Method, device, computer-readable medium, and non-flammable aerosol supply system for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system

Abstract

A method for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol delivery system includes receiving an indication from an age verification service that an age verification process for the non-flammable aerosol delivery system has been successfully completed. The method further includes sending a request to unlock the non-flammable aerosol delivery system to the unlock service and receiving an unlock password from the unlock service. The unlock password is based on a passkey accessible to the unlock service. The method further includes transmitting the unlock password to the non-flammable aerosol delivery system and authenticating it to determine whether the passkey matches a device key for the non-flammable aerosol delivery system. Corresponding devices and computer readable media are also provided.

Description

Field and Background

[0001]

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of security of aerosol supply systems. In particular, but not limited to, this disclosure relates to locking and unlocking of non-flammable aerosol supply systems.

[0002]

[0002] A “non-flammable” aerosol supply system is an aerosol supply system in which the aerosol-generating material (or its components), which is a constituent of the aerosol supply system, is not combusted or burned in order to facilitate the delivery of at least one substance to the user.

[0003]

[0003] The non-flammable aerosol supply system may be an electronic cigarette also known as a vaping device or an electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS), but it should be noted that the presence of nicotine in the aerosol-generating material is not a requirement.

[0004]

[0004] The non-flammable aerosol supply system may be an aerosol-generating material heating system also known as a non-combustion heating system. An example of such a system is a tobacco heating system.

[0005]

[0005] The non-flammable aerosol supply system may be a hybrid system that generates an aerosol using a combination of aerosol-generating materials (one or more of which may be configured to be heated, or multiple ones may be configured to be heated). Each aerosol-generating material may be in the form of, for example, a solid, a liquid, or a gel, and may or may not contain nicotine. The hybrid system may include a liquid or gel aerosol-generating material and a solid aerosol-generating material. The solid aerosol-generating material may include, for example, tobacco or non-tobacco products.

[0006]

[0006] Typically, the non-flammable aerosol supply system may comprise a non-flammable aerosol supply device and a consumable used together with the non-flammable aerosol supply device.

[0007]

[0007] The non-flammable aerosol supply system (such as its non-flammable aerosol supply device) may include a power source and a controller. The power source may be, for example, a power supply or a heat generating power source. The heat generating power source includes a carbon substrate capable of supplying energy to supply power in the form of heat to an aerosol generating material or a heat transfer material in proximity to the heat generating power source.

[0008]

[0008] The non-flammable aerosol supply system may include an area for receiving consumables, an aerosol generator, an aerosol generation area, a housing, a mouthpiece, a filter, and / or an aerosol modifier.

[0009]

[0009] Consumables used with the non-flammable aerosol supply device may include an aerosol generating material, an aerosol generating material storage area, an aerosol generating material transfer component, an aerosol generator, an aerosol generation area, a housing, a wrapper, a filter, a mouthpiece, and / or an aerosol modifier. Overview

[0010]

[0010] According to a first aspect, a method for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system includes receiving an instruction from an age verification service indicating that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed; sending an unlock request for the non-flammable aerosol supply system to an unlock service; receiving, from the unlock service, an unlock password based on an access key accessible to the unlock service; and determining whether the access key matches the device key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system by transferring and authenticating the unlock password to the non-flammable aerosol supply system.

[0011]

[0011] Therefore, since it is considered unrealistic to verify the user's age by the aerosol supply system itself due to the downsizing of the system and potentially limited processing capabilities, the user's age is verified by using a separate age verification service. The non-flammable aerosol supply system is configured to maintain a locked state in which the system prevents the generation and delivery of the aerosol until the system can confirm that the age verification process has been successfully executed. Since a mathematically secure means for transmitting the successful execution of the age verification is provided by the use of cryptographic techniques, the possibility that an inappropriate user (for example, a person who attempts to unlock the device without validly verifying the age) generates a message that inappropriately triggers the unlocking of the system is reduced.

[0012]

[0012] As various optional functions that can be realized in combination with the first aspect described above, protection against a replay attack in which a validly generated unlock password is used at a time later than intended in an aerosol supply system that it was not intended for, or a replay attack that is used outside the range in which a message was generated by the unlocking service, can be added. Also, optional features that can be realized include protection that reduces the impact on other aerosol supply systems when a certain non-flammable aerosol supply system is illegally accessed, and / or additional reduction of the possibility that a user inappropriately triggers unlocking despite not performing age verification.

[0013]

[0013] According to a second aspect, there is provided a device for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system, the device comprising a processing circuit configured to: receive an instruction from an age verification service indicating that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed; send an unlock request for the non-flammable aerosol supply system to an unlock service; receive an unlock password from the unlock service based on an access key accessible to the unlock service; transfer the unlock password to the non-flammable aerosol supply system for authentication to determine whether the access key matches the device key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system.

[0014]

[0014] According to a third aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium corresponding to the methods and devices of the first and second aspects.

[0015]

[0015] According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a method for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system, the method comprising: receiving, at a non-flammable aerosol supply system, an unlock password based on an access key from a user device; generating a test password based on a device key stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system; comparing the test password and the unlock password to determine whether the device key matches the access key based on which the unlock password is generated; and unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system in response to detecting a match in the comparison.

[0016] According to a fifth aspect, there is provided a non-flammable aerosol supply system, comprising a processing circuit configured to receive, from a user device, an unlock password based on a pass key; generate a test password based on a device key stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system; compare the test password and the unlock password to determine whether the device key matches the pass key based on which the unlock password is generated; and unlock the non-flammable aerosol supply system in response to detection of a match in the comparison.

[0017] According to a sixth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium corresponding to the methods and non-flammable aerosol supply systems of the fourth and fifth aspects.

[0018] According to a seventh aspect, there is provided a method for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system, the method including: receiving, by a user device, an instruction from an age verification service indicating that an age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed; transmitting, by the user device, an unlock request for the non-flammable aerosol supply system to an unlock service; generating, by the unlock service, an unlock password based on a pass key accessible to the unlock service; transmitting, by the unlock service, the unlock password to the user device; transferring, by the user device, the unlock password to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; generating, by the non-flammable aerosol supply system, a test password based on a device key stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system; comparing the test password and the unlock password to determine whether the device key matches the pass key based on which the unlock password is generated; and unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system in response to detection of a match in the comparison.

[0019] According to an eighth aspect, there is provided a system comprising a non-flammable aerosol supply system, a remote device, and an unlocking service, wherein the remote device receives an instruction from an age verification service indicating that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed, and is configured to send an unlock request of the non-flammable aerosol supply system to the unlocking service; the unlocking service is configured to generate an unlock password based on a pass key accessible to the unlocking service and send the unlock password to the remote device; the remote device is further configured to transfer the unlock password to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; the non-flammable aerosol supply system is configured to generate a test password based on a device key stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system, compare the test password and the unlock password, and determine whether the device key matches the pass key based on which the unlock password is generated, and in response to detecting a match in the comparison, configure to unlock the non-flammable aerosol supply system.

[0020] According to a ninth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium corresponding to the methods and systems of the seventh and eighth aspects.

[0021] According to a tenth aspect, there is provided a method for setting an encryption key in a non-flammable aerosol supply system, the method including the steps of: receiving a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system; obtaining a specific encryption key to be set in the non-flammable aerosol supply system based on one or more encryption keys provided by a key generation service; storing the device identifier in association with the specific encryption key; and writing the specific encryption key to the non-flammable aerosol supply system.

[0022]

[0022] Accordingly, a secure means is provided for generating a unique key and providing it to a computer device for setting in an aerosol supply system. According to various optional features that can be implemented in combination with the above-described tenth aspect, a key can be set by an offline computer device that operates without a data connection.

[0023]

[0023] According to an eleventh aspect, there is provided a system for setting an encryption key in a non-flammable aerosol supply system, the system comprising: a non-flammable aerosol supply system; receiving a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system; obtaining a specific encryption key to be set in the non-flammable aerosol supply system based on one or more encryption keys provided by a key generation service; storing the device identifier in association with the specific encryption key; and writing the specific encryption key to the non-flammable aerosol supply system, and a computer device configured to perform the above.

[0024]

[0024] According to a twelfth aspect, there are provided methods according to the tenth and eleventh aspects and a computer-readable medium corresponding to the computer.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0025]

[0025] Hereinafter, embodiments and examples of the present technique will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are merely examples.

[0026]

Figure 1

[0026] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system by implementing an asymmetric key cryptosystem.

[0027]

Figure 2A

[0027] FIG. 2A is a flowchart showing a method for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system using an asymmetric key cryptosystem.

Figure 2B

[0027] Figure 2B is a flowchart showing a method for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system using an asymmetric key cryptosystem.

[0028]

Figure 3

[0028] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system by implementing a symmetric key cryptosystem.

[0029]

Figure 4A

[0029] Figure 4A is a flowchart showing a method for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system using a symmetric key cryptosystem.

Figure 4B

[0029] Figure 4B is a flowchart showing a method for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system using a symmetric key cryptosystem.

[0030]

Figure 5

[0030] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a computer device in communication with a key supply service being able to set an encryption key in a non-flammable aerosol supply system.

[0031]

Figure 6

[0031] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a computer device without a data connection to a key supply service being able to set an encryption key in a non-flammable aerosol supply system.

[0032]

Figure 7

[0032] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing a method for setting an encryption key in a non-flammable aerosol supply system using a computer device in communication with a key supply service.

[0033]

Figure 8

[0033] Figure 8 is a flowchart showing a method for setting an encryption key in a non-flammable aerosol supply system using a computer device without a data connection to a key supply service.

[0034]

Figure 9

[0034] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a nonflammable aerosol supply system.

[0035]

Figure 10

[0035] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a user device.

[0036]

[0036] The techniques described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, and specific embodiments will be shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, the drawings and their detailed description are not intended to limit the scope to the specific forms disclosed, but rather, the scope is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope as defined by the appended claims. Detailed description

[0037]

[0038]

[0038] The age verification process itself can take any suitable form. In some examples, however, it involves presenting a user's photo that can be checked and the user's identification showing the user's age in order to verify that the user is of the required age before unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system. Other age verification methods are also possible, and any age verification process that can be achieved by using an age verification service can be used in combination with the technology disclosed herein. The age verification service that executes the age verification process may be implemented by the manufacturer and / or supplier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, or may be implemented by a third-party age verification service provider.

[0039]

[0039] Such an age verification service is provided from a location remote from the non-flammable aerosol supply system. Therefore, the following teachings will describe a method for securely determining whether a given age verification result is applicable to the intended non-flammable aerosol supply system. Thus, in this method, while preventing the same age verification from being applied to different user / owner non-flammable aerosol supply systems, the non-flammable aerosol supply system can be unlocked in response to the successful age verification of the user / owner of a specific non-flammable aerosol supply system. Therefore, these techniques can help prevent unauthorized access to the system by, for example, underage users.

[0040]

[0040] In this example, cryptographic techniques are used to securely indicate to the non-flammable aerosol supply system that the age verification process has been successfully completed and that the system should be unlocked. In response to the notification that the age verification process has been completed, the system permits the user to generate aerosol using the system. By using cryptography, in this example, by providing a mathematically secure means for communicating that the age verification has been successfully executed, the opportunity for an unverified user to generate a message that could inappropriately trigger the unlocking of the system is reduced.

[0041]

[0041] In the method of the present disclosure, a public key cryptosystem (also known as an asymmetric cryptosystem) and a symmetric cryptosystem (also known as a secret key cryptosystem) are each utilized. In a comprehensive method applicable regardless of the encryption technology employed, from an age verification service, receiving an indication that the age verification process has been successfully completed for a user of the non-flammable aerosol supply system; transmitting an unlock request for the non-flammable aerosol supply system to an unlock service; receiving, from the unlock service, an unlock message that is cryptographically associated with an encryption key stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system; and transferring the unlock message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system and authenticating the unlock message as genuine using the encryption key stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system. By using a method including these steps, the non-flammable aerosol supply system may be unlocked.

[0042]

[0042] As used herein, the term "user" is used to denote a person verified by an age verification service to unlock a non-flammable aerosol supply system. The user may or may not be the owner of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, but it is understood that the user is a person associated with a user device used for local communication with the non-flammable aerosol supply system for which unlocking is requested. Also, the user may be registered in the non-flammable aerosol supply system or associated with the non-flammable aerosol supply system in some form of manufacturer or supplier record with which the user device can communicate.

[0043]

[0043] The non-flammable aerosol supply system that requires unlocking is already in a locked state. This locked state may be the default state set when the device is sold and / or the state adopted when the device is disconnected from a user device for which age verification has been performed in the past. Such disconnection may be related to the association with a different user device and / or the elapse of a threshold duration after the connection to the user device is established. Therefore, not only is age verification for unlocking (as described below) required before using the non-flammable aerosol supply system after purchase, but it is also necessary to periodically re-execute and succeed in age verification for unlocking after the disconnection period from the associated user device or upon association with a different user device.

[0044]

[0044] The following description provides details of the implementation methods of two cryptographic techniques, and it is understood that both techniques are combined by the above general method. Also, of course, the optional features and techniques applicable to the first method are also applicable to the second method, and the optional features and techniques applicable to the second method may also be applicable to the first method.

[0045] As described above, in the above technology for unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system, a user device is used. The user device (which may be referred to as a remote device in the sense of being remote from the non-flammable aerosol supply system, or may be referred to as an intermediate device in the sense of being intermediate between the non-flammable aerosol supply system and the unlock / age verification service) is configured to be able to establish a local communication channel with the non-flammable aerosol supply system. The local communication channel can take many forms as described below. Also, the user device is configured to establish a communication channel with one or both of the age verification service and the unlock service and transmit and receive messages that enable the unlocking of the non-flammable aerosol supply system. The user device may be, for example, the user's mobile phone or a tablet device. By using such a user device to facilitate communication between the aerosol supply system and the unlock service in this way, this method reduces the processing requirements of the aerosol supply system and enables secure locking and unlocking of the aerosol supply system with limited connection and processing capabilities.

[0046]

[0046] Referring to FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B, a first set of examples of unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system by implementing an asymmetric key cryptosystem is shown. A schematic infrastructure for these examples is shown in FIG. 1. As shown in this figure, the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 includes a random number generator 12 and a public key 14. These are used for generating messages for the unlocking process, as will be described in more detail below.

[0047]

[0047] Also, as shown in the figure, the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 is connected to the user device 18 by a local communication channel 16. The local communication channel may be non-persistent or transient in the sense that it is established for the period required to execute a specific function and can be disconnected when not needed.

[0048]

[0048] In this example, the local communication channel 16 is a wireless channel provided using a connection technology such as a personal area network protocol. Exemplary personal area network protocols include Bluetooth (trademark), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) (trademark), Zigbee (trademark), Wireless USB, and Near Field Communication (NFC). Also, exemplary personal area network protocols include optical communication such as the Infrared Data Association (IrDA) and protocols that utilize data over sound. In the remainder of this discussion, an example of BLE will be used and BLE terminology will be used; however, it goes without saying that it can be substituted with corresponding functions or equivalent functions of other personal area network technologies. If the non-flammable aerosol supply system has suitable functions, other wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi (trademark) technology may be used. In other examples, the local communication channel 16 may be a wired communication channel provided between the physical ports of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 and the user device 18. In such a wired communication channel, physical connection technologies such as USB (trademark), serial port, FireWire (trademark), or other point-to-point wired connections may be utilized.

[0049]

[0049] By using the local communication channel 16, the user device 18 and the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 can exchange messages regarding the use of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10. This message exchange may include many different functions, and in the present disclosure, the focus is on the function related to unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 to be used after successful age verification.

[0050]

[0050] To endow the user device 18 with functions, in this method, a software application (often simply referred to as an "app") for executing the unlocking function is used. Naturally, the app may include other functions related to the use of the incombustible aerosol supply system 10. These may include tasks such as providing a mechanism for the user to check the details of the use of the incombustible aerosol supply system 10. In the present disclosure, the focus is on the function related to unlocking the incombustible aerosol supply system 10 for use after successful age verification.

[0051]

[0051] Also, as shown in the figure, the user device 18 can be connected to the age verification service 22 via the network connection 20. The age verification service 22 may be a commercial age verification service that uses a known method to determine whether the person to be verified exceeds a specific age threshold. In this background, the age verification service 22 can provide an age verification pass / fail result (or an output that can be used to represent the age verification pass / fail result, such as the actual age that can be tested against the age threshold) in response to a request for age verification that suitably identifies the user. The nature of this suitable mode varies for each age verification service and may include one or more of a username, a user identification number, a user photo, user identification documents, or other personal identification information of the user. In the interaction between the user device 18 and the age verification service 22, a public interface of the age verification service, such as an application programming interface, may be used. As an example of a commercially available age verification service, there is Jumio (trademark) that provides an API used for presenting a verification request.

[0052]

[0052] The connection between the user device 18 and the age verification service 22 is represented as a network connection 20 that facilitates the use of a commercial age verification service in conjunction with an Internet-accessible interface. For this reason, the network connection 20 may include one or more of a local area network, a wide area network, and an Internet connection, which may be provided via a wireless and / or wired network infrastructure. The connection may be intermittent or non-persistent in that the connection may be established to perform a particular function but otherwise not necessarily maintained. The network connection 20 may be protected by technologies such as SSL, tunneling, encryption, signed message exchange, etc. so that a given age verification request and response are securely exchanged without the opportunity for malicious interference by malicious actors.

[0053]

[0053] Also, as shown in the figure, the user device 18 is connectable to an unlocking service 26 via a network connection 24. The unlocking service 26 has a key store 30 that stores a private key 32. The private key 32 as stored in the key store of the unlocking service and the public key 14 as stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system are a corresponding public / private key pair. The key store 30 may be unique to the unlocking service 26 or may be internal to the unlocking service 26. Alternatively, the key store 26 may be external to the unlocking service 26 while being securely connected to the unlocking service 26. The unlocking service 26 can facilitate unlocking by receiving an unlock request generated using the public key 14 of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10, testing the unlock request against the private key 32, and in response, generating an unlock message using the private key 32 that can later be tested against the corresponding public key 14.

[0054]

[0054] Also, the unlocking service 26 can trigger the provision of the generated unlock message by using the age verification result of the user of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10. In this example, the age verification result is directly provided from the age verification service 22 to the unlocking service 26 via the network connection 30. In other examples, the age verification result may be provided from the age verification service 22 to the unlocking service 26 via the user device 18 (and thus, the network connections 20 and 24).

[0055]

[0055] Therefore, the unlocking service 26 of this example stores the relationship between the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 and the private key 32. Also, the unlocking service 26 may store the received age verification result in association with the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 and the private key 32. As an addition or alternative to this, the unlocking service 26 may store an identifier corresponding to the user and / or the user device (or an instance of the application on the user device) in association with the private key 32.

[0056]

[0056] In the interaction between the user device 18 and the unlocking service 26 (and also any interaction between the unlocking service 26 and the age verification service 22), the public interface of the unlocking service 26, such as an application programming interface, may be used. The application programming interface is a program interface that enables the provision of requests and messages using a predetermined format or rule that promotes the secure and correct operation of the service.

[0057]

[0057] The connection between the user device 18 and the unlocking service 26 (and any interaction between the unlocking service 26 and the age verification service 22) is represented as a network connection 24 (and 28) that facilitates the unlocking service provided to the user device at a remote location by using a remotely accessible interface (which may be an API interface as described above). For this reason, the network connection 26 (and 28) may include one or more of a local area network, a wide area network, and an Internet connection, which may be provided via a wireless and / or wired network infrastructure. The connection may be intermittent or non-persistent in that the connection can be established to perform a particular function but otherwise does not necessarily need to be maintained. The network connection 24 (and 28) may be protected by technologies such as SSL, tunneling, encryption, signed message exchange, etc. so that a given unlock request and unlock message (and age verification result) are securely exchanged without the opportunity for malicious interference by a malicious actor.

[0058]

[0058] As described above, an overview of the infrastructure has been provided such that the non-flammable aerosol supply system in a locked state is securely unlocked according to the result of the age verification test of the user of the request and the non-flammable aerosol supply system.

[0059]

[0059] Here, a method of unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system using the asymmetric key cryptosystem executed by the infrastructure shown with reference to FIG. 1 will be discussed with respect to FIGS. 2A and 2B. In this example, all the steps shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B are adopted. However, the dashed boxes in FIGS. 2A and 2B indicate some steps that may be omitted from the method in other examples.

[0060]

[0060] In this example, the process may be triggered by one of many methods. As a consistent aspect of the trigger, the user may wish to unlock the non-flammable aerosol supply system for use, and age verification is required to achieve the unlocking. In a first example, the user presents an unlock request for the aerosol supply system on the user device, but the user device then guides the user to an age verification service to verify the age before the aerosol supply system can be unlocked. In another example, the user may attempt to activate the locked non-flammable aerosol supply system, and signaling to the user device may be used to notify the user of the start of the age verification and unlocking process. In another example, the user may interact directly with the age verification service, and the age verification service may later notify the user device (directly or via an unlocking service) that the user's age has been successfully verified.

[0061]

[0061] Regardless of the method of triggering the age verification process, as shown in step S2-1, when the age verification process is successfully completed, the age verification service 22 sends an instruction to the user device 18 via the connection 20 indicating that the age verification process has been successfully completed. As described above, this instruction of successful completion may be a simple pass result (different from failure), or may be an instruction that the user device can test against a locally stored threshold value (e.g., the actual age result).

[0062]

[0062] Therefore, in step S2-3, the user device 18 receives an instruction from the age verification service indicating that the process has been successfully completed. This instruction warns or notifies the user device 18 that the unlocking process can be initiated. As described above, the user device 18 may operate an application (or any other suitable form of software) to enable the user to control the aerosol supply system, and the above instruction may be received by the application. As an addition or alternative to this, as described above, the above instruction may comply with an API that manages the form and content of the interaction between the user device 18 (or its application) and the age verification service 22. However, in some examples, the instruction from the age verification service may be in the form of an email or text message sent to the user device, or may be provided via the user himself / herself (for example, the age verification service provides the user with a code indicating that the age verification has been completed).

[0063]

[0063] In response to the instruction indicating that the age verification has been completed, the user device will then generate or obtain an unlock request to be sent to the unlock service. As shown in the figure, in this example, the unlock request is obtained by the user device sending the unlock request to the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 (step S2-5). Then, in step S2-7, the unlock request (which may also be referred to as a challenge request) is received by the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10.

[0064]

[0064] In response to the unlock request, the non-flammable aerosol supply system 0 generates a challenge in step S2-11. There are many possible forms for the challenge. As will be described later, various above-mentioned methods for generating the challenge can provide protection against so-called replay attacks. In some examples, the challenge is considered to be a cryptographic nonce (i.e., a disposable value).

[0065]

[0065] Generally, in order to reduce the possibility that a non-flammable aerosol supply device that generates a message, the time for the aerosol supply device to generate a message, or a challenge is unique to both, more complex challenges may be used. As a result, the possibility that a challenge and thus a response unlock message are reused accidentally or deliberately for a plurality of different unlock requests for a plurality of non-flammable aerosol supply systems is reduced.

[0066]

[0066] On the other hand, by providing a challenge response message that can be easily generated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system, the non-flammable aerosol supply system can generate a challenge at a higher speed without requiring a more complex processing circuit.

[0067]

[0067] In this example, the challenge is created by generating a random number using the random number generator 12 of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10. In this specification, the term "random number" represents both true random numbers and pseudo-random numbers. In addition to providing a challenge with low predictability, this method can increase the chance that different challenges are generated at different times by the same non-flammable aerosol supply system 10.

[0068]

[0068] In this example, subsequently, a hash digest of the random number is generated by hashing the random number. By using a hashing method, the challenge can benefit from the uniqueness of a long random number without making the exchange message equally long, and as will become apparent below, the length of the data that requires the execution of any cryptographic operation by the non-flammable aerosol supply system is minimized. The hash may be calculated using any suitable hash algorithm such as the Secure Hash Algorithm. In this example, the SHA-2 algorithm is used to appropriately balance security and the processing power required by the non-flammable aerosol supply system, but it is also possible to use other algorithms. In one specific illustrative example, a hash digest is generated using the SHA256 variant of SHA-2, and the digest is represented in Base64 for ease of copying.

[0069]

[0069] In the above example, the random number itself is used to generate the challenge response message, but in some examples, the use of the random number selects one of a plurality of predetermined challenge contents used as the challenge content.

[0070]

[0070] In the above example, the hash of the random number is used to generate the challenge, but in some examples, the random number itself (or a part thereof) may be used as the challenge.

[0071]

[0071] In a simpler example that avoids the need for numerical generation in a non-flammable aerosol supply system, the challenge includes the device identifier or serial number of the device. Thus, the challenge response message can be easily generated without requiring a complex processing circuit. Further, since the device identifier is likely to be unique to the aerosol supply system, it is known that the challenge response message will not be the same as a challenge response message generated by another aerosol supply device. Also, such a device identifier or serial number may be used in combination with the random number method described above.

[0072]

[0072] Also, in some examples, the challenge may include a timestamp that associates the challenge with the generation time. This may be for providing a challenge that is likely to be unique in the sense that a particular aerosol supply system and other aerosol supply systems do not generate the same challenge that includes the same timestamp.

[0073]

[0073] When the challenge is generated in step S2-11, the challenge is transmitted as a challenge response message from the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 to the user device 18 in step S2-13, and this step may also be referred to as notification of the challenge. Then, the user device 18 incorporates the challenge response message into an unlock request transmitted to the unlock service 26 (in step S2-15), and this step may also be referred to as posting of the challenge. The unlock request message in this example includes information identifying at least one of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10, the user, and / or the user device 18. As described above, the unlock request message is sent from the user device 18 via the connection 24 to the unlock service 26 in accordance with the communication or interaction rules defined for communication such as an API. Then, the unlock request message is received by the unlock service 26 in step S2-17.

[0074] As described above, the unlocking service can take many forms. In this example, the unlocking service is implemented as a remote service accessible to the user device via the Internet. In some examples, the unlocking service is provided by the cloud, which may be a public cloud or, for example, a private cloud maintained by the manufacturer of the aerosol supply device.

[0075]

[0075] Upon receiving an unlock request by the unlocking service, the unlocking service is triggered to generate a signed unlock message that can be used to unlock the aerosol supply system. As described above, according to the technology of this example, a public key cryptosystem (also known as an asymmetric cryptosystem) is used so that only the unlocking service can unlock the aerosol supply system. In the public key cryptosystem, a pair of keys including a public key and a private key is used. By using one of the public key / private key to perform a cryptographic operation on some data and encrypting the data, the data itself can be made invisible. Then, by using the other of the public key / private key and performing an inverse transformation of the cryptographic operation, the encrypted data can be decrypted. In an example using an asymmetric cryptosystem, the public key 14 exists in the non-flammable aerosol supply system, and the private key exists in the key store 30 of the unlocking service 26.

[0076]

[0076] In this example, the challenge (provided to the unlocking service 26) in the unlock request message based on the challenge response message itself generates a signed unlock message (which may also be referred to as a signed challenge response) by signing with the private key 32. As described above, this example also involves the direct provision of the age verification result from the age verification service 22 to the unlocking service 26.

[0077]

[0077] Therefore, prior to generating the signed unlock message, the unlock service 26 verifies the age verification result with respect to the age verification service 22. In this example, in step S2-19, the unlock service sends a verification request to the age verification service 22 to confirm that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 has been successfully completed by using the connection 28. To facilitate this verification request, the unlock service 26 utilizes information regarding the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10, the user, and / or the user device 18 from the unlock request message to identify the age verification result for which confirmation is sought from the age verification service 22.

[0078]

[0078] Therefore, as shown in step S2-21, the age verification service 22 receives a request for verification that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 has been successfully completed and checks whether this is the case. If the age verification process has not been successfully completed (in the case of the "No" output in S2-21), this fact is notified to the unlock service, and the unlock process terminates at step S2-23. At this point, the unlock service 22 can notify the user device 18 that the unlock process has terminated, thereby, for example, prompting the user to retry the age verification. Naturally, due to the termination of the unlock process at this point in the process, no unlock command is sent to either the user device 18 or the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10, thus preventing the unlocking of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10. On the other hand, if the age verification process has been successfully completed in effect (in the case of the "Yes" output in S2-21), this fact is notified to the unlock service, and the unlock process continues to step S2-27.

[0079]

[0079] As an alternative or improved approach, in the aforementioned example where the age verification service directly provides the result to the user with the code directly provided to the user, this code can also be included in the unlock request message, and the unlock service can use this code as unique evidence of successful age verification, or it can also be used as part of a request to the age verification service to confirm that the age verification has been completed.

[0080]

[0080] In other examples, at the same time as the age verification result is provided to the user or the user device during the execution of the age verification process, the same result may already have been provided to the unlock service 26 by the age verification service 22. In such an example, the age verification result should include some indication regarding the non-flammable aerosol supply device, the user, or the user device for the provided age verification, such as the unlock service 26 being able to later verify the age verification result against the unlock request message received from the user device 18 regarding the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10. In such an example, the step of verifying the age verification result against the unlock request message will be performed between step S2-17 and step S2-27 (or step S2-23 if such a verification is not found).

[0081]

[0081] In another example, when the age verification result is not directly provided from the age verification service 22 to the unlocking service 26, the unlocking request message may include an expression indicating that the age verification has been successfully completed. And such a result can be directly used by the unlocking service 26 to proceed directly from step S2-17 to S2-27. In such an example, the expression itself indicating that the age verification has been successfully completed (included in the unlocking request message) is securely shown as genuine, so that malicious actors cannot unlock the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10, for example, by unauthorized access to the user device 18 or issuing a fake age verification result included in the unlocking request message to the user device. For example, the expression indicating that the age verification has been successfully completed can also be signed using the private key of the age verification service 22, and then the unlocking service 26 can verify this signature using the corresponding public key of the age verification service.

[0082]

[0082] The method of testing, checking, or verifying these age verification results reduces the possibility that the user will inappropriately trigger an unlock request, even though no age verification is being performed in which an indication that the user's age has been sufficiently verified is sent from the age verification service. Thus, by performing an independent verification in the age verification service, it is possible to prevent the start of unlocking of the non-flammable aerosol supply system even for an unlock request that has been erroneously generated.

[0083]

[0083] Therefore, following this method in step S2-27, the unlocking service 26 generates a signed unlock message signed using the private key 32.

[0084]

[0084] In this example, after this signed unlock message is first generated in the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10, the unlock service 26 signs the challenge as being transferred to the unlock service by the challenge response message and the unlock request message, thereby generating it. As described above, the challenge in this example is created by generating a hash of a random number generated in the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10. Therefore, the signed unlock message is created by signing the hash digest with the private key 32. Naturally, such a signature can then be verified by the public key 14 in the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10. As will be described in more detail below, this enables the signature to be tested against the original challenge, verifying that the unlock process has not been tampered with "in flight" during either leg of the round trip to the unlock service 26.

[0085]

[0085] In a specific example where the hash digest is represented as Base64 before transmission in the challenge response message, the unlock service 26 may decrypt the hash digest from the Base64 encoding, then sign the hash digest and re-encode the signed hash digest as Base64.

[0086]

[0086] In some alternative examples, after initially generating an unsigned unlock message, the unlock service 26 generates a signed unlock message by performing a cryptographic operation on the hash of the unsigned unlock message using a private key to form a signature. In such an example, the signed unlock message includes both the signed unlock message and the signature. The signed unlock message can then be verified by the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 to have been generated by the owner of the private key (i.e., the unlock service) using the public key to cancel the cryptographic operation of the signature and comparing this to the hash of the unsigned unlock message. If these match, it is strongly indicated that the signed unlock message was generated by the unlock service and has not been tampered with "in-flight" between the unlock service and the aerosol supply system.

[0087]

[0087] In another technique for generating a signed unlock message, the unsigned unlock message is encrypted by directly using the private key to perform a cryptographic operation on the unsigned unlock message, and the result is generated as the signed unlock message. In such a case, the signed unlock message can be authenticated by the aerosol supply system (or, in fact, by the person having the public key) by using the public key to cancel the cryptographic operation and reveal the unsigned unlock message. If the unsigned unlock message is still an unlock message that follows the agreed format, the aerosol supply system may determine that the unlock message is valid.

[0088]

[0088] After generating the signed unlock message in step S2-27, the unlock service 26 transmits the signed unlock message to the user device 18 in step S2-29. Next, in step S2-31, the user device 18 receives the signed unlock message and forwards this signed unlock message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10.

[0089]

[0089] In response to receiving the signed unlock message transferred by the user device 18 (step S2-33), the aerosol supply system authenticates the signed unlock message using the public key stored in the aerosol supply system in step S2-35, thereby determining whether the private key 32 used for signing the unlock message corresponds to the public key 14 of the non-flammable aerosol supply system.

[0090]

[0090] As described above, this authentication can also be performed by hashing an unsigned copy of the unlock message included in the signed unlock, canceling the cryptographic operation performed on the signature using the public key 14, and comparing the results. Alternatively, this authentication may involve decrypting the signed unlock message using the public key 14 and determining whether the resulting message is a valid unlock message.

[0091]

[0091] As described above, in this example, the signed copy of the hash digest generated as a challenge and transmitted in the challenge response message is used as the signed unlock message. Therefore, in this example, the verification of the signed unlock message in the non-flammable aerosol supply device 10 includes verifying that the signature applied to the hash digest could only be generated by the private key 32 paired with the public key 14 and that the signature was applied to the hash digest constituting the challenge. In a specific example where the signed unlock message is transmitted after being converted to Base64, this authentication will include the inverse conversion of the Base64 encoding prior to verification using the public key 14.

[0092]

[0092] Thus, when the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 successfully passes the authentication, since the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 can identify that the signed unlock message is generated using the private key 32, it is shown that the signed unlock message is generated by the unlock service 26 and that the value of the signed / encrypted form of the message is associated with the content of the message itself. Also, it is strongly shown that the signed unlock message has not been tampered with "in-flight" between the unlock service 26 and the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10. When the signed unlock message includes a signed hash digest, it is further end-to-end guaranteed that the challenge message has not been tampered with "in-flight" between the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 and the unlock service 26.

[0093]

[0093] In particular, in this method, if the age verification process that enables the unlock service 26 to generate a signed unlock message does not succeed and complete, it becomes very difficult for the user to unlock the aerosol supply system. Therefore, this method effectively reduces the chance that a person who wants to avoid the age verification process can successfully access the aerosol supply system.

[0094]

[0094] In response to the successful authentication of the signed unlock message (the "yes" output in step S2-37), in step S2-41, the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 is unlocked. Unlocking the system may include permission for the user to generate aerosol using the system. For example, the processing circuit of the non-flammable aerosol supply system may prevent the operation of the aerosol generator of the system while the aerosol supply system is in the locked state.

[0095] Conversely, in response to a failure in the authentication of the signed unlock message (output of "No" in step S2-37), the non-flammable aerosol supply system may prevent the unlocking of the aerosol supply system (step S2-39). For example, when the non-flammable aerosol supply system detects that the signed unlock message has been tampered with in the unlock service 26 or has not been generated by the unlock service 26, the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 may be kept in a locked state to prevent access by a user who has not successfully passed the age verification.

[0096]

[0096] In some examples, after unlocking, the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 notifies the user device 18. Similarly, the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 may notify the user device 18 in case of authentication failure (step S2-43). Therefore, the user device 18 may receive a notification indicating whether the authentication was successful and, for example, display a corresponding instruction to the user on the user device.

[0097]

[0097] Naturally, there are various possibilities for the cryptographic operations, as well as the forms of the private key and public key, that can be used according to the technology described in this specification. For example, the unlock service and the aerosol supply system may utilize a digital signature algorithm (DSA) or Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) cryptosystem to generate and authenticate the signed unlock message. As an example, the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) is used, and the cryptographic operations performed and the cryptographic keys used comply with the technology specified in ECDSA.

[0098]

[0098] As described above, a method of maintaining a non-flammable aerosol supply system in a locked state that is released (and an unlocked state is adopted) only in response to the results of an age verification test of a user of the request and non-flammable aerosol supply system has been described. This method is protected by the use of an asymmetric key cryptosystem, and only devices associated with users who have successfully completed age verification can transition from the locked state to the unlocked state.

[0099]

[0099] According to the method described above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2, the unlocking service stores the private key paired with the non-flammable aerosol supply system that stores the public key. Since the public key can be made public without compromising the security of the cipher, the non-flammable aerosol supply system does not store secrets, reducing the risk of unauthorized access to the aerosol supply system. Also, this can facilitate the manufacture of the aerosol supply device and the setting of the cryptographic key. This is because there is no need to provide anti-tampering storage for securely storing the private key.

[0100]

[0100] As described above, in this example, since the signed unlock message is cryptographically associated with the challenge response message, the non-flammable aerosol supply system can authenticate that the signed unlock message corresponds to the challenge response message generated in the past by the non-flammable aerosol supply system. Such a method can be beneficial in protecting against replay attacks where a validly generated signed unlock message is used at a time later than intended by an unintended non-flammable aerosol supply system, or replay attacks where the message is used outside the scope in which it was generated by the unlocking service. By associating the signed unlock message with the challenge response message, such a non-flammable aerosol supply device in this example can detect when a valid signed unlock message is used outside the intended scope, and as a result, can prevent the unlocking of the non-flammable aerosol supply system.

[0101] As described above, by using the challenge response message, when verifying the signed unlock message later, the non-flammable aerosol supply system can verify not only that the unlock service and the signed unlock message derived therefrom were not tampered with when transmitted to the aerosol supply system, but also that the signed unlock message corresponds to the challenge response message generated by the system. Therefore, even if a user attempts to unlock the aerosol supply system using a signed unlock message effectively generated by the unlock service for different aerosol supply systems that issued different challenge response messages, the aerosol supply system will not succeed in authenticating the signed unlock message, thus preventing the unlocking of the non-flammable aerosol supply system.

[0102] As another option for the above example, the unlock service may combine (e.g., concatenate or interleave) the unsigned unlock message and the challenge response message, hash the combination of both messages, and perform a cryptographic operation on the hash of both messages using a private key to generate a cryptographic signature to include in the signed unlock message. And this association can also be authenticated by performing a similar process in the non-flammable aerosol supply system, combining the challenge response message generated in the non-flammable aerosol supply system in the past with the unsigned unlock message included in the signed unlock message, hashing the result, canceling the cryptographic operation performed on the signature with the public key, and comparing it with the hash. If a match is detected in the comparison, the cryptographic relationship between the signed unlock message and its challenge response message is considered valid.

[0103]

[0103] The above description relates to unlocking a single non-flammable aerosol supply system, but the same method and infrastructure can also be used to control the locked state of multiple different non-flammable aerosol supply systems. In some such examples, the same key pair is used for multiple (or all) of the aerosol supply systems managed by the unlocking service. This can simplify the manufacturing process of the aerosol supply system by eliminating the need to assign different cryptographic keys to different non-flammable aerosol supply systems. However, to prevent a valid signed unlock message for one non-flammable aerosol supply system from being used for another non-flammable aerosol supply system (e.g., if two non-flammable aerosol supply systems happen to issue the same challenge), and to limit the impact on other non-flammable aerosol supply systems in case one non-flammable aerosol supply system is subject to unauthorized access, the unlocking service may have access to multiple private keys corresponding to different aerosol supply systems. A method for setting keys for the non-flammable aerosol supply system will be described below with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8.

[0104]

[0104] In such a case, in order for the unlocking service 26 to be able to identify the secret key 32 used for generating the signed unlock message for the specific non-flammable aerosol supply system 10, the user device 18 includes the device identifier (e.g., serial number) of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 in the unlock request. Then, the unlocking service 26 can generate a signed unlock message using the secret key 32 of the non-flammable aerosol supply system by selecting the secret key 32 from a plurality of secret keys in the key store 28 (or such a plurality of key stores) accessible to the unlocking service. Thereafter, the unlocking service 26 generates a signed unlock message using the selected secret key 32. Since the secret key 32 selected by the unlocking service 26 corresponds to the public key 14 stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 having the device identifier, authentication in the aerosol supply system is successful by using the correct secret key 32, while the non-flammable aerosol supply system can detect the use of the secret key in a different non-flammable aerosol supply system, so unlocking does not occur. For this reason, a signed unlock message effectively generated for a certain non-flammable aerosol supply system cannot be reused for unlocking a different aerosol supply system.

[0105]

[0105] Regarding the message exchange between the user device 18 and the non-flammable aerosol supply system, as described above, the local communication channel 16 can use a suitable personal area network connection for transmission. In the local communication channel 16, the communication efficiency can be further improved by generating an improved profile corresponding to the use of the age verification method. For this reason, when the profile itself carries relevant information, the message header / wrapper can be minimized, so the message exchange can be realized with low overhead via the local communication channel.

[0106] In an example where the BLE protocol is used for this local communication channel, it is also possible to achieve the communication efficiency as described above by using the following profile definitions. ● For the transmission of an unlock request message from the user device 18 to the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 (step S2-5), the profile may be configured to describe a message coding (e.g., App Write Request Challenge) indicating that the app (user device) is writing a challenge request, and may be encoded, for example, as [0x00]. ● For the transmission of a challenge response from the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 to the user device 18 (step S2-13), the profile may be configured to describe a message coding (e.g., Device Notify Challenge) indicating that the non-flammable aerosol supply system is notifying the user device of a challenge, and may be encoded, for example, as [0x01][Challenge]. ● For the transmission of a signed unlock message from the user device 18 to the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 (step S2-31), the profile may be configured to describe a message (e.g., App Write Request Signed) indicating that the app (user device) is writing a signed request, and may be encoded, for example, as [0x02][Signed Data]. ● For the transmission of an unlock success or failure notification from the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 to the user device 18 (step S2-43), the profile may be configured to describe a message (e.g., Device Notify Unlock Success) indicating that the non-flammable aerosol supply system is writing an unlock success status, and may be encoded, for example, as [0x03][0x00 True||0x01 False]. In a specific example where the challenge and the signed unlock message are base64-encoded, this becomes the format used for the above-mentioned [Challenge] and [Signed Data] payloads.

[0107]

[0107] As described above, the first method of unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system using the public key cryptosystem has been explained. Hereinafter, the second method of unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system using the symmetric key cryptosystem will be described.

[0108]

[0108] Therefore, referring to FIGS. 3, 4A, and 4B, a second set of examples of unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system by implementing the symmetric key cryptosystem is shown. A schematic infrastructure for these examples is shown in FIG. 3.

[0109]

[0109] Since the infrastructure shown in FIG. 3 is similar to that described above with reference to FIG. 1, the same reference numerals are used for the same elements when they are shown. The description of similar features will not be repeated.

[0110]

[0110] As described above, in this example, the use of the symmetric key cryptosystem protects the communication between the unlock service 26 and the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10. To facilitate this, the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 of this example stores the device key 40, and the key store 30 stores the verification passkey 42. Therefore, the device key 40 and the passkey 42 represent a shared secret that can be applied on both sides of the communication path to protect the transmission of messages between the two.

[0111]

[0111] Therefore, according to the technology described in this specification, a symmetric encryption method (also known as a secret key encryption method) is used so that only the unlocking service can unlock the aerosol supply system. In the symmetric encryption method, a shared secret in the form of an encryption key that is known to both parties but secret to others is used to protect the transmission of information. Therefore, the unlocking service uses the secret key to perform an encryption operation on some data, encrypting the data so that it cannot be easily reverse-converted without knowing the secret key. And in the non-flammable aerosol supply system storing a copy of the secret key, the encryption operation can be reverse-converted. Also, as will be apparent below, it is not necessary to perform an encryption operation using the shared secret, and after transmitting to the non-flammable aerosol supply system, each can be used as an input to the calculation in the unlocking service that generates a verifiable message by repeating the calculation in the non-flammable aerosol supply system.

[0112]

[0112] In this method, the unlocking service stores a copy of the secret key called the pass key, and the aerosol supply system stores a copy of the secret key called the device key. Therefore, the non-flammable aerosol supply system may be provided with a secure storage configured to securely store the device key so that even the owner of the aerosol supply system has difficulty accessing the device key. The secure storage may include anti-tampering hardware, for example, it may include a trusted platform module (TPM).

[0113]

[0113] Therefore, the unlocking service 26 in this example stores the relationship between the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 and the pass key 42. Also, the unlocking service 26 may store the received age verification result in association with the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 and the pass key 42. As an addition or alternative to this, the unlocking service 26 may store an identifier corresponding to the user and / or the user device (or an instance of the application on the user device) in association with the pass key 42.

[0114]

[0114] The above has described an overview of the infrastructure in which the non-flammable aerosol supply system in the locked state is securely unlocked according to the results of the age verification test of the user of the request and the non-flammable aerosol supply system.

[0115]

[0115] Here, a method of unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system using the asymmetric key cryptosystem executed by the infrastructure shown with reference to FIG. 3 will be discussed with respect to FIGS. 4A and 4B. In this example, all the steps shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B are adopted. However, the dashed boxes in FIGS. 4A and 4B indicate some steps that can be omitted from the method in other examples.

[0116]

[0116] Similar to the method described above with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the process may be triggered by one of many methods. Therefore, refer to the examples listed above.

[0117]

[0117] Regardless of the method of triggering the age verification process, as shown in step S4-1, when the age verification process is successfully completed, the age verification service 22 sends an instruction indicating that the age verification process has been successfully completed in substantially the same manner as described above with respect to step S2-1.

[0118]

[0118] Therefore, in step S4-3, the remote user device 18 receives an instruction indicating that the process has been successfully completed from the age verification service in substantially the same manner as described above with respect to step S2-3.

[0119] In response to an instruction indicating that age verification has been completed, the user device will then generate or obtain an unlock request to send to the unlocking service. In this example, the unlock request is directly generated by the user device by using the serial number or other specific identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10. Generally, in the present teachings, any description regarding the serial number of the non-flammable aerosol supply system includes a part of the actual serial number of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, a combination of the product number and the serial number, or any other specific or unique identifier. Such an identification number may sometimes be referred to as a device identifier. Thus, the unlock request can be easily generated by the user device without requiring a complex processing circuit or imposing a load on the non-flammable aerosol supply system. Further, since it is highly likely that the device identifier is unique to the aerosol supply system, it is also known that the challenge response message is unlikely to be the same as the challenge response message generated by another aerosol supply device.

[0120] As shown in the figure, the unlock request in this method can optionally be generated by steps S4-5, S4-7, S4-11, and S4-13 in substantially the same manner as steps S2-7, S2-9, S2-11, and S2-13 described above. Therefore, refer again to the above method and the manner in which such a method can complementarily provide protection against replay attacks.

[0121] In some examples, for the purpose of an unlocking method in response to age verification based on symmetric encryption, the serial number of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 or an optionally selected challenge can be considered as an encrypted nonce (i.e., a disposable value).

[0122]

[0122] Regardless of the method for determining the unlock request, the unlock request is then sent by the user device 18 to the unlock service 26 in step S4-15. And the unlock request message is received by the unlock service 26 in step S4-17.

[0123]

[0123] Thereafter, in substantially the same manner as described above with respect to FIG. 2A, the unlock service verifies that the age verification for the user for whom the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 is the subject of the unlock request has been successfully completed. Similar to the above, this may include inquiries to the age verification service (shown in steps S4-19, S4-21, and S4-23), verification of the received verification results from the age verification service, and / or the use of an assertion that the age verification has been completed (received in the unlock request or associated with the unlock request).

[0124]

[0124] Once determined that the age verification has been successfully completed, this method continues to step S4-27 where an unlock password is generated. This unlock password is based on the pass key 42.

[0125]

[0125] In this example, if the unlock request includes the serial number of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10, the unlock password is generated by applying the pass key 42 to the serial number of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10. It is also possible to generate the password by direct signature and / or encryption using the serial number of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10, but in this example, a method is used that aims at both minimizing the size of the transmitted data and minimizing the cryptographic operations performed by the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10.

[0126]

[0126] Therefore, in this example, a password is generated by generating a combination of a pass key and a string based on the serial number of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10. These may be a simple concatenation, or the two data may be arranged alternately in some way. When the combination of strings is generated, a hash digest is generated by hashing the combination of strings. The hash may be calculated using any suitable hash algorithm such as the Secure Hash Algorithm. In this example, the SHA-2 algorithm is used to appropriately balance security and the processing power required for the non-flammable aerosol supply system, but other algorithms can also be used. In a specific explanatory example, a hash digest is generated using the SHA256 variant of SHA-2.

[0127]

[0127] To further minimize the amount of data required for message exchange transmission, in this method, a string selection rule is applied to output an unlock password. In some examples, the digest may be represented again in Base64 to facilitate copying both before and after the application of the string selection rule. In the string selection rule (which is optional and in some examples, the hash digest may be used as the unlock password), a subset of values is selected from the hash digest using a predetermined rule known to both the unlock service 26 and the non-flammable aerosol supply system. In one explanatory example, the unlock passcode includes a value obtained from the positions of the values of the hash digest corresponding to the first 8 digits of the Fibonacci sequence. In other examples, different string selection rules can also be used.

[0128]

[0128] In an example where the unlock request includes the challenge generated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10, the combination of character strings is based on the combination (such as concatenation or alternating arrangement) of the pass key 42 and the challenge response (and further, optionally, the serial number of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10). In other examples where the unlock request includes the challenge generated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10, the unlock password is generated by signing and / or encrypting the challenge using the pass key 42. In an example where the pass key is used to generate the unlock password by directly signing the data, additional techniques for protecting the pass key may be used.

[0129]

[0129] After generating the signed unlock message in step S4-27, the unlock service 26 transmits the unlock password to the user device 18 in step S4-29. Next, in step S4-31, the user device 18 receives the unlock password and transfers this unlock password to the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10.

[0130]

[0130] In response to receiving the unlock password transferred by the user device 18 (step S4-33), the aerosol supply system generates a test password in step S2-35. The test password is generated using the same method as the generation of the unlock password, but the input is the device key 40, which in this example is the serial number of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 that the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 already knows. In other examples where the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 has already generated a challenge, the challenge is used as the input for test key generation.

[0131]

[0131] Therefore, when the test password is generated by the same input as the unlock password, it is understood that the two are identical. Therefore, as long as the device key 40 and the pass key 42 are the same, and as long as they are the same as other inputs (that is, in this example, the serial number of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10, and optionally in other examples, including a challenge or being a challenge), it is shown that the passwords match and unlocking should be permitted.

[0132]

[0132] Therefore, in step S4-37, by comparing the unlock password and the test password, it is determined whether the two match. If they match in the comparison, it is shown that the unlock password is valid, and it is strongly indicated that the unlock password was generated by the unlock service 26 in response to an unlock request from the user device 18. For this reason, an unlock password generated effectively for a certain aerosol supply system cannot be reused for unlocking different aerosol supply systems.

[0133]

[0133] Therefore, when the verification by the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 is successful, (since the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 can identify that the unlock password was generated using the pass key 42) it is strongly indicated that the unlock password was generated by the unlock service 26 and that the unlock password has not been tampered with "in-flight" between the unlock service 26 and the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10, since the content has been changed and the password does not match the test password. As an addition to this, when the unlock password and the test password are based on a challenge, it is further guaranteed end-to-end that the challenge message has not been tampered with "in-flight" between the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 and the unlock service 26.

[0134]

[0134] In particular, in this method, if the age verification process that enables the generation of an unlock password in the unlock service 26 does not succeed and complete, it becomes very difficult for the user to unlock the aerosol supply system. Therefore, this method effectively reduces the chance that a person who wants to avoid the age verification process can succeed in accessing the aerosol supply system.

[0135]

[0135] In response to the successful authentication of the signed unlock message (the "Yes" output in step S4-37), in step S4-41, the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 is unlocked. The unlocking of the system may include permission for the user to generate aerosol using the system. For example, the processing circuit of the non-flammable aerosol supply system may prevent the operation of the aerosol generator of the system while the aerosol supply system is in the locked state.

[0136]

[0136] Conversely, in response to the failure of the authentication of the signed unlock message (the "No" output in step S4-37), the non-flammable aerosol supply system may prevent the unlocking of the aerosol supply system (step S4-39). For example, when the aerosol supply system detects that the signed unlock message has been tampered with in the unlock service 26 or has not been generated by the unlock service 26, the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 may be kept in the locked state to prevent access by a user who has not succeeded in age verification.

[0137]

[0137] In some examples, the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 notifies the user device 18 after unlocking. Similarly, the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 may notify the user device 18 in case of authentication failure (step S4-43). Therefore, the user device 18 may receive a notification indicating whether the authentication was successful and, for example, display a corresponding instruction to the user on the user device.

[0138]

[0138] The technology involved in generating and authenticating the unlock password is usually of lower computational cost than the corresponding technology in the public key cryptosystem. Therefore, by using the symmetric cryptosystem in this way, the secure unlocking of the non-flammable aerosol supply system can be accelerated, and even in a non-flammable aerosol supply system with limited processing power, the operations required for authenticating the unlock password can be executed.

[0139]

[0139] Naturally, there are various possibilities for the forms of cryptographic operations and cryptographic keys that can be used in accordance with the technology described in this specification. For example, the unlock service and the aerosol supply system may use the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) or the ChaCha cipher to generate and authenticate the unlock password.

[0140]

[0140] In some examples, the same secret key is used for multiple (or all) aerosol supply systems managed by the unlock service. This eliminates the need to assign different device keys to different non-flammable aerosol supply systems, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process of the aerosol supply system. However, to ensure that a valid unlock password for one aerosol supply system is not used for another, and to minimize the impact on other aerosol supply systems in case one is illegally accessed, different devices may be provided for each non-flammable aerosol supply system, or the unlock service may be able to access multiple pass keys for the aerosol supply system. In this example, since the key store 32 stores the pass keys of many aerosol supply systems, the pass key 64 of the specific aerosol supply system to be unlocked is selected based on the device identifier for the aerosol supply system 10 received from the user device 18 in the unlock request.

[0141]

[0141] In an example of using a challenge from a non-flammable aerosol supply device in an unlock request, replay attacks where an unlock message with a valid unlock password signature is used at a time later than intended in an aerosol supply system not intended for it, or replay attacks where the message is used outside the range in which it was generated by the unlock service, can be additionally protected against. By associating the unlock message with a valid unlock password signature with a challenge response message, an aerosol supply device in such an example can detect when a valid unlock message with an unlock password signature is used outside the intended range, and as a result, may be able to prevent the unlocking of the aerosol supply system.

[0142]

[0142] Thus, a non-flammable aerosol supply system when using a challenge-based approach can verify not only that the unlock password from the unlock service has been tampered with when transmitted to the aerosol supply system, but also that the unlock password corresponds to the challenge response message generated by the system. For this reason, even if a user attempts to unlock an aerosol supply system using a valid unlock password effectively generated by the unlock service for different aerosol supply systems that issued different challenge response messages, the aerosol supply system will not succeed in authenticating the unlock password, thus preventing the unlocking of the non-flammable aerosol supply system.

[0143]

[0143] When a challenge technique is used for an unlock request, generally, to increase the likelihood that a non-flammable aerosol supply device that generates a message, the time during which the aerosol supply device generates a message, or a challenge response message for both is unique, a more complex challenge response message may be used. As a result, the possibility that another given unlock password is associated with the verification challenge response message is reduced, so that in the case of reuse, the aerosol supply device will erroneously authenticate the signed unlock message.

[0144]

[0144] On the other hand, by providing a challenge response message that can be easily generated by a non-flammable aerosol supply system, the aerosol supply system can generate a challenge response message at a higher speed without requiring a more complex processing circuit such as dedicated hardware for generating random numbers or maintaining clock synchronization.

[0145]

[0145] As described above, a method for maintaining a non-flammable aerosol supply system in a locked state that is released (and an unlocked state is adopted) only according to the results of a request and an age verification test of a user of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been described. This method is protected by the use of a symmetric key cryptography (or other shared secret) method, and only the device associated with a user who has successfully completed age verification can transition from the locked state to the unlocked state.

[0146]

[0146] Regarding the message exchange between the user device 18 and the non-flammable aerosol supply system, as described above, the local communication channel 16 can be used for transmission of a suitable personal area network connection. In the local communication channel 16, the communication efficiency can be further improved by generating an improved profile corresponding to the use of an age verification technique. For this reason, when the profile itself carries relevant information, the message header / wrapper can be minimized, so that message exchange can be realized with low overhead via the local communication channel.

[0147]

[0147] In the example where the BLE protocol is used for this local communication channel, it is also possible to achieve the communication efficiency as described above by using the following profile definitions. ● For the transmission of the unlock password from the user device 18 to the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 (step S4-31), the profile may be configured to describe a message coding (e.g., App Write Passkey) indicating that the app (user device) is writing the password. For example, it may be encoded as [0x00][Passkey]. ● For the transmission of the unlock success or failure notification from the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 to the user device 18 (step S4-43), the profile may be configured to describe a message (e.g., Device Notify Unlock Success) indicating that the non-flammable aerosol supply system is writing the unlock success status. For example, it may be encoded as [0x03][0x00 True||0x01 False]. In the example where challenges are used, profile message exchanges corresponding to those shown for the above asymmetric encryption method may be used. In a specific example where the challenge and the unlock message with signature are base64-encoded, this becomes the format used for the above-mentioned [Passkey] payload.

[0148]

[0148] Regardless of whether an asymmetric encryption method or a symmetric encryption method is used, as described above, for unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system, the encryption key stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system is utilized. Whether the same key is given to all non-flammable aerosol supply systems (e.g., when each non-flammable aerosol supply system has a unique key), this key may be provided during the manufacturing process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system or in the configuration step after manufacturing but before sale. Against the background of an example where different keys are set for each non-flammable aerosol supply system, the following example is discussed.

[0149]

[0149] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a first example of a key setting method in which a computer device 50 communicating with a key providing service 54 via a connection 56 can set an encryption key in a non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 via a connection 52. In this example, an encryption key is given to the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 by the computer device 50, and the computer device 50 communicates with the key providing service 54 via the connection 56. In some examples, this includes writing the encryption key to the anti-tampering storage of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, such as anti-tampering storage in a trusted platform module (TPM).

[0150]

[0150] Also, as further shown in FIG. 5, the key providing service 54 also communicates with a key storage service 58 via a connection 60. Naturally, in this example and the examples of FIGS. 6 to 8, the encryption key set in the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 may be the public key of an asymmetric key pair or the secret key used in a symmetric encryption method.

[0151]

[0151] Since the connection ability of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 may be limited, the connection 52 in this example is a wireless channel provided using a connection technology such as a personal area network protocol. Exemplary personal area network protocols include Bluetooth (trademark), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) (trademark), ZigBee (trademark), Wireless USB, and Near Field Communication (NFC). Also, exemplary personal area network protocols include optical communication such as the Infrared Data Association (IrDA) and protocols that utilize data over sound. In the remainder of this discussion, an example of BLE will be used and BLE terminology will be used, but of course, it can be substituted with the corresponding functions of other personal area network technologies or equivalent functions. If the non-flammable aerosol supply system has suitable functions, other wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi (trademark) technology may be used. In other examples, the connection 52 may be a wired communication channel provided between the physical ports of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 and the user device 18. In such a wired communication channel, physical connection technologies such as USB (trademark), serial port, FireWire (trademark), or other point-to-point wired connections may be utilized.

[0152]

[0152] In this example, the connections 56 and 60 that interconnect the computer device 50, the key providing service 54, and the key storage service 60 are all network connections. For this reason, each of these connections may include one or more of a local area network, a wide area network, and an Internet connection, and these may be provided via a wireless and / or wired network infrastructure. The network connections may be protected by technologies such as SSL, tunneling, encryption, and signed message exchange so that keys and other related data are securely exchanged without the opportunity for malicious interference by malicious actors. In other examples, one or both of these connections may be direct wired connections such as serial (e.g., USB (trademark), FireWire (trademark), serial port) or parallel connections. In fact, in some examples, any two or more of the computer device 50, the key providing service 54, and the key storage service 60 may be separate functions of a single computer system.

[0153]

[0153] The connections 52, 56, and 60 may be non - persistent or transient in the sense that they are established for the period required to perform a particular function and can be disconnected when no longer needed.

[0154]

[0154] By enabling the computer device 50 to communicate with the key providing service 54 when a key is written to the non - flammable aerosol supply system 10, the computer device 50 can receive the encryption key to be used as needed. This reduces the need for the computer device 50 to generate its own encryption keys or store a set of pre - generated keys. Also, by providing the relationship between the key written to any given non - flammable aerosol supply system 10 and the identifier of the non - flammable aerosol supply system (such as a device identifier) to the key storage service 58 in real - time (or substantially real - time), the need to locally store the relationship information on the computer device 50 is also reduced.

[0155]

[0155] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a second exemplary technique by which a computer device can set an encryption key in a non-flammable aerosol supply system. This technique is very similar to that shown in FIG. 5, except that the computer device 50 operates "offline" with respect to the key providing service and the key storage service (as shown by the outer shape 66). Thus, in this example, the computer device 50 operates without a data connection to the key providing service 54. Thereby, the security of the encryption key can be guaranteed. This is because the secrecy of these keys forms the basis for the integrity of the communication with the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10. Thus, the computer device 50 sets the encryption key in the non-flammable aerosol supply system using a key already available to the computer device. In some examples, this includes writing the encryption key to anti-tamper storage of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, such as anti-tamper storage in a trusted platform module (TPM).

[0156]

[0156] In this example, the computer device 60 can access, via the connection 54, a storage 64 storing a pre-generated key that was previously generated by the key providing service 54, and the relationship between the assigned cryptographic key and the device identifier of the non-combustible aerosol supply system to which the cryptographic key is assigned may be stored. The storage 60 may be physically removed and be securely movable between the computer devices 50 in order to transfer the unassigned key to the computer device 50 and transfer the relationship between the assigned key and the device identifier between the computer devices 50 to the key storage service 58. Accordingly, the connection 64 in this example is a secure direct connection between the computer device 50 and the storage 62. This secure direct connection may include any one of directly connecting the storage to the data bus of the computer device 50 (e.g., via an eSATA (trademark) port), directly connecting the storage to the data port of the computer device 50 (e.g., via a USB (trademark) or FireWire (trademark) port), or connecting the storage to the local area network of the computer device (in the form of a NAS or SAN volume, etc.) and securing the connection via the local area network. Other connection methods (such as wireless data connections) can also be adopted because they are appropriately considered secure in any particular implementation.

[0157]

[0157] In other examples, the connection between the computer device 50 and the key provision service 54 may be intermittently activated to allow for more key settings to the storage 62 and / or batch or burst recording of key / device ID relationships from the storage 62. This approach may be used, for example, to enhance security by avoiding long-term open states of the connection 56, and / or to facilitate the provision of keys to the computer device and the receipt of related information thereto while the computer device 50 is physically removed from the configuration or location of the nonflammable aerosol supply device and moved to a location considered to be more secure for data connection. Thus, the computer system may be "reset to the baseline" with respect to the key provision service for the purpose of moving keys / relationships before and after use for key setting to the nonflammable aerosol supply device.

[0158]

[0158] Thus, in the approaches shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 respectively, when the computer device 50 sets an encryption key for the nonflammable aerosol supply system, it receives the device identifier of the nonflammable aerosol supply system to which the key is given. The device identifier (e.g., serial number or other suitable identifier) may be received from the nonflammable aerosol supply system itself, or may be received from another device involved in the manufacturing process (e.g., a second computer device that assigns and stores the device identifier).

[0159]

[0159] A computer device that sets an encryption key for an aerosol supply system obtains a specific encryption key to be set for a non-flammable aerosol supply system based on one or more encryption keys provided by a key supply service. The key supply service itself generates a unique key and provides it to the computer device, offering a secure means for setting it in the aerosol supply system. The encryption keys provided by the key supply service may be generated, for example, according to standard techniques for generating unique keys. The encryption key received from the key supply service may be a device key in the form of a secret key for use in a symmetric encryption method, or a public key of a public-private key pair for use in a public key encryption method. As shown in the discussions regarding FIGS. 5 and 6 above, the provision of the key to the computer device may be performed via a live connection to the key supply service, or may be performed by an offline setting that enables the storage (caching) of the key in the computer system.

[0160]

[0160] So that the encryption key of the aerosol supply system can be determined later from the device identifier (for example, for use in unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system), the computer device stores the device identifier and the specific encryption key in association with each other. By referring to the relationship between the device identifier and the specific encryption key stored in this way, the specific encryption key to be used can be determined later based on the device identifier. As shown in the discussions regarding FIGS. 5 and 6 above, the provision of the relationship to the key storage service may be performed via a live connection between the key supply service and the computer device, or may be performed by an offline setting that enables the storage (caching) of the relationship in the computer system.

[0161]

[0161] As described above, an exemplary infrastructure for both offline and online settings of the encryption key for a non-flammable aerosol supply device has been explained. By this, the non-flammable aerosol supply device can make the age verification process for unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply device more reliable by using the encryption key later.

[0162]

[0162] Next, with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, an exemplary method for setting a key according to the above two exemplary architectures will be described.

[0163]

[0163] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a method for setting an encryption key in a non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 using a computer device 50 in communication with a key providing service 54.

[0164]

[0164] In step S7-1, the computer device 50 receives a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10. In this example, the device identifier is received from the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 itself, but in other examples, it may be received from another computer device included in the process of creating the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10.

[0165]

[0165] In response to receiving the device identifier, the computer device 50 transmits a request for a new encryption key to the key providing service 54 in step S7-3. This request indicates the device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 for which the key is to be set.

[0166]

[0166] The key providing service 54 receives this request in step S7-5. In response to the request, the key providing service 54 provides the computer device 50 with an encryption key to be assigned to the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 (step S7-7). The encryption key may be generated by the key providing service 54 by any suitable means, or the key providing service 54 itself may receive the encryption key from a separate key generation service, or may read a pre-generated key from a key storage service.

[0167]

[0167] In step S7-9, in response to receiving the encryption key from the key providing service 54, the computer device 50 writes the encryption key to the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 in step S7-11. The encryption key may be written to the anti-tampering storage of the non-flammable aerosol supply system so that it becomes unmodifiable once written, for example. In this way, an encryption key is permanently assigned to the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10.

[0168]

[0168] Also, in step S7-13, the key providing service 54 stores the device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system in the key storage service 58 in association with the encryption key. In this way, by transmitting a request by the computer device 50, the device identifier is stored in association with the encryption key.

[0169]

[0169] As described above, although an exemplary method for online setting of the encryption key for the non-flammable aerosol supply device has been described, by this, the non-flammable aerosol supply device can make the age verification process for unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply device more reliable by using the encryption key later.

[0170]

[0170] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a method for setting an encryption key in the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 using an offline computer device 50 that operates without a data connection to the key providing service 54.

[0171]

[0171] As shown in step S8-1, a plurality of encryption keys from the key providing service 54 may initially be set in the secure storage 62 accessible to the computer device 50. However, after the transfer of this key, the offline computer device 50 and the key providing service 54 are not connected when setting the key to the non-flammable aerosol supply device.

[0172]

[0172] Thus, to set the encryption key for the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10, the computer device 50 first receives the device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 110 in step S8-3. At this time, the computer device selects an encryption key from the unallocated encryption keys stored in the storage 62 (step S8-5). Then, by any suitable method, in step S8-7, this key can be written to the non-flammable aerosol supply system, and the key may be written so that it cannot be modified once it is written to the device.

[0173]

[0173] Thereafter, in step S8-9, the computer device 50 stores the encryption key written to the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 in association with the device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10. In this way, in this example, the computer device 50 stores the relationship between the encryption key and the device identifier in the secure storage 62, thereby storing the relationship.

[0174]

[0174] Steps S8-3 to S8-9 may be repeated multiple times using the plurality of encryption keys supplied in step S8-1 without requiring communication between the computer device 50 and the key supply service 54. When all the encryption keys supplied to the computer device 50 have been assigned, or when it is desirable to transfer the stored keys and device identifiers to the key storage service 54, data transfer may be performed as described above. In this example, the storage 62 is removed from the computer device 50 and physically transferred to the key storage service 54. In other examples, it is also conceivable to physically remove the computer device and transfer it to the key / relationship transfer location, and / or to temporarily establish a data connection between the computer device and the key supply service.

[0175]

[0175] Thus, by securely providing the encryption key to the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10, it is possible to reduce the risk of the key being illegally accessed during the key writing process.

[0176]

[0176] As described above, although any exemplary method for offline setting of the encryption key for the non-flammable aerosol supply device has been described, thereby, the non-flammable aerosol supply device can make the age verification process for unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply device more reliable by using the encryption key later.

[0177]

[0177] The key stored in the key storage service 58 by any of the methods discussed with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 can then be made available in the above-described unlocking service 26 for various techniques for performing unlocking using the age verification and encryption certainty described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 above. In some examples, the key storage service 58 may be the same as the key store 30, and in other examples, the key storage service 58 may be configured to generate keys and relationships available for holding in the key store 30.

[0178]

[0178] In some examples, and as a replacement or complement of an already written key, a new encryption key may be written to the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10. To achieve this, the same description as that regarding FIG. 7 or FIG. 8 may be used, which may be after use instead of during manufacturing / before sale. Such a technique may be performed to re-establish the encryption certainty employed in the age verification technique when one or more specific keys (such as a symmetric key or the private key of an asymmetric key pair) have been illegally accessed. Alternatively, there may be a requirement to move the non-flammable aerosol supply device from a symmetric encryption technique to an asymmetric encryption technique (or vice versa). In such an example, the age verification method may be made reliable by reflecting the revision technique through an update of the software or firmware of the non-flammable aerosol supply system.

[0179]

[0179] Even in the example where the same key is set for multiple non-flammable aerosol supply systems, although the above teaching method is still applicable, the number of devices to which each key is set increases, and accordingly the key relationship is updated. If the same key is provided to all non-flammable aerosol supply systems, the storage of key relationship data is optional.

[0180]

[0180] Naturally, this method involves data transmission and reception with the non-flammable aerosol supply system, and processing of stored data and / or received data by the non-flammable aerosol supply system. Also, in part of this method, it is necessary for the user device to be able to communicate with the non-flammable aerosol supply system and other services or systems. Therefore, exemplary non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 and exemplary user device 16 are shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 respectively to illustrate suitable devices for providing such functions.

[0181] [

[0181] ]Figure 9 schematically shows an example of a nonflammable aerosol supply system 10. As shown in the figure, the aerosol supply device 10 is a device including elements related to aerosol generation, such as an aerosol medium container or cartridge 70 (in the case of an END device, the aerosol medium container or cartridge 70 will contain nicotine or a nicotine-containing formulation), an aerosol generation chamber 71, and an outlet 72 through which the generated aerosol can be discharged. A battery 73 may be provided to supply power to a heat generation element (such as a heating coil 74, etc.) in the aerosol generation chamber 71. Also, the battery 73 can supply power to a processor / controller 75 that can be useful for purposes of device use such as starting the device for aerosol generation in response to an activation trigger and for purposes of communication and function control. The processor / controller 75 may be able to access a memory 76 in which an encryption key may be stored. Therefore, the memory 76 may be a secure storage such as a trusted platform module, etc., or may include a secure storage. The memory 76 may be inside the processor / controller or may be provided as a separate additional physical element. A transmission / reception element 77 is provided in the processor / controller for performing transmission and reception of data and / or messages. In this example, this is a BLE interface element including a wireless antenna for wireless communication. As described above, in other examples, this may be an interface element for alternative personal area network technologies and / or a wired connection interface.

[0182]

[0182] In one example, the processor / controller 75 may be an STM32 microcontroller provided by ST Microelectronics and based on the ARM (trademark) Cortex (trademark)-M processor. In other examples, alternative microcontrollers or processors may be used, and may be based on the ARM (trademark) architecture, and the Atom (trademark) architecture or other low-power processor technologies. In one example, as an alternative or addition to this, the transceiver element 77 may include an nRF BLE chip that cooperates with the processor / controller to provide a BLE connection to the non-flammable aerosol supply system. In other examples, other communication interface chips or modules may be deployed to provide connection services.

[0183]

[0183] As shown in the figure, the processor 75 may be connected, for example, to the aerosol medium container or cartridge 70, the aerosol generation chamber 71, and the battery 73. This connection may be to an interface connection or an output of one of the components and / or to a sensor disposed in or within one of the components. These connections may enable the processor to access the characteristics of each component. For example, a battery connection may be used to control whether the non-flammable aerosol supply system can be activated for aerosol generation according to the lock / unlock state recorded in the processor 75 or the memory 77.

[0184]

[0184] Further, the processor / controller 75 can also generate random numbers by using a random number generator of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, a random number generator of the processor / controller, and / or a software / firmware routine for random number generation. Further, the processor / controller 75 can also generate a challenge (such as corresponding to step S2-11 or S4-11) in response to the reception of a challenge request via the transmission / reception element 77. Such a challenge may include a random number and / or a data sequence stored in the memory 77, or may be provided in response to the reception of a challenge request.

[0185]

[0185] Further, the processor / controller 75 can also execute encryption or other calculations corresponding to the confirmation of age verification (such as authentication of a signed unlock message corresponding to step S2-35 or generation of a test password corresponding to step S4-35). Further, the processor / controller 75 can also control the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 to be in one of a locked state (where the start of aerosol generation is not permitted) and an unlocked state (where the start of aerosol generation is permitted). Such control between the locked state and the unlocked state may depend on the result of the age verification process as described above with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4.

[0186]

[0186] The processor / controller 75 and / or the memory 77 can also accept the writing of an encryption key provided by the key setting method as described above with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

[0187]

[0187] The various functions of the processor / controller 75 described above may be provided by software stored in the memory 77 and / or firmware instructions written to the processor / controller 75.

[0188]

[0188] Therefore, the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10 of this example can operate according to any and all infrastructure and / or methods described above with reference to any one of FIGS. 1 to 8.

[0189]

[0189] FIG. 10 schematically shows an example of the user device 18. As described above, the user device may be a device such as a mobile phone or a tablet. Also, the user device may be a device such as a portable computer, a laptop computer, or a netbook. As shown in the figure, the user device 18 includes a transmission / reception element 80 for communicating with the non-flammable aerosol supply system 10. For this reason, the transmission / reception element 80 is configured to use the same connections and protocols, etc. as the non-flammable aerosol supply system that will interact in any given embodiment.

[0190]

[0190] The transmission / reception element 80 is connected to a processor or controller 81 that can receive and process data or messages from the non-flammable aerosol supply system. The processor or controller 81 is accessible to a memory 82 that can be used for storing program information and / or data. The user device 18 may include another data transmission interface 83. This interface may provide one or more interface functions for a wired connection such as a wired local area network and / or a wireless connection such as a wireless local area network and / or a cellular data service. This interface may be used, for example, for transmitting and receiving messages to / from the unlock service 22 and / or the unlock service 26. Also, the user device 18 may include user interface elements such as an output device 84 (which may include one or more of a display, an audio output, and a tactile output) and / or an input device 85 (which may include one or more of a button, a key, a touch-sensitive display element, or a mouse / trackpad).

[0191]

[0191] The user device 18 may be pre-programmed or configured to provide the functions discussed with reference to the infrastructure shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 and / or the methods shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. As an addition or alternative to this, the user device may store software such as an app (e.g., in the memory 82) that causes the processor or controller 81 to perform these functions when executed. For this reason, the user device may be a multi-purpose device having the above-described functions when the app is executed.

[0192]

[0192] Also, as described above, the technology described in this specification may be embodied or encoded in a computer-readable medium, such as a computer-readable storage medium, that includes instructions. The instructions embedded or encoded in the computer-readable medium may, for example when executed, cause a programmable processor or other processor to execute the above method. The computer-readable medium may include a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as well as a transient communication medium such as a carrier signal and a transmission medium. The computer-readable storage medium may include a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a flash memory, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a cassette, a magnetic medium, an optical medium, or other computer-readable storage medium. The term "computer-readable storage medium" represents a physical storage medium. The transient communication medium may exist between components of a single computer system (e.g., on an internal link or bus between a memory and a processor) or between separate computer systems (e.g., via a network or other computer device connection), and may include a transmission signal, a carrier wave, etc.

[0193] In this application, the phrase "configured to..." is used to mean that an element of a device has a configuration capable of performing a specified operation. In this context, "configuration" means the configuration or manner of interconnection of hardware or software. For example, the device may have dedicated hardware that provides a specified operation, or a processor or other processing device may be programmed to perform this function. "Configured to" does not imply that the device element needs to be arbitrarily modified to provide a specified operation.

[0194] The various embodiments described herein are presented only as an aid to understanding and teaching the features of the claims. These embodiments are given as representative samples of the embodiments and are not exhaustive and / or exclusive. The advantages, embodiments, examples, functions, features, structures, and / or other aspects described herein should not be considered as limitations on the scope of the invention defined by the claims, nor as limitations on equivalents of the claims. It is understood that other embodiments can be utilized and modified without departing from the scope of the invention claimed. The various embodiments of the present invention may suitably include, consist of, or consist essentially of a suitable combination of elements, components, features, parts, steps, means, etc. of the disclosure other than those specifically described herein. Also, the present disclosure may include other inventions that may be claimed in the future, although not currently claimed. [Clause] [Clause 1] A method for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system, comprising: receiving an indication from an age verification service that the age verification process has been successfully completed; sending an unlock request for the non-flammable aerosol supply system to an unlock service; Receiving, from the unlocking service, a signed unlock message cryptographically signed using a private key associated with a corresponding public key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system; Transferring the signed unlock message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system and authenticating the signed unlock message using the public key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system; A method comprising. [Clause 2] In response to receiving the instruction from the age verification service, sending a challenge request message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; Receiving, from the non-flammable aerosol supply system, a challenge response message; Further comprising, The step of sending the unlock request to the unlocking service includes sending an unlock request including the challenge response message, The method according to clause 1, wherein the signed unlock message received from the unlocking service provides a cryptographic relationship between the private key that can be authenticated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system using the public key and the challenge response message. [Clause 3] The method according to clause 2, wherein the challenge response message is based on a random number selected by the non-flammable aerosol supply system. [Clause 4] The unlock request sent to the unlocking service includes a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 3, wherein the signed unlock message received from the unlocking service is signed using the private key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system selected based on the device identifier from a plurality of private keys accessible to the remote server. [Clause 5] The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 4, wherein the signed unlock request received from the unlock service indicates that the unlock service has received an instruction that the age verification process has been successfully completed. [Clause 6] The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 5, wherein the step of unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system includes permitting the use of the non-flammable aerosol supply system for generating an aerosol to be delivered to a user. [Clause 7] The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 6, wherein a user device that executes the method communicates with the unlock service via a program interface. [Clause 8] The method according to any one of clauses 1 to 7, wherein the unlock service is set in a remote server. [Clause 9] A device for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system, receiving an instruction from an age verification service that the age verification process has been successfully completed; sending an unlock request for the non-flammable aerosol supply system to an unlock service; receiving from the unlock service a signed unlock message encrypted with a private key associated with a corresponding public key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system; transferring the signed unlock message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system and authenticating the signed unlock message using the public key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system; and comprising a processing circuit configured to perform the above. [Clause 10] The processing circuit sends a challenge request message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system in response to receiving the instruction from the age verification service; Receiving a challenge response message from the non-flammable aerosol supply system; and further configured to perform; for transmitting the unlock request to the unlock service, the processing circuit is configured to transmit an unlock request including the challenge response message; the signed unlock message received from the unlock service provides a cryptographic relationship between the private key that can be authenticated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system using the public key and the challenge response message, the device according to clause 9; [Clause 11] the challenge response message is based on a random number selected by the non-flammable aerosol supply system, the device according to clause 10. [Clause 12] the unlock request transmitted to the unlock service includes a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system; the signed unlock message received from the unlock service is signed using the private key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system selected based on the device identifier from a plurality of private keys accessible to the remote server, the device according to any one of clauses 9 to 11; [Clause 13] the signed unlock request received from the unlock service indicates that the unlock service has received an instruction that the age verification process has been successfully completed, the device according to any one of clauses 9 to 12; [Clause 14] unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system includes permitting the use of the non-flammable aerosol supply system for the generation of aerosol to be delivered to the user, the device according to any one of clauses 9 to 13; [Clause 15] configured to communicate with the unlock service via a program interface, the device according to any one of clauses 9 to 14. [Article 16] The unlocking service is a device described in any one of Articles 9 to 15, which is set in a remote server. [Article 17] When executed by a computer device, receive an instruction from the age verification service indicating that the age verification process has been successfully completed; send an unlock request for the non-flammable aerosol supply system to the unlocking service; receive a signed unlock message from the unlocking service, which is cryptographically signed using a secret key associated with the corresponding public key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system; transfer the signed unlock message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system and authenticate the signed unlock message using the public key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system; A computer-readable medium containing instructions to cause the computer device to perform the above. [Article 18] When the instructions are executed by the computer device, in response to receiving the instruction from the age verification service, send a challenge request message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; receive a challenge response message from the non-flammable aerosol supply system; further cause the computer device to send an unlock request containing the challenge response message to the unlocking service in order to send the unlock request to the unlocking service; The computer-readable medium according to Article 17, wherein the signed unlock message received from the unlocking service provides a cryptographic relationship between the secret key that can be authenticated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system using the public key and the challenge response message. [Article 19] The computer-readable medium according to clause 18, wherein the challenge response message is based on a random number selected by the non-flammable aerosol supply system. [Clause 20] The unlock request sent to the unlock service includes the device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system. The signed unlock message received from the unlock service is signed using the secret key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system selected based on the device identifier from a plurality of secret keys accessible to the remote server, the computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 17 to 19. [Clause 21] The signed unlock request received from the unlock service indicates that the unlock service has received an instruction that the age verification process has been successfully completed, the computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 17 to 20. [Clause 22] Unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system includes permitting the use of the non-flammable aerosol supply system for the generation of aerosol to be delivered to the user, the computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 17 to 21. [Clause 23] The computer device communicates with the unlock service via a program interface, the computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 17 to 22. [Clause 24] The unlock service is set on a remote server, the computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 17 to 23. [Clause 25] A method for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system, comprising: Receiving, at the non-flammable aerosol supply system, a signed unlock message cryptographically signed using a secret key from a user device; Determining whether the private key used for signing the signed unlock message corresponds to the public key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system by authenticating the signed unlock message using the public key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system; Responding to successful authentication of the signed unlock message by unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system; A method comprising. [Article 26] Receiving a challenge request message from the user device; Generating a challenge response message; Sending the challenge response message to the user device; Further comprising The signed unlock message provides a cryptographic relationship between a given challenge response message and the private key, The method according to clause 25, wherein the step of authenticating the signed unlock message further comprises determining whether the challenge response message generated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system matches the given challenge response message. [Article 27] The method according to clause 26, wherein the step of generating the challenge response message includes selecting a random number and generating the challenge response message according to the selected random number. [Article 28] A non-flammable aerosol supply system, Receiving a signed unlock message cryptographically signed using a private key from a user device; Determining whether the private key used for signing the signed unlock message corresponds to the public key by authenticating the signed unlock message using the public key stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system; In response to successful authentication of the signed unlock message, unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system; A non-flammable aerosol supply system comprising a processing circuit configured to perform the above. [Article 29] The processing circuit further configured to: Receive a challenge request message from the user device; Generate a challenge response message; Transmit the challenge response message to the user device; The non-flammable aerosol supply system according to Article 28, further configured such that, for authenticating the signed unlock message, the processing circuit determines whether the challenge response message generated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system matches the given challenge response message. The signed unlock message provides a cryptographic relationship between a given challenge response message and the private key; The non-flammable aerosol supply system according to Article 28, further configured such that, for authenticating the signed unlock message, the processing circuit determines whether the challenge response message generated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system matches the given challenge response message. [Article 30] The non-flammable aerosol supply system according to Article 29, wherein the processing circuit is configured to select a random number and generate the challenge response message according to the selected random number for generating the challenge response message. [Article 31] When executed by a processing circuit of a non-flammable aerosol supply system: Receive a signed unlock message cryptographically signed using a private key from a user device; Determine whether the private key used for signing the signed unlock message corresponds to the public key by authenticating the signed unlock message using the public key stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system; In response to successful authentication of the signed unlock message, unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system; A computer-readable medium including an instruction to cause the non-flammable aerosol supply system to perform the operation. [Clause 32] When the instruction is executed by the processing circuit, Receiving a challenge request message from the user device; Generating a challenge response message; Sending the challenge response message to the user device; Causing the non-flammable aerosol supply system to further perform the operation of The signed unlock message provides a cryptographic relationship between a given challenge response message and the private key, To authenticate the signed unlock message, the non-flammable aerosol supply system further determines whether the challenge response message generated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system matches the given challenge response message. The computer-readable medium according to Clause 31. [Clause 33] The non-flammable aerosol supply system selects a random number and generates the challenge response message according to the selected random number to generate the challenge response message. The computer-readable medium according to Clause 32. [Clause 34] A method for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system, comprising: Receiving, by the user device, an instruction from the age verification service indicating that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed; Sending, by the user device, an unlock request for the non-flammable aerosol supply system to the unlock service; Generating, by the unlock service, a signed unlock message cryptographically signed using a private key associated with the corresponding public key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system; Sending, by the unlock service, the signed unlock message to the remote device; transferring, by the user device, the signed unlock message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; determining, by authenticating the signed unlock message in the non-flammable aerosol supply system using the public key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, whether the private key used for signing the signed unlock message corresponds to the public key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system; unlocking, in response to successful authentication of the signed unlock message, the non-flammable aerosol supply system; A method comprising: [Article 35] transmitting, by the user device in response to receiving the instruction from the age verification service, a challenge request message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; generating, by the non-flammable aerosol supply system, a challenge response message; transmitting, by the non-flammable aerosol supply system, the challenge response message to the user device; further comprising: the step of transmitting the unlock request to the unlock service includes transmitting an unlock request including the challenge response message; the step of generating, by the unlock service, the signed unlock message includes providing a cryptographic relationship between the private key and a given challenge response message; the method according to Article 34, wherein the step of authenticating, by the non-flammable aerosol supply system, the signed unlock message further includes determining whether the challenge response message generated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system matches the given challenge response message. [Article 36] the unlock request transmitted to the unlock service includes a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, The step of generating the signed unlock message by the unlock service includes selecting the secret key from a plurality of secret keys accessible to the unlock service based on the device identifier, and signing the signed unlock message using the selected secret key. The method according to clause 34 or 35. [Clause 37] In response to the unlock request, the unlock service further includes verifying that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed and the step of verifying in the age verification process. The step of generating the signed unlock request by the unlock service responds to the success of the verification that the age verification process has been successfully completed. The method according to any one of clauses 34 to 36. [Clause 38] A non-flammable aerosol supply system, A remote device, An unlock service, A system comprising: The remote device is configured to receive an instruction from an age verification service indicating that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed, and transmit an unlock request for the non-flammable aerosol supply system to the unlock service. The unlock service is configured to generate a signed unlock message encrypted and signed using a secret key associated with the corresponding public key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, and transmit the signed unlock message to the remote device. The remote device is further configured to transfer the signed unlock message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system. The system is configured such that the non-flammable aerosol supply system authenticates the signed unlock message using the public key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, determines whether the private key used for signing the signed unlock message corresponds to the public key, and unlocks the non-flammable aerosol supply system in response to successful authentication of the signed unlock message. [Article 39] The user device is configured to send a challenge request message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system in response to receiving the instruction from the age verification service. The non-flammable aerosol supply system is configured to generate a challenge response message. The non-flammable aerosol supply system is configured to send the challenge response message to the user device. The user device is configured to send an unlock request including the challenge response message to the unlock service in order to send the unlock request to the unlock service. The unlock service is configured to provide a cryptographic relationship between the private key and a given challenge response message in order to generate the signed unlock message. The system according to Article 38, wherein authenticating the signed unlock message by the non-flammable aerosol supply system further includes determining whether the challenge response message generated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system matches the given challenge response message. [Article 40] The unlock request sent to the unlock service includes the device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system. For generating the signed unlock message, the unlock service is configured to select the secret key from a plurality of secret keys accessible to the unlock service based on the device identifier and sign the signed unlock message using the selected secret key, according to the system described in clause 38 or 39. [Clause 41] In response to the unlock request, the unlock service is configured to verify that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed and to verify in the age verification process. The system according to any one of clauses 38 to 40, wherein the unlock service generates the signed unlock request in response to the success of the verification that the age verification process has been successfully completed. [Clause 42] When executed by the processing circuits of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, the user device, and the unlock service. The user device receives an instruction from the age verification service that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed. The user device sends an unlock request for the non-flammable aerosol supply system to the unlock service. The unlock service generates a signed unlock message that is cryptographically signed using the secret key associated with the corresponding public key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system. The unlock service sends the signed unlock message to the user device. The user device transfers the signed unlock message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system. By authenticating the signed unlock message in the non-flammable aerosol supply system using the public key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, it is determined whether the secret key used for signing the signed unlock message corresponds to the public key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system. in response to successfully authenticating the signed unlock message, unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system; A computer-readable medium including instructions for causing the processing circuit to perform. [Clause 43] The instructions cause in response to the user device receiving the instruction from the age verification service, the user device transmitting a challenge request message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; the non-flammable aerosol supply system generating a challenge response message; the non-flammable aerosol supply system transmitting the challenge response message to the user device; to further perform, for transmitting the unlock request to the unlock service, the user device transmitting an unlock request including the challenge response message; for generating the signed unlock message, the unlock service providing a cryptographic relationship between the private key and a given challenge response message; The computer-readable medium according to clause 42, wherein authenticating the signed unlock message by the non-flammable aerosol supply system further includes determining whether the challenge response message generated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system matches the given challenge response message. [Clause 44] the unlock request transmitted to the unlock service includes a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system; The computer-readable medium according to clause 42 or 43, wherein for generating the signed unlock message, the unlock service selects the private key from a plurality of private keys accessible to the unlock service based on the device identifier, and signs the signed unlock message using the selected private key. [Clause 45] The instructions cause the unlocking service, in response to the unlocking request, validating that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed and verifying the age, and the unlocking service generating the signed unlocking request in response to the verification success indicating that the age verification process has been successfully completed; and The system according to any one of clauses 42 to 44, further causing the above to be performed. [Clause 46] A method for setting an encryption key in a non-flammable aerosol supply system, comprising: receiving a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system; obtaining a specific encryption key to be set in the non-flammable aerosol supply system based on one or more encryption keys provided by a key generation service; storing the device identifier in association with the specific encryption key; writing the specific encryption key to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; and A method comprising the above. [Clause 47] The step of obtaining the specific encryption key to be set in the non-flammable aerosol supply system includes: sending a request including the device identifier to the key generation service; receiving the specific encryption key from the key providing service; and including, The method according to clause 46, wherein by sending the request to the key generation service, the key providing service stores the device identifier in association with the specific encryption key. [Clause 48] The step of obtaining the specific encryption key to be set in the non-flammable aerosol supply system includes selecting the specific encryption key from a plurality of encryption keys provided by the key providing service and stored in an offline device. The method according to clause 46, wherein the step of storing the device identifier in association with the specific cryptographic key includes storing the specific cryptographic key in association with the device identifier for later transfer to a key storage service. [Clause 49] The method according to clause 48, which is executed by a device operating without a data connection to the key providing service. [Clause 50] The method according to any one of clauses 46 to 49, wherein the specific cryptographic key is a private key of an asymmetric key pair. [Clause 51] The method according to clause 50, further including the step of providing the public key of the asymmetric key pair to an unlocking service and storing it in association with the device identifier. [Clause 52] A system for setting a cryptographic key in a non-flammable aerosol supply system, comprising: the non-flammable aerosol supply system; receiving a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system; obtaining a specific cryptographic key to be set in the non-flammable aerosol supply system based on one or more cryptographic keys provided by a key generation service; storing the device identifier in association with the specific cryptographic key; writing the specific cryptographic key to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; a computer device configured to perform the above; A system comprising the above. [Clause 53] The computer device is configured to: send a request including the device identifier to the key generation service; receive the specific key from the key providing service; and obtain the specific cryptographic key to be set in the non-flammable aerosol supply system thereby. The system according to clause 52, wherein the key providing service stores the device identifier in association with the specific cryptographic key by sending the request to the key generation service. [Clause 54] The computer device obtains the specific cryptographic key to be set in the non-flammable aerosol supply system by selecting the specific cryptographic key from a plurality of cryptographic keys provided by the key providing service and stored in the offline device; stores the device identifier in association with the specific cryptographic key by storing the specific key in association with the device identifier for later transfer to the key storage service; The system according to clause 52, which is configured to perform the above. [Clause 55] The system according to clause 54, wherein the computer device is configured to operate without a data connection to the key providing service. [Clause 56] The system according to any one of clauses 52 to 55, wherein the specific cryptographic key is a private key of an asymmetric key pair. [Clause 57] The system according to clause 56, wherein the computer device is further configured to provide the public key of the asymmetric key pair to an unlocking service and store it in association with the device identifier. [Clause 58] When executed by a processing circuit of a computer device, receive a device identifier of a non-flammable aerosol supply system; obtain a specific cryptographic key to be set in the non-flammable aerosol supply system based on one or more cryptographic keys provided by a key generation service; store the device identifier in association with the specific cryptographic key; write the specific cryptographic key to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; A computer-readable medium including instructions for causing the computer device to perform the above. [Article 59] When the command is executed by the processing circuit, send a request including the device identifier to the key generation service, receive the specific key from the key providing service, cause the computer device to obtain the specific encryption key to be set in the non-flammable aerosol supply system by, storing the device identifier in association with the specific encryption key by the key providing service by sending the request to the key generation service, the computer-readable medium according to clause 58. [Article 60] When the command is executed by the processing circuit, obtain the specific encryption key to be set in the non-flammable aerosol supply system by selecting the specific encryption key from a plurality of encryption keys provided by the key providing service and stored in an offline device, store the specific key in association with the device identifier to move it to the key storage service later, thereby storing the device identifier in association with the specific encryption key, the computer-readable medium according to clause 58, which causes the computer device to perform the above. [Article 61] The computer-readable medium according to clause 60, wherein the computer device is configured to operate without a data connection to the key providing service. [Article 62] The computer-readable medium according to any one of clauses 58 to 61, wherein the specific encryption key is a private key of an asymmetric key pair. [Article 63] The computer-readable medium according to clause 62, wherein when the command is executed, the computer device is further caused to provide the public key of the asymmetric key pair to the unlocking service and store it in association with the device identifier. [Invention Items] [Item 1] A method for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system, comprising: receiving an instruction from an age verification service indicating that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed; sending an unlock request for the non-flammable aerosol supply system to an unlock service; receiving an unlock password from the unlock service based on a passkey accessible to the unlock service; transferring and authenticating the unlock password to the non-flammable aerosol supply system to determine whether the passkey matches the device key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system. A method comprising the above steps. [Item 2] The unlock request includes a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, The method according to item 1, wherein the passkey is a specific passkey of the non-flammable aerosol supply system selected from a plurality of passkeys accessible to the unlock service based on the device identifier. [Item 3] responding to receiving the instruction from the age verification service, sending a challenge request message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; receiving a challenge response message from the non-flammable aerosol supply system; further comprising: the step of sending the unlock request to the unlock service includes sending an unlock request including the challenge response message; The method according to item 1 or 2, wherein the unlock password received from the unlock service provides a cryptographic relationship between the passkey that can be authenticated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system and the challenge response message. [Item 4] The method according to item 3, wherein the challenge response message is based on a random number selected by the non-flammable aerosol supply system. [Item 5] The method according to any one of items 1 to 4, wherein the unlock password received from the unlock service indicates that the unlock service has received an instruction indicating that the age verification process has been successfully completed. [Item 6] The method according to any one of items 1 to 5, wherein the step of unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system includes permitting the use of the non-flammable aerosol supply system for the generation of aerosol to be delivered to a user. [Item 7] The method according to any one of items 1 to 6, wherein a user device that executes the method communicates with the unlocking service via a program interface. [Item 8] The method according to any one of items 1 to 7, wherein the unlocking service is set in a remote server. [Item 9] A device for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system, comprising: receiving an instruction from an age verification service indicating that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed; transmitting an unlock request for the non-flammable aerosol supply system to an unlocking service; receiving, from the unlocking service, an unlock password based on a passkey accessible to the unlocking service; determining whether the passkey matches a device key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system by transferring and authenticating the unlock password to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; a processing circuit configured to perform the above. [Item 10] The unlock request includes a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, The device according to item 9, wherein the passkey is a specific passkey of the non-flammable aerosol supply system selected from a plurality of passkeys accessible to the unlocking service based on the device identifier. [Item 11] responding to receiving the instruction from the age verification service by transmitting a challenge request message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; receiving a challenge response message from the non-flammable aerosol supply system; further configured to perform the above, for transmitting the unlock request to the unlocking service, the device is configured to transmit an unlock request including the challenge response message, The device according to item 9 or 10, wherein the unlock password received from the unlocking service provides a cryptographic relationship between the passkey that can be authenticated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system and the challenge response message. [Item 12] The device according to item 11, wherein the challenge response message is based on a random number selected by the non-flammable aerosol supply system. [Item 13] The device according to any one of items 9 to 12, wherein the unlock password received from the unlock service indicates that the unlock service has received an instruction indicating that the age verification process has been successfully completed. [Item 14] The device according to any one of items 9 to 13, wherein unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system includes permitting use of the non-flammable aerosol supply system for generating an aerosol to be delivered to a user. [Item 15] The device according to any one of items 9 to 14, configured to communicate with the unlock service via a program interface. [Item 16] The device according to any one of items 9 to 15, wherein the unlock service is set in a remote server. [Item 17] When executed by a computer device, receiving an instruction from an age verification service indicating that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed; sending an unlock request for the non-flammable aerosol supply system to an unlock service; receiving an unlock password based on a pass key accessible to the unlock service from the unlock service; determining whether the pass key matches a device key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system by transferring and authenticating the unlock password to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; A computer-readable medium including instructions for causing the computer device to perform the above. [Item 18] The unlock request includes a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, The computer-readable medium according to item 17, wherein the pass key is a specific pass key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system selected from a plurality of pass keys accessible to the unlock service based on the device identifier. [Item 19] When the instructions are executed by the computer device, sending a challenge request message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system in response to receiving the instruction from the age verification service; Receiving a challenge response message from the non-flammable aerosol supply system; further causing the computer device to send an unlock request including the challenge response message to the unlock service, for transmitting the unlock request to the unlock service; the computer-readable medium according to item 17 or 18, wherein the unlock password received from the unlock service provides a cryptographic relationship between the pass key that can be authenticated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system and the challenge response message. [Item 20] The computer-readable medium according to item 19, wherein the challenge response message is based on a random number selected by the non-flammable aerosol supply system. [Item 21] The computer-readable medium according to any one of items 17 to 20, wherein the unlock password received from the unlock service indicates that the unlock service has received an instruction indicating that the age verification process has been successfully completed. [Item 22] The computer-readable medium according to any one of items 17 to 21, wherein unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system includes permitting use of the non-flammable aerosol supply system for generating an aerosol to be delivered to a user. [Item 23] The computer-readable medium according to any one of items 17 to 22, wherein the device is configured to communicate with the unlock service via a program interface. [Item 24] The computer-readable medium according to any one of items 17 to 23, wherein the unlock service is set on a remote server. [Item 25] A method for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system, comprising: receiving, at the non-flammable aerosol supply system, an unlock password based on a pass key from a user device; generating a test password based on a device key stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system; comparing the test password and the unlock password to determine whether the device key matches the pass key on which the unlock password is based; unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system in response to detecting a match in the comparison; and a method. [Item 26] The step of generating the test password comprises combining at least a part of the device key with at least a part of a device identifier of the incombustible aerosol supply system to generate a test string hashing the test string The method according to item 25, comprising the above. [Item 27] The method according to item 26, wherein the step of generating the test password comprises generating the test password by extracting a predetermined set of bits from the test string. [Item 28] receiving a challenge request message from the user device generating a challenge response message transmitting the challenge response message to the user device further comprising the unlock password provides a cryptographic relationship between a given challenge response message and the pass key the step of generating the test password comprises generating the test password based on the challenge response message The method according to any one of items 25 to 27, wherein the step of comparing the test password and the unlock password further comprises determining whether the challenge response message generated by the incombustible aerosol supply system matches the given challenge response message. [Item 29] The method according to item 28, wherein the step of generating the challenge response message comprises selecting a random number and generating the challenge response message according to the selected random number. [Item 30] An incombustible aerosol supply system, comprising receiving an unlock password based on a pass key from a user device generating a test password based on a device key stored in the incombustible aerosol supply system comparing the test password and the unlock password to determine whether the device key matches the pass key based on which the unlock password is based unlocking the incombustible aerosol supply system in response to detection of a match in the comparison An incombustible aerosol supply system comprising a processing circuit configured to perform the above. [Item 31] For generating the test password, the processing circuit Combining at least a part of the device key with at least a part of the device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system to generate a test string; Hashing the test string; The non-flammable aerosol supply system according to item 30, which is configured to perform the above. [Item 32] The non-flammable aerosol supply system according to item 31, wherein, in order to generate the test password, the processing circuit is further configured to generate the test password by extracting a predetermined set of bits from the test string. [Item 33] The processing circuit Receiving a challenge request message from the user device; Generating a challenge response message; Sending the challenge response message to the user device; Is further configured to perform the above, The unlock password provides a cryptographic relationship between a given challenge response message and the pass key, In order to generate the test password, the processing circuit is configured to generate the test password based on the challenge response message, Comparing the test password and the unlock password further determines whether the challenge response message generated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system matches the given challenge response message. The non-flammable aerosol supply system according to any one of items 30 to 32. [Item 34] The non-flammable aerosol supply system according to item 33, wherein, in order to generate the challenge response message, the processing circuit is configured to select a random number and generate the challenge response message according to the selected random number. [Item 35] When executed by the processing circuit of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, Receiving an unlock password based on a pass key from a user device; Generating a test password based on the device key stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system; Comparing the test password and the unlock password to determine whether the device key matches the pass key based on which the unlock password is based; Unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system in response to detecting the match of the comparison; A computer-readable medium including an instruction to cause the non-flammable aerosol supply system to perform the operation. [Item 36] To generate the test password, the non-flammable aerosol supply system Combines at least a part of the device key with at least a part of the device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system to generate a test string, Hashes the test string, The computer-readable medium according to item 35, which performs the above operations. [Item 37] To generate the test password, the non-flammable aerosol supply system generates the test password by extracting a predetermined set of bits from the test string, according to the computer-readable medium of item 36. [Item 38] When the instruction is executed by the processing circuit, Receives a challenge request message from the user device, Generates a challenge response message, Transmits the challenge response message to the user device, To cause the non-flammable aerosol supply system to further perform the above operations, The unlock password provides a cryptographic relationship between a given challenge response message and the password key, To generate the test password, the non-flammable aerosol supply system generates the test password based on the challenge response message, Comparing the test password and the unlock password further determines whether the challenge response message generated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system matches the given challenge response message, according to any one of items 35 to 37 of the computer-readable medium. [Item 39] To generate the challenge response message, the processing circuit is configured to select a random number and generate the challenge response message according to the selected random number, according to the computer-readable medium of item 38. [Item 40] A method for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system, comprising: Receiving, by the user device, an instruction from an age verification service indicating that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed; Transmitting, by the user device, an unlock request for the non-flammable aerosol supply system to an unlock service. generating, by the unlocking service, an unlock password based on a pass key accessible to the unlocking service; transmitting, by the unlocking service, the unlock password to the user device; transferring, by the user device, the unlock password to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; generating, by the non-flammable aerosol supply system, a test password based on a device key stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system; comparing the test password and the unlock password to determine whether the device key matches the pass key on which the unlock password is based; unlocking, in response to detection of a match in the comparison, the non-flammable aerosol supply system; A method, comprising. [Item 41] the unlock request transmitted to the unlocking service includes a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, The method according to item 40, wherein the step of generating, by the unlocking service, the unlock password includes selecting a specific pass key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system selected from a plurality of pass keys accessible to the unlocking service based on the device identifier. [Item 42] transmitting, by the user device, a challenge request message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system in response to receiving the instruction from the age verification service; generating, by the non-flammable aerosol supply system, a challenge response message; transmitting, by the non-flammable aerosol supply system, the challenge response message to the user device; further comprising the step of transmitting the unlock request to the unlocking service includes transmitting an unlock request including the challenge response message, the step of generating, by the unlocking service, the unlock password includes providing a cryptographic relationship between the pass key and a given challenge response message, the step of generating, by the non-flammable aerosol supply system, the test password includes generating the test password based on the challenge response message The method according to item 40 or 41, wherein the step of comparing the test password and the unlock password further comprises determining whether the challenge response message generated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system matches the given challenge response message. [Item 43] In response to the unlock request, the unlocking service further includes the step of verifying that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed and verifying the age verification process. The method according to any one of items 40 to 42, wherein the step of generating the unlock password by the unlocking service responds to the success of the verification indicating that the age verification process has been successfully completed. [Item 44] The step of generating the unlock password by the unlocking service includes combining at least a part of the pass key with at least a part of the device identifier to generate a pass string, and hashing the pass string. The method according to item 41, wherein the step of generating the test password by the non-flammable aerosol supply system includes combining at least a part of the device key with at least a part of the device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system to generate a test string, and hashing the test string. [Item 45] The step of generating the unlock password further includes generating the unlock password by extracting a predetermined set of bits from the pass string. The method according to item 44, wherein the step of generating the test password includes generating the test password by extracting the predetermined set of bits from the test string. [Item 46] A non-flammable aerosol supply system, A remote device, An unlocking service, A system comprising: The remote device is configured to receive an instruction from an age verification service indicating that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed, and to send an unlock request for the non-flammable aerosol supply system to the unlocking service. The unlocking service is configured to generate an unlock password based on a pass key accessible to the unlocking service and transmit the unlock password to the remote device. The remote device is further configured to transfer the unlock password to the non-flammable aerosol supply system. The non-flammable aerosol supply system is configured to generate a test password based on a device key stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system, compare the test password and the unlock password, determine whether the device key matches the pass key on which the unlock password is based, and unlock the non-flammable aerosol supply system in response to detection of a match in the comparison. [Item 47] The unlock request transmitted to the unlocking service includes a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system. The system according to item 46, wherein, in order to generate the unlock password, the unlocking service is configured to select a specific pass key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system from a plurality of pass keys accessible to the unlocking service based on the device identifier. [Item 48] The user device is configured to transmit a challenge request message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system in response to receiving the instruction from the age verification service. The non-flammable aerosol supply system is configured to generate a challenge response message. The non-flammable aerosol supply system is configured to transmit the challenge response message to the user device. The user device is configured to transmit an unlock request including the challenge response message in order to transmit the unlock request to the unlocking service. The unlocking service is configured to provide a cryptographic relationship between the pass key and a given challenge response message in order to generate the unlock password. The non-flammable aerosol supply system is configured to generate the test password based on the challenge response message in order to generate the test password. Comparing the test password and the unlock password further includes determining whether the challenge response message generated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system matches the given challenge response message, for the system according to item 46 or 47. [Item 49] The unlock service is configured to verify, in response to the unlock request, that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed and to verify in the age verification process. The system according to any one of items 46 to 48, wherein the unlock service generates the unlock password in response to a successful verification indicating that the age verification process has been successfully completed. [Item 50] To generate the unlock password, the unlock service is configured to generate a password string by combining at least a part of the pass key with at least a part of the device identifier, and to hash the password string. To generate the test password, the non-flammable aerosol supply system is configured to generate a test string by combining at least a part of the device key with at least a part of the device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, and to hash the test string, for the system according to item 41. [Item 51] To generate the unlock password, the unlock service is configured to generate the unlock password by extracting a predetermined set of bits from the password string. To generate the test password, the non-flammable aerosol supply system is configured to generate the test password by extracting the predetermined set of bits from the test string, for the system according to item 50. [Item 52] When executed by the processing circuits of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, the user device, and the unlock service. The user device receives an instruction from the age verification service indicating that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed. The user device transmits an unlock request for the non-flammable aerosol supply system to the unlock service. The unlocking service generates an unlocking password based on a passkey accessible to the unlocking service; The unlocking service transmits the unlocking password to the user device; The user device transfers the unlocking password to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; The non-flammable aerosol supply system generates a test password based on a device key stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system; Comparing the test password and the unlocking password to determine whether the device key matches the passkey on which the unlocking password is based; In response to detecting a match in the comparison, unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system; A computer-readable medium including instructions for causing the processing circuit to perform the above. [Item 53] The unlock request transmitted to the unlocking service includes a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, The computer-readable medium according to item 52, wherein, to generate the unlocking password, the unlocking service selects a specific passkey of the non-flammable aerosol supply system from a plurality of passkeys accessible to the unlocking service based on the device identifier. [Item 54] The instructions further cause The user device to transmit a challenge request message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system in response to receiving the instruction from the age verification service; The non-flammable aerosol supply system to generate a challenge response message; The non-flammable aerosol supply system to transmit the challenge response message to the user device; and further cause For transmitting the unlock request to the unlocking service, the user device transmits an unlock request including the challenge response message, For generating the unlocking password, the unlocking service provides a cryptographic relationship between the passkey and a given challenge response message, For generating the test password, the non-flammable aerosol supply system generates the test password based on the challenge response message. Comparing the test password and the unlock password further includes determining whether the challenge response message generated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system matches the given challenge response message. The computer-readable medium according to item 52 or 53. [Item 55] The instructions are In response to the unlock request, the unlock service verifies that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed and verifies it in the age verification process, and In response to the successful verification that the age verification process has been successfully completed, the unlock service generates the unlock password, and The computer-readable medium according to any one of items 52 to 54, which further causes the above to be performed. [Item 56] To generate the unlock password, the unlock service combines at least a part of the pass key with at least a part of the device identifier to generate a pass string, and hashes the pass string. To generate the test password, the non-flammable aerosol supply system combines at least a part of the device key with at least a part of the device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system to generate a test string, and hashes the test string. The computer-readable medium according to item 41. [Item 57] To generate the unlock password, the unlock service generates the unlock password by extracting a predetermined set of bits from the pass string. To generate the test password, the non-flammable aerosol supply system generates the test password by extracting the predetermined set of bits from the test string. The computer-readable medium according to item 56. [Item 58] A method for setting an encryption key in a non-flammable aerosol supply system, comprising: Receiving a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system; Obtaining a specific encryption key to be set in the non-flammable aerosol supply system based on one or more encryption keys provided by a key generation service; Storing the device identifier in association with the specific encryption key. writing the specific encryption key to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; A method comprising. [Item 59] The step of obtaining the specific encryption key to be set in the non-flammable aerosol supply system includes sending a request including the device identifier to the key generation service; receiving the specific key from the key providing service; including The method according to item 58, wherein by sending the request to the key generation service, the key providing service stores the device identifier in association with the specific encryption key. [Item 60] The step of obtaining the specific encryption key to be set in the non-flammable aerosol supply system includes selecting the specific encryption key from a plurality of encryption keys provided by the key providing service and stored in an offline device, The method according to item 58, wherein the step of storing the device identifier in association with the specific key includes storing the specific key in association with the device identifier for later transfer to a key storage service. [Item 61] The method according to item 60, which is executed by a device operating without a data connection to the key providing service. [Item 62] The method according to any one of items 58 to 61, wherein the specific encryption key is a key of a symmetric encryption algorithm. [Item 63] The method according to item 62, further comprising providing the key to an unlocking service and storing it in association with the device identifier. [Item 64] The method according to item 62 or 63, wherein the step of writing the specific encryption key to the non-flammable aerosol supply system includes securely storing the key in the non-flammable aerosol supply system. [Item 65] A system for setting an encryption key in a non-flammable aerosol supply system, comprising the non-flammable aerosol supply system; receiving the device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system; obtaining a specific encryption key to be set in the non-flammable aerosol supply system based on one or more encryption keys provided by a key generation service; storing the device identifier in association with the specific encryption key; writing the specific encryption key to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; a computer device configured to perform A system comprising. [Item 66] The computer device is Sending a request including the device identifier to the key generation service; Receiving the specific key from the key providing service; configured to obtain the specific encryption key to be set in the non-flammable aerosol supply system thereby; The system according to item 65, wherein by sending the request to the key generation service, the key providing service stores the device identifier in association with the specific encryption key. [Item 67] wherein the computer device obtains the specific encryption key to be set in the non-flammable aerosol supply system by selecting the specific encryption key from a plurality of encryption keys provided by the key providing service and stored in the offline device; stores the specific key in association with the device identifier for later transfer to the key storage service, thereby storing the device identifier in association with the specific encryption key; The system according to item 65, configured to perform the above. [Item 68] The system according to item 67, wherein the computer device is configured to operate without a data connection to the key providing service. [Item 69] The system according to any one of items 65 to 68, wherein the specific encryption key is a key of a symmetric encryption algorithm. [Item 70] The system according to item 69, wherein the computer device is further configured to provide the key to an unlocking service and store it in association with the device identifier. [Item 71] The system according to item 69 or 70, wherein writing the specific encryption key to the non-flammable aerosol supply system includes securely storing the key in the non-flammable aerosol supply system. [Item 72] When executed by a processing circuit of a computer device, receiving a device identifier of a non-flammable aerosol supply system; obtaining a specific encryption key to be set in the non-flammable aerosol supply system based on one or more encryption keys provided by a key generation service; storing the device identifier in association with the specific encryption key; writing the specific encryption key to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; A computer-readable medium including instructions for causing the computer device to perform the above. [Item 73] When the instructions are executed by the processing circuit, Sending a request including the device identifier to the key generation service; Receiving the specific encryption key from the key providing service; Causing the computer device to obtain the specific encryption key to be set in the non-flammable aerosol supply system; The computer-readable medium according to item 72, wherein by sending the request to the key generation service, the key providing service stores the device identifier in association with the specific encryption key. [Item 74] When the instruction is executed by the processing circuit, Obtaining the specific encryption key to be set in the non-flammable aerosol supply system by selecting the specific encryption key from a plurality of encryption keys provided by the key providing service and stored in an offline device; Storing the specific encryption key in association with the device identifier so as to move it to the key storage service later, thereby storing the device identifier in association with the specific encryption key; The computer-readable medium according to item 72, which causes the computer device to perform the above. [Item 75] The computer-readable medium according to item 74, wherein the computer device is configured to operate without a data connection to the key providing service. [Item 76] The computer-readable medium according to any one of items 72 to 75, wherein the specific encryption key is a key of a symmetric encryption algorithm. [Item 77] The computer-readable medium according to item 76, wherein when the instruction is executed, it further causes the computer device to provide the key to an unlocking service and store it in association with the device identifier. [Item 78] The computer-readable medium according to item 76 or 77, wherein writing the specific encryption key to the non-flammable aerosol supply system includes securely storing the key in the non-flammable aerosol supply system.

Claims

1. A method for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system, comprising: receiving an instruction from an age verification service indicating that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed; sending an unlock request of the non-flammable aerosol supply system to an unlock service; receiving an unlock password from the unlock service based on a pass key accessible to the unlock service; transferring and authenticating the unlock password to the non-flammable aerosol supply system to determine whether the pass key matches the device key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system; A method comprising the above steps.

2. The unlock request includes a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, and the pass key is a specific pass key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system selected from a plurality of pass keys accessible to the unlock service based on the device identifier. The method according to claim 1.

3. In response to receiving the instruction from the age verification service, sending a challenge request message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; receiving a challenge response message from the non-flammable aerosol supply system; Further comprising: The step of sending the unlock request to the unlock service includes sending an unlock request including the challenge response message, and the unlock password received from the unlock service provides a cryptographic relationship between the pass key that can be authenticated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system and the challenge response message. The method according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the challenge response message is based on a random number selected by the non-flammable aerosol supply system.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the unlock password received from the unlock service indicates that the unlock service has received an instruction that the age verification process has been successfully completed.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the step of unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system includes permitting the use of the non-flammable aerosol supply system for the generation of aerosol to be delivered to a user.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a user device that executes the method communicates with the unlock service via a program interface.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the unlock service is set in a remote server.

9. A device for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system, comprising: receiving, from an age verification service, an instruction that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed; sending an unlock request for the non-flammable aerosol supply system to an unlock service; receiving, from the unlock service, an unlock password based on a pass key accessible to the unlock service; determining whether the pass key matches a device key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system by transferring and authenticating the unlock password to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; a device comprising a processing circuit configured to perform the above.

10. The unlock request includes the device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, The device according to claim 9, wherein the pass key is a specific pass key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system selected from a plurality of pass keys accessible by the unlock service based on the device identifier.

11. In response to receiving the instruction from the age verification service, transmitting a challenge request message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; Receiving a challenge response message from the non-flammable aerosol supply system; Further configured to perform: For transmitting the unlock request to the unlock service, the device is configured to transmit an unlock request including the challenge response message; The device according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the unlock password received from the unlock service provides a cryptographic relationship between the pass key that can be authenticated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system and the challenge response message.

12. The device according to claim 11, wherein the challenge response message is based on a random number selected by the non-flammable aerosol supply system.

13. The device according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the unlock password received from the unlock service indicates that the unlock service has received an instruction indicating that the age verification process has been successfully completed.

14. The device according to any one of claims 9 to 13, wherein unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system includes permitting the use of the non-flammable aerosol supply system for the generation of aerosol to be delivered to the user.

15. The device according to any one of claims 9 to 14, configured to communicate with the unlocking service via a program interface. **Claim 16** The device according to any one of claims 9 to 15, wherein the unlocking service is set in a remote server. **Claim 17** A computer-readable medium including instructions that, when executed by a computer device, cause the computer device to unlock a non-flammable aerosol supply system, and the unlocking includes: receiving an indication from an age verification service that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed; sending an unlock request for the non-flammable aerosol supply system to an unlocking service; receiving an unlock password based on a passkey accessible to the unlocking service from the unlocking service; determining whether the passkey matches a device key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system by transferring and authenticating the unlock password to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; and a computer-readable medium. **Claim 18** wherein the unlock request includes a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, and the passkey is a specific passkey of the non-flammable aerosol supply system selected from a plurality of passkeys accessible to the unlocking service based on the device identifier, the computer-readable medium according to claim 17. **Claim 19** wherein the instructions, when executed by the computer device, in response to receiving the indication from the age verification service, send a challenge request message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; Receiving a challenge response message from the non-flammable aerosol supply system, and causing the computer device to further perform: sending, by the computer device, an unlock request including the challenge response message, for sending the unlock request to the unlock service; the unlock password received from the unlock service provides a cryptographic relationship between the passkey that can be authenticated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system and the challenge response message, the computer-readable medium according to claim 17 or 18. **Claim 20** the challenge response message is based on a random number selected by the non-flammable aerosol supply system, the computer-readable medium according to claim 19. **Claim 21** the unlock password received from the unlock service indicates that the unlock service has received an indication that the age verification process has been successfully completed, the computer-readable medium according to any one of claims 17 to 20. **Claim 22** unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system includes permitting use of the non-flammable aerosol supply system for generating an aerosol to be delivered to a user, the computer-readable medium according to any one of claims 17 to 21. **Claim 23** the device is configured to communicate with the unlock service via a program interface, the computer-readable medium according to any one of claims 17 to 22. **Claim 24** the unlock service is set on a remote server, the computer-readable medium according to any one of claims 17 to 23. **Claim 25** A method for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system, comprising: Receiving, from the user device, an unlock password based on a pass key in the non-flammable aerosol supply system; Generating a test password based on a device key stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system; Comparing the test password and the unlock password to determine whether the device key matches the pass key on which the unlock password is based; Unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system in response to detecting a match in the comparison; A method comprising.

26. The step of generating the test password comprises Combining at least a part of the device key with at least a part of a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system to generate a test string; Hashing the test string; The method according to claim 25, comprising.

27. The step of generating the test password comprises generating the test password by extracting a predetermined set of bits from the test string, according to the method of claim 26.

28. Receiving, from the user device, a challenge request message; Generating a challenge response message; Sending the challenge response message to the user device; Further comprising The unlock password provides a cryptographic relationship between a given challenge response message and the pass key, The step of generating the test password comprises generating the test password based on the challenge response message, The method according to any one of claims 25 to 27, further comprising determining whether the challenge response message generated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system matches the given challenge response message in the step of comparing the test password and the unlock password.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the step of generating the challenge response message includes selecting a random number and generating the challenge response message according to the selected random number.

30. A non-flammable aerosol supply system, comprising receiving an unlock password based on a pass key from a user device; generating a test password based on a device key stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system; comparing the test password and the unlock password to determine whether the device key matches the pass key based on the unlock password; unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system in response to detecting a match in the comparison; and a processing circuit configured to perform the above.

31. To generate the test password, the processing circuit combines at least a part of the device key with at least a part of a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system to generate a test string; hashes the test string; The non-flammable aerosol supply system according to claim 30, configured to perform the above.

32. The non-flammable aerosol supply system according to claim 31, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to generate the test password by extracting a predetermined set of bits from the test string.

33. The processing circuit is further configured to receive a challenge request message from the user device, generate a challenge response message, send the challenge response message to the user device, and is further configured to The unlock password provides a cryptographic relationship between a given challenge response message and the pass key, The processing circuit is configured to generate the test password based on the challenge response message to generate the test password, Comparing the test password and the unlock password further determines whether the challenge response message generated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system matches the given challenge response message. The non-flammable aerosol supply system according to any one of claims 30 to 32.

34. The processing circuit is configured to select a random number and generate the challenge response message according to the selected random number to generate the challenge response message. The non-flammable aerosol supply system according to claim 33.

35. When executed by the processing circuit of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, receive an unlock password based on the pass key from the user device, generate a test password based on the device key stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system, compare the test password and the unlock password to determine whether the device key matches the pass key based on the unlock password, unlock the non-flammable aerosol supply system in response to detecting a match in the comparison, A computer-readable medium including an instruction for causing the non-flammable aerosol supply system to perform **Claim 36** To generate the test password, the non-flammable aerosol supply system Combines at least a part of the device key with at least a part of the device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system to generate a test string; Hashes the test string; The computer-readable medium according to claim 35, which performs **Claim 37** To generate the test password, the non-flammable aerosol supply system generates the test password by extracting a predetermined set of bits from the test string, the computer-readable medium according to claim 36. **Claim 38** When the instruction is executed by the processing circuit, Receives a challenge request message from the user device; Generates a challenge response message; Sends the challenge response message to the user device; Causes the non-flammable aerosol supply system to further perform The unlock password provides a cryptographic relationship between a given challenge response message and the pass key, To generate the test password, the non-flammable aerosol supply system generates the test password based on the challenge response message, Comparing the test password and the unlock password further determines whether the challenge response message generated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system matches the given challenge response message, the computer-readable medium according to any one of claims 35 to 37. **Claim 39** The computer-readable medium according to claim 38, wherein, to generate the challenge response message, the processing circuit is configured to select a random number and generate the challenge response message according to the selected random number.

40. A method for unlocking a non-flammable aerosol supply system, comprising: receiving, by a user device, an instruction from an age verification service indicating that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed; transmitting, by the user device, an unlock request for the non-flammable aerosol supply system to an unlock service; generating, by the unlock service, an unlock password based on a pass key accessible to the unlock service; transmitting, by the unlock service, the unlock password to the user device; transferring, by the user device, the unlock password to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; generating, by the non-flammable aerosol supply system, a test password based on a device key stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system; comparing the test password and the unlock password to determine whether the device key matches the pass key on which the unlock password is based; unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system in response to detecting a match in the comparison; A method comprising the above steps.

41. The unlock request transmitted to the unlock service includes a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system. The method according to claim 40, wherein the step of generating the unlock password by the unlock service includes selecting a specific pass key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system selected from a plurality of pass keys accessible by the unlock service based on the device identifier.

42. Responding to receiving the instruction from the age verification service, the user device transmitting a challenge request message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; The non-flammable aerosol supply system generating a challenge response message; The non-flammable aerosol supply system transmitting the challenge response message to the user device; further comprising the step of transmitting the unlock request to the unlock service includes transmitting an unlock request including the challenge response message; the step of generating the unlock password by the unlock service includes providing a cryptographic relationship between the pass key and a given challenge response message; the step of generating the test password by the non-flammable aerosol supply system includes generating the test password based on the challenge response message; The method according to claim 40 or 41, wherein the step of comparing the test password and the unlock password further includes determining whether the challenge response message generated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system matches the given challenge response message.

43. In response to the unlock request, the unlock service further includes verifying that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed and the steps verified in the age verification process; The method according to any one of claims 40 to 42, wherein the step of generating the unlock password by the unlock service responds to the verification success indicating that the age verification process has been successfully completed.

44. The step of generating the unlock password by the unlock service includes generating a pass string by combining at least a part of the pass key with at least a part of the device identifier, and hashing the pass string. The method according to claim 41, wherein the step of generating the test password by the non-flammable aerosol supply system includes generating a test string by combining at least a part of the device key with at least a part of the device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, and hashing the test string.

45. The step of generating the unlock password further includes generating the unlock password by extracting a predetermined set of bits from the pass string. The method according to claim 44, wherein the step of generating the test password includes generating the test password by extracting the predetermined set of bits from the test string.

46. A non-flammable aerosol supply system, A user device, An unlock service, A system comprising: The user device is configured to receive an instruction from an age verification service indicating that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed, and to send an unlock request for the non-flammable aerosol supply system to the unlock service. The unlock service is configured to generate an unlock password based on a pass key accessible to the unlock service and send the unlock password to the user device. The user device is further configured to transfer the unlock password to the non-flammable aerosol supply system, The non-flammable aerosol supply system generates a test password based on a device key stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system, compares the test password and the unlock password, determines whether the device key matches the pass key based on which the unlock password is generated, and is configured to unlock the non-flammable aerosol supply system in response to detecting a match in the comparison. A system.

47. The unlock request sent to the unlock service includes a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, The system according to claim 46, wherein, to generate the unlock password, the unlock service is configured to select a specific pass key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system from a plurality of pass keys accessible to the unlock service based on the device identifier.

48. The user device is configured to send a challenge request message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system in response to receiving the instruction from an age verification service, The non-flammable aerosol supply system is configured to generate a challenge response message, The non-flammable aerosol supply system is configured to send the challenge response message to the user device, The user device is configured to send an unlock request including the challenge response message for sending the unlock request to the unlock service, The unlock service is configured to provide a cryptographic relationship between the pass key and a given challenge response message to generate the unlock password, To generate the test password, the non-flammable aerosol supply system is configured to generate the test password based on the challenge response message. The system according to claim 46 or 47, further comprising determining whether the challenge response message generated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system matches the given challenge response message by comparing the test password and the unlock password.

49. The unlock service is configured to verify that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed in response to the unlock request and to verify in the age verification process. The system according to any one of claims 46 to 48, wherein the unlock service generates the unlock password in response to a successful verification that the age verification process has been successfully completed.

50. To generate the unlock password, the unlock service is configured to generate a password string by combining at least a part of the pass key with at least a part of the device identifier, and to hash the password string. The system according to claim 47, wherein to generate the test password, the non-flammable aerosol supply system is configured to generate a test string by combining at least a part of the device key with at least a part of the device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, and to hash the test string.

51. To generate the unlock password, the unlock service is configured to generate the unlock password by extracting a predetermined set of bits from the password string. The system according to claim 50, wherein, in order to generate the test password, the non-flammable aerosol supply system is configured to generate the test password by extracting the predetermined set of bits from the test string.

52. When executed by a processing circuit of a non-flammable aerosol supply system, a user device, and an unlocking service, receiving, by the user device, an indication from an age verification service that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed; transmitting, by the user device, an unlock request for the non-flammable aerosol supply system to the unlocking service; generating, by the unlocking service, an unlock password based on a pass key accessible to the unlocking service; transmitting, by the unlocking service, the unlock password to the user device; transferring, by the user device, the unlock password to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; generating, by the non-flammable aerosol supply system, a test password based on a device key stored in the non-flammable aerosol supply system; comparing the test password and the unlock password to determine whether the device key matches the pass key on which the unlock password is based; unlocking the non-flammable aerosol supply system in response to detecting a match in the comparison; A computer-readable medium including instructions for causing the processing circuit to perform the above.

53. The unlock request transmitted to the unlocking service includes a device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, For generating the unlock password, the unlock service selects a specific pass key of the non-flammable aerosol supply system from a plurality of pass keys accessible to the unlock service based on the device identifier, the computer-readable medium according to claim 52.

54. The instructions are in response to the user device receiving the instruction from the age verification service, sending a challenge request message to the non-flammable aerosol supply system; the non-flammable aerosol supply system generating a challenge response message; the non-flammable aerosol supply system sending the challenge response message to the user device; further causing to perform for sending the unlock request to the unlock service, the user device sending an unlock request including the challenge response message; for generating the unlock password, the unlock service providing a cryptographic relationship between the pass key and a given challenge response message; for generating the test password, the non-flammable aerosol supply system generating the test password based on the challenge response message; comparing the test password and the unlock password, and further determining whether the challenge response message generated by the non-flammable aerosol supply system matches the given challenge response message, the computer-readable medium according to claim 52 or 53.

55. The instructions are the unlock service, in response to the unlock request, verifying that the age verification process of the non-flammable aerosol supply system has been successfully completed and verifying in the age verification process; The unlocking service generates the unlocking password in response to a verification success indicating that the age verification process has been successfully completed; The computer-readable medium according to any one of claims 52 to 54, further causing the following to be performed.

56. To generate the unlocking password, the unlocking service generates a password string by combining at least a part of the pass key with at least a part of the device identifier, and hashes the password string; To generate the test password, the non-flammable aerosol supply system generates a test string by combining at least a part of the device key with at least a part of the device identifier of the non-flammable aerosol supply system, and hashes the test string. The computer-readable medium according to claim 53.

57. To generate the unlocking password, the unlocking service generates the unlocking password by extracting a predetermined set of bits from the password string; To generate the test password, the non-flammable aerosol supply system generates the test password by extracting the predetermined set of bits from the test string. The computer-readable medium according to claim 56.

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