Systems, devices, and methods for unlocking aerosol generating devices

Abstract

A method includes maintaining a database of user accounts and aerosol generating devices associated with the user accounts. The method further includes receiving an unlock request from a current aerosol generating device to unlock unlockable features of the current aerosol generating device. The unlock request includes unique user identification information that identifies the current user account associated with the current aerosol generating device. The method further includes determining whether the current aerosol generating device is already associated with any user accounts in the database, sending an unlock authorization to the current aerosol generating device to unlock the unlockable features in response to determining that the current aerosol generating device is not already associated with any user account in the database, and updating the database to associate the current aerosol generating device with the current user account in response to determining that the current aerosol generating device is not already associated with any user account in the database.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to systems, devices, and methods for use in unlocking aerosol generating devices. [Background technology]

[0002] Unauthorized use of aerosol generating devices by underage users (e.g., users not legally permitted to use aerosol generating devices) can be difficult to restrict or regulate, particularly through resale of the aerosol generating device between users and third parties, such as inappropriate retailers. For example, if a first user purchases an aerosol generating device from a conventional retailer, the first user may resell the purchased aerosol generating device to a second user, who may also be a minor.

[0003] Additionally, unauthorized users may use an authorized user's aerosol generating device without the authorized user's knowledge. For example, if an authorized user leaves the aerosol generating device unattended, an unauthorized user may use the abandoned aerosol generating device without the authorized user's knowledge. Furthermore, for example, if an authorized user loses the aerosol generating device, an unauthorized user may find and use the lost aerosol generating device without the authorized user's knowledge.

[0004] Aerosol generating devices and related systems may offer limited locking capabilities. Published PCT patent application WO 2019 / 126805 A1 describes a vaporizer and vaporizer system that can unlock the vaporizer to activate its operation based on a user's determined age meeting a threshold (e.g., legal age). The vaporizer can determine the age or receive the age determination from a server and / or application. Furthermore, pairing, locking, and / or unlocking of the vaporizer may be accessible through an app logged into a user account linked to the vaporizer. Furthermore, a shared secret key generated by the app may be sent to the vaporizer upon a lock request and used to lock / unlock the vaporizer. Furthermore, the vaporizer may be configured such that authorized ownership prohibits linking a vaporizer owned by another account owner to another account without the device owner explicitly releasing the vaporizer from the original account, thereby making theft more difficult by communicating that the vaporizer is paired with another account user. Still further, the vaporizer may be configured such that a user linking vaporizers may only link a certain number of vaporizers per period of time to prevent underage abuse.

[0005] U.S. Patent No. 9,763,478 describes an electronic vapor device that includes a locking mechanism that can be controlled for locking or unlocking by at least one of a voice profile module, a password or passcode module, a physical key, a fingerprint scanner, an iris identification scanner, third-party device authentication, or other biometric data. Additionally, a central server can receive both usage information and location information and access integrated account and tracking information to determine whether both the vapor device and the electronic communication device are associated with the same user.

[0006] U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015 / 0181945A1 describes an e-vaping device that may allow the device's vapor-delivery capability to be altered (e.g., disabled, reduced, enabled, or increased) in some circumstances (e.g., to prevent unauthorized inhalation by a child, teenager, or another individual). A mobile communication device executes a software application associated with the e-cigarette, obtains authentication information from a user, and enables the e-cigarette's vapor-delivery capability if it determines that the authentication information is valid and that the user is authorized to vape. The mobile communication device may transmit the authentication information (or a subset thereof) to a remote server (e.g., a web server) for authentication, which may be particularly useful in cases where a third party would affect the user's ability to vape.

[0007] Ensuring that only authorized users use the functions of an aerosol generating device can be difficult, especially if the authorized user resells the aerosol generating device. Additionally, various locking and unlocking solutions can be cumbersome for users and sellers to utilize. For example, if the unlocking and locking functions are overly burdensome and complicated, honest resale of aerosol generating devices among users can be difficult. Furthermore, various locking and unlocking solutions can be difficult for manufacturers to provide. Furthermore, some solutions may not provide secure unlocking and locking functions (e.g., improperly encrypted unlocking and locking functions) that can still be bypassed by sophisticated unauthorized users (e.g., hackers), thereby allowing them to still access unauthorized aerosol generating devices.

[0008] It is desirable to have a simple, secure, and easy way to restrict underage users from using an aerosol generating device. It is further desirable to restrict third parties from reselling unlocked aerosol generating devices to unauthorized users. It is still further desirable to provide a secure, unforgeable, unique, single-use process for locking or unlocking an aerosol generating device using a cryptographic secret known only to the manufacturer's back-end server. It is still further desirable to prevent someone from unilaterally sending an unlock command to an aerosol generating device in order to maliciously unlock the aerosol generating device. Summary of the Invention

[0009] The present invention may be described as providing an exemplary aerosol generating device, a user interface device, and a server for use in unlocking unlockable features of the aerosol generating device when associated with a single user account. Additionally, the present invention may be described as further providing exemplary devices, systems, and methods for use in unlocking unlockable features of the aerosol generating device using server-based cryptographic authentication. The exemplary user interface device may be used to initiate the unlocking process between the aerosol generating device and the server, and data transmitted between the aerosol generating device and the server may be transmitted via the user interface device. For example, a user may connect the exemplary aerosol generating device to the exemplary server, e.g., at a retail store or via a mobile application, and, once the user is verified, the unlocking process may begin.

[0010] Additionally, the present invention may also be described as providing exemplary aerosol generating devices, user interface devices, and servers for use in locking previously unlocked features of an aerosol generating device when the device is disassociated or deregistered from a user account. Furthermore, the present invention may also be described as providing exemplary devices, systems, and methods for use in locking previously unlocked features of an aerosol generating device using server-based cryptographic authentication. The exemplary user interface devices may be used to initiate the locking process between the aerosol generating device and the server, and data transmitted between the aerosol generating device and the server may be transmitted via the user interface devices. For example, a user may connect the exemplary aerosol generating device to the exemplary server, e.g., at a retail store or via a mobile application, and the locking process may be initiated when the user disassociates with the aerosol generating device.

[0011] According to one aspect of the present invention, an exemplary aerosol generating device is provided, comprising a controller comprising one or more processors, configured to provide an unlockable feature, send an unlock request to a server to unlock the unlockable feature, receive an unlock authorization from the server in response to the sent unlock request, and unlock the unlockable feature in response to receiving the unlock authorization.

[0012] According to another aspect of the present invention, an exemplary user interface device is provided that includes a display device including a graphical user interface that allows a user to interact with the display device to unlock an unlockable feature of an aerosol generating device, a communication interface for transmitting data between the aerosol generating device and a server, and a controller having one or more processors and operably coupled to the display device and the communication interface, wherein the controller is configured to receive an unlock request from the aerosol generating device to unlock the unlockable feature, transmit the unlock request to the server, receive an unlock authorization from the server in response to the transmitted unlock request, and transmit the unlock authorization to the aerosol generating device to unlock the unlockable feature.

[0013] According to another aspect of the present invention, an exemplary server for unlocking unlockable features of an aerosol generating device is provided, the server comprising: a communications interface for transmitting data to and from the aerosol generating device; and a controller comprising one or more processors and operably coupled to the communications interface. The controller is configured to receive an unlock request from the aerosol generating device to unlock the unlockable feature, and in response to the transmitted unlock request, transmit an unlock authorization to the aerosol generating device to unlock the unlockable feature. Additionally, prior to initiating the unlock or lock process, the exemplary server may request information from the aerosol generating device to initiate the lock / unlock process, and if the server request is valid, the aerosol generating device may transmit the lock or unlock request to the server.

[0014] In addition, it will be appreciated that the same or similar process can be used to lock (e.g., re-lock) previously unlocked features of an aerosol generating device, for example, when a user disassociates or deregisters from the aerosol generating device.

[0015] Exemplary aerosol generating devices, user interface devices, and servers can advantageously interoperate, or "work together," to restrict use of the aerosol generating device by underage users in a simple, secure, and easy manner and to restrict third parties from reselling unlocked aerosol generating devices to unauthorized users. In particular, for example, transmission of unlocking authorization from one or both of the server and the user interface device to the aerosol generating device can provide a simple, secure, and easy way to unlock the aerosol generating device for authorized users and help restrict third parties from reselling unlocked aerosol generating devices to unauthorized users. Furthermore, the present invention can be described as addressing the problem of ensuring that only manufacturers of aerosol generating devices or electronic smoking devices can unlock certain features or functions of an aerosol generating device to users who have been verified as the owner of the aerosol generating device before first use or resale.

[0016] As described herein, an aerosol generating device may include or have one or more unlockable features. For example, an aerosol generating device may have a single unlockable feature. In this example, preferably, the unlockable feature of the aerosol generating device is the ability to heat an aerosol-generating article using a heating element to generate an aerosol therefrom. In other words, the unlockable feature is the ability for a user to inhale or puff the aerosol from the aerosol generating device.

[0017] In other examples, the unlockable feature of the aerosol generating device may be any of a variety of different functions provided by the aerosol generating device, for example, the unlockable feature may be the ability to configure one or more options associated with the aerosol generating device, such as puff density, color of the light emitting elements thereon, audio output options, heater temperature, display options, puff count limits, and haptic feedback (e.g., vibration output) options.

[0018] To that end, the exemplary aerosol generating device, user interface device, and server may enable unlocking one or more unlockable features of the aerosol generating device. According to one aspect of the present invention, the exemplary aerosol generating device includes a cavity for receiving an aerosol-generating article, a heating element for heating the aerosol-generating article to generate an aerosol, and a power source operably coupled to the heating element.

[0019] Of course, exemplary aerosol generating devices may be shipped from the manufacturer in a locked state, such that one or more unlockable features are locked prior to initial purchase or sale. The exemplary methods, processes, and systems described herein may enable such one or more unlockable features to be unlocked only following strict validation procedures. Additionally, such exemplary aerosol generating devices may be relocked prior to or upon resale.

[0020] The aerosol generating device includes a communications interface for transmitting data to and from the user interface device, and a controller including one or more processors. The communications interface includes at least telemetry circuitry and an antenna for bidirectional communication with other devices, such as the user interface device, a server, a network device, a personal computer, and the like. More specifically, data and commands can be transmitted and received using the communications interface during uplink or downlink telemetry between the user interface device and other devices and / or networks. In at least one embodiment, the communications interface is a wireless interface using one or more wireless (radio frequency) data transmission protocols, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, any protocol in the ultra-high frequency (UHF) band, any protocol in the centimeter wave (SHF) band, low frequency, etc.

[0021] The controller of the aerosol generating device may include one or more processors (e.g., microprocessors) that may operate with associated data storage or memory to access processing programs or routines and one or more types of data that may be used to execute the exemplary methods. For example, the processing programs or routines stored in the data storage may include programs or routines for performing statistics, matrix calculations, compression algorithms (e.g., data compression algorithms), standardization algorithms, comparison algorithms, or any other processing used to implement one or more exemplary methods and processes described herein. Further, for example, the processing programs or routines stored in the data storage may include steps and functions for wirelessly transmitting data and commands between the user interface device and the aerosol generating apparatus, and wirelessly transmitting data and commands between the user interface device and a server. The data storage or memory may be further configured to store data related to locking and unlocking one or more unlockable features of the aerosol generating device, transmitting unlock requests and lock authorizations between the aerosol generating device, the user interface device, and the server, and any other data and / or schemes necessary to implement the processes and methods described herein.

[0022] In one or more embodiments, the aerosol generating device and its controller may be described as being implemented using one or more computer programs running on one or more programmable processors including processing capabilities (e.g., microcontrollers, programmable logic devices, etc.), data storage (e.g., volatile or non-volatile memory and / or storage elements), input devices, and output devices. The program code and / or logic described herein may be applied to input data to perform the functions described herein and to generate desired output information. The output information may be applied as input to one or more other devices and / or processes as described herein or as applied in a known manner.

[0023] The computer program products used to implement the processes described herein may be provided using any programmable language, e.g., a high-level procedural and / or object-oriented programming language suitable for communicating with a computer system. Such program products may be stored, for example, on any suitable device, e.g., a storage medium readable by a general-purpose or application-specific program, a controller device for configuring and operating a computer when read by a suitable device to perform the procedures described herein. In other words, in at least one embodiment, the user interface device may be implemented using a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium configured with a computer program, the storage medium so configured causing a computer to operate in a specific and predetermined manner to perform the functions described herein.

[0024] The exact configuration of the aerosol generating device controller is not limited; essentially, any device capable of providing adequate computing and control capabilities to implement the exemplary methods described herein may be used. In view of the above, it should be readily apparent that the functionality described in one or more embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in any manner known to those skilled in the art. Thus, the computer language, controller, or any other software / hardware used to implement the processes described herein is not intended to limit the scope of the systems, processes, or programs described herein (e.g., the functionality provided by such processes or programs). The methods and processes, or various components described in this disclosure, including those resulting from the present systems, may be implemented, at least in part, in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. For example, various aspects of the present technology may be implemented within one or more processors, including one or more microprocessors, DSPs, ASICs, FPGAs, CPLDs, microcontrollers, or any other equivalent integrated or discrete logic circuitry, as well as any combination of such components. When implemented in software, the functions of the systems, apparatus, and methods described in this disclosure may be embodied as instructions on a computer-readable medium such as RAM, ROM, NVRAM, EEPROM, FLASH memory, magnetic data storage media, optical data storage media, or the like. The instructions may be executed by one or more processors to support one or more aspects of the functions described in this disclosure.

[0025] As described herein, the unlock request is transmitted from the aerosol generating device to a server. In one embodiment, the unlock request may be transmitted directly to the server. More specifically, the aerosol generating device may be wirelessly coupled to the Internet to communicate with the server, and a user may use a user interface (e.g., a graphical user interface, a button, etc.) on the aerosol generating device to transmit the unlock request to the server via the Internet. In another embodiment, the unlock request may be transmitted from the aerosol generating device to a user interface device, which may then transmit the unlock request to the server. The user interface device may be wirelessly connected to the Internet to communicate with the server.

[0026] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the user interface device is a mobile phone. In one or more embodiments, the user interface device is a smartwatch. Generally, the user interface device may be described as any electronic device including a display device that provides a graphical user interface with the ability for a user to interact with it. The user interface device may include a controller and a communication interface device similar to those of the aerosol generating devices described herein.

[0027] In one or more aspects of the present invention, an exemplary user interface device includes a display device including a graphical user interface that allows a user to attempt to unlock an unlockable feature. Further, in one or more aspects of the present invention, a controller of the exemplary user interface device displays an unlockable feature graphical region on the graphical user interface and allows a user to select the unlockable feature graphical region to activate the aerosol generating device and submit an unlock request.

[0028] The display device is operably coupled to the controller to output data via the display device, and may be described and used as a user-interactive graphical user interface. The graphical user interface and display device may comprise a touch screen. The graphical user interface may be described as user-interactive because it may be configured to allow the user to view and / or manipulate data on the display device to enable the user to interact with the user interface device and the like. The graphical user interface may be configured to perform any of the functions described herein with respect to unlocking or locking one or more unlockable features of the aerosol generating device.

[0029] An unlock request, which may be sent from one or both of the aerosol generating device and the user interface device, includes data or information to provide the server with the ability to unlock the aerosol generating device. Similarly, a lock request, which may be sent from one or both of the aerosol generating device and the user interface device, includes data or information to provide the server with the ability to lock the aerosol generating device (e.g., when a user disassociates or deregisters from the aerosol generating device). The lock request may utilize the same or similar process as described herein for the unlock request. In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the unlock request includes unique device identification information that identifies the aerosol generating device and time-limited nonce information corresponding to the unlockable feature. In other words, the unlock request may include both a time-limited random value (nonce) in addition to information specific to the aerosol generating device. The unique device identification information may be information or data that identifies the aerosol generating device and is unique to each particular aerosol generating device. In other words, each aerosol generating device may include unique device identification information that is unique only to itself and not to other aerosol generating devices. Thus, the unique device identification information is different for each aerosol-generating device. The unique device identification information can be an alphanumeric string, a hexadecimal string, etc. In one or more aspects of the invention, the unique device identification information is a serial number. The unique device identification information is used, among other things, to ensure that a received message or data transmission is intended for the targeted aerosol-generating device.

[0030] The time-limited nonce information corresponding to the unlockable feature may be any data or information that can be used only once in cryptographic communication with the server to stop or limit future use of the unlock request. In other words, the use of the time-limited nonce information prevents the unlock request or message from being replayed to unlock the aerosol generating device in the future. Furthermore, the time-limited nonce information may be described as any number that can be used only once in cryptographic communication, often a random or pseudo-random number issued in an authentication protocol to prevent old communications from being reused in a "replay attack." The time-limited nonce information may be valid for a validity period. If the unlock grant or message received from the server is valid and the time-limited nonce information has not expired (e.g., the validity period has not expired), the aerosol generating device may change the state of the unlockable feature (e.g., unlock the unlockable feature).

[0031] For example, the validity period may be five minutes. In this example, if the aerosol generating device does not receive an unlock authorization after five minutes, the time-limited nonce information sent in the unlock request is determined to be invalid, and the unlock authorization, which may include the time-limited nonce information or a derivative thereof, is therefore invalid. Conversely, if the unlock authorization is received within the five-minute validity period, the unlock authorization is valid and will allow the aerosol generating device to unlock the unlockable feature. In other examples, the validity period may be greater than or equal to about seven minutes, greater than or equal to about ten minutes, less than or equal to about sixty seconds, less than or equal to about thirty seconds, less than or equal to about twenty seconds, or less than or equal to five seconds.

[0032] Accordingly, in one or more embodiments of the present invention, the controller of the exemplary aerosol generating device or the exemplary user interface device is further configured to terminate unlocking of the unlockable feature if unlock authorization is not received within a validity period after the unlock request is sent to the server. Further, in one or more embodiments of the present invention, the validity period is five minutes or less.

[0033] After the server receives an unlock request from one or both of the aerosol generating device and the user interface device, the server may send an unlock authorization to one or both of the aerosol generating device and the user interface device, depending on whether the server determines whether to unlock the aerosol generating device. The unlock authorization may be transmitted or communicated to one or both of the aerosol generating device and the user interface device in a secure and private manner. In one or more aspects of the present invention, the unlock authorization is encrypted. For example, the unlock authorization may be encrypted with a secret key known only to the server. Furthermore, the unlock authorization may include, among other things, a unique device identification and time-limited nonce information. The unique device identification information may be used to verify that the correct aerosol generating device is receiving the unlock authorization or message, and the time-limited nonce information may be used to determine whether the unlock authorization was received within a valid period, as described herein. In other words, an exemplary server may create or generate a lock / unlock message based on information from the aerosol generating device.

[0034] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the controller of the exemplary server is further configured to limit the number of unlocking authorizations sent to the aerosol generating devices, ie, the number of unlocking authorizations for each unique aerosol generating device is 1 or less, 3 or less, or 10 or less.

[0035] In one or more aspects of the present invention, in response to receiving the unlock authorization, the controller of the exemplary aerosol generating device decrypts the unlock authorization. The unlock authorization can be decrypted by the aerosol generating device using a public key located on all aerosol generating devices. Thus, in one or more aspects of the present invention, the unlock authorization can be decrypted using the public key stored on the aerosol generating device. The use of asymmetric cryptography allows only the manufacturer's server to lock / unlock the unlockable features of the aerosol generating device, eliminating the reliance and knowledge of a unique key for each aerosol generating device.

[0036] Additionally, in one or more aspects of the present invention, the controller of the exemplary aerosol generating device determines whether the decrypted unlocking authorization includes the unique device identification information and the time-limited nonce information, and unlocks the unlockable feature in response to determining that the decrypted unlocking authorization includes the unique device identification information and the nonce information. Thus, the present invention advantageously provides a secure, unforgeable, unique, and single-use process for locking or unlocking the functionality of an aerosol generating device using cryptographic secrets known only to the manufacturer's server (e.g., a back-end server), which can limit or stop hacking and malicious unlocking of the aerosol generating device by third parties.

[0037] Additionally, the aerosol generating device may be temporarily locked by the user, for example, if the user knows that they will not have the aerosol generating device in their possession for a certain period of time. In this manner, the user may protect the aerosol generating device from use by others when the user is away from the aerosol generating device. In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the controller of the exemplary aerosol generating device or the exemplary user interface device is further configured to temporarily relock the unlockable feature for the temporary lock period. Moreover, in one or more embodiments of the present invention, the temporary lock period is 24 hours or less. Still further, in one or more embodiments of the present invention, the controller of the exemplary aerosol generating device or the exemplary user interface device is further configured to allow the user to select the amount of time for the temporary lock period and initiate the temporary relock. For example, a graphical user interface may be provided by the user interface device such that the user can interact with the graphical user interface to select the amount of time for the temporary lock period and initiate the temporary lock period. In other embodiments, the temporary lock period may be configured and initiated using an interface (e.g., a button, a display, etc.) on the aerosol generating device itself.

[0038] An exemplary server may implement one or more various processes to ensure that only one user is associated with each aerosol generating device, to restrict unauthorized users from using an already unlocked aerosol generating device, and to limit the number of aerosol generating devices that can be unlocked by a single user. To that end, the server may include or utilize a database containing user account information and aerosol generating device information. According to one aspect of the present invention, an exemplary method (e.g., for use by the server) is provided that includes maintaining a database of user accounts and aerosol generating devices associated with the user accounts. Each aerosol generating device can only be associated with a single user account. The exemplary method further includes receiving an unlock request from the current aerosol generating device to unlock unlockable features of the current aerosol generating device. The unlock request includes unique user identification information that identifies the current user account associated with the current aerosol generating device. The exemplary method further includes determining whether the current aerosol generating device is already associated with any user account in the database, and, in response to determining that the current aerosol generating device is not already associated with any user account in the database, sending an unlock authorization to the current aerosol generating device to unlock the unlockable feature. The exemplary method further includes, in response to determining that the current aerosol generating device is not already associated with any user account in the database, updating the database to associate the current user account with the current aerosol generating device.

[0039] According to one aspect of the present invention, an exemplary computer program product is provided, including a non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code portions stored thereon. The program code portions, when executed on a computer or network device (e.g., a server), maintain a database of user accounts and aerosol generating devices associated with the user accounts. Each aerosol generating device can be associated with only a single user account. The program code portions are further configured to receive an unlock request from the current aerosol generating device to unlock unlockable features of the current aerosol generating device. The unlock request includes unique user identification information identifying the current user account associated with the current aerosol generating device. The program code portions are further configured to determine whether the current aerosol generating device is already associated with any user account in the database, and, in response to determining that the current aerosol generating device is not already associated with any user account in the database, send an unlock authorization to the current aerosol generating device to unlock the unlockable features. In response to determining that the current aerosol generating device is not already associated with any user account in the database, the program code portions are further configured to update the database to associate the current user account with the current aerosol generating device.

[0040] According to another aspect of the present invention, an exemplary system (e.g., a server) for unlocking unlockable features of an aerosol generating device is provided, the system comprising: a communications interface for transmitting data to and from the aerosol generating device; and a controller having one or more processors and operably coupled to the communications interface. The controller is configured to maintain a database of user accounts and aerosol generating devices associated with the user accounts. Each aerosol generating device can be associated with only a single user account. The controller is further configured to receive an unlock request from the current aerosol generating device to unlock the unlockable features. The unlock request includes unique user identification information identifying the current user account associated with the current aerosol generating device. The controller is further configured to determine whether the current aerosol generating device is already associated with any user account in the database; and, in response to determining that the current aerosol generating device is not already associated with any user account in the database, to send an unlock authorization to the current aerosol generating device to unlock the unlockable features. The controller is further configured to, in response to determining that the current aerosol generating device is not already associated with any user account in the database, update the database to associate the current user account with the current aerosol generating device.

[0041] The described databases may include a set of user data, such as, for example, a user account associated with each verified user. In one or more embodiments of the present invention, each user account in the database is associated with a person verified to be of legal age to use an aerosol generating device. The described databases may further include a set of aerosol generating device data, such as, for example, a unique device identification (e.g., serial number) that identifies each aerosol generating device. The user account and the unique device identification may be associated with each other in the database when a user unlocks one or more unlockable features of the aerosol generating device, for example, upon purchase of the aerosol generating device. Conversely, the user account and the unique device identification may be disassociated from each other in the database when a user re-locks one or more unlockable features of the aerosol generating device, for example, upon sale or other disposal of the aerosol generating device. In other words, a unique device identification (e.g., serial number) may be linked to only one user account, and the aerosol generating device can be unlocked (e.g., one or more unlockable features are unlocked) only when the unique device identification is linked to the user account. Additionally, if the aerosol generating device is not linked to an associated user account, the aerosol generating device may be automatically locked (eg, one or more unlockable features may be locked).

[0042] Through the use of the described database, the exemplary method, program code, and system may restrict or prevent one user from unlocking a device already associated with another user, thereby restricting a locked aerosol generating device from being unlocked by another user. Furthermore, through the use of the described database, the exemplary method, program code, and system may limit the number of aerosol generating devices that any one user may unlock, thereby addressing the problem of authorized purchasers being able to purchase multiple devices, unlock such multiple devices using their authorized account, and then resell the unlocked devices to minors, for example. In other words, a malicious seller may be prevented from purchasing hundreds of aerosol generating devices, linking them to their accounts, and then selling the aerosol generating devices to minors. Furthermore, if a seller were to attempt to do this, minors would be unable to configure such improperly obtained aerosol generating devices using a user interface device application (e.g., because minors would not be able to obtain user accounts for use with software applications on the user interface device). Still further, if an aerosol generating device is confiscated from a minor, it would be possible to detect which account was used to unlock the aerosol generating device sold to that minor.

[0043] In one or more embodiments of the invention, each user account in the database can only be associated with an allowable number of aerosol generating devices, and an exemplary method further includes the program code portion being further configured, or the controller being further configured, to: stop sending unlock authorizations and updating the database if the current user account is already associated with the allowable number of aerosol generating devices. Further, in one or more embodiments of the invention, the allowable number of aerosol generating devices is 10 or less. In other embodiments, the allowable number of aerosol generating devices is 25 or less, 15 or less, 5 or less, or 2 or less. In other words, only a limited number of devices can be linked to an account.

[0044] As described herein, a user may relock an aerosol generating device, for example, when selling or otherwise disposing of the aerosol generating device. Accordingly, in one or more aspects of the present invention, an exemplary method further includes a program code portion further configured, or a controller further configured, to receive a lock request from the current aerosol generating device to relock the unlockable features. A relock request may be substantially similar to an unlock request, except that the opposite result is desired. Thus, the relock request includes unique user identification information that identifies the current user account associated with the current aerosol generating device. Thereafter, in response to receiving the lock request, a database may be updated to disassociate the current user account from the current aerosol generating device, and a lock authorization may be sent to the current aerosol generating device to relock the unlockable features in response to receiving the lock request.

[0045] If an unauthorized user attempts to interface with or configure (e.g., using a user interface device) an aerosol generating device with which the user is not associated (thereby unauthorized), a locking authorization may be sent to the aerosol generating device to lock one or more unlockable features of the aerosol generating device. In this manner, the unauthorized user may be blocked from using the aerosol generating device that the unauthorized user was attempting to configure. For example, in one or more aspects of the present invention, an exemplary method further includes the controller being further configured to: in response to a user interface device not associated with the current user account attempting to configure the current aerosol generating device, send a locking authorization to the current aerosol generating device to re-lock the unlockable features. Additionally, in some embodiments, prior to automatic locking of the aerosol generating device, a warning message may be sent to the user interface device or the aerosol generating device in response to the unauthorized access attempt, indicating to the user that they are not associated with the database and therefore are not authorized to configure or interface with the aerosol generating device. For example, in one or more aspects of the present invention, the exemplary method further includes the program code portion being configured or the controller being further configured to instruct, in response to a user interface device not associated with the current user account attempting to configure the current aerosol generation device, to send a warning message to the user interface device.

[0046] The terms "aerosol-generating article" or "aerosol-generating substrate" refer to a substrate capable of releasing, upon heating, volatile compounds capable of forming an aerosol. The aerosol generated from an aerosol-generating substrate of a smoking article according to the present disclosure may be visible or invisible and may include vapor (e.g., fine particles of a substance in a gaseous state, e.g., of a substance that is normally liquid or solid at room temperature) and gas and condensed vapor droplets. One example of a heated aerosol-generating article is IQOS HeatSticks (also known as MARLBORO HEATSTICKS manufactured by Philip Morris International) for use with IQOS, a heated, non-combustion aerosol generator (also manufactured by Philip Morris International).

[0047] The term "aerosol-generating device" refers to a device configured to use or utilize an aerosol-generating article that emits volatile compounds to form an aerosol that can be inhaled by a user.

[0048] The terms "controller" and "processor" refer to any device or apparatus capable of providing suitable computing and control capabilities, such as, for example, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), equivalent discrete or integrated logic circuitry, or any combination thereof, and suitable data storage capabilities, including any medium containing digital bits (e.g., coded in binary or ternary, etc.) that may be readable and / or writable (e.g., volatile or non-volatile memory, magnetic recording media such as CD-ROM, disk or tape, etc.).

[0049] The term "communication interface" refers to any device or apparatus capable of providing appropriate data communication capabilities between an aerosol generating device and a user interface device (e.g., various telemetry circuits and antennas, etc.), which may use one or more wired or wireless (e.g., radio frequency) data transmission protocols, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, any protocol in the ultra-high frequency (UHF) band, any protocol in the centimeter wave (SHF) band, low frequency, or a combination thereof.

[0050] The term "database" refers to a collection, set, or repository of queryable, related data, such as, for example, a relational database. [Example]

[0051] The present invention is defined in the claims. However, the following provides a non-exhaustive list of non-limiting examples. Any one or more of the features of these examples may be combined with any one or more features of any other example, embodiment, or aspect described herein.

[0052] Example 1: 1. A method comprising: maintaining a database of user accounts and aerosol generating devices associated with the user accounts, wherein each aerosol generating device can only be associated with a single user account; receiving an unlock request from the current aerosol generating device to unlock an unlockable feature of the current aerosol generating device, the unlock request including unique user identification information identifying a current user account associated with the current aerosol generating device; determining whether the current aerosol generating device is already associated with any user account in the database; In response to determining that the current aerosol generating device is not already associated with any user account in the database, sending an unlock authorization to the current aerosol generating device to unlock the unlockable feature; In response to determining that the current aerosol generating device is not already associated with any user account in the database, updating the database to associate the current user account with the current aerosol generating device. Example 2: 1. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code portions stored thereon, the program code portions being capable of performing the following operations when the program product is executed on a computer or network device: maintaining a database of user accounts and aerosol generating devices associated with the user accounts, wherein each aerosol generating device can only be associated with a single user account; receiving an unlock request from the current aerosol generating device to unlock an unlockable feature of the current aerosol generating device, the unlock request including unique user identification information identifying a current user account associated with the current aerosol generating device; determining whether the current aerosol generating device is already associated with any user account in the database; In response to determining that the current aerosol generating device is not already associated with any user account in the database, sending an unlock authorization to the current aerosol generating device to unlock the unlockable feature; and A computer program product configured to, in response to determining that the current aerosol generating device is not already associated with any user account in the database, update the database to associate the current user account with the current aerosol generating device. Example 3: 1. A system for unlocking an unlockable feature of an aerosol generating device, comprising: a communications interface for transmitting data to and from the aerosol generating device; and a controller comprising one or more processors and operably coupled to the communication interface, the controller comprising: maintaining a database of user accounts and aerosol generating devices associated with the user accounts, wherein each aerosol generating device can only be associated with a single user account; receiving an unlock request from the current aerosol generating device to unlock the unlockable feature, the unlock request including unique user identification information identifying a current user account associated with the current aerosol generating device; determining whether the current aerosol generating device is already associated with any user account in the database; In response to determining that the current aerosol generating device is not already associated with any user account in the database, sending an unlock authorization to the current aerosol generating device to unlock the unlockable feature; and The system is configured to, in response to determining that the current aerosol generating device is not already associated with any user account in the database, update the database to associate the current user account with the current aerosol generating device. Example 4: The aerosol generator a cavity for receiving an aerosol-generating article; a heating element for heating the aerosol-generating article to generate an aerosol therefrom; and The method, computer program product, or system of any one of Examples 1 to 3, comprising: a power source operably coupled to the heating element, wherein the unlockable feature is the ability to use the heating element to heat the aerosol-generating article and generate an aerosol therefrom. Example 5: The method, computer program product, or system according to any one of Examples 1 to 4, wherein the method further includes, or the program code portion is further configured to instruct, or the controller is further configured to execute, stopping sending unlock authorizations and updating the database if each user account in the database can only be associated with an allowable number of aerosol generating devices and if the current user account is already associated with an allowable number of aerosol generating devices. Example 6: 6. The method, computer program product, or system of example 5, wherein the allowable number of aerosol generating devices is 10 or less. Example 7: A method, computer program product, or system according to any one of Examples 1 to 6, wherein each user account in the database is associated with a person who is verified to be of legal age to use the aerosol generating device. Example 8: receiving an unlock request from the current aerosol generating device to relock the unlockable feature, the relock request including unique user identification information identifying a current user account associated with the current aerosol generating device; In response to receiving the lock request, updating the database to disconnect the current user account from the current aerosol generating device; The method, computer program product, or system according to any one of Examples 1 to 7, wherein the method further includes, or the program code portion is further configured to instruct, or the controller is further configured to execute, sending a lock permission to the aerosol generating device to re-lock the unlockable feature in response to receiving the lock request. Example 9: The method, computer program product, or system of any one of Examples 1 to 8, wherein the method further includes, or the program code portion is further configured to instruct, or the controller is further configured to execute, sending a lock authorization to the current aerosol generation device to re-lock the unlockable feature in response to a user interface device not associated with the current user account attempting to configure the current aerosol generation device. Example 10: The method, computer program product, or system of any one of Examples 1 to 9, wherein the method further includes, or the program code portion is further configured to instruct, or the controller is further configured to execute, sending a warning message to the user interface device in response to a user interface device not associated with the current user account attempting to configure the current aerosol generation device. Example 11: The method, computer program product, or system according to any one of Examples 1 to 10, wherein the unlock request includes unique device identification information that identifies the aerosol generating device and time-limited nonce information corresponding to the unlockable feature. Example 12: 12. The method, computer program product, or system of example 11, wherein the unique device identification is a serial number. Example 13: The method, computer program product, or system according to any one of Examples 1 to 12, wherein the unlocking permission is encrypted. Example 14: The method, computer program product, or system according to any one of Examples 1 to 13, wherein the unlock authorization is decryptable using a public key stored on the current aerosol generating device. Reference will now be made to the drawings, which depict one or more embodiments described in the present disclosure. However, it will be understood that other embodiments not shown in the drawings fall within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Like numbers used in the figures refer to like components, steps, and the like. However, it will be understood that the use of a number to refer to a component in a given figure is not intended to limit the component labeled with the same number in another figure. Additionally, the use of different numbers to refer to components in different figures is not intended to indicate that the differently numbered components may not be the same or similar to other numbered components. Schematic diagrams are not necessarily to scale and are presented for illustrative purposes, not limitation. The drawings illustrate one or more embodiments described in the present disclosure. However, it will be understood that other embodiments not shown in the drawings fall within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0053] The embodiments will now be further described with reference to the following figures:

[0054] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system 200 for using locking and unlocking one or more features of an aerosol generating device 102 . [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an exemplary aerosol generating device 102. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram of an exemplary unlocking process 300 . [Figure 4] 4-7 are diagrams of an exemplary graphical user interface 250 for use with the user interface device 201 to lock and unlock the aerosol generation device. [Figure 5] Same as above. [Figure 6] Same as above. [Figure 7] Same as above. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0055] Referring to FIG. 1 , a functional scheme of an exemplary system 200 according to the present invention is illustrated. The system 200 includes a user interface device 201, an aerosol generation device 100, and a server 50. The user interface device 201, the aerosol generation device 100, and the server 50 are physically separate devices but are operably coupled to each other for data communication therebetween, as indicated by the bidirectional lines extending therebetween. The user interface device 201 is a general-purpose computer (in this example, a smartphone or tablet computer) and includes a controller 202 and associated data storage 203. The data storage 203 includes programs and routines 204, such as programs and routines for transmitting and receiving data or messages between the aerosol generation device 100 and the server 50, as well as any other programs or routines for implementing the exemplary methods and processes described herein. For example, data or messages related to locking and unlocking one or more unlockable features of the aerosol generation device 102 may be transmitted between the user interface device 201, the aerosol generation device 102, and the server 50. The data storage 203 further includes data 205 such as unique user identification information that identifies the current user account associated with the current aerosol generating device 102, unique device identification information that identifies the aerosol generating device 102, and various temporary data utilized during the locking and unlocking processes described herein.

[0056] The user interface device 201 further includes a display device 206 with a graphical user interface with which a user can interact. The user interface device includes a communication connection to the Internet, such as a wireless local area network (e.g., Wi-Fi) transceiver. With further reference to FIG. 1 , the user interface device 201 may be a portable device configured to establish a connection to the server 50 to send / receive data, such as data related to locking and unlocking one or more unlockable features of the aerosol generating device 102. Data may be transferred and / or received via the Internet via the Wi-Fi transceiver of the user interface device 201.

[0057] As described herein, the system 200 may include an aerosol-generating device 102, as described in more detail with reference to FIG. 2 . Preferably, the aerosol-generating device 102 comprises a cavity 132 for receiving an aerosol-generating article 104, such as a heat stick, and a heater 134 configured to provide a heat source to the aerosol-generating article 104, thereby generating an inhalable aerosol. The aerosol-generating device 102 further includes a controller 128 comprising one or more processors and associated memory. The controller 128 may include functionality to lock or unlock various unlockable features of the aerosol-generating device 102. For example, the controller 128 may lock or unlock the ability to use the heating element 134 to heat the aerosol-generating article 104 and generate an aerosol therefrom.

[0058] The controller 128 may further include a communication interface, such as, for example, a wireless communication interface, that allows it to communicate with, for example, the user interface device 201 and / or the server 50 to unlock or lock the functionality of one or more unlockable features described herein. The communication interface of the controller 128 may preferably comprise a Bluetooth interface or may include a Wi-Fi interface. The aerosol-generating device 102 further includes a power supply 126 to provide power to the aerosol-generating device 102, for example, to, among other things, heat the heater to generate the aerosol, and to communicate with the user interface device 201 and the server 50.

[0059] A sequence diagram of an exemplary unlocking process 300 is illustrated in FIG. 3. The aerosol generation device 102, indicated by the solid vertical line on the far left, may include a locked / unlocked state 150, which initially indicates that the aerosol generation device 102 is locked in this example. A device detection process 302, indicated by the solid vertical line, may be continuously executed between the aerosol generation device 102 and the user interface device 201 so that the user interface device 201 can detect and connect to the aerosol generation device 102, regardless of whether the aerosol generation device is locked or unlocked or whether the aerosol generation device is paired or associated with the user interface device 201. The device detection process 302 may enable the user interface device 201 to be paired or associated with the aerosol generation device 102. Additionally, the device detection process 302 may enable the aerosol generating device 102 to connect to the user interface device 201, or more specifically, to a software application running on the user interface device 201 that provides the locking and unlocking functionality described herein. The device detection process 302 may exchange information such as a unique device identification (e.g., serial number) that identifies the aerosol generating device 102.

[0060] The user interface device 201 may query 304 the aerosol generation device 102 to determine the current lock / unlock state 150 of the aerosol generation device 102. In one embodiment, the query 304 may be a read command requesting data from a portion of the aerosol generation device 102's memory indicating the current lock / unlock state 150. In return, the aerosol generation device 102 may return the lock / unlock state 150, an error message, or a busy message 305. In other words, the user interface device 201 or the server 50 may request 304 the current state of the unlockable feature desired to be locked or unlocked, and the aerosol generation device 102 may respond 305 with, among other things, the current lock / unlock state 150.

[0061] The unlocking process 300 can be initiated by the aerosol generating device 102, the user interface device 201, or the server 50. The server 50 is indicated by the solid vertical line on the far right. Regardless of where the unlocking process 300 is initiated, the unlocking request must ultimately be sent to the server 50. In this example, the user interface device 201 initiates the unlocking by issuing a read command 306 to the aerosol generating device 102. In response, the aerosol generating device 102 can send an unlocking request 308A to the user interface device 201. The unlocking request 308A can include at least time-limited nonce information and unique device identification information. The time-limited nonce information can be a 16-byte integer. Additionally, the unlocking request 308A can include a response size. In one or more embodiments, it may be described that when the server 50 or the user interface device 201 desires to change the current locked / unlocked state 150, it requests unique information, such as the serial number and a unique value (e.g., a nonce value) of the aerosol generating device 102. In response, the aerosol generating device 102 transmits such information to one or both of the user interface device 201 and the server 50.

[0062] The user interface device 201 may receive the unlock request 308A and modify the unlock request 308A to include, for example, unique user identification information that identifies the current user account associated with the current aerosol generating device 102. The modified unlock request 308B may be transmitted to the server 50.

[0063] The server 50 may include and maintain a database 54, as shown in FIG. 1 . The database 54 may include a collection of user account information and device information, which may be utilized by the locking and unlocking processes described herein. While the server 50 may be described as including or having the database 54, it should be understood that the database 54 may not be physically located on the server 50, but may instead be on another server to which the server 50 has access. Additionally, the server 50 may not be a single computer server, but instead may be multiple servers or a server cluster. Additionally, the server 50 may simply be a virtual server running on various hardware platforms or cloud services.

[0064] The server 50 may receive the unlock request 308A and perform one or more processes 52 thereon in accordance with the present disclosure. For example, the server 50 may determine (e.g., by querying the database 54) whether the aerosol generating device 102 is already associated with another user 52. If it is determined that the aerosol generating device 102 is already associated with another user based on the unique device identification information, the server 50 does not issue an unlock authorization. Further, for example, the server 50 may determine (e.g., by querying the database 54) whether the current user is already associated with an allowable number of aerosol generating devices 52. If it is determined that the current user is already associated with an allowable number of aerosol generating devices, the server 50 does not issue an unlock authorization (e.g., stops sending unlock authorizations). Still further, the server 50 may update the database to associate the current user account with the current aerosol generating device 102 if the current aerosol generating device is not already associated with any user account in the database.

[0065] If the server 50 determines that the aerosol generation device 102 should be unlocked, the server 50 may generate an unlock authorization 310 and send the unlock authorization 310 to the user interface device 201. Additionally, in some embodiments, the unlock authorization 310 may be sent directly from the server 50 to the aerosol generation device 102. The unlock authorization 310 may be encrypted using a private key known only to the server 50 and may include time-limited nonce information and unique device identification information. In other words, the server 50 creates a string (i.e., the unlock authorization) consisting of the lock / unlock request, the aerosol generation device's unique information, the nonce, and some additional padding, encrypts the string using an asymmetric private key, and sends the result (i.e., the encrypted string) to one or both of the user interface device 201 and the aerosol generation device 102. The user interface device 201 may then send the unlock authorization 312 to the aerosol generation device 102. In this example, the user interface device 201 sends the unlock permission 312 multiple times, as indicated by the letters following the unlock permissions 312A, 312B, . . . 312n.

[0066] If the unlock authorization 312 is not received within the validity period 199, the unlock process 300 expires, the aerosol generation device 102 is not unlocked, and the unlock process 300 must be restarted. In this example, the unlock authorization 312 is received within the validity period 199, resulting in the aerosol generation device 102 being unlocked as indicated by the current locked / unlocked state 150. In other words, the aerosol generation device 102 may start a validity timer by which the unlock process must be completed; if the procedure fails or is not completed within the validity period, the current process 300 is invalidated and must be restarted from the beginning.

[0067] For example, the aerosol generating device 102 can receive the encrypted string (i.e., the unlock authorization) and decrypt it using the server 50's public key, which can be stored on all aerosol generating devices 102. The aerosol generating device 102 can verify whether the decrypted string respects a predetermined format and contains the original nonce, the unique device information, and request a change in the state of the current lock / unlock state 150 associated with the nonce. If these conditions are met and the validity period has not expired, the aerosol generating device 102 changes the current lock / unlock state 150.

[0068] Additionally, the user interface device 201 may maintain a periodic withdrawal 290 by querying 304 the aerosol generation device 102 about the status of the aerosol generation device 102 to determine its current locked / unlocked state 150. In particular, the periodic withdrawal 290 may include a query 304 from the user interface device 201, in response to which the locked / unlocked state 150, an error message, or a busy message may be returned 305 from the aerosol generation device 102.

[0069] While the unlocking process 300 is illustrated in FIG. 3, it should be understood that the locking or re-locking process may be implemented in a similar manner. For example, the user interface device 201 may initiate a lock request that collects the same or similar information, such as a unique device identification, a unique user identification, and a time-limited nonce, to send to the server 50. The server 50 then issues a lock authorization to lock the aerosol generating device 102.

[0070] An exemplary user interface device 201 including a display device 206 showing a graphical user interface 250 is shown in FIGS. 4-7. In FIG. 4, the graphical user interface 250 includes a lock status graphical element 251, which is configured to indicate whether the connected aerosol generating device is in a locked or unlocked state (e.g., one or more unlockable features of the aerosol generating device are locked or unlocked). As shown in FIG. 4, the lock status graphical element 251 illustrates the unlocked state, indicated by a graphical representation of an unlocked padlock. Thus, if the connected aerosol generating device is unlocked and the unlockable feature is the ability to heat an aerosol-generating article using a heating element to generate aerosol therefrom, the user may use the aerosol generating device to heat an aerosol-generating article using a heating element to generate aerosol therefrom.

[0071] Graphical user interface 250 further includes a device status message 252 indicating whether an aerosol generation device is connected. As shown, device status message 252 displays "Device Connected," indicating that an aerosol generation device is currently connected to user interface device 201 such that the aerosol generation device may be configured or locked / unlocked using user interface device 201. Conversely, device status message 252 may display "Device Not Connected" to indicate that an aerosol generation device is not currently connected to user interface device 201. Graphical user interface 250 further includes an aerosol generation device graphical representation 254 illustrating the associated aerosol generation device, for example, to indicate the type of aerosol generation device currently connected to user interface device 201.

[0072] The graphical user interface 250 of the user interface device 201 may be used to configure the aerosol generation device and lock / unlock unlockable features of the aerosol generation device. To do so, the user may select (e.g., touch, click, etc.) a change settings graphical area 256, illustrated as the word "Settings" with a right-pointing arrow. Additionally, the graphical user interface 250 may include a toolbar area 258 that includes multiple selectable areas across the graphical user interface 250 (e.g., for navigating the aerosol generation device software application running on the graphical user interface 250). For example, the toolbar area 258 may include, among other things, a devices area and a user account area. The devices area may allow the user to configure the connected aerosol generation device, and the user account area may allow the user to configure its user account.

[0073] A user may wish to temporarily lock the aerosol generating device using the user interface device 201. To do so, the user may select the lock status graphical element 251 or the text "Locked" located nearby. Selection of the lock status graphical element 251 may cause a lock graphical area 260 to be illustrated in the graphical user interface 250, as shown in FIG. 5 . The user may use the lock graphical area 260 to select an amount of time within or over the temporary lock period. In this example, a lock period selection area 262 containing a scrollable list of time values ​​is displayed, displaying 10 hours, 15 hours, and 21 hours, with 15 hours currently selected as shown in bold in the center. In one embodiment, the user may "swipe up" or "swipe down" on the lock period selection area 262 to display other time values ​​arranged in a sequential manner. Once the user finds and selects the desired lock period using the lock period selection area 262, the user may select the initiate lock graphical element 264 to initiate the temporary lock or re-lock.

[0074] Additionally, a user may wish to use user interface device 201 to lock the aerosol generating device prior to reselling or transferring the aerosol generating device, which can also be accomplished by selecting lock status graphical element 251 and using lock graphical area 260 to lock the aerosol generating device indefinitely until another user attempts to unlock the aerosol generating device using an authorized user account. For example, instead of selecting a lock period, a user may use lock period selection area 262 to select an indefinite period until another authorized user unlocks the aerosol generating device.

[0075] Upon selecting the initiate lock graphical element 264 to initiate a temporary lock or relock, a temporary lock status message 270 may be displayed in the graphical user interface 250, as shown in FIG. 6 . The temporary lock status message 270 may indicate in text that the associated aerosol generation device is locked. As shown, the temporary lock status message 270 reads, "Device is locked." In addition, the temporary lock status message 270 may also indicate the amount of time remaining in the temporary lock period. As shown, the temporary lock status message 270 reads, "Will be unlocked in 15 hours," indicating that the aerosol generation device's temporary lock status will expire in 15 hours.

[0076] Additionally, because the associated aerosol generating device is currently locked (e.g., one or more of its unlockable features are temporarily locked), the lock status graphical element 251 currently illustrates a locked status indicated by a graphical representation of a locked padlock. Thus, if the connected aerosol generating device is locked and the unlockable feature is the ability to heat an aerosol-generating article using a heating element to generate an aerosol therefrom, the user may not be able to use the aerosol generating device to heat an aerosol-generating article using a heating element to generate an aerosol therefrom.

[0077] If the associated aerosol generation device is locked, the user may wish to unlock the aerosol generation device (e.g., unlock one or more of its unlockable features). To do so, the user may select the lock status graphical element 251 or the text "unlock" located nearby. Selection of the lock status graphical element 251 may cause an unlock graphical area 280 to be illustrated in the graphical user interface 250, as shown in FIG. 7. The user may use the unlock graphical area 280 to select either an initiate unlock graphical element 282 (e.g., a button) or an cancel unlock graphical element 284. Selection of the initiate unlock graphical element 282 initiates the unlock process described herein. For example, an unlock request may be generated by the aerosol generation device and the user interface device 201 and sent to a server in an attempt to obtain unlock authorization.

[0078] For purposes of this specification and the appended claims, unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing amounts, quantities, percentages, and the like are to be understood in all instances as modified by the term "about." Also, all ranges include the disclosed maximum and minimum points, and include any intermediate ranges therebetween, which may or may not be specifically recited herein. Furthermore, all scientific and technical terms used herein have meanings commonly used in the art unless otherwise specified. The definitions provided herein are intended to facilitate understanding of certain terms used frequently herein. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the") encompass embodiments having plural referents, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. As used herein, "or" is generally employed in the sense of including "and / or," unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term "and / or" refers to one or all of the listed elements or a combination of any two or more of the listed elements. As used herein, the terms "have," "having," "include," "including," "comprise," "comprising," and the like are used in their open-ended sense and generally mean "including, but not limited to." It should be understood that terms such as "consisting essentially of," "consisting of," and the like are encompassed by "comprising" and the like. The terms "preferred" and "preferably" refer to embodiments of the invention that may, under particular circumstances, offer certain advantages. However, other embodiments may also be preferred, under the same or other circumstances. Moreover, the recitation of one or more preferred embodiments does not imply that other embodiments are not useful, nor is it intended to exclude other embodiments from the scope of the present disclosure, including the claims.

Claims

1. 1. A computer-implemented method comprising: maintaining on a server a database of user accounts and aerosol-generating devices associated with said user accounts, wherein each aerosol-generating device among said aerosol-generating devices can only be associated with a single user account; receiving an unlock request from a current one of the aerosol generating devices to unlock an unlockable feature of the current aerosol generating device, the unlock request including unique user identification information that identifies a current user account associated with the current aerosol generating device; determining whether the current aerosol generating device is already associated with any user account in the database; In response to determining that the current aerosol generating device is not already associated with any user account in the database, sending an unlock authorization to the current aerosol generating device to unlock the unlockable feature; In response to determining that the current aerosol generating device is not already associated with any user account in the database, updating the database to associate the current user account with the current aerosol generating device.

2. 1. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code portions stored thereon, said program code portions configured to: maintaining on a server a database of user accounts and aerosol generating devices associated with said user accounts, wherein each aerosol generating device can only be associated with a single user account; receiving an unlock request from a current aerosol generating device to unlock an unlockable feature of the current aerosol generating device, the unlock request including unique user identification information that identifies a current user account associated with the current aerosol generating device; determining whether the current aerosol generating device is already associated with any user account in the database; in response to determining that the current aerosol generating device is not already associated with any user account in the database, sending an unlock authorization to the current aerosol generating device to unlock the unlockable feature; and A computer program product configured to, in response to determining that the current aerosol generating device is not already associated with any user account in the database, update the database to associate the current user account with the current aerosol generating device.

3. 1. A system for unlocking an unlockable feature of an aerosol generating device, comprising: a communications interface for transmitting data to and from the aerosol generating device; and a controller operably coupled to the communication interface, the controller comprising one or more processors, the controller: maintaining on a server a database of user accounts and aerosol generating devices associated with said user accounts, wherein each aerosol generating device can only be associated with a single user account; receiving an unlock request from a current aerosol generating device to unlock the unlockable feature, the unlock request including unique user identification information that identifies a current user account associated with the current aerosol generating device; determining whether the current aerosol generating device is already associated with any user account in the database; in response to determining that the current aerosol generating device is not already associated with any user account in the database, sending an unlock authorization to the current aerosol generating device to unlock the unlockable feature; and The system is configured to, in response to determining that the current aerosol generating device is not already associated with any user account in the database, update the database to associate the current user account with the current aerosol generating device.

4. The aerosol generating device comprises: a cavity for receiving an aerosol-generating article; a heating element for heating the aerosol-generating article to generate an aerosol therefrom; and a power source operably coupled to the heating element; The method of claim 1 , wherein the unlockable feature is the ability to use the heating element to heat the aerosol-generating article and generate an aerosol therefrom.

5. each user account in the database can only be associated with an allowable number of aerosol generating devices; The method of claim 1 or 4, wherein the method further comprises stopping the sending of the unlock authorization and the updating of the database if the current user account is already associated with the allowable number of aerosol generating devices.

6. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the allowable number of aerosol generating devices is 10 or less.

7. 7. The method of any one of claims 1 and 4 to 6, wherein each user account in the database is associated with a person who is verified to be of legal age to use the aerosol generating device.

8. receiving a lock request from the current aerosol generating device to re-lock the unlockable feature, the lock request including the unique user identification information that identifies the current user account associated with the current aerosol generating device; In response to receiving the lock request, updating the database to disconnect the current user account from the current aerosol generating device; The method of any one of claims 1 and 4 to 7, further comprising, in response to receiving the lock request, sending a lock permission to the aerosol generating device to relock the unlockable feature.

9. A method according to any one of claims 1 and 4 to 8, wherein the method further comprises sending a lock permission to the current aerosol generation device to re-lock the unlockable feature in response to a user interface device not associated with the current user account attempting to configure the current aerosol generation device.

10. A method according to any one of claims 1 and 4 to 9, wherein the method further comprises sending a warning message to a user interface device in response to a user interface device not associated with the current user account attempting to configure the current aerosol generating device.

11. The unlock request is a unique device identification that identifies the aerosol generating device; and The method of any one of claims 1 and 4 to 10, including time-limited nonce information corresponding to said unlockable feature.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the unique device identification is a serial number.

13. The method of any one of claims 1 and 4 to 12, wherein the unlocking authorization is encrypted.

14. The method of any one of claims 1 and 4 to 13, wherein the unlocking authorization is decryptable using a public key stored on the current aerosol generating device.

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