Docking station for a plurality of different aerosol generating devices

Abstract

A docking station for a portable aerosol generating device, the docking station comprising an electrical port configured to be electrically connected to the portable aerosol generating device, the docking station further comprising a processing section, a memory section, and a communication section, said processing section being configured to perform a first task including accessing a memory of a connected portable aerosol generating device through said electrical port, perform a second task including transferring at least part of the data stored in the memory of the connected portable aerosol generating device to said memory section, perform a third task including transmitting at least part of the data transferred to said memory section toward a communication network via said communication section, and perform a fourth task including erasing at least part of data transmitted to the communication network from the memory section, once an acknowledgment signal is received from the communication network.

Description

[0001] OLYVINYL SUBSTITUTED DI- AND TRI- PHENYL COMPOUNDS FOR USE IN FORMING SPIN-ON LAYERS

[0002] Technical field

[0003] The present invention relates to a docking station for a portable aerosol generating device . In general , the present invention relates to a docking station that can be connected to a portable aerosol generating device for performing various tasks , including accessing a memory of the portable aerosol generating device .

[0004] Background

[0005] Portable aerosol generating devices , such as electronic cigarettes , e-cigarettes , cig-a-likes , heat-not-burn devices , e-vapour or vaping devices , etc . found broad acceptance and use in recent times . In general , such portable aerosol generating device provide for the possibility for a user to inhale vapour and / or an aerosol generated from an aerosol precursor material or source , such as tobacco or other solid material and / or liquids containing flavour and other active components . Such devices usually employ an electronic control assembly that is responsible for operating the device in a desired and reliable way, so that , amongst others , it is ensured that the aerosol is correctly generated in line with target properties and / or user preferences .

[0006] For this purpose , many portable aerosol generating devices comprise an electronic controller circuit that usually comprises some kind of processing section and some kind of memory section . In the latter there can be stored the control and operation program as well as parameters and other data that influence and / or reflect the operation, i . e . the generation of the aerosol . At the same time , users enj oy features and functionalities of portable electronic devices that make use of connectivity to , for example , a communication network, including the Internet or the so-called Cloud . However, such functionalities are not common for all types of portable electronic devices . Especially in the context of portable aerosol generating devices there is not yet a broad use of connectivity for facilitating operation of the devices , comfort for users and also providing for a long-term reliable operation of such devices .

[0007] There is therefore a need to facilitate data exchange between portable aerosol generating devices and communication networks for various reasons . It is thus an obj ect of the present invention to provide for means that provide for convenient and reliable data exchange between portable aerosol generating devices and communication networks .

[0008] Summary

[0009] The mentioned problems are solved by the subj ect-matter of the independent claims . Further preferred embodiments are defined in the dependent claims .

[0010] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a docking station for a portable aerosol generating device , the docking station comprising an electrical port configured to be electrically connected to the portable aerosol generating device , the docking station further comprising a processing section, a memory section, and a communication section, said processing section being configured to perform a first task including accessing a memory of a connected portable aerosol generating device through said electrical port , perform a second task including trans ferring at least part of the data stored in the memory of the connected portable aerosol generating device to said memory section, perform a third task including transmitting at least part of the data trans ferred to said memory section toward a communication network via said communication section, and perform a fourth task including erasing at least part of data transmitted to the communication network from the memory section, once an acknowledge s ignal is received from the communication network .

[0011] Brief description of the drawings

[0012] Embodiments of the present invention, which are presented for better understanding the inventive concepts and which are not to be seen as limiting the invention, will now be described with reference to the Figures in which :

[0013] Figure 1A shows schematically the elements and functionalities of a general embodiment of the present invention;

[0014] Figure IB shows schematically further pre ferable speci fic elements and functionalities of the general embodiment of the present invention;

[0015] Figure 2 shows a possible appearance of a docking station for a portable aerosol generating device according to a device embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 3A shows a possible appearance of a docking station adapted to operate with more than one portable aerosol generating device according to another device embodiment of the present invention; and

[0017] Figure 3B shows a possible appearance of a docking stations adapted to operate with more than one portable aerosol generating device or also other devices according to another device embodiment of the present invention .

[0018] Detailed description

[0019] Figure 1A shows schematically the elements and functionalities of a general embodiment of the present invention . Speci fically, Figure 1A shows schematically the elements and functionalities of a docking station 1 which is configured to interact with a portable aerosol generating device 2 . For example , such a portable aerosol generation device 2 may be implemented as an electronic handheld device in the form of an electronic-cigarette , e-cigarette , cig-a-like , heat-not-burn device , e-vapour or vaping device . In general , such a portable aerosol generating device 2 provides the possibility for a user to inhale vapour and / or an aerosol generated from an aerosol precursor material or source . The docking station 1 comprises an electrical port 110 configured to be electrically connected to the portable aerosol generating device 2 , including standardi zed plugs and sockets that provide electrical connection in a reliable and convenient fashion ( e . g . USB-C, micro USB, coaxial j ack plugs , and the like ) .

[0020] The docking station 1 further comprises a processing section 101 and a memory section 102 . The processing section 101 may be in the form of a microprocessor and / or microcontroller that provides processing resources for executing program code in order to provide the desired functionalities . Such a processing section may at the same time provide for interfaces that allow an interaction between the functionalities and the components of the docking station and also a portable aerosol generating device which is connected thereto . The memory section 102 may be implemented as a separate element , or it may be integrated into an already mentioned microprocessor and / or microcontroller in a common implementation with the processing section 101 . Generally, the memory section 102 relates to the memory that is involved during execution of code , and, with this , the provision of the actual functionalities , as well as to memory that retains information in a non-volatile manner, e . g . for storing the programming instructions or any parameters or data that is to be kept even when the processing resources are not operating or when there is no power supply to the involved components . The memory section 102 may thus comprise any suitable memories , such as RAM, D-RAM, S-RAM, FLASH memory, ROM, (E ) (E ) PROM, and the like .

[0021] The docking station 1 further comprises a communication section 103 which can be configured to communicate data from and / or to the docking station 1 to and / or from the environment . The latter can comprise a nearby network with which data can be exchanged by means of a wireless communication technology, such as GPRS , GSM, UWB, BLE , WLAN, WiFi , UMTS , 4G, LTE , 5G, and 6G, and related evolved standards and technologies . In this way, data can also be communicated with a remote memory and processing entity, such as a server, or, in more general terms , the Internet or the so-called Cloud as represented by a communication network 9 .

[0022] In the general embodiment , the processing section 101 is configured to perform a collection of tasks that are represented schematically in the right part of Figure 1A . Speci fically, the processing section 101 is configured to perform a first task 301 including the accessing of a memory 202 of a connected portable aerosol generating device 2 through said electrical port 110 . Speci fically, a subj ect portable aerosol generating device 2 can comprise various components and can provide various functionalities as these are common in the context of generating an aerosol for inhalation by a user . For example , this may comprise an aerosol generating assembly 210 that provides evaporation energy ( e . g . in the form of heat or vibration) for releasing an aerosol 200 from a solid or liquid precursor substance . For example , a heater may release an aerosol from a tobacco material or a liquid composition . Generally, a portable aerosol generating device 2 can likewise also comprise a controlling unit 201 and a power source 211 . For example , the controlling unit 201 may store into or retrieve from the memory 202 of the portable aerosol generating device any data or information during its operation . In said task 301 , the accessing of the memory 202 may include an establishing of a data access for subsequently readying out data stored in the memory 202 by means of respective procedures for initiali zing the memory access , ports or any required interfaces as well as authenticating procedures i f access to the memory 202 is restricted or protected .

[0023] Further, the processing section 101 is configured to perform a second task 302 that includes trans ferring at least part d of the data D stored in the memory 202 of the connected portable aerosol generating device 2 to the memory section 102 . For example , this task can read out any data that was previously stored by the elements or functionalities of the portable aerosol generating device 2 , such as the mentioned data that is generated by the portable aerosol generating device 2 during its operation ( e . g . operation parameters , reservoir level indicator ( s ) , configuration parameters , information related to settings or input by a user, and the like ) .

[0024] In a subsequent stage , the processing section 101 is configured to perform a third task 303 that includes transmitting at least part d' of the data d trans ferred to said memory section toward a communication network 9 via said communication section 103 . In this way, the data d which is trans ferred from the portable aerosol generating device 2 to the docking station 1 is a part or all of the data D stored in the portable aerosol generating device 2 . In turn, at least a part d' of that trans ferred data d is then forwarded toward the communication network 9 , so that for the respective data sets D, d, d' the following relation applies D d d' . Otherwise , the processing section 101 may be configured to add, modi fy, delete or compress the trans ferred data d before transmitting d' . In such an alternative third task 303 , the above-mentioned relation d d' may not always hold . As a consequence , at least some of the data that is stored in the memory 202 is forwarded toward the communication network 9 . There between one or more selection processes may apply : Firstly, D d considers the circumstance that not all the data D which is stored in the portable aerosol generating device 2 needs to be transmitted in task 302 , but only a part d of interest , e . g . data d which has changed recently or since a preceding access . Secondly, d d' considers the circumstance that not all the data d which has been transmitted to the docking station 1 is forwarded, but only a part d' of interest , e . g . data d' which has changed relative to previously retrieved data, or data d' which is a result of processing the data d, including, averaging, compressing, and the like . The relation d d' may thus also include the fact that d' is based on d or d' is a processing result originating from data d .

[0025] In yet a further subsequent stage, the processing section 101 is configured to perform a fourth task 304 including erasing at least a part d" of data d' transmitted to the communication network 9 from the memory section 102 , once an acknowledge signal 3031 is received from the communication network 9 . In this way, the memory section 102 of the docking station 1 can be cleared of unnecessary data and storage ef ficiency can be improved . Generally, the relation D d d' d" may apply, so that , for example , all data d that has been downloaded from a portable aerosol generating device 2 is erased from the memory section 102 . Moreover, the docking station 1 may in this way serve a plurality of di f ferent portable aerosol generating device 2 , as data can be "downloaded" from various devices and "uploaded" to the network without requiring a larger buf fer memory on the docking station 1 ( such aspects are explained in greater detail in conj unction with Figures IB & 2B ) .

[0026] In the above embodiment , the processing section 101 can also be configured to perform the fourth task 304 when the acknowledge signal at 3011 is not received with in a predetermined duration . For example , the predetermined duration can be in the range between 1 minute and 1 hour, which may reflect usual delay times in the context of remote server applications over the Internet or Cloud applications in general . Otherwise , the processing section 101 may be configured to perform the fourth task 304 when the memory section 102 becomes full , or usage of the memory section 102 reaches a threshold value . The processing section 101 may also be configured to store flag information indicating that the acknowledgement 3011 was not received which may lead to speci fically acquiring data d from the portable aerosol generating device 2 at the next invoking of the task 301 . The docking station 1 may also comprise an indicator 104 , for example in the form of an LED, that can be activated for indicating to a user that the upload of data to the communication network 9 has failed or that at least no corresponding acknowledgement has been received . A further alternative situation for erasing the data d may arise whenever the downloaded data d does not ful fil some predetermined criterion . Speci fically, the processing section 101 can be further configured to perform the fourth task 304 when a checksum run has failed . This checksum run can be part of the third task 303 and may be provided for assessing the validity or "value" of the actually retrieved data d .

[0027] In the above embodiment , the processing section 101 can also be configured to identi fy a connection and a disconnection of the portable aerosol generating device 2 in relation to the electrical port 110 , and to keep the stored data d trans ferred from a disconnected portable aerosol generating device 2 in the memory section 102 , until the acknowledge signal is received from the communication network 9 . Optionally, the processing section 101 can be configured to keep the stored data d in the memory section 102 until the acknowledge signal is received unless the acknowledge signal 3011 is not received with in a predetermined duration . Again, this predetermined duration can be in the range between 1 minute and 1 hour, reflecting usual delay times in the context of remote server applications over the Internet or Cloud applications in general . In this way, it can be ensured that capacity of the memory section 102 is not wasted and is available for storing and handling data when another sequence of tasks is to be carried out and potentially is success ful in trans ferring the target data to the communication network 9 .

[0028] In the above embodiment , the docking station 1 may comprise a first communication link 191 between the processing section 101 and the memory section 102 and a second communication link 192 between the processing section 101 and the communication section 103 . The first communication link 191 is isolated from the second communication link 192 . By isolating these communication links , each first and second communication links 191 , 192 may be reali zed by dedicated path (wire , channel and the like ) . Since it may be avoided that each first and second communication links 191 , 192 become too busy or reach their respective throughput capacity, still high-performance data throughput may be obtained .

[0029] In the above embodiment , the processing section 101 can be configured to perform a fi fth task that includes controlling of a charging process of a rechargeable battery 211 of a connected portable aerosol generating device 2 . In this way, the docking station 101 may further act as a charging station for one or more portable aerosol generating device ( s ) . The time required to charge a battery 211 may thus be used for also ef fecting the data exchange between the portable aerosol generating device 2 and the communication network 9 . Preferably, the mentioned tasks are performed with the beginning of a charging process as it is then more likely that the portable aerosol generating device 2 remains connected to the docking station 1 as compared to later stages when the battery 211 has been charged for a while and a user may thus withdraw the device 2 again from the docking station 1 .

[0030] In the above embodiment , the processing section 101 can be configured to perform a sixth tas k that includes identi fying a connected portable device . This may involve querying a speci fic part of the data D stored in a device memory 202 , i . e . at a memory location to which a manufacturer can write an identi fier, a serial number or the like . This information may also be part of the firmware or it may reside within the controller 211 of the portable aerosol generating device 2 . This task may yield the identi fier which can be especially useful for associating a user profile to a speci fic portable aerosol generating device or also in the context of managing more than one device 2 as this is considered by the embodiments described in conj unction with Figures IB & 2B .

[0031] In the above embodiment , the processing section 101 can be configured to perform a seventh task that includes downloading data from the communication network 9 and uploading at least a part of the downloaded data to a connected portable aerosol generating . In this way, an upstream data flow is obtained as compared to the so far described downstream data flow from a portable aerosol generating device 2 to the communication network 9 . The upload of data in the opposite direction may allow for updating and / or remotely configuring a connected portable aerosol generating device via the communication network 9 . The docking station 1 may further configured to receive data to be uploaded or commands to be performed at any time and initiate the upload or the commands once a portable aerosol generating device is connected to the docking station 1 . In this way, safe and reliable operation of aerosol generating devices can be ensured by exploiting the time when the device is connected to the docking station, for example , during charging the battery 211 .

[0032] Figure IB shows schematically further preferable speci fic elements and functionalities of the general embodiment of the present invention . Elements that are identical or equivalent are denoted with like reference numerals as explained in conj unction with Figure 1A. The shown enhanced embodiment in Figure IB considers the general ability of a docking station 1 ' that can be adapted for operating with more than one portable aerosol generating device . This may include several devices of the same type , and also one or more portable aerosol generating device ( s ) of di f ferent types . Therefore , the disclosed functionalities may be made available for several aerosol generating devices 2- 1 , 2-2 , ... of the same type, as well as to a variety of aerosol generating devices 2- 11, 2-12,..., 2-21, 2-22,.... For example, devices 2-1, 2-11, and 2-21 may be from different manufacturers, originate from different device generations, of different aerosol generating technologies (e.g. heat-not-burn and e-liquid devices) , or a mixture of the mentioned.

[0033] For this purpose, the processing section 101 may be configured, preferably as part of or in connection to said first task 301, to determine an identifier of a connected portable aerosol generating device 2-1. In this way, the further details of accessing the memory of the connected aerosol generating device and all subsequent tasks may be adapted to the specific device or specific type of device. Said determination may also include to perform trial access routines and a subsequent check in relation to the obtained data d (e. g. by means of calculating a checksum or perform a plausibility check) in order to find out the type of a connected aerosol generating device even if a device does not provide for any identifier information. For example, the actually retrieved data d may be empty if the access has not performed in a way which is appropriate for a connected aerosol generating device. Specifically, the performing of tasks 301 and 302 may result in plausible data d for a device 2-1, but would yield initially no valid data d for a device 2- 11. This may trigger the processing section 101 to adjust the tasks 301 and / or 302 (e.g. by varying command and / or address parameters and formats) until the data d retrieved for a device 2-11 passes a checksum or plausibility check.

[0034] In the above embodiment, the processing section 101 can be configured to perform at least the second task 302 and the third task 303 subsequently for one connected portable aerosol generating device. In this way, the data transfer from one aerosol generating device to the communication network 9 can be accomplished in one sequence without the need for handling and managing several data transfer sequences in parallel. This may provide the advantage that the processing section 101 and potentially also the memory section 102 of the docking station 1 ' can be kept simple although the functionality of serving several aerosol generating devices or even devices of di f ferent types is maintained .

[0035] In the above embodiment , the docking station 1 ' can comprise more than one electrical port 110- 1 , 110-2 , ... for serving more than one aerosol generating device simultaneously . This may be accompanied by further structural features that facilitate the operation of the docking station 1 ' with a plurality of portable aerosol generating device , which are described to some greater detail in conj unction with Figure 2B . In such embodiments , the processing section 101 can be configured to perform the second task 302 trans ferring at least part of the data d stored in the corresponding memories of more than one portable aerosol generating device , and to perform the third task 303 transmitting the data trans ferred to the memory section 102 from more than one portable aerosol generating device toward the communication network 9 following a predetermined order . For example , the predetermined order may consider a si ze of respectively trans ferred data d or respectively to be trans ferred data d' .

[0036] Further, the predetermined order may also consider a determined type of connected aerosol generating device in order to provide for a priority mechanism or the like . In this way, the predetermined order can be set , for example , to prioritise a portable aerosol generating device for which the correspondingly downloaded data d indicates a relatively high usage of the device . Further, the predetermined order can be set based on a user profile associated with the connected portable aerosol generating device . This may involve acquiring respective information from the communication network 9 on the basis of a determined identi fier related to a connected aerosol generating device . The processing section 101 may be further configured to retain corresponding information to determine a respective priority or preference whenever a speci fic device is connected without acquiring such information anew upon each ( re- ) connection . Figure 2 shows a possible appearance of a docking station for a portable aerosol generating device according to a device embodiment of the present invention . It is noted that the shown docking station 1 may provide for the same elements and functionalities as these have been described at a more general level in conj unction with Figure 1A. Therefore , the docking station 1 as shown in Figure 2 likewise comprises the elements 101 - 103 and its related functionalities . However, this embodiment is focused on a preferable optical appearance of the docking station 1 and thus shows it in a perspective view . The docking station 1 comprises a housing 111 for accommodating all elements as they have been mentioned and described elsewhere in the present disclosure . The housing 111 also comprises in this embodiment a bay 112 for accommodating a portable aerosol generating device 2 . The bay 112 may provide for a shape that fits the outer shape of a portable aerosol generating device 2 to at least some degree of tolerance .

[0037] In this way, the bay 112 may facilitate the connection via the electrical port 110 to a counterpart 210 of the portable aerosol generating device 2 . The bay 112 may comprise guiding means to further facilitate the insertion and even may provide for several guiding means , e . g . in the form of a set of protrusions , that assist in establishing the connection . The docking station 1 comprises further the electrical port 110 on a speci fic side of the bay 112 so that a target device 2 can be easily inserted . Preferably, the electrical port 110 follows a directional plug-and-socket configuration in which a plug can be inserted into the socket by movement in only one direction, and the plug can be removed from the socket by movement in only the corresponding opposite direction . The plug-and-socket configuration may include standardi zed plugs and sockets that provide electrical connection in a reliable and convenient fashion, such as USB-C, micro USB, other USB variants , coaxial j ack plugs and the like .

[0038] Figure 3A shows a possible appearance of a docking station adapted to operate with more than one portable aerosol generating device according to another device embodiment of the present invention. It is noted that the shown docking station 1' may provide for the same elements and functionalities as these have been described at a more general level in conjunction with Figures 1A and IB. The docking station 1' comprises a housing 111' for accommodating all elements as they have been mentioned and described elsewhere in the present disclosure. The housing 111' also comprises in this embodiment a bay 112' for accommodating one or more portable aerosol generating device (s) 2-1, 2-2. The bay 112' may provide for a shape that fits at least a part of the outer shape of the portable aerosol generating devices 2-1, 2-2,... to at least some degree of tolerance. For example, the bay 112' may provide for guiding means or surface features at a backside so that the insertion of individual devices 2-1, 2- 2,... can be facilitated whilst they may only face the bay 112 toward one side. A plurality of electrical ports 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, ... is arranged on - for example - a bottom side of the bay 112' so as to connect to corresponding inserted devices 2- 1, 2-2,.... The electrical ports 110-1, 110-2, 110-3 may be arranged with a substantially equal distance to each other, so as to provide a structured insertion and visual order of the entire setup during operation.

[0039] Figure 3B shows a possible appearance of a docking stations adapted to operate with more than one portable aerosol generating device or also other devices according to another device embodiment of the present invention. It is noted that the shown docking station 1" may provide for the same elements and functionalities as these have been described at a more general level in conjunction with Figures 1A and IB. The docking station 1" comprises a housing 111" for accommodating all elements as they have been mentioned and described elsewhere in the present disclosure. The housing 111" also comprises in this embodiment a bay 112" for accommodating one or more portable aerosol generating device (s) 2-1,... of the same type, one or more portable aerosol generating device (s) 2-11,... of another type, and / or even other type devices 4-1,.... The former group of devices has been described in conjunction with Figure IB, the latter other devices may include any kind of other portable electronic device, such as the / shown) smartphone 4-1, portable computing devices, tablet computing devices, smart watches, power banks, personal digital assistants (PDAs) , pocket calculators, pocket translators, and the like.

[0040] The bay 112" may provide for a shape that fits at least a part of the outer shape of the portable aerosol generating devices 2-1, 2-11,... to at least some degree of tolerance. For example, the bay 112" may provide for guiding means or surface features at a backside so that the insertion of individual devices 2-1, 2-11,... can be facilitated whilst they may only face the bay 112" toward one side. The bay 112" may also provide for several sections that are preferably adapted to accommodate devices of one type. A plurality of electrical ports 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 110-4... is arranged on - for example - a bottom side of the bay 112" so as to connect to corresponding inserted devices 2-1, 2-11, 4-1,....

[0041] The electrical ports 110-1, 110-2, 110-3 may in part be arranged with a substantially equal distance dl2, d23 to each other, but also with a varying distance d34 so as to accommodate other type devices, that may be preferably inserted into the docking station 1" in a different orientation, e.g. the shown smartphone 4-1 may be preferably inserted into the docking station so that its display 400 may remain visible. Further, the electrical ports 110-1, 110-2, 110-3 may be arranged in the same orientation, whilst one or more ports 110-4, .. may be arranged in another orientation, preferably perpendicular to the orientation of at least one of the other electrical ports 110-1, 110-2, 110-3. The plug-and- socket configuration of the electrical ports 110-1,... may again include standardized plugs and sockets that provide electrical connection in a reliable and convenient fashion, and may be of one or more types of such as USB-C, micro USB, other USB variants, coaxial jack plugs and the like. Although detailed embodiments have been described, these only serve to provide a better understanding of the invention defined by the independent claims and are not to be seen as limiting .

[0042] Further embodiments are described as E1-E15 below :

[0043] El . A docking station for a portable aerosol generating device , the docking station comprising an electrical port configured to be electrically connected to the portable aerosol generating device , the docking station further comprising a processing section, a memory section, and a communication section, said processing section being configured to : perform a first task including accessing a memory of a connected portable aerosol generating device through said electrical port , perform a second task including trans ferring at least part of the data stored in the memory of the connected portable aerosol generating device to said memory section, perform a third task including transmitting at least part of the data trans ferred to said memory section toward a communication network via said communication section, and perform a fourth task including erasing at least part of data transmitted to the communication network from the memory section, once an acknowledge signal is received from the communication network .

[0044] E2 . The docking station according to embodiment El , wherein the processing section is further configured to : perform the fourth task when the acknowledge signal is not received with in a predetermined duration .

[0045] E3 . The docking station according to embodiment El or E2 , wherein the processing section is further configured to : perform the fourth task when a checksum run, preferably as part of said third task, failed .

[0046] E4 . The docking station according to any one of embodiments El to E3 , wherein the processing section is further configured to : identi fy a connection and a di sconnection of the portable aerosol generating device in relation to the electrical port , keep the stored data trans ferred from the disconnected portable aerosol generating device in the memory section, until the acknowledge signal is received from the communication network .

[0047] E5 . The docking station according to embodiment E4 , wherein the processing section is configured to keep the stored data in the memory section until the acknowledge signal is received unless the acknowledge signal is not received with in a predetermined duration .

[0048] E 6 . The docking station according to any one of embodiments El to E5 , being adapted for more than one portable aerosol generating device .

[0049] E7 . The docking station according to embodiment E 6 , wherein the processing section is further configured to perform at least the second task and the third task subsequently for one connected portable aerosol generating device .

[0050] E8 . The docking station according to embodiment E 6 or E7 , comprising more than one electrical port for serving more than one aerosol generating device simultaneously .

[0051] E9 . The docking station according to embodiment E8 , wherein the processing section is further configured to : perform the second task trans ferring at least part of the data stored in the memory of the connected more than one portable aerosol generating device , and perform the third task transmitting the data trans ferred to the memory section from more than one portable aerosol generating device toward the communication network following a predetermined order .

[0052] E10 . The docking station according to embodiment E9 , wherein the predetermined order is set for providing a priority mechanism, preferably for prioriti zing a portable aerosol generating device for which the correspondingly trans ferred data indicates a relatively high usage .

[0053] El l . The docking station according to embodiment E9 or E10 , wherein the predetermined order is set based on a user profile associated with the connected portable aerosol generating device .

[0054] E12 . The docking station according to any one of embodiments El to El l , further comprising a first communication link between the processing section and the memory section and a second communication link between the processing section and the communication section, and wherein the first communication link is isolated from the second communication link .

[0055] E13 . The docking station according to any one of embodiments El to E12 , wherein the processing section is configured to perform a fi fth task including controlling of a charging process of a rechargeable battery of a connected portable aerosol generating device .

[0056] E14 . The charging station according to any one of embodiments El to E13 , wherein the processing section is configured to perform a sixth task including identi fying a connected portable device . E15 . The charging station according to any one of embodiments El to E14 , wherein the processing section is configured to perform a seventh task including downloading data from the communication network and uploading at least a part of the downloaded data to a connected portable device .

Claims

Claims :1 . A docking station for a plural ity of portable aerosol generating devices of di f ferent types , the docking station comprising a plurality of electrical ports , each configured to be electrically connected to a corresponding one of the portable aerosol generating device , the docking station further comprising a processing section, a memory section, and a communication section, said processing section being configured to : perform a first task as a trial access routine , which includes accessing a memory of a connected portable aerosol generating device through said electrical port , a subsequent check in relation to the obtained data in order to find out a type of a connected aerosol generating device , and adj usting the accessing until the data retrieved passes said check, perform a second task including trans ferring at least part of the data stored in the memory of the connected portable aerosol generating device to said memory section, perform a third task including transmitting at least part of the data trans ferred to said memory section toward a communication network via said communication section, and perform a fourth task including erasing at least part of data transmitted to the communication network from the memory section, once an acknowledge signal is received from the communication network .2 . The docking station according to claim 1 , wherein the processing section is further configured to also perform the fourth task when the acknowledge signal is not received with in a predetermined duration .The docking station according to any one of claims 1 to 2 , wherein the processing section is further configured to :identi fy a connection and a di sconnection of the portable aerosol generating device in relation to the electrical port , first keep the stored data trans ferred from the disconnected portable aerosol generating device in the memory section, until the acknowledge signal is received from the communication network .4 . The docking station according to claim 3 , wherein the processing section is further configured to perform at least the second task and the third task subsequently for one connected portable aerosol generating device .5 . The docking station according to claim 4 , wherein the processing section is further configured to : perform the second task trans ferring at least part of the data stored in the memory of the connected more than one portable aerosol generating device , and perform the third task transmitting the data trans ferred to the memory section from more than one portable aerosol generating device toward the communication network following a predetermined order .6 . The docking station according to claim 5 , wherein the predetermined order is set for providing a priority mechanism, preferably for prioriti zing a portable aerosol generating device for which the correspondingly trans ferred data indicates a relatively high usage .7 . The docking station according to claim 5 or 6 , wherein the predetermined order is set based on a user profile associated with the connected portable aerosol generating device .8 . The docking station according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , further comprising a first communication link between the processing section and the memory section and a secondcommunication link between the processing section and the communication section, and wherein the first communication link is isolated from the second communication link .9 . The docking station according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , wherein the processing section is configured to perform a fi fth task including controlling of a charging process of a rechargeable battery of a connected portable aerosol generating device .10 . The docking station according to any one of claims 1 to 9 , wherein the processing section is configured to perform a sixth task including identi fying a connected portable device .11 . The docking station according to any one of claims 1 to 10 , wherein the processing section is configured to perform a seventh task including downloading data from the communication network and uploading at least a part of the downloaded data to a connected portable device .

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