mark comprises a waveguide. By providing a mark based on a waveguide, since a specific projection system as provided by the device of the present invention is required, it is possible to provide a mark that is difficult to recognize and even more difficult to reproduce.

[0015] In a second aspect, the present invention further relates to an aerosol generating device comprising a power source and a cavity defining a cavity axis, disposed within an outer body portion. The body portion has an opening configured to receive a consumable item as described. The aerosol generating device further comprises an optical zoom reading device system defining an inlet aperture and comprising at least one focusing optical element and at least one detector. The optical zoom reading device system is disposed within the outer body portion and is configured to provide at least a partially magnified optical image of the indicia to the detector and to read the encoded information. The aerosol generating device further comprises a control unit configured to authenticate the consumable item based on the content of the information read by the optical zoom reading device system provided on the consumable item.

[0016] In one embodiment, the magnification of the optical zoom reading device system is at least 2×, preferably at least 10×, more preferably at least 20×, and even more preferably at least 50×. By providing an indicium with a high density of encoding elements, it is possible to provide a vast amount of information regarding the product and at the same time to make it extremely difficult to recognize and reproduce the indicium.

[0017] In one embodiment, the optical zoom reading device system comprises at least one concave optical mirror. By using a concave shaped mirror, it is possible to reduce the number of optical components required.

[0018] In one embodiment, the optical zoom reading device system comprises at least one adaptable optical element configured to adapt its focal length. By using adaptable optics, it is possible to provide variable focusing.

[0019] In one embodiment, the optical zoom reading device system comprises an optical waveguide disposed between the inlet aperture and the detector. By providing a waveguide in the path of the optical zoom system, it is possible to dispose the detector remotely from the heater.

[0020] In one embodiment, the at least one concave-shaped optical mirror is an annular mirror having a center of symmetry located on the cavity axis, where the detector is an annular detector having its center of symmetry located on the cavity axis. By using an axially symmetric projection system in combination with marks arranged around the entire circumference of the consumable item, a detection method independent of the axial orientation of the consumable item with respect to the optical system is provided.

[0021] In one embodiment, the optical zoom reading device system is configured to read at least two marks disposed on the aerosol-generating consumable item. By using two or more marks disposed on the consumable item, it becomes possible to provide more information on the consumable item, making it more difficult to recognize and reproduce the product.

[0022] In one embodiment, the optical zoom reading device system includes at least one polarizer. By using the polarization effect provided by one or more marks, it becomes possible to provide more information regarding the consumable item and make it extremely difficult to replicate the product.

[0023] In one embodiment, the detector is disposed within a heat-insulating region of the aerosol-generating device such that the temperature of the detector remains below 45 °C during operation. By disposing the detector within a heat-insulating region that may be insulated by ambient air or a heat-insulating material so that the detector is not heated, it becomes possible to avoid heating problems such as damage or stability of optical detection.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0024]

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025] The present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings with respect to specific embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The drawings to be described are only schematic and non-limiting. In the drawings, the sizes of some elements may be exaggerated for illustrative purposes and may not be drawn to scale. The dimensions and relative dimensions do not correspond to the actual reduction for the implementation of the present invention.

[0026] The present invention will be described in the following examples with respect to an aerosol-generating consumable article 1 comprising a tobacco-containing charge of aerosol-generating material, but the scope of application of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to tobacco-based consumable articles, but includes any aerosol-generating consumable article such as a smoking article, a heat-not-burn article, an e-liquid cartridge, and a atomizer, etc., which is provided with an aerosol-generating substrate capable of generating an inhalable aerosol upon heating. The aerosol-generating consumable article 1 according to the present invention may or may not have a symmetry axis, and may have any form or shape such as an elongated cylindrical shape, a spherical shape, or the form of a beam. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 8, the aerosol-generating consumable article 1 according to the present invention comprises at least a first portion 1b provided with a mark 10 disposed on the outer surface, and a second portion 1a attached to the first portion, and the second portion 1a may form a mouthpiece for the user to inhale the aerosol generated during heating of the first portion 1b after the insertion of the aerosol-generating consumable article 1 into the heating cavity of the aerosol-generating device 2. The article 1 comprises a further portion 1c not provided with the mark 10. The mark 10 may be disposed on one or both sides of the side surface of the further portion 1c (FIGS. 7, 8).

[0027] The present invention is realized by the aerosol-generating article 1 and also by the aerosol-generating device 2. The present invention is further realized by a system comprising the aerosol-generating device 2 provided with the aerosol-generating article 1 inserted into the aerosol-generating device 2. The aerosol-generating device 2 and the aerosol-generating article 1 of the system will be described in detail herein.

[0028] As used herein, the term "aerosol - generating material" refers to a material that can release a volatile compound capable of forming an aerosol upon heating. The aerosol generated from the aerosol - generating material may be visible or invisible and may include vapors (e.g., fine particles of a substance in a gaseous state that is normally liquid or solid at room temperature) as well as droplets of gas and condensed vapor.

[0029] The first part 1b of the aerosol - generating article 1 may or may not include a charge of aerosol - generating material disposed within the wrapper 3. The term "wrapper 3" is broadly defined as any structure or layer that protects and contains a charge of aerosol - generating material and enables handling of that material. The wrapper 3 has an inner surface that may be in contact with the aerosol - generating material and an outer surface that is spaced from the aerosol - generating material. The wrapper 3 preferably may comprise a cellulosic material such as paper, but may also be made of a biodegradable polymer or may be made of glass or ceramic. The wrapper may be a porous material, may have a smooth or rough outer surface 5, and may be a flexible or rigid material. The wrapper 3 may constitute an optically opaque or partially transparent optical layer. In the case of paper, the wrapper 3 may be partially transparent in the visible and infrared and may also be partially transparent in the UV. The wrapper 3 may include an aperture. The indicia 10 may be disposed at least partially in front of at least one aperture provided on the surface of the wrapper 3.

[0030] The term "indicia 10" is defined as an element or structure that contains information regarding the aerosol - generating article 1 and is generally disposed on the surface of the article 1. The surface may be the outer or inner surface of the article 1 such as the surface regarding the wrapper of the article. The indicia 10 may be embedded within the article 1. Also, two or more indicia 10 may be disposed on or within the article 1.

[0031] As used herein, the term "magnification M", which is also defined as a magnification, means that the generated image B is at least the same size as the object A (mark or part of a mark) to be imaged. The magnification M = is specified by b / a = B / A and is therefore 1 or greater. A and B are the sizes of the mark or part of the mark to be imaged, respectively, and B is the size of the image in the image plane.

[0032] Imaging is realized by an optical system having an object distance a of the mark to the focal system that is smaller than the image distance b between the focal system and the image plane, i.e., b ≧ a, where a and b are in the relationship of 1 / f = 1 / a + 1 / b, and f is the focal length of the focal system of the optical reading device of the apparatus. It is generally understood that the image size B does not necessarily have to be equal to the size of the detector used to detect the image. The detector may have a size that is smaller or larger than the generated image in at least one cross-section.

[0033] In contrast to prior art articles with markings, the symbol elements or structures of the marking 10, which is the marking of the present invention, are difficult or impossible to detect or distinguish individually by the human naked eye. The high-density marking of the present invention requires an optical reading device system that provides an image size at least as large as the size of the portion of the marking to be detected. A simple barcode, for example, relies on an optical reduction system that means a magnification less than 1. The reason is that a wide field of view must be provided by the optical imaging system. In the present invention, since the purpose is to detect a marking or a part of a marking having an extremely high symbol density, the field of view is small. Therefore, at least one magnification M (M>1) is required, but as will be further explained, generally it is greater than 2 times and up to 100 times or more at most. Therefore, the device of the present invention is well-suited for detecting markings arranged around an article. The device of the present invention may also be configured to detect and measure markings arranged along the longitudinal direction of an article by using a device in which the article is inserted according to a predetermined angular orientation or at least a rotatable part of an optical reading device configured to rotate around the cavity 112.

[0034] The marking 10 may be of different types, some of which will be described in more detail below. A general class of 2D or 3D shaped markings 10 applicable to the aerosol generating article 1 according to the present invention is - markings 10 that reflect or diffract, - markings 10 that reflect and diffract, - markings 10 with a metasurface, - holographic markings 10, - polarization-sensitive markings 10, - markings 10 having at least one marking waveguide such as a resonant waveguide grating (RWG) arranged on or in the marking 10, but is not limited thereto.

[0035] For design and / or security purposes, if necessary, the mark 10 may be a partially transparent mark. It may further be configured such that the optical effect it provides during illumination is independent of the axial position of the aerosol-generating article 1 relative to the fixed light source.

[0036] Furthermore, any mark 10 may be arranged on a substrate arranged on the surface of the wrapper and / or may be implemented on the wrapper or within the article 1 by any physical or chemical means.

[0037] In a preferred embodiment, the marks 10 may be easily changeable marks, i.e., they may change temporally or functionally with physical and chemical conditions in the aerosol-generating article 1 or device.

[0038] A particularly advantageous form of the mark 10 is one in which at least one mark is configured as a resonating waveguide grating (RWG). The RWG is described, for example, below. -A. Sharon et al.: "Resonating grating-waveguide structures for visible and near-infrared radiation": J. Opt. Soc. Am” vol. 14, nr. 11, pp. 2985-2993, 1997.

[0039] The use of RWG in the mark 10 makes it possible to provide unique optical effects that are extremely difficult to recognize and replicate. Due to their small periodicity, they do not allow for the various diffraction orders that distinguish them from much simpler diffraction optical elements (DOE).

[0040] Of course, different combinations of the above general classes of marks 10, as cited above, are predictable within the context of the present invention.

[0041] The mark 10 may be arranged on a part of the circumference of the article 1 or on the entire circumference (for example, FIGS. 1 to 4). It can comprise highly dense encoded elements, which may be arranged in or on the mark 10 in a structure such as a diffraction structure, a thin waveguide, a hologram, or an array of such structures, or may be embedded in such an array of structures. The code elements may be an absorption structure or layer arranged on or inside the mark 10. The code elements may also be a structure that is polarization sensitive.

[0042] The mark 10 provided on the aerosol generating article of the present invention may be arranged to provide a predetermined direct reflection effect such as providing a plurality of light beams that may have different spectra and / or different reflection angles when illuminated by a light beam provided by a light source. The reflected light beam may be a diffracted light beam projected at any diffraction order. The mark 10 may have a structure on at least one of its surface or side, and may have a structure embedded inside the layer of the mark 10. For example, the diffraction structure may be provided on the outer surface of the mark 10. The light beam may be a parallel light beam, a large-aperture light beam, a diverging or converging light beam.

[0043] The encoded information is implemented in at least one array of readable code elements that can be read when illuminated by the optical zoom reading device system 200 as described below in various embodiments. The array of readable code elements has a density of at least 10 elements per square millimeter of the mark 10. Preferably, the array of readable code elements has a density of more than 20, more preferably more than 50 elements per square millimeter of the mark 10.

[0044] The mark 10 may be arranged according to a 2D or 3D arrangement of the structure and may have any shape such as a square or rectangular band. The band preferably comprises an array of redundancy code elements arranged around the entire circumference of the article 1. The term "redundancy" herein means that the mark 10 comprises an array of repetition code elements or a block of code elements and may be read by the fixed optical magnification reading device 200 regardless of the position of the article 1 such as the angular position relative to the optical magnification reading device system 200. This may be achieved, for example, but not limited to, by a mark 10 constituted by an array of reflection or diffraction structures, an array of absorption structures, or an array of resonant waveguides, or a combination thereof.

[0045] Apart from the anti-counterfeiting characteristics, it is desirable that the mark 10 may also include information on specific parameters to be used by the inhalation device, such as an ideal temperature range, or a heating profile as a function of time, or parameters that enable different smoking flavors or strengths for smokers.

[0046] A particularly interesting application of the device and system of the present invention is to detect and measure the 3D shape of the structural elements of the mark 10. In order to detect information from such a mark 10, since a high magnification M greater than at least 1 and generally greater than 10 is required, the device 2 in the case of the present invention is essential. In one embodiment, the mark 10 is an inkjet printing element such as a printed dome having a distinct predetermined shape or 3D dimensions. This can be realized by existing inkjet machines and may be applied to a general paper wrapper 3. The inkjet deposition may be realized such that the printed plot or dome has a distinct predetermined shape. The mark 10 may incorporate a photonic crystal to provide specific optical properties such as a reflection effect. The reading device system may include means for detecting the shape of the printed inkjet element. Such means may be realized by an optical configuration based on static detection by two detectors having different viewing axes, or by a reading device system comprising a movable projection lens or any optical microsystem that enables searching for information regarding the 3D shape of the printed element. An optical detection system such as an mm-sized camera providing a magnification less than 1 does not enable such detection.

[0047] According to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the optical zoom reading device system 200 includes a concave mirror 20 adapted to provide a zoomed image 10' of the mark 10 on a detector 30 positioned on the image plane of the zoom system 200. In a modification of FIG. 1, the detector 30 may be configured to detect the spectral reflectance of the mark 10 or may be configured to provide an image of at least a part of the mark 10. In an advantageous embodiment, the mark 10 includes a redundant optical structure and is configured around the entire circumference such that the optical effect of the mark is independent of the orientation of the aerosol-generating article with respect to a fixed light source 40 disposed within the optical zoom reading device system 200. In a modification, the detector 30 may be disposed within the cavity 112 of the device 2.

[0048] The use of the optical zoom reading device system 200 makes it possible to provide an aerosol generator 2 that may be arranged according to different types of high-density indicia 10 as described, provides great design flexibility for such an aerosol generator 2, and makes it possible to address problems such as the extremely limited available space of the required optical reading device system and the heating problem of components such as detectors.

[0049] The optical zoom reading device system 200 as described herein is configured to transmit electromagnetic radiation, generally radiation having wavelengths including the UV, visible, and full infrared (IR) ranges.

[0050] The optical zoom reading device system 200 - refractive elements such as single or compound lenses, prisms, beam splitters, Fresnel lenses, - reflective elements such as plane or concave mirrors, - diffractive elements such as diffractive lenses realized on a transparent substrate, - optical elements whose optical functions are provided by a metasurface, - electrically addressable elements such as MEMS devices, or combinations of such elements, may include, but are not limited to, these.

[0051] The optical zoom reading device system 200 is selected according to the type of indicia 10, as well as dimensional shape and temperature requirements, and is general but not exclusive to the following selections.

[0052] In an embodiment not shown, an optical fiber may be disposed within the optical reading device system 200. For example, the incident surface of the waveguide may be positioned within the image plane of the projection system, and a portion of the light of the scaled image 10' of the mark 10 may be transmitted to a remote detector 30 configured to detect the intensity and / or spectrum of the induced light. In a variant, means may be provided to scan or switch the incident surface of the waveguide within the image plane. In a variant not shown, the waveguide may be disposed between the light source 40 and the aforesaid mark. Such a configuration enables the mark to be illuminated by the light beam provided by the fluorescence extraction surface of the waveguide.

[0053] The waveguide that may be disposed within the optical zoom reading device system 200 may be - a single fiber 10: for transmitting intensity, polarization, and spectral information, - a fiber bundle 10: for transmitting an image and an illumination light beam, - a planar waveguide 10: for transmitting intensity, polarization, and spectral information, and for transmitting an image and an illumination light beam, but is not limited thereto.

[0054] All embodiments described herein may also be adapted such that the illumination beam provided by the light sources 40, 42 disposed within the optical zoom reading device system 200 is transmitted to a side spaced from the mark 10. This may be achieved, for example, by using a beam splitter or a semi-transmissive mirror. Disposing an illumination beam in an optical system such as a microscope is well known and will not be further described herein.

[0055] The "optical zoom reading device 200" comprises an optical projection system having a magnification greater than 1 and at least one detector. The detector 30 may be a single detector, a detector array, a detector system comprising optical elements and electronics, or an imaging device and / or a mini spectrometer, or may comprise them.

[0056] "Light sources 40, 42" can be any light sources 40, 42 that may provide a light beam preferably within the range of UV (ultraviolet), visible, or infrared (IR) light. The light source may be, for example, an LED or a semiconductor laser. The light source does not necessarily have to be a power-driven light source, and thus, for example, it may be a heater or a high-temperature part of an aerosol generator that provides an infrared light beam and / or a part or region of a consumable item.

[0057] When illuminated by the light source 40, the mark 10 of the aerosol-generating article 1 generates a projected light beam 410 that can be a reflected, transmitted, or diffracted light beam. After reflection, refraction, or diffraction by the first focusing element 20, the projected light beam 410 is transmitted directly onto the detector 30 or provides at least one secondary light beam 420 that is transmitted, for example, by using a single or composite reflection, refraction, or diffraction element, a beam splitter, or a combination of such elements.

[0058] The projected light beam 410 is then received on a detection system, also defined as a "detector 30", that includes means for converting the optical information provided by at least one mark 10 of the aerosol-generating article into an electrical signal or data that may be used to recognize the article and / or to identify information regarding parameters of the aerosol generator 2, for example, the parameters to be used for the article 1 in the operation of the device 2. The detection system 30 may comprise a single detector or a detector array, or may comprise a vision system. The detection system 30 may also comprise a color filter or a mini-spectrometer.

[0059] The optical information regarding the aerosol-generating article 1 may be provided by a mark 10 disposed on the article 1 or by a mark 10 disposed inside the aerosol-generating article 1. The optical magnification system 200 transmits the optical effect provided by the mark 10 to the detection system during the operation of the aerosol generator 2.

[0060] Here, a further embodiment showing representative modifications will be described in detail.

[0061] FIG. 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of an optical zoom system 200 including a beam splitter 50 (BS) and two detectors 30, 32. In a modification, as shown, the system 200 may include two polarizers P1, P2 that enable, for example, providing polarization information of the mark 10 according to two orthogonal polarization planes. By using the polarization effect, it is possible to provide a more complex mark 10 and make it more difficult to recognize and reproduce the identification of the encoded information of the mark 10.

[0062] In some modifications, it may be necessary to provide a projection system 200 having an important magnification, for example, 10 times, or more than 20 times, or more than 50 times. This may be realized by an embodiment such as that shown in FIG. 3 based on a long optical projection path. Due to the lack of space in a general aerosol generator, the optical path is deflected by using at least one secondary deflection mirror 22, which may be a planar or curved mirror. In a modification not shown herein, the optical zoom system may be based on a catadioptric configuration. This makes it possible to provide a compact optical system while providing a long projection length and thus a high magnification.

[0063] FIG. 4 shows an embodiment in which the marks are an array of the same marks 10-15. In a modification, the array of marks 10-15 may be different marks configured to project the same information onto the detector system 30. This may be realized by using a first focusing element 20 having a wide aperture angle. In the modification shown in FIG. 4, two or more deflection mirrors 22, 24 may be used to provide a long projection length. The embodiment of FIG. 4 shows an example in which a primary projection light beam 410 is directed towards the detector 30 by three consecutive convergent light beams 412, 414, 416.

[0064] FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of an aerosol generating device 2 into which an aerosol generating article 1 having two different indicia 10, 11 is inserted. Each of the indicia 10, 11 is associated with optical projection systems 200’, 200’’ disposed within an optical zoom reading device system 200. The first optical projection system 200’ is disposed in a plane of a cross-section of a portion 1b of the article having the indicium 11, and the second projection system 200’’ is disposed at an angle with respect to the first projection system 200’. The angle is preferably orthogonal as shown in FIG. 5.

[0065] FIG. 6 shows a schematic cross-section of an optical zoom reading device system 200 comprising a light source 40 arranged to provide a grazing incident light beam 400 propagating along the surface of the aerosol generating article 1 to the indicium 10. In operation, the grazing incident light beam 400 interacts optically with the indicium 10 to provide a projection light beam 410 generally directed at 90° with respect to the grazing incident light beam 400. By using the grazing incident light beam 400, it becomes possible to provide an image 10’ of the indicium 10 having a large contrast to the detector 30. Illumination techniques using grazing incidence, such as those used in microscopes or image processing equipment, are known and will not be further described herein. In the advantageous embodiment shown in FIG. 6, optical filters F1 - F3 may be inserted into the projected or secondary light beams 410, 420. In the example of FIG. 6, the indicium 10 comprises dots having specific colors when illuminated by a white light beam. The colors or spectral characteristics are represented by wavelength symbols λ1 - λ3 in FIG. 6 for illustrative purposes only. The reference elements may be black or gray elements and may have any color as defined in the 1976 CIE chromaticity diagram. Combining arrays of high-density structures such as dots, thin lines, or symbols having different shapes and / or spectral characteristics is difficult to recognize or reproduce when a zoom system as contemplated by the present invention as described herein is required.

[0066] FIG. 7 shows a 3D schematic view of an optical zoom reading device system including a hollow concave-shaped axisymmetric reflector 20 facing an axisymmetric disk-shaped array of detectors 31-39. FIG. 7 shows two exemplary converging reflected light beams 410', 410'' reflected from the reflector 20 for the purpose of clarity. Such a configuration enables a zoom system that is independent of the axial orientation of the article 1 as long as the mark 10 includes a redundant optical structure or array as described above. The detectors 31-39 may be a single detector or each may be an array of detectors.

[0067] FIG. 8 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of an optical zoom reading device system configured to detect the overlay of zoomed images of a mark 10 having two marks 11, 13. Embodiments such as those shown in FIG. 8 are particularly interesting because the overlay of the optical effects of at least two marks requires the zoom system 200 and is difficult to recognize and reproduce. In a variant, color or polarization effects may be combined in the system 200 of FIG. 8, making the reading and recognition of the marks even more complex and difficult to replicate.

[0068] FIG. 9 shows a schematic cross-section of an optical zoom reading device system 200 that uses the same common optical path to illuminate the mark 10 with the incident light beam 400' and simultaneously detect the light beam 420 provided by the mark 10 using an optical beam splitter BS. Some wrappers, such as paper wrappers, are partially transparent in the visible range, particularly in the infrared portion of the spectrum. This property is utilized in the embodiment of FIG. 9, where the mark 10 is disposed on or near the inner surface of the wrapper of the article 1. The mark may be made of a material 104 having a predetermined shape such as the bell-shaped mark 100 as shown in the inset of FIG. 9. In the embodiment of FIG. 9, light is focused on the mark by the optical zoom system 200. The interaction of the incident light 400' is collected again by the optical zoom reading device system 200, providing a reflected or diffused light beam 410 that is projected onto the detector 30. In a variant, the mark 10 may comprise a portion 102 having optical properties different from the rest of the mark. For example, the portion 102 may be a reflective portion 102 that provides one or more light peaks characteristic of the reflective portion 102 in the image plane 10'. In the case of a completely transparent wrapper 3 or an article 1 without a wrapper, the profile of the mark is easy to detect. Even in the case of a partially diffusing wrapper such as a thin layer of paper, the geometric and spectral or intensity information of the embedded mark may be detected. For example, the specific backscattering properties of the light scattered by the embedded structures 100, 102, 104 may be retroreflected or diffused by those elements 100, 102, 104 and detected by using the light beam 410 that passes through the wrapper as shown in FIG. 9. Without using the optical zoom system 200, this would be impossible or at least extremely difficult and would not provide reliable information. By providing the embedded mark 100, it is possible to make counterfeiting more difficult because the mark is not visible from the outside of the aerosol-generating article 1.

[0069] FIG. 10 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of an optical zoom reading device system 200 including an array 20 of microlenses. By using the array 20 of microlenses 20a to 20d, it is possible to provide an extremely compact optical projection system 200. In the arrangements of FIGS. 10 and 11, each of the microlenses 20a to 20d of the microlens array 20 provides an enlarged image of a projection light beam and a portion 10a to 10d of the mark 10 onto the detector 30. As shown in FIG. 10, each of the portions 10a to 10d may be imaged onto a corresponding portion 30a to 30d of the detector 30. The detector portions 30a to 30d may be a single detector element or an array of detectors. The detector 30 may be configured to detect a complete image of the mark 10 or may be configured to detect the optical characteristics of each of the portions 10a to d of the mark 10. For example, the detector element 30a may detect the spectral characteristics of the first mark portion 10a. In another example, the detector portion 10a is configured to detect an image 10' of the first mark portion 10a. In a variant, a part of the detector 30 may be configured to detect intensity and / or spectral information, and another part may be configured to provide an image. For example, the central detector portions 30b to c may provide images of two mark elements 10b, 10c, and the remaining detector portions 30a, 30d may be configured to detect the color or intensity effects provided by the corresponding mark portions 10a, 10d.

[0070] FIG. 11 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of an optical zoom reading device system 200 including a monolithic optical zoom system including a monolithically integrated array of microlenses. The embodiment of FIG. 11 is particularly interesting because it makes it possible to provide an extremely compact zoom system 200. The general height t1 and the lateral dimensions t2, t3 are such that the total volume of the zoom system 200 including the light source 40 and the detector 30 is less than 100 mm 3 and less than 30 mm 3It may be less than 5 mm, preferably less than 3 mm, so that it may be less. In a modification, the monolithic projection system 200 may be based on a prism-shaped substrate, where the projection light 420 provided by the mark is directed toward the integrated detector 30 by total reflection on the reflecting surface RS of the prism element. The light source 40 may be adapted on the reflecting surface RS, and the illumination beam 400 may be refracted through the reflecting surface RS as shown.

[0071] In a modification of the embodiment of FIG. 11, an optical filter or other element may be integrated into a layer 30' located in front of or in contact with the detector array 30'' of the detector 30. In all embodiments of the present invention, the focal length f of the focusing element is selected as a function of the desired magnification and the desired aperture of the focusing element. FIG. 11 shows the necessary formula 1 / f = 1 / a + 1 / (b1 + b2), where f is the focal length of the focusing element, a is the distance between the mark 10 and the incident surface of the focusing element 20, and b = b1 + b2 is the distance between the focusing element 20 and the image plane 10'. Appropriate configuration among the focal length f, the required aperture, the overall dimensions, the material selection, and the cost of the imaging optical system is well known in the field of optics and will not be further described herein.

[0072] In an embodiment aimed at further reducing the overall dimensions and manufacturing costs, some of the necessary optical elements such as the first focusing element 20 may be realized using an optical structure such as a metasurface. For example, the use of a metasurface for creating a metalens can be bath-processed using a general microtechnology process, which makes it possible to significantly reduce the size and cost of the projection system. By using a metasurface, it becomes possible to integrate a lens array on a flat substrate, which may be implemented as the first focusing element 20 and / or, if necessary, in front of the detector 30. The advantage of using a metasurface is to provide a planar microlens array in which other microstructures such as an array of pinholes may be provided on the back side of the first focusing planar metasurface lens array 20. This makes it possible to provide a baffle structure, significantly reducing crosstalk between different optical projection beams, and thus improving the contrast of the projected image at the image plane 10'. For example, it is possible to realize a metalens projector system 200 using a metalens. In one example, the metalens is designed to be used with monochromatic light having a wavelength of 532 nm. The metalens may have a diameter of 2 mm and a focal length of 0.7 mm, and may be able to image and resolve the mark 10 with a line width of 2 μm and a center-to-center distance of the lines of 4 μm.

[0073] The realization of a flat optical system using a metasurface is described, for example, in the following review article. N. Yu and F. Capasso, "Flat optics with designer metasurfaces"; Nature Materials 13, p. 139 (2014).

[0074] Also, in a variant, if the detector 30 has to be positioned away from the hot surface, preferably a relay lens or a curved relay mirror providing a 1:1 image may be arranged between the mark 10 and the first focusing element 20. This makes it possible to position the first focusing element and the detector 30 further away from the hot surface, preferably at a distance twice the focal length of the relay lens.

[0075] In all embodiments described in the present specification that are not illustrated, the light sources 40, 42 may be arranged to provide a light beam 400 that passes through the entire diameter of the article 1. Such a modification is particularly useful in aerosol-generating articles 1 where the infrared transmittance of the cross-section of the article 1 is at least partially in the infrared wavelength range, for example, greater than 1%, more preferably greater than 5%.

[0076] It is generally understood that the optical reading device system 200 may include an addressable optical element such as a retroreflector or a MEMS component that may be located in one of the incident or projection optical paths. For example, other modifications including an optical filter or a miniaturized spectrometer may be incorporated into the aerosol generator 2. In one modification, the aerosol generator 2 includes a display configured to display the information provided by the mark 10 of the article of the present invention.

[0077] In all embodiments of the present invention, it is understood that the optical zoom reading device system may include a beam shaping element or means for actively modifying the path and / or shape and / or aperture of the light beam. For example, an addressable MEMS mirror may be implemented. The MEMS device is extremely small, i.e., less than 10 - 20 mm 3 and may be implemented to scan a portion of the mark 10 or collect light provided by light beams having different orientations that may be provided by a mark including a diffraction grating or a RWG.

Example

[0078] FIG. 12 shows an example of an apparatus comprising an optical reading device with an image magnification system based on the use of a waveguide 1000 with a heater 2' and a diffractive focusing coupler 2002 and a diffractive outcoupler 2004. In a variant, the coupler 2002 may have the same structure as the outcoupler 2004. For reasons of clarity of FIG. 12, the illumination source of the mark 10 is not shown and may be an LED or, for example, the light provided by the waveguide by using the in-coupling light from an LED located at the end of the waveguide with an out-coupling region. The light may be in-coupled into the waveguide 1000 by either a wedge of the waveguide tube or a third diffractive coupler arranged in any region of the waveguide tube 1000. The mark 10 in the embodiment of FIG. 12 has an array of repetitive redundant structures 10a with a clear shape that provides information not only about the 2D arrangement or 2D shape of the structure of the mark but also about the height profile of the structure. The optical system is arranged such that its aperture angle always captures an image of a part P of the mark 10 so that the code embedded in the mark 10 can be detected regardless of the angular orientation of the article 1 when inserted into the cavity 112 of the device 2.

[0079] By using a still projection system, the 2D arrangement or 2D shape of the structure of the mark may be detected. In the advantageous arrangement of FIG. 12, a flat waveguide 1000 is used to provide an enlarged image 10' of a part P of the mark 10. The part P may have a maximum width of less than 500 μm or 250 μm. It is impossible to detect detailed information from such a small region P by prior art optical systems. Prior art aerosol generators with a vision system are based on a wide-field imager, i.e., they are image reduction optical systems and thus have a magnification factor M of less than 1.

[0080] By moving the waveguide 1000 orthogonally to either side of the axis of the cavity 112, or by applying slight rotations θ1, θ2 to at least one side surface of the end of the waveguide 1000, the optical reading device may acquire information on the 3D shape of the structure of the mark 10. These structures may be realized, for example, by inkjet printing that enables providing sufficiently controlled deposited dots on a paper wrapper. FIG. 14 shows the height measurement of two elements of the portion P along the cross-section P1 as shown in FIG. 13.

[0081] In the practical application of FIG. 12, the projection distance b is composed of the length b1 of the waveguide and the projection distance b2, that is, the distance between the out-coupling region of the waveguide and the detector. The distance a of the mark 10 to the incoupling window provided with a focusing element such as a diffraction grating is much smaller than the total projection distance b (=b1 + b2). The total projection distance b is generally 45 mm, a is generally 3 mm, and the magnification M is 15 times, that is, M = b / a = 45 / 3 = 15.

[0082] In a modified example, the configuration of FIG. 12 may be realized by another projection system that does not depend on an optical waveguide as described above. The advantage of using at least one waveguide 1000 is that it is easy to bend the waveguide and apply the rotations θ1, θ2 of its ends. The rotations θ1, θ2 and optionally the lateral movement Δ are small, generally less than 5 degrees (θ1, θ2) and 100 μm (Δ) respectively. This may be realized, for example, by a piezoelectric or electrostatic drive mechanism.

Claims

1. An aerosol-generating consumable article (1) comprising at least one mark (10) containing encoded information regarding said article (1) disposed on the surface of said article (1), said encoded information being implemented in at least one array of machine-readable code elements readable upon illumination by an optical magnification reading device system (200), said machine-readable code elements having a density of at least 10 elements per square millimeter of said mark (10). An aerosol-generating consumable article (1).

2. The consumable article (1) according to claim 1, wherein said machine-readable code elements are structured and / or color-coded code elements.

3. The consumable article (1) according to claim 2, wherein said machine-readable code elements comprise at least three color-coded code elements, at least three of said color-coded code elements having different colors.

4. The consumable article (1) according to claim 3, wherein at least a portion of said mark (10) comprises at least eight code elements having different colors.

5. The consumable article (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein at least a portion of said machine-readable code elements changes over time or with a change in temperature to provide different said encoded information.

6. The consumable article (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein at least a portion of said mark (10) comprises a waveguide.

7. An aerosol-generating device (2) comprising a power source (120) disposed within an outer body portion (110) and a cavity (112) defining a cavity axis (114), said body portion (110) having an opening (113) configured to receive said article (1) upon insertion of the consumable article (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The aerosol generator (2) further comprises an optical zoom reading device system (200) that defines an inlet aperture (200a) and includes at least one focusing optical element and at least one detector (30, 32). The optical zoom reading device system (200) is disposed within the outer body portion (110) and provides an optically zoomed image of at least a portion of the mark (10) at one or more magnifications M onto the detector (30, 32), and is configured to read the encoded information. The aerosol generator (2) further comprises a control unit (250) configured to recognize the authenticity of the consumable based on the content of the information read by the optical zoom reading device system (200) within the mark (10) disposed on the consumable (1). Aerosol generator (2). Claim 8 The aerosol generator (2) according to claim 7, wherein the magnification of the optical zoom reading device system is at least 2 times, preferably at least 10 times, more preferably at least 20 times, and even more preferably 50 times. Claim 9 The aerosol generator (2) according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the optical zoom reading device system (200) includes at least one concave optical mirror (20). Claim 10 The aerosol generator (2) according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the optical zoom reading device system (200) includes at least one adaptable optical element configured to adapt its focal length. Claim 11 The aerosol generator (2) according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the optical zoom reading device system (200) includes an optical waveguide (1000) disposed between the inlet aperture (200a) and the detector (30, 32). Claim 12 The aerosol generator (2) according to claim 11, wherein the optical waveguide (1000) includes a diffractive optical coupler (2002) and / or a diffractive optical outcoupler (2004).

13. The aerosol generating device (2) according to any one of claims 7 to 12, wherein the optical zoom reading device system (200) is configured to read at least two marks (11, 13) arranged on the aerosol generating consumable article (1).

14. The aerosol generating device (2) according to any one of claims 7 to 13, wherein the optical zoom reading device system (200) includes at least one polarizer (P1, P2).

15. The aerosol generating device (2) according to any one of claims 7 to 14, wherein the detector (30, 32) is arranged in the device (2) such that the temperature of the detector remains below 45°C during operation of the device (2).

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