Power supply system for aerosol generators

Abstract

A power supply system (101) is suitable for being part of the aerosol generating device (100). In the power supply system, the supply terminals (VDD) of the microcontroller (1) are connected to a rechargeable power supply (2), so that the voltage at the supply terminals of the microcontroller varies depending on the charge level of the rechargeable power supply. No DC-DC converter is used between the rechargeable power supply and the microcontroller, so that the microcontroller can monitor the charge level of the rechargeable power supply.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to a power supply system, in particular such a system adapted to be part of an aerosol generation device. The present invention also relates to an aerosol generation device when comprising the power supply system of the present invention.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] Each aerosol generation device incorporates a microcontroller that performs several functions, in particular operating and controlling a dedicated heater for heating an amount of aerosol precursor to generate an aerosol. The microcontroller is generally powered from a battery via a low dropout (LDO) regulator. The LDO regulator ensures that a substantially constant voltage is supplied to the microcontroller at the supply terminal (usually denoted VDD) of the microcontroller. That may result in stable and constant operation of the microcontroller. In fact, many microcontrollers should be supplied with a DC voltage of about 3.2 V (volts), but the output voltage of the battery can vary from less than 2.5 V to more than 4.2 V depending on the battery type and the current charge level of the battery. If the DC voltage fed to the microcontroller is too high relative to the nominal value specified for this microcontroller (for example, 4.0 V instead of 3.2 V), the internal clock of the microcontroller will be too fast, the energy consumption of the microcontroller will be unnecessarily significantly increased, and several peripherals within the microcontroller may be affected. As a result, the usage period of the aerosol generation device between two energy refills is shortened.

[0003] The battery monitoring integrated circuit (CSI) has the function of preventing the battery output voltage from dropping too low to a severe depletion state. Before reaching a severe depletion state, the CSI triggers the isolation of the microcontroller from the battery to suppress further energy consumption. The CSI also prevents the battery from being recharged after severe depletion has occurred. This is usually done by incorporating a charging integrated circuit (charging IC) that stops charging the battery once a full charge is achieved. This can contribute to ensuring the safety of aerosol generators. [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0004] However, the use of LDO regulators and battery monitoring integrated circuits contributes to increased unit cost and energy consumption of aerosol generators, as well as increased complexity of the device structure.

[0005] Starting from this situation, one objective of the present invention is to mitigate the above-mentioned drawbacks.

[0006] In particular, the present invention makes it possible to suppress redundant components in a power supply system targeting an aerosol generator. In this way, the present invention is involved in minimizing the number of components in an aerosol generator. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To satisfy these or at least one of the other objectives, a first aspect of the present invention proposes a power supply system adapted to be part of an aerosol generator, the power supply system is - A microcontroller configured to control the power supplied to the load, - A rechargeable power supply having an output voltage that changes according to the charge level of the rechargeable power supply, It is equipped with a microcontroller that is connected to receive additional power from a rechargeable power supply.

[0008] According to the present invention, a dedicated microcontroller supply terminal for receiving power to enable the operation of the microcontroller is connected to a rechargeable power supply such that the voltage of the microcontroller supply terminal changes according to the charge level of the rechargeable power supply.

[0009] In other words, the present invention proposes connecting the VDD terminal of a microcontroller to a rechargeable power supply so that the microcontroller receives the output voltage of this rechargeable power supply, which changes according to its current charge level. In particular, no linear regulator such as a DC-DC converter or LDO regulator is placed between the output of the rechargeable power supply and the VDD terminal of the microcontroller. With such a power supply connection, the microcontroller can sense and monitor the current output voltage of the rechargeable power supply and thus control the management of the rechargeable power supply. In particular, the microcontroller can prevent further power supply from the rechargeable power supply to the load, thereby preventing the rechargeable power supply from entering a severely depleted state. In addition, if the rechargeable power supply is already severely depleted for any reason, the microcontroller can also prevent recharging for security reasons. Furthermore, because the microcontroller senses the output voltage of the rechargeable power supply, it can detect when a full charge has been achieved and stop the charging operation. Since such functions can be realized by the microcontroller, there is no need to use a battery monitoring integrated circuit. Therefore, the power supply system of the present invention can be made simpler and, as a result, its unit cost can be reduced.

[0010] In the present invention, the rechargeable power source may generally be a battery (e.g., a lithium-ion secondary battery) or a capacitor, or it may be any other type of rechargeable power source.

[0011] Such a power supply connection can also improve the power consumption of the aerosol generator because there is no longer any power loss in the LDO regulator due to its power regulation, and the power consumption of the battery monitoring integrated circuit can also be eliminated.

[0012] Therefore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller may be configured to monitor the voltage of its supply terminal and prevent charging of the rechargeable power supply if this voltage is below a low-level threshold.

[0013] According to an improved embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller may be adapted to operate in either a standard mode or a low-power mode, with the power consumption of the microcontroller being lower in the low-power mode compared to the standard mode. The microcontroller may then be further configured to activate the low-power mode for operation when the voltage at its supply terminals exceeds a voltage threshold, and to switch to the standard mode when this voltage at the supply terminals falls below the voltage threshold. Thus, it is possible to avoid wasted power overconsumption by the microcontroller due to the microcontroller's VDD voltage being higher than the nominal value. Consequently, the continuous use time of the aerosol generator before the next recharge of the rechargeable power supply is saved. Depending on the type of microcontroller, several types of low-power modes can be implemented for the microcontroller. For example, some modules inside the microcontroller can be switched to idle mode.

[0014] Generally, the clock frequency of a microcontroller is proportional to its VDD voltage. One reason why a microcontroller may consume excessive power due to a high VDD voltage can be explained by such a high internal clock frequency.

[0015] Alternatively, if the microcontroller is internally clocked, the clock frequency value effective in low-power mode may be configured to be lower than another clock frequency value effective in standard mode for the same voltage value at the microcontroller's supply terminals. Such operation allows the microcontroller to operate more stably. In general, a fluctuating clock frequency of a microcontroller can cause unstable operation. Such fluctuations in clock frequency can be suppressed by activating low-power mode when the supply terminal voltage is below a voltage threshold.

[0016] According to another improved embodiment of the present invention, particularly when the invention relates to an aerosol generator, the power supply system is: - A DC-DC converter connected to a load via a rechargeable power supply, - A MOSFET switch is connected in series with the load between the output of the DC-DC converter and the ground terminal of the power supply system, and has a gate connected to the first control output terminal of the microcontroller to allow or prevent the microcontroller from supplying power to the load. It can also be equipped with.

[0017] According to an optional but preferred additional feature of the present invention, the MOSFET switch may be p-type and may be connected between the output of a DC-DC converter and a load. By implementing such a configuration, the microcontroller can achieve control of power supply to the load even when the rechargeable power supply is in a low-level charge state. In fact, to perform such control, the microcontroller never needs to provide the MOSFET switch with a control voltage that may be higher than its VDD voltage, and this is not possible. In detail, the source of the p-type MOSFET switch is connected to the output of the DC-DC converter, the gate of the p-type MOSFET switch is connected to the microcontroller, and the drain of the p-type MOSFET switch is connected to the load. A typical p-type MOSFET turns on when the potential of the source electrode is above a predetermined threshold above the potential of the gate electrode. Because the boosted voltage from the DC-DC converter is supplied to the source terminal of the p-type MOSFET, the microcontroller can turn on the p-type MOSFET by simply supplying a low-level voltage to the gate terminal of the p-type MOSFET that can be supplied even when the rechargeable power supply is in a low-level charge state.

[0018] According to yet another improved embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller may be provided with a second control output terminal and may be configured to supply a pulse-width modulated control signal to this second control output terminal. The power supply system then - This microcontroller controls the light emission of the light-emitting diode, and the light-emitting diode is connected to the second control output terminal of the microcontroller. - A capacitor connected in parallel with a light-emitting diode converts a pulse-width modulated control signal into a DC current that is conducted through the light-emitting diode and whose value changes according to the pulse-width modulated control signal. It can also be equipped with.

[0019] In general, the light intensity of a light emitting diode is proportional to the applied voltage of the light emitting diode, and a microcontroller outputs only the same voltage as its VDD voltage in a continuous waveform scheme or a pulse waveform scheme (for example, pulse width modulation). This means that the light intensity of the light emitting diode may vary based on the charge level of the rechargeable power supply. With such a capacitor, the light intensity of the light emitting diode can be maintained at a substantially same level even when the charge level of the rechargeable power supply changes. Since such a capacitor can function as a bypass capacitor or a smoothing capacitor, when such a pulse width modulation type control signal is controlled based on the charge level of the rechargeable power supply, the applied voltage of the light emitting diode can be maintained at a substantially same level.

[0020] In the case of the present invention, in general, the power supply system comprises - a charger module arranged to charge a rechargeable power supply with energy originating from an external power supply, and - a first detection circuit arranged to detect whether the external power supply is currently active relative to the charger module during use of the power supply system, and - a second detection circuit arranged to detect whether a load is connected to the power supply system such that the load conducts an output current supplied by the power supply system, and - a power supply switch arranged in series between the rechargeable power supply and a supply terminal of the microcontroller, and connected to the first detection circuit and the second detection circuit so as to allow separate power to be transmitted from the rechargeable power supply to the microcontroller only when at least one of the following two cases is detected, i.e., · the external power supply is currently active relative to the charger module, and · the load is connected to the power supply system may further be comprised. With such a supply connection scheme, power supply to the microcontroller is delivered only when charging or discharging of the rechargeable power supply is expected. This can lead to further improvement in the energy consumption of the aerosol generation device.​

[0021] In a possible simple embodiment, the first sensing circuit is - a first sensing resistor connected in parallel between an external power supply and ground, and - a first operational amplifier, wherein a non-inverting input terminal and an inverting input terminal are connected to both ends of the first sensing resistor, and an output terminal is connected to a control terminal of a power switch, can be provided. Such a supply connection automatically establishes power supply to the microcontroller in response to the availability of the external power supply.

[0022] The power supply system may further include a pull-up resistor connected in series between the external power supply and the first sensing resistor. Then, the enable terminal of the charger module may be configured to receive a divided voltage generated by the pull-up resistor and the first sensing resistor. With such a supply connection, the charger module is also automatically enabled in response to the availability of the external power supply, and at the same time establishes power supply to the microcontroller.

[0023] The second sensing circuit is - a second sensing resistor connected in series with the load, and - a second operational amplifier, wherein a non-inverting input terminal and an inverting input terminal are connected to both ends of the second sensing resistor, and an output terminal is connected to a control terminal of the power switch, and - a bypass circuit connected between the rechargeable power supply and the load, bypassing the DC-DC converter and the MOSFET switch, can be provided. Such a supply connection allows the microcontroller to distinguish whether the load is available without enabling the DC-DC converter.

[0024] The bypass circuit may include a reverse-blocking diode with its anode connected to a rechargeable power supply and its cathode connected to a load. The DC-DC converter may then be a boost converter. Such a supply connection can prevent reverse currents that could lead to unstable operation of the aerosol generator through the bypass circuit, primarily through the reverse-blocking diode.

[0025] The bypass circuit may also include a current-limiting resistor connected in series between the rechargeable power supply and the load. Such a supply connection allows the microcontroller to distinguish whether or not the load is available with very low current.

[0026] In a possible first embodiment of the present invention, the power supply system then, - A first NOT gate whose input terminal is connected to the output terminal of the first operational amplifier, - A second NOT gate, whose input terminal is connected to the output terminal of the second operational amplifier, - An AND gate, wherein the input terminal is connected to the output terminals of a first NOT gate and a second NOT gate, and the output terminal of this AND gate is connected to the control terminal of a power switch, It can also be equipped with.

[0027] In such a first embodiment, the power switch may be a p-type MOSFET. Such a supply connection automatically establishes a power supply to the microcontroller in response to the availability of an external power source or load.

[0028] Alternatively, in another possible embodiment of the present invention, the power supply system is: - A NOR gate, wherein the input terminal is connected to the output terminals of a first operational amplifier and a second operational amplifier, and the output terminal of this NOR gate is connected to the control terminal of a power switch. It can also be equipped with.

[0029] In other such embodiments, the power switch may again be a p-type MOSFET. Such a supply connection automatically establishes a power supply to the microcontroller in response to the availability of an external power source or load.

[0030] In the present invention, the microcontroller may generally be further connected to receive a detection signal representing the current supplied to the load. Thus, feedback control of the power currently supplied to the load becomes possible with the microcontroller.

[0031] A second aspect of the present invention proposes an aerosol generator, which is a... - A power supply system according to an embodiment of the first invention, - A heater that forms a load is connected to the power supply system so that it is powered by this power supply system, It is equipped with.

[0032] Next, these and other features of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings relating to preferred but not limiting embodiments of the present invention. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0033] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram of the aerosol generator according to the present invention. [Figure 2] This figure illustrates the mode control possible with the microcontroller used in the aerosol generator shown in Figure 1. [Figure 3] This is a detailed diagram of a first embodiment possible with the aerosol generator shown in Figure 1. [Figure 4] A second embodiment possible with the aerosol generator shown in Figure 1 corresponds to Figure 3. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0034] For clarity, the same reference numbers shown in different versions of these diagrams indicate the same element or an element having the same function.

[0035] Referring to Figure 1, the aerosol generator 100 comprises a microcontroller 1, a battery 2, a heater 3, and a DC-DC converter 4. The following labels have been added to clarify the figure: "MCU" stands for Microcontroller Unit, as opposed to Microcontroller 1. "Boost DC-DC converter" for DC-DC converter 4, Overvoltage protection for charging input port 5, and A "charger" for the charging circuit 6.

[0036] The heater 3 is intended to heat the amount of aerosol precursor generated from the pod 102 under the control of the microcontroller 1 to produce an aerosol for the user of the aerosol generator 100 to inhale. The heater 3 is powered from the battery 2 via a DC-DC converter 4 to match the voltage supplied to the heater 3 regardless of the current output voltage value of the battery 2. Generally, the DC-DC converter 4 produces a voltage boost. Therefore, it can be a boost converter, which is a converter type well known in the art. The operation of the DC-DC converter 4 is controlled by the microcontroller 1 based on the current output voltage value of the battery 2. The DC-DC converter 4 may also be a buck-boost converter.

[0037] To enable charging of battery 2, the aerosol generator 100 may further include a charging input port 5 and a charger module 6. The charging input port 5 may incorporate an input protection chip directly connected to a USB-C receptacle or a wireless receiving coil. Reference numeral 200 indicates an external power supply physically or wirelessly connected to the charging input port 5 for charging battery 2. The charging input port 5 preferably incorporates input protection and input cutoff. Specifically, the charging input port 5 may incorporate a protection IC. The input cutoff may be accessed by the microcontroller 1 to prevent further charging of battery 2, in particular when the output voltage of battery 2 detected by the microcontroller 1 indicates severe battery depletion. Severe battery depletion may be detected by the microcontroller 1 when the monitored VDD value falls below a predetermined low-level threshold. The charger module 6 may have the function of adapting the voltage and current charging values ​​to the actual charge level of battery 2. Specifically, the charger module 6 may be or comprise a charging IC.

[0038] According to the present invention, battery 2 (e.g., a lithium-ion secondary battery) is connected to the VDD terminal of microcontroller 1 without an intermediate voltage converter. In this way, microcontroller 1 can measure the current output voltage of battery 2 and control the operation of DC-DC converter 4 based on the measurement result. With such a power supply connection configuration, microcontroller 1 can handle a wide range of VDD voltage values. For example, it can operate with VDD values ​​in the range of 1.7V to 5.5V.

[0039] As is generally known, operating the microcontroller 1 with an actual VDD value different from the nominal value specified for this microcontroller may result in higher power consumption of the microcontroller. However, such an increase in power consumption by the microcontroller 1 is unnecessary for aerosol delivery by the aerosol generator 100, and as a result, if excessive consumption occurs due to the current VDD value, the operation of the microcontroller 1 can be switched from standard mode to low-power mode. This may occur when the VDD value exceeds a threshold, for example, 2.55V, particularly because the internal clock frequency of the microcontroller 1 may become too high. Therefore, it is advantageous for the microcontroller 1 to be configured to operate in low-power mode when the VDD voltage is above the threshold and to switch to standard mode when the VDD voltage is below this threshold. Figure 2 shows the possible changes in the clock frequency of the microcontroller 1 as a function of VDD voltage. The horizontal axis shows the value of the VDD voltage expressed in volts (V), and the vertical axis shows the value of the clock frequency expressed in megahertz (MHz) and labeled CLK. The normal mode for the operation of the microcontroller 1 may correspond to the clock frequency value obtained directly from the VDD value shown in Figure 2. Therefore, in a possible improved version of the present invention, this normal mode may only be implemented when the current VDD value is less than 2.55V, which corresponds to a frequency value of less than 9MHz. If the current VDD value is higher than 2.55V, a low-power mode may be implemented to reduce the effective clock frequency to 9MHz or less. Furthermore, since changes in the VDD value can be suppressed, stable operation of the microcontroller 1 can be achieved.

[0040] Returning to Figure 1, a p-MOSFET switch 7 can be inserted in series between the DC-DC converter 4 and the heater 3. The drain of the p-MOSFET switch 7 may be connected to the supply terminal of the heater 3, and its source may be connected to the output terminal (VOUT) of the DC-DC converter 4. The other supply terminal of the heater 3 is connected to the ground of the aerosol generator 100. The gate of the p-MOSFET switch 7 is connected to a first control output terminal of the microcontroller 1 so that the microcontroller 1 can drive the switch 7 to an off state or a conductive state to activate, regulate, or prevent the operation of the heater 3. By using a p-MOSFET type switch 7, it can be controlled by the microcontroller 1 even when the current VDD value is low. Since the boosted voltage from the DC-DC converter 4 is supplied to the source of the p-MOSFET switch 7, the microcontroller 1 can drive the switch 7 to a conductive state simply by applying a low-level voltage (e.g., 0V, corresponding to the potential of ground) on the gate of the p-MOSFET switch 7.

[0041] Within the aerosol generator 100, the microcontroller 1 and battery 2, connected to each other as described above, together form the minimum configuration of the power supply system according to the present invention. Such a power supply system has reference numeral 101 in the figure. A charge input port combined with an overvoltage protection IC 5 and a charger module 6 may be advantageously further included in this power supply system 101. The addition of a DC-DC converter 4 and a p-type MOSFET switch 7 to the power supply system 101 is particularly suitable for application to the aerosol generator 100. A heater 3 constitutes the electrical load of this power supply system 101.

[0042] The power supply system 101 may further include a sensing circuit 30 suitable for detecting whether the heater 3 is actually connected to the power supply system 101. Preferably, the sensing circuit 30 may be further adapted to measure the electrical output current currently supplied to the heater 3 by the power supply system 101. The results of such a measurement may, advantageously, be used by the microcontroller 1 to adjust aerosol generation using a loop configuration with feedback control.

[0043] In some cases, the microcontroller 1 may be further adapted to control a user interface 9, such as a light-emitting diode (LED). For this purpose, the microcontroller 1 may be provided with a second control output terminal 12 suitable for sending pulse-width modulated signals. A capacitor 10 may then be provided at this second control output terminal of the microcontroller 1, so that the capacitor is connected in parallel with the LED 9 between the microcontroller output terminal and the ground of the aerosol generator 100. In this way, the light intensity emitted by the LED 9 can be adjusted by the microcontroller 1. The capacitor 10 smooths the current supplied to the LED 9 in such operation. That is, the capacitor 10 can function as a bypass capacitor or a smoothing capacitor. In detail, the applied voltage to the LED 9 corresponding to the light intensity emitted by the LED 9 can be maintained at approximately the same level when such a pulse-width modulated control signal is controlled based on the charge level of the battery 2.

[0044] Now, referring to Figure 3, we will continue the description of the aerosol generator 100 in the first embodiment. The elements added to the elements already described will be explained only here. In this figure, V BUS This indicates the charging DC voltage that can be supplied from an external power supply 200 (not shown in Figure 3) to the charging input port in combination with the overvoltage protection IC 5, V BAT This indicates the output voltage of battery 2, V HTRThis indicates the voltage supplied from the output terminal of the DC-DC converter 4 to the heater 3. The terminal acronyms shown on the integrated circuit have the following common meanings: IN is DC voltage input, OVLO is overvoltage lockout comparator, GND is ground terminal, OUT is DC voltage output, SW is switch terminal, CE is enable charger module 6, SYS is power path function, BAT is terminal of charger module 6 connected to battery 2, VIN is DC voltage input terminal of DC-DC converter 4, EN is enable terminal, VOUT is output terminal of DC-DC converter 4, FB is feedback terminal, VDD is power terminal of microcontroller 1, and I / O is input / output control terminal. The charge input port combined with the overvoltage protection IC 5 can disconnect from the external power supply based on the input voltage of the OVLO terminal. BUS If the input voltage of the corresponding OVLO terminal exceeds a threshold, the charging input port, combined with the overvoltage protection IC 5, can determine that an overvoltage input has occurred to the power supply system 101. Reference numeral 11 indicates a first control output terminal of the microcontroller 1 connected to the gate of the p-MOSFET switch 7 so that the microcontroller 1 allows or prevents power supply from the DC-DC converter 4 to the heater 3. Reference numeral 12 indicates a second control output terminal of the microcontroller 1 connected to the LED 9 and the capacitor 10 so that the microcontroller 1 controls the intensity of light emitted by the LED 9.

[0045] In the first embodiment shown in Figure 3 and the alternative embodiment shown in Figure 4 (described later), the CE terminal of the charger module 6 and the EN terminal of the DC / DC converter 4 function according to positive logic. This means that when a high-level voltage is input to their respective activation terminals, the charger module 6 and the DC / DC converter 4 are activated. Alternatively, the CE terminal of the charger module 6 and / or the EN terminal of the DC / DC converter 4 may function according to negative logic.

[0046] The first detection circuit 60 is dedicated to detecting whether the external power supply 200 is currently active for the charger module 6. As shown in Figure 3, this first detection circuit 60 may comprise a voltage divider resistor bridge connected between the VBUS terminal of the charger module 6 and the ground GND of the power supply system 101. It comprises a first detection resistor 61 and a pull-up resistor 63 connected in series with each other to form a voltage divider resistor bridge. A high-level voltage is input to the CE terminal of the charger module 6 via the pull-up resistor 63 while the external power supply 200 is active. As described above, since the CE terminal of the charger module 6 operates according to positive logic, the charger module 6 automatically becomes active when the external power supply 200 becomes available. The detection resistor 61 is connected between the CE terminal of the charger module 6 and the ground GND, and the pull-up resistor 63 is connected between the VBUS terminal and the CE terminal of the charger module 6. The first detection circuit 60 also includes a first operational amplifier 62, which has a non-inverting input terminal connected to the node between the detection resistor 61 and the pull-up resistor 63, and an inverting input terminal connected to the ground GND of the power supply system 101. In this way, when the external power supply 200 is connected to the charging input port 5, the output terminal of the operational amplifier 62 becomes high level, and the charging input port 5 transfers power to the charger module 6.

[0047] The detection circuit 30 is primarily dedicated to detecting whether current can flow through the load formed by the heater 3. This circuit 30 is referred to as the second detection circuit 30 in the general parts of this specification. For this purpose, it comprises a second detection resistor 31 connected in series with the heater 3, for example, between the heater 3 and the ground GND of the power supply system 101. In addition, the second detection circuit 30 comprises a second operational amplifier 32 and a bypass circuit that supplies a test current from the battery 2 directly to the heater 3 without passing through the DC-DC converter 4. The input terminals of the operational amplifier 32 are connected across the detection resistor 31, and as a result, the output terminals of the operational amplifier 32 become high when the heater 3 is connected to the power supply system 101, regardless of whether the microcontroller 1 activates the heating operation. This is because when the heater 3 is connected to the power supply system 101, a test current from the battery 2 automatically flows to the second detection circuit 30. Since a small value is appropriate for the test current through the detection resistor 31, the bypass circuit comprises a current limiting resistor 34. For example, the resistance value of the current-limiting resistor 34 may be greater than 1 kΩ, and this value may also be greater than the resistance values ​​of other resistors in the power supply system 101 (e.g., heater 3). The bypass circuit also includes, for example in the boost type, a reverse-blocking diode 33 directed to prevent current from flowing back to the battery 2 from the output terminal of the DC-DC converter 4 when the DC-DC converter 4 produces a voltage rise. In detail, the anode of the reverse-blocking diode 33 is connected to the battery 2, and the cathode of the reverse-blocking diode 33 is connected to the current-limiting resistor 34.

[0048] The VDD terminal of the microcontroller 1 may be connected to the battery 2 through a dedicated power switch 40 controlled by sensing circuits 60 and 30. In this way, if the heater 3 is disconnected and the external power supply 200 is unavailable to the power supply system 101, power supply to the microcontroller 1 can be prevented. The power switch 40 may be a p-type MOSFET whose source S is connected to the battery 2 and whose drain ■ is connected to the VDD terminal of the microcontroller 1. The gate G of the switch 40 is controlled by sensing circuits 60 and 30, for example, using two NOT gates 64 and 35 and an AND gate 41. The output terminal of the first operational amplifier 62 is connected to the input terminal of the NOT gate 64, and the output terminal of the NOT gate 64 is connected to the first input terminal of the AND gate 41, indicated as A in Figure 3. At the same time, the output terminal of the second operational amplifier 32 is connected to the input terminal of the NOT gate 35, and its output terminal is connected to the second input terminal of the AND gate 41, indicated as B. The output terminal of the AND gate 41 is connected to the gate G of the p-MOSFET switch 40. Therefore, the truth table for power supply to microcontroller 1 is as follows:

[0049] [Table 1]

[0050] Therefore, the microcontroller 1 is powered by the battery 2 or the charger module 6, unless both the heater 3 and the external power supply 200 are unavailable or disconnected at the same time. In other words, the microcontroller 1 is powered when at least one of the external power supply 200 and the heater 3 becomes available or connected to the power supply system 101. This avoids the microcontroller 1 operating from the battery 2 while preventing the aerosol generator 100 from generating aerosols in order to conserve battery charge.

[0051] To allow the microcontroller 1 to verify that the heater 3 is actually being properly supplied, it is further possible to connect the output of the second operational amplifier 32 to the input terminal 13 of the microcontroller 1 as well. However, the sensing resistor 31 and operational amplifier 32 can be dedicated solely to detecting the flow of test current conducted by a bypass circuit including the diode 33 and resistor 34, and another sensing resistor (not shown) may be placed in series with the sensing resistor 31, along with appropriate voltage measuring means to provide a quantitative evaluation of the current flowing through the heater 3. The results of such heater current measurement can also be transmitted to a dedicated input terminal of the microcontroller 1 for quantitative feedback control of the heater operation.

[0052] Figure 4 shows an alternative embodiment in which the AND gate 41 is replaced by a NOR gate 42 along with NOT gates 64 and 35. The A input terminal of the NOR gate 42 is directly connected to the output terminal of the first operational amplifier 62, and the B input terminal of the same NOR gate 42 is directly connected to the output terminal of the second operational amplifier 32. In this case, the truth table for power supply to the microcontroller 1 is as follows.

[0053] [Table 2]

[0054] This truth table for the power supply of microcontroller 1 is the same as that of the embodiment in Figure 3. The embodiment of the present invention in Figure 4 also implements a p-MOSFET transistor for switch 40.

[0055] The following modified forms shown in Figure 4 are also compatible with the embodiment shown in Figure 3. - An additional output control terminal 14 of the microcontroller 1 may be dedicated to starting the DC-DC converter 4. This output control terminal 14 is connected to the enable terminal EN of the DC-DC converter 4, instead of using a bias resistor to connect this enable terminal EN of the DC-DC converter 4 to its VIN terminal, as shown in Figure 3. - Another additional output control terminal 15 of the microcontroller 1 may be dedicated to starting the charger module 6. Such an output control terminal 15 may be connected to the enable terminal CE of the charger module 6 instead of connecting this enable terminal CE of the charger module 6 to an intermediate node between the pull-up resistor 63 and the sense resistor 61. This may be another way to prevent charging of the battery 2 if severe depletion of the battery 2 is detected by the microcontroller 1 via its VDD terminal.

[0056] It will be apparent to anyone that variations and adaptations may be brought to the detailed embodiments of the invention provided above herein, while retaining at least some of the advantages listed. In addition, all numerical values ​​cited are for illustrative purposes only and may be modified according to each embodiment of the invention.

Claims

1. Adapted to be part of an aerosol generator (100), - A microcontroller (1) configured to control the power supplied to the load, - A rechargeable power supply (2) having an output voltage that changes according to the charge level of the rechargeable power supply, A power supply system (101) comprising, The microcontroller (1) is connected to receive additional power from the rechargeable power supply (2), A dedicated power supply terminal (VDD) of the microcontroller (1) for receiving power to enable the operation of the microcontroller is connected to the rechargeable power supply (2) such that the voltage of the power supply terminal of the microcontroller changes according to the charge level of the rechargeable power supply (2). A power supply system (101) is configured such that the microcontroller (1) monitors the voltage of the supply terminal (VDD) of the microcontroller and prevents charging of the rechargeable power supply (2) when the voltage of the supply terminal of the microcontroller is below a low-level threshold.

2. Adapted to be part of an aerosol generator (100), - A microcontroller (1) configured to control the power supplied to the load, - A rechargeable power supply (2) having an output voltage that changes according to the charge level of the rechargeable power supply, A power supply system (101) comprising, The microcontroller (1) is connected to receive additional power from the rechargeable power supply (2), A dedicated power supply terminal (VDD) of the microcontroller (1) for receiving power to enable the operation of the microcontroller is connected to the rechargeable power supply (2) such that the voltage of the power supply terminal of the microcontroller changes according to the charge level of the rechargeable power supply (2). The microcontroller (1) is adapted to operate in either a standard mode or a low-power mode, wherein the power consumption of the microcontroller is less in the low-power mode than in the standard mode, and the microcontroller is further configured to activate the low-power mode for operation when the voltage at the supply terminal (VDD) is above a voltage threshold, and to switch to the standard mode when the voltage at the supply terminal falls below the voltage threshold, in a power supply system (101).

3. The power supply system (101) according to claim 2, wherein the microcontroller (1) is internally clocked, and for the same value of the voltage of the supply terminal (VDD) of the microcontroller, the clock frequency value of the microcontroller effective in the low-power mode is lower than another clock frequency value effective for the standard mode.

4. The aforementioned power supply system (101) is - A DC-DC converter (4) is connected so that power is supplied from the rechargeable power supply (2) to the load via the DC-DC converter, - A MOSFET switch (7) is connected in series with the load between the output of the DC-DC converter (4) and the ground terminal (GND) of the power supply system (101), and has a gate connected to the first control output terminal (11) of the microcontroller (1) to allow or prevent the microcontroller from supplying power to the load, Furthermore, The MOSFET switch (7) is p-type and is connected between the output of the DC-DC converter (4) and the load. The power supply system (101) according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The microcontroller (1) is equipped with a second control output terminal (12) and is configured to supply a pulse width modulated control signal to the second control output terminal. The aforementioned power supply system (101) is - A light-emitting diode (9), which is connected to the second control output terminal (12) of the microcontroller (1) for the microcontroller to control the light emission of the light-emitting diode (9), - A capacitor (10) connected in parallel with the light-emitting diode (9) converts the pulse-width modulated control signal into a DC current that is transmitted through the light-emitting diode and whose value changes according to the pulse-width modulated control signal. A power supply system (101) according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising:

6. Adapted to be part of an aerosol generator (100), - A microcontroller (1) configured to control the power supplied to the load, - A rechargeable power supply (2) having an output voltage that changes according to the charge level of the rechargeable power supply, A power supply system (101) comprising, The microcontroller (1) is connected to receive additional power from the rechargeable power supply (2), A dedicated power supply terminal (VDD) of the microcontroller (1) for receiving power to enable the operation of the microcontroller is connected to the rechargeable power supply (2) such that the voltage of the power supply terminal of the microcontroller changes according to the charge level of the rechargeable power supply (2). The aforementioned power supply system (101) is - A charger module (6) is arranged to charge the rechargeable power supply (2) with energy generated from an external power supply (200), - A first detection circuit (60) is configured to detect whether the external power supply (200) is currently active to the charger module (6) while the power supply system (101) is in use, - A second detection circuit (30) is arranged to detect whether the load is connected to the power supply system (101) such that the load conducts the output current supplied by the power supply system, - The rechargeable power supply (2) and the supply terminal (VDD) of the microcontroller (1) are arranged in series, in the following two cases, namely, - When the external power supply (200) is currently active for the charger module (6), and - When the load is connected to the power supply system (101) A power switch (40) is connected to the first detection circuit (60) and the second detection circuit (30) to enable the other power to be transmitted from the rechargeable power supply (2) to the microcontroller only when at least one of the following is detected, A power supply system (101) further equipped with the following.

7. The first detection circuit (60) is - A first detection resistor (61) is connected between the external power supply (200) and ground (GND), - A first operational amplifier (62) wherein the non-inverting input terminal and the inverting input terminal are connected to both ends of the first sensing resistor (61), and the output terminal is connected to the control terminal of the power switch (40), The power supply system (101) according to claim 6, comprising:

8. The system further includes a pull-up resistor (63) connected in series between the external power supply (200) and the first sensing resistor (61), The enable terminal (CE) of the charger module (6) is configured to receive the divided voltage generated by the pull-up resistor (63) and the first sensing resistor (61). The power supply system (101) according to claim 7.

9. The aforementioned power supply system (101) is - A DC-DC converter (4) is connected so that power is supplied from the rechargeable power supply (2) to the load via the DC-DC converter, - A MOSFET switch (7) is connected in series with the load between the output of the DC-DC converter (4) and the ground terminal (GND) of the power supply system (101), and has a gate connected to the first control output terminal (11) of the microcontroller (1) to allow or prevent the microcontroller from supplying power to the load, Furthermore, The MOSFET switch (7) is p-type and is connected between the output of the DC-DC converter (4) and the load. The second detection circuit (30) is - A second sensing resistor (31) connected in series with the load, - A second operational amplifier (32), wherein the non-inverting input terminal and the inverting input terminal are connected to both ends of the second sensing resistor (31), and the output terminal is connected to the control terminal of the power switch (40), - Bypassing the DC-DC converter (4) and the MOSFET switch (7), a bypass circuit (33) is connected between the rechargeable power supply (2) and the load. The power supply system (101) according to claim 7, comprising:

10. The bypass circuit includes a reverse current prevention diode (33) whose anode is connected to the rechargeable power supply (2) and whose cathode is connected to the load. The DC-DC converter (4) is a boost converter. The power supply system (101) according to claim 9.

11. The power supply system (101) according to claim 9, wherein the bypass circuit comprises a current limiting resistor (34) connected in series between the rechargeable power supply (2) and the load.

12. The first detection circuit (60) is - A first detection resistor (61) is connected between the external power supply (200) and ground (GND), - A first operational amplifier (62) wherein the non-inverting input terminal and the inverting input terminal are connected to both ends of the first sensing resistor (61), and the output terminal is connected to the control terminal of the power switch (40), The power supply system (101) is equipped with the following: - A first NOT gate (64) whose input terminal is connected to the output terminal of the first operational amplifier (62), - A second NOT gate (35) whose input terminal is connected to the output terminal of the second operational amplifier (32), - An AND gate (41) wherein the input terminal is connected to the output terminals of the first NOT gate (64) and the second NOT gate (35), and the output terminal of the AND gate is connected to the control terminal (G) of the power switch (40), Furthermore, The power switch (40) is a p-type MOSFET. The power supply system (101) according to claim 9.

13. The first detection circuit (60) is - A first sensing resistor (61) is connected in parallel between the external power supply (200) and ground (GND), - A first operational amplifier (62) wherein the non-inverting input terminal and the inverting input terminal are connected to both ends of the first sensing resistor (61), and the output terminal is connected to the control terminal of the power switch (40), Equipped with, The aforementioned power supply system (101) is - A NOR gate (42), wherein the input terminal is connected to the output terminals of the first operational amplifier (62) and the second operational amplifier (32), and the output terminal of the NOR gate is connected to the control terminal (G) of the power switch (40). Furthermore, The power switch (40) is a p-type MOSFET. The power supply system (101) according to claim 9.

14. The power supply system (101) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the microcontroller (1) is further connected to receive a detection signal representing an electrical output current supplied to the load.

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