Aerosol-generating systems and method of operation

Abstract

An aerosol-generating system, comprising: a device body comprising: an internal chamber arranged within the device body for receiving an article; an aerosol-generating unit within the internal chamber configured to generate an aerosol from the article when the article is received in the internal chamber; a closure member arranged at an opening of the internal chamber to control access of the article to the internal chamber; and a processing resource, wherein the closure member is moveable between a closed position, in which the closure member fully obstructs the opening of the internal chamber and prevents insertion of an article into the internal chamber, and an open position, in which the closure member does not obstruct the opening of the internal chamber and an article may be inserted into the internal chamber, through an intermediate position, and wherein the processing resource is configured to detect a position of the closure member and determine, based on the processing resource detecting that the closure member is located at the intermediate position, that an article is located within the internal chamber.

Description

[0001] P01748

[0002] 1

[0003] AEROSOL-GENERATING SYSTEMS AND METHOD OF OPERATION

[0004] This application claims priority from EP25163939.9 filed 14 March 2025, the contents and elements of which are herein incorporated by reference for all purposes.

[0005] FIELD

[0006] The present disclosure relates to an aerosol-generating system, and in particular, although not exclusively, to a heat-not-burn (HNB) device and system. The present disclosure also relates to a method of operation of an aerosol-generating system and a further aerosol-generating system.

[0007] BACKGROUND

[0008] An aerosol-generating system may be provided with a closure member to selectively allow access to an internal chamber for receiving an article containing the aerosol precursor, to prevent damage to an aerosol-generating unit, such as a heating system, disposed within the internal chamber. An aerosolgenerating system can also determine whether an article is located within the internal chamber, to prevent unnecessary activation of the aerosol-generating unit. Different articles may benefit from different heating profiles for optimum aerosol generation

[0009] It is against this background that the present invention has been developed.

[0010] SUMMARY

[0011] At its broadest, the present disclosure provides an aerosol-generating system that can determine when an article (alternatively known as a consumable) is located within a device body (alternatively known as an aerosol-generating device) of the aerosol-generating system.

[0012] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an aerosol-generating system comprising: a device body comprising: an internal chamber for receiving an article via an opening, the internal chamber being arranged within the device body; an aerosol-generating unit, the aerosolgenerating unit being configured to generate an aerosol from the article when the article is received in the internal chamber; a closure member arranged at the opening to control access of the article to the internal chamber; and a processing resource. Optionally, the closure member may be moveable (for example, by a user) between a closed position, in which the closure member fully obstructs the opening of the internal chamber and prevents insertion of an article into the internal chamber, and an open position, in which the closure member does not obstruct the opening of the internal chamber and an article may be inserted into the internal chamber, through an intermediate position. Optionally, the processing resource may be configured to detect a position of the closure member and determine,

[0013] 008909939P01748

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[0015] based on the processing resource detecting that the closure member is located at the intermediate position, that an article is located within the internal chamber.

[0016] By configuring the processing resource to detect that an article is present in the internal chamber based on the closure member being in an intermediate position, where the opening to the internal chamber is partially obstructed by the closure member, the presence of an article within the internal chamber may be provided automatically and with greater accuracy than existing detection methods. In particular, detection that the closure member is located at an intermediate position, rather than at the “fully closed” position or “fully open” position, strongly suggests that an article is actually located within the internal chamber that is preventing the closure member moving to the closed position.

[0017] The processing resource may be configured to detect the position of the closure member by any suitable means, such as through optical, magnetic, mechanical or electrical means. The processing resource may comprise a sensorthat is configured to detect the position of the closure member and send a signal to the processing resource relaying the position of the closure member. The sensor may detect the position of the closure member by any suitable means, such as through optical, mechanical or electrical means.

[0018] The device body may further comprise a biasing means configured to bias the closure member towards the closed position. By biasing the closure member towards the closed position, errors in detecting the presence of an article caused by the closure member being accidentally left in an intermediate position may be reduced, as the closure member will assume the closed position if not retained in the open position or an intermediate position by the user or by the presence of an article within the internal chamber. The biasing means may be selected from any suitable biasing means, including springs or co-operating magnets.

[0019] The processing resource may be configured to determine that an article is located within the internal chamber based on the processing resource detecting an additional determination parameter, in addition to the processing resource detecting that the closure member is located at the intermediate position. By requiring the processing resource to determine the presence of an additional determination parameter, false detection of the presence of an article, for example through a user holding the closure member at an intermediate position without an article being inserted into the internal chamber, may be avoided.

[0020] The additional determination parameter may be a determination that the closure member has been located at the intermediate position for a period of time that exceeds a first duration threshold. By defining a first duration threshold, false detection of the presence of an article, for example through a user holding the closure member at an intermediate position for a short time without an article being inserted into the internal chamber, may be avoided. The first duration threshold may be one second, two seconds, three seconds or longer.

[0021] 008909939P01748

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[0023] The additional determination parameter may be a determination that, prior to the closure member being located at the intermediate position, the closure member was previously located at the open position. By requiring the closure member to have been previously located at the open position, prior to being located at the intermediate position, an incorrect determination of the presence of an article in the internal chamber that may be caused by partial movement of the closure member from the closed position to an intermediate position may be avoided. The additional determination parameter may include the requirement that the determination that the closure member is at an intermediate position has occurred within a predetermined time period of a determination that the closure member was located at the open position. By setting such a predetermined time period between determination that the closure element was located at the open position and a subsequent determination that the closure member is at an intermediate position, the likelihood of falsely determining that an article is located in the internal chamber through the closure member being located at the open position in an unrelated event to the closure member being located at the intermediate position is reduced. The additional determination parameter may include the requirement that the determination that the closure member is at an intermediate position has occurred within a one second, two seconds, three seconds or more of a determination that the closure member was located at the open position. The additional determination parameter may include the requirement that the determination that the closure member is at an intermediate position has occurred within 10 seconds, 9 seconds, 8 seconds or less of a determination that the closure member was located at the open position.

[0024] The additional determination parameter may be a determination that the closure member has been moved in accordance with a predetermined pattern. The predetermined pattern may comprise a series of locations and / or durations.

[0025] The additional determination parameter may comprise a plurality of additional determination parameters, such as a combination of additional determination parameters. For example, the additional determination parameter might comprise a determination that the closure element has been located at the open position for a predetermined period, followed by being positioned at the intermediate position for a period of time that exceeds the first duration threshold.

[0026] The processing resource may be configured to activate the aerosol-generating unit in response to the processing resource determining that an article is located within the internal chamber. By automatically activating the aerosol-generating unit in response to a determination that an article is located within the internal chamber, the aerosol-generating system can simplify and accelerate the process for starting aerosol production for the user.

[0027] The processing resource may be configured to determine, based on the processing resource detecting that the closure member is located at the closed position after previously detecting that the closure member was located at the intermediate position, that an article has been removed from the internal chamber. The processing resource may be further configured to deactivate the aerosol-generating unit in response to the processing resource determining that an article has been removed from the internal

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[0030] chamber. By automatically deactivating the aerosol-generating unit upon detection of the removal of the article, unnecessary use of power by the device body may be avoided.

[0031] The closure member may be a rotatable member. The closure member may comprise a body and a bore extending through the body from an entry at one side of the closure member to an exit at an opposite side of the closure member. The closure member may be rotatable about a rotation axis between the open position, in which the bore is aligned with the internal chamber such that an article may be inserted through the bore into the internal chamber, and the closed position, in which the bore is misaligned with the internal chamber such that the closure member obscures the mouth of the cavity. The intermediate position may comprise a partial alignment between the bore and the internal chamber, such that the internal chamber is partially obscured by the closure member. Alternatively, the closure member may be a translatable member than is translatable along an axis between the open position and the closed position.

[0032] The device body may be a heat-not-burn device (HNB). A heat-not-burn (HNB) device, also known as a heated tobacco device, is a type of aerosol-generating system in which an aerosol-forming material (e.g., a solid precursor such as tobacco) is heated by a heating system to produce an aerosol that may be inhaled by the user. Alternatively, the device body may be an electronic vapour product (EVP). An electronic vapour product (EVP), also known as a vaping apparatus or a vape, is a type of aerosolgenerating system in which an aerosol precursor (e.g. a liquid or gel) is aerosolised by an aerosolgenerating unit, such as a heating element or ultrasonic element.

[0033] The aerosol-generating system may comprise an article. The aerosol-generating system may comprise a plurality of articles. Each of the plurality of articles may be associated with one of a plurality of article types, each article type having a respective external dimension. For example, the plurality of articles may comprise articles of a first article type having a first external dimension and articles of a second article type having a second external dimension, wherein the first external dimension and second external dimension are different. By having a plurality of article types with different dimensions, the exact position of an article received in the internal chamber, and therefore the intermediate position of the closure member where it abuts against the article, will vary according to the article type. This is especially the case if a biasing means is provided to bias the closure member towards the closed position, as the closure member will naturally come to rest at the intermediate position abutting against the article. This allows the processing resource to distinguish between different article types, depending on the intermediate position that is determined. The plurality of articles can also comprise further article types, such as third article types and fourth article types, each article type having a respective external dimension that is different to the external dimension of other article types.

[0034] The intermediate position may comprise a plurality of intermediate positions. For example, the intermediate position may comprise a first intermediate position, a second intermediate position and optionally further intermediate positions. The processing resource may be configured to determine whether the closure member is located at any one of the intermediate positions. Where the intermediate

[0035] 008909939P01748

[0036] 5

[0037] position comprises a plurality of intermediate positions, the processing resource may be configured to determine, based on the closure member being located at a particular intermediate position, whether the article located in the internal chamber is associated with a particular article type. For example, the processing resource may be configured to determine, based on the closure member being located at a particular intermediate position, whether the article located in the internal chamber is of the first article type or the second article type, for example the processing resource may be configured to determine that when the closure member is located at the first intermediate position, the article is of the first article type and that when the closure member is located at the second intermediate position, the article is of the second article type. The number of intermediate positions may correspond to the number of article types within the aerosol-generating system. By determining the particular intermediate position, the processing resource can effectively determine the characteristic external dimension of the article, and thereby determine which of the plurality of article types a particular article belongs to. Based on the determination of an article belonging to a particular article type, the processing resource may be figured to control the operation of the aerosol-generating unit in accordance with one of a selection of predefined heating profiles corresponding to the article type with which the article in the internal chamber is associated. Each of the selection of predefined heating profiles may comprise an aerosolgenerating parameter, optionally a plurality of aerosol-generating parameters, associated with the generation of aerosol from the article. The aerosol-generating parameter may comprise at least one of a target temperature for heating the article and / or a duration for heating the article.

[0038] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of operation of an aerosol-generating system comprising:

[0039] determining that an article is located within an internal chamber of a device body of the aerosolgenerating system based on a detection by a processing resource that a closure member, arranged at an opening of the internal chamber, is located at an intermediate position between a closed position, in which the closure member fully obstructs the opening of the internal chamber and prevents insertion of an article into the internal chamber, and an open position, in which the closure member does not obstruct the opening of the internal chamber and an article may be inserted into the internal chamber. The processing resource may determine that an article is located within the internal chamber based on the processing resource detecting an additional determination parameter, in addition to the processing resource detecting that the closure member is located at the intermediate position. By requiring the processing resource to determine the presence of an additional determination parameter, false detection of the presence of an article, for example through a user holding the closure member at an intermediate position without an article being inserted into the internal chamber, may be avoided. The additional determination parameter may be a determination that the closure member has been located at the intermediate position for a period of time that exceeds a first duration threshold. By defining a first duration threshold, false detection of the presence of an article, for example through a user holding the closure member at an intermediate position for a short time without an article being

[0040] 008909939P01748

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[0042] inserted into the internal chamber, may be avoided. The first duration threshold may be one second, two seconds, three seconds or longer.

[0043] The additional determination parameter may be a determination that, prior to the closure member being located at the intermediate position, the closure member was previously located at the open position. By requiring the closure member to have been previously located at the open position, prior to being located at the intermediate position, an incorrect determination of the presence of an article in the internal chamber that may be caused by partial movement of the closure member from the closed position to an intermediate position may be avoided. The additional determination parameter may include the requirement that the determination that the closure member is at an intermediate position has occurred within a predetermined time period of a determination that the closure member was located at the open position. By setting such a predetermined time period between determination that the closure element was located at the open position and a subsequent determination that the closure member is at an intermediate position, the likelihood of falsely determining that an article is located in the internal chamber through the closure member being located at the open position in an unrelated event to the closure member being located at the intermediate position is reduced. The additional determination parameter may include the requirement that the determination that the closure member is at an intermediate position has occurred within a one second, two seconds, three seconds or more of a determination that the closure member was located at the open position. The additional determination parameter may include the requirement that the determination that the closure member is at an intermediate position has occurred within 10 seconds, 9 seconds, 8 seconds or less of a determination that the closure member was located at the open position.

[0044] The additional determination parameter may be a determination that the closure member has been moved in accordance with a predetermined pattern. The predetermined pattern may comprise a series of locations and / or durations.

[0045] The additional determination parameter may comprise a plurality of additional determination parameters, such as a combination of additional determination parameters. For example, the additional determination parameter might comprise a determination that the closure element has been located at the open position for a predetermined period, followed by being positioned at the intermediate position for a period of time that exceeds the first duration threshold.

[0046] The method may comprise the step of:

[0047] • activating an aerosol-generating unit inside the internal chamber in response to the processing resource determining that an article is located within the internal chamber. By automatically activating the aerosol-generating unit in response to a determination that an article is located within the internal chamber, the aerosol-generating system can simplify and accelerate the process for starting aerosol production for the user.

[0048] The method may comprise the step of:

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[0051] • determining that an article has been removed from the internal chamber based on the processing resource detecting that the closure member is located at the closed position after previously detecting that the closure member was located at the intermediate position

[0052] The method may also comprise the step of:

[0053] • deactivating the aerosol-generating unit in response to the processing resource determining that an article has been removed from the internal chamber.

[0054] By automatically deactivating the aerosol-generating unit upon detection of the removal of the article, unnecessary use of power by the device body may be avoided.

[0055] The aerosol-generating system may comprise an article. The aerosol-generating system may comprise a plurality of articles. Each of the plurality of articles may be associated with one of a plurality of article types, each article type having a respective external dimension. For example, the plurality of articles may comprise articles of a first article type having a first external dimension and articles of a second article type having a second external dimension, wherein the first external dimension and second external dimension are different. The plurality of articles can also comprise further article types, such as third article types and fourth article types, each article type having a respective external dimension that is different to the external dimension of other article types. The intermediate position may comprise a plurality of intermediate positions. For example, the intermediate position may comprise a first intermediate position, a second intermediate position and optionally further intermediate positions. The method may comprise the step of:

[0056] • determining whether the closure member is located at one of a plurality of intermediate positions.

[0057] The method may further comprise the step of:

[0058] • determining, on the basis of whether the closure member is located at one of a plurality of intermediate positions, whether the article is associated with one of a plurality of article types.

[0059] The method may further comprise the step of:

[0060] • selecting, on the basis of whether the article is associated with one of a plurality of article types, one of a selection of predefined heating profiles corresponding to the article type with which the article in the internal chamber is associated and controlling the operation of an aerosol-generating unit in accordance with the selected predefined heating profile.

[0061] Each of the selection of predefined heating profiles may comprise an aerosol-generating parameter, optionally a plurality of aerosol-generating parameters, associated with the generation of aerosol from the article. The aerosol-generating parameter may comprise at least one of a target temperature for heating the article and / or a duration for heating the article.

[0062] 008909939P01748

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[0064] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an aerosol-generating system comprising :

[0065] an article of a first article type having a first external dimension,

[0066] an article of a second article type having a second external dimension, wherein the first external dimension and second external dimension are different; and

[0067] a device body.

[0068] Optionally, the device body comprises:

[0069] an internal chamber arranged within the device body for receiving an article;

[0070] an aerosol-generating unit within the internal chamber configured to generate an aerosol from the article when received in the internal chamber;

[0071] a closure member arranged at an opening of the internal chamber to control access of the article to the internal chamber; and

[0072] a processing resource.

[0073] Optionally, the closure member may be moveable between a closed position, in which the closure member fully obstructs the opening of the internal chamber and prevents insertion of an article into the internal chamber, and an open position, in which the closure member does not obstruct the opening of the internal chamber and an article may be inserted into the internal chamber, through a plurality of intermediate positions. Optionally, the processing resource may be configured to detect a position of the closure member and determine, based on the processing resource detecting that the closure member is located at one of the intermediate positions, that an article of the first type is located within the internal chamber or an article of the second type is located within the internal chamber.

[0074] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of operation of an aerosol-generating system comprising :

[0075] • determining whether an article that is located within an internal chamber of a device body of the aerosol-generating system is an article of a first type having a first external dimension or an article of a second type having a second external dimension, wherein the first external dimension and second external dimension are different, based on the detection by a processing resource that a closure member, arranged at an opening of the internal chamber, is located at one of a plurality of intermediate positions between a closed position, in which the closure member fully obstructs the opening of the internal chamber and prevents insertion of an article into the internal chamber, and an open position, in which the closure member does not obstruct the opening of the internal chamber.

[0076] The preceding summary is provided for purposes of summarizing some examples to provide a basic understanding of aspects of the subject matter described herein. Accordingly, the above-described

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[0079] features should not be construed to narrow the scope of the subject matter described herein in any way. Moreover, the above and / or following examples may be combined in any suitable combination to provide further examples, except where such a combination is clearly impermissible or expressly avoided. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following text and the accompanying figures.

[0080] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0081] Aspects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of examples in reference to the appended figures in which like numerals denote like elements.

[0082] Figure 1 shows an example of an aerosol-generating system;

[0083] Figure 2 shows the components of the aerosol-generating system in a ‘disengaged state’;

[0084] Figure 3 shows the components of the aerosol-generating system in an ‘engaged state’;

[0085] Figures 4A, 4B and 4C shows a closure member of an aerosol-generating system in a closed position, open position, and intermediate position;

[0086] Figure 5 shows a closure member of an aerosol-generating system;

[0087] Figures 6A and 6B show an example of an aerosol-generating system with a first article and an example of an aerosol-generating system with a second article; and

[0088] Figure 7 shows a schematic representation of a method of operating an aerosol-generating system.

[0089] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0090] It is to be understood that the present disclosure, which includes the specification and claim(s), is not limited by specific construction details or process steps. Rather, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the systems, apparatuses, and methods described herein may be embodied and practiced in various alternative ways without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0091] Unless defined otherwise, scientific and technical terms used herein have their meanings commonly understood by those skilled in the art and that known techniques and procedures may be performed according to conventional methods.

[0092] In the present disclosure, the terms “a” and “an” may mean “one”, “one or more”, “at least one”, and “one or more than one” unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Likewise, plural terms shall include the singular unless otherwise required by context.

[0093] In the present disclosure, the term “or” means an inclusive “and / or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives only or unless the alternatives are mutually exclusive.

[0094] 00890993910

[0095] In the present disclosure, the terms “comprising, “having,” “including,” or “containing” (and any forms thereof, such as “comprise” and “comprises,” “have” and “has,” “includes” and “include,” or “contains” and “contain,” respectively) are inclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps.

[0096] Unless stated otherwise, the features of examples disclosed herein, and of the claims, may be integrated together in any suitable arrangement such that combinations of features are not limited by the described forms, particularly the form (e.g. numbering) of example(s), embodiment(s), or dependency of claim(s). This also applies to the phrase “in one example”, “according to an example” and the like, which are merely a stylistic form of wording not to be construed as limiting the features to a separate embodiment. This is to say, a reference to ‘an,’ ‘one,’ or ‘some’ examples(s) may be a reference to any one or more, and / or all examples, or combination(s) thereof, disclosed. Also, similarly, reference to “the” example may not be limited to the immediately preceding embodiment. Further, all references to one or more embodiments or examples are to be construed as non-limiting to the claims. The present disclosure may be better understood in view of the following explanations, wherein the terms used that are separated by “or” may be used interchangeably.

[0097] Figure 1 shows an example of an aerosol-generating system 1 comprising a device body 20 and an article 30 (alternatively referred to as a “consumable”) for insertion into the device body 20. In this example, the device body 20 is a heat-not-burn device (HNB) configured to produce an aerosol by heating an aerosol precursor, shown as an aerosol-forming material 10 (e.g. a solid precursor, such as tobacco material) to a temperature below its combustion temperature.

[0098] The term “aerosol-forming material” refers to a material capable of releasing volatile components that can form an aerosol, e.g. by releasing volatile compounds in the aerosol-forming material 10. An “aerosol” is a dispersion of solid particles and / or liquid droplets dispersed in a gas. The aerosol may be visible or invisible.

[0099] Figure 2 shows a schematic representation of the internal components of the device body 20 and article 30. The device body 20 and article 30 are shown in a “disengaged state” in which the article 30 is separated from the device body 20.

[0100] The aerosol-generating system 1 has an aerosol-generating unit 2 in the form of a heating system. The heating system comprises a heating element 2a. The heating element 2a heats the aerosol-forming material 10 to a temperature lower than its combustion temperature such that an aerosol may be formed by evaporation, torrefaction and pyrolysis.

[0101] The aerosol-generating system 1 includes a power source 4. In this example, the power source 4 includes a battery 4a configured to supply electrical energy to operate the aerosol-generating unit 2 and other components. The aerosol-generating system 1 may be powered, alternatively or in addition to the battery 4a, by an external power source.

[0102] 00890993911

[0103] The article 30 defines an air passageway which transmits aerosol generated from the aerosol-forming material 10 to a downstream end 32 (i.e. terminal end or mouth end) of the article 30. The article 30 may comprise one or more filter elements 34, one or more spacer elements 36, and one or more wrapping layers 38 (e.g. paper, foil or composite layers). One or more of the filter elements 34 and spacer elements 36 may define the air passageway. In the present example, the article 30 comprises an aerosol-forming material 10 at the upstream end 31 of the article 30, a filter element 34 at the downstream end 32, and a spacer element 36 positioned between them, all circumscribed by a wrapping layer 38.

[0104] Figure 3 shows the aerosol-generating system 1 in an “engaged state” in which the article 30 is inserted into an internal chamber 22 of the device body 20. Suitably, the internal chamber 22 is defined in the device body as a cavity extending from an end of the device body 20 (and herein internal chamber and cavity are interchangeable). That is, the internal chamber 22 has an opening 23 at a downstream distal end of the device body through which the consumable is inserted. Here, the internal chamber (i.e., the space defining the cavity) is substantially elongate. And preferably, as shown, elongate along an axis of the device body. That is, the device body is elongate (i.e., relative to an x,y,z co-ordinate, longer in one direction than the other two) such that it defines an axis of the device body, and the consumable is inserted into the internal chamber by relative movement along the axis. It will be appreciated that consumables known in the art are typically substantially cylindrical. Consequently, the internal chamber is also suitably also substantially cylindrical. That is, the internal chamber has a substantially circular cross-section. The cross-section maybe substantially constant along the axis of the cavity. But it is envisaged other arrangements and shapes and configurations are available as is known in the art, or that might be developed to provide an internal chamber suitable for receiving a consumable.

[0105] The internal chamber includes a base 24 opposed to the opening 23. The base suitably acts as a stop for the insertion of the consumable into the internal chamber. Thus, in use, the user inserts the consumable into the internal chamber fully, when an end of the consumable abuts the base. Typically, when the consumable is fully inserted, at least the aerosol-forming material 10 is fully contained within the internal chamber. However, in the exemplary embodiments, when fully inserted, at least a downstream end of the consumable extends (i.e. protrudes) from the internal chamber. That is, the internal chamber is sized relative to the consumable such that the consumable has a greater dimension in the insertion direction than the internal chamber. Here, as shown, the downstream filter element 34 of the consumable forms a mouthpiece. Herein a mouthpiece is an element configured and intended for a user to place in their mouth to inhale on the system. Suitably therefore, the downstream element is a mouthend filter or the like.

[0106] The internal chamber 22 includes a heating zone defined by the heating system. In the exemplary embodiments the heating system can take any suitable form. For instance, the heating element may comprise a resistive heating element or an inductive heating element (with the susceptor provided in the device or consumable). In the example shown, the heating element 2a is configured to penetrate

[0107] 00890993912

[0108] the article 30. The heating element 2a is arranged to extend along a length of the aerosol-forming material 10 when inserted therein, such that when the heating element 2a is activated, heat is transferred radially outward from the heating element 2a to the aerosol-forming material 10 resulting in formation of an aerosol. This may be referred to as an ‘inside-out’ heating arrangement. The aerosol is subsequently entrained in an airflow produced by the action of the user drawing on the downstream end 32 of the article 30.

[0109] In alternative examples, the heating element 2a may be configured to at least partially encircle the article 30, such that when the heating element 2a is activated, heat is transferred radially inward from the heating element 2a to the aerosol-forming material 10. This may be referred to as an ‘outside-in’ heating arrangement.

[0110] In this example, the heating element 2a is a resistive heating element although it will be appreciated that the aerosol-forming material 10 may be heated by any suitable means. For instance, the heating element 2a may comprise a susceptor (not shown) configured to produce heat when penetrated by an alternating magnetic field.

[0111] The device body 20 may include any one or more of electrical circuitry, a memory, a wireless interface, and one or more other components. The device body 20 may include a printed circuit board (PCB) 25 on which components of the electrical circuitry, memory, wireless interface, and other components may be mounted.

[0112] The electrical circuitry may include a processing resource on the PCB 25 for controlling one or more operations of the device body 20 and article 30, e.g. based on instructions stored in the memory. The wireless interface may be configured to communicate wirelessly with an external (e.g. mobile) device, e.g. via Bluetooth. The other component(s) may include one or more user interface devices configured to convey information to a user, a pressure sensor 15, and / or a charging port 18.

[0113] The aerosol-generating system 1 may comprise one or more input and / or output elements. The input and / or output elements may form part of a user interface (Ul) of the system 1. For instance, figure 1 shows an input element in the form of a button 16 and an output element in the form of a set of lights (LEDs) 17. The button 16 is configured to control at least one function of system 1, such as power supply to the heating element 2a. The lights 17 are configured to convey information to the user regarding the state of the system 1 and / or article. It will be appreciated that the input element(s) may be provided in various forms such as touch screens, switches, and sensors, and the output element(s) may be provided in various forms such as display screens, speakers, or a haptic output generated by a vibration generator.

[0114] In the exemplary embodiments, the device body 20 has a rotatable closure member 40. The closure member 40 is operable by a user of the device body 20. As shown in Figure 4, the closure member 40 is arranged at an opening 102 of the internal chamber 22 to control access of the article 30 to the internal chamber 22. In the exemplary embodiments, the closure member 40 comprises a body 104

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[0117] that is moveable between a first configuration in which the body fully obstructs the opening 102 to the internal chamber (herein the closed position), as shown in Figure 4A. In the closed position, the opening 102 is obstructed to prevent insertion of an article 30 into the internal chamber 22. More preferably, in the closed position, the body 104 obstructs the opening to substantially prevent any access to the internal chamber 22 through the opening 102. For instance, by obstructing substantially any access to the internal chamber 22, the closure member 40 acts as a seal to prevent ingress of dirt or objects into the internal chamber 22 when the device body 20 is not in use. For instance, dirt or objects can degrade the performance of the device body 20 or interfere with the insertion of an article 30 and after the end of a session, it is desirable to keep the heating element 2a protected as it cools down.

[0118] The body 104 of the closure member 40 can also be arranged in a second configuration wherein the body 104 does not obstruct the opening 102 of the internal chamber 22 (herein an open position), as shown in Figure 4B. In the open position, the opening 102 is sufficiently accessible for an article 30 to be inserted into the internal chamber 22. The opening 102 is accessible through a bore 106 extending through the body 104 from an entry 108 at one side of the closure member 40 to an exit 110 at an opposite side of the closure member 40.

[0119] The closure member 40 can transition between the closed position and the open position through a plurality of intermediate positions. In the intermediate positions, as shown in Figures 4C, 6A and 6B, the body 104 of the closure member 40 is arranged such that the opening 102 of the internal chamber 22 is partially obstructed by the body 104, but the majority of the opening 102 is exposed to allow an article 30 to be received in the internal chamber 22.

[0120] The processing resource is configured to detect a position of the closure member 40 and determine whether it is at the open position, closed position or an intermediate position between the open position and the closed position. For instance, a sensor 112 may be housed in the device body 20 at or near the closure. The sensor 112 may be used to detect when the closure member 40 is in open position, closed position or an intermediate position between the open position and the closed position. The sensor 112 can be optical, magnetic, electrical, mechanical or the like. For instance, an optical sensor may detect a first signal when the closure member 40 is in the open position, a second signal when the closure member 40 is in the closed position and no signal when the closure member 40 is in an intermediate position between the open position and the closed position. If the first and second signals are different, the processing resource may be configured to determine the position of the closure member 40. Likewise, a magnetic sensor may determine between the different positions of the closure member 40 by a change in magnetic field sensed by the sensor as the closure member 40 moves between the different positions. Other sensors are known that are suitable for determining a position of the closure member 40.

[0121] The processing resource is configured to detect a position of the closure member 40 and determine, based on the processing resource detecting that the closure member 40 is located at an intermediate position, that an article 30 is located within the internal chamber 22 of the device body 20. In the

[0122] 008909939P01748

[0123] 14

[0124] exemplary embodiments, the closure member 40 is biased towards the closed position by a biasing means 114. In the exemplary embodiments, the biasing means 114 is a spring, as shown in Figure 5. However, other biasing means are known that are suitable for biasing the closure member 40 towards the closed position, such as a pair of co-operating magnets. By biasing the closure member 40 towards the closed position, it is clear that any detection by the processing resource that the closure member 40 is in an intermediate position is due to some action to maintain the closure member in that position, as otherwise the closure member 40 would naturally return to the closed position. The action maintaining the closure member 40 in the intermediate position may be an obstacle preventing the closure member 40 from moving towards the closed position, such as an article 30 being located in the internal chamber 22 or the user holding the closure member 40 in an intermediate position. To ensure that the detection that the closure member 40 is located in an intermediate position is indicative of an article 30 being located in the internal chamber 22, the processing resource may require the detection of an additional determination parameter along with the detection that the closure member 40 is located in an intermediate position.

[0125] This additional determination parameter may be selected from any parameter that could indicate that the closure member 40 is being held in an intermediate position for insertion of an article 30 into the internal chamber 22. For example, an additional determination parameter may be a determination that the closure member 40 has been located at an intermediate position for a period of time that exceeds a first duration threshold, for example 3 seconds. By setting a minimum duration for the closure member 40 to be held at the intermediate position before a determination that an article 30 is located in the internal chamber 22, false determinations that may be caused by, for example, the user interacting with the closure member 40 without inserting an article 30 into the internal chamber 22. Another additional determination parameter could be, for example, a determination that, prior to the closure member 40 being located at the intermediate position, the closure member 40 was previously located at the open position, optionally within a predetermined time period prior to the determination that the closure member 40 is located at an intermediate position. This additional determination parameter may suggest that the user has fully exposed the opening 102 of the internal chamber 22 to insert an article 30, before the closure member 40, either under the action of the user or under a biasing action by the biasing means 114, has moved to an intermediate position. The additional determination parameter may also be a determination that the closure member 40 has been moved between positions in accordance with a predetermined pattern. For example, the additional determination parameter may be that the closure member 40 is detected at the open position a total of 5 times within a period of 10 seconds. This can indicate that the user is moving the closure member 40 towards and away from the open position in a predetermined pattern which can distinguish from random motion of the closure member 40, thereby using the closure member 40 as a user interface. The additional determination parameter may comprise a plurality of different additional determination parameters, in order to further reduce errors in determining that an article 30 is located within the internal chamber 22.

[0126] 008909939P01748

[0127] 15

[0128] Once the processing resource determines that an article 30 is located within the internal chamber 22, functions of the device can be automated. For example, the processing resource may activate the heating element 2a and starting a smoking session in response to the processing resource determining that an article 30 is located within the internal chamber 22. By automatically activating the heating element 2a in response to a determination that an article 30 is located within the internal chamber 22, the aerosol-generating system 1 can simplify and accelerate the process for starting aerosol production for the user. In another example, during a smoking session, if the processing resource determines the closure member 40 is moved to the closed position, the processing resource may be configured to deactivate the heating element 2a by preventing power being supplied to the heating element 2a. Here, the user would have had to remove the article 30 to move the closure member 40 to the closed position and therefore automatically deactivating the heating element 2a can act as a safety feature. Advantageously, if the closure member 40 is biased towards the closed position, the closure member 40 is configured to move to the closed position, for instance, if it is not held open by the presence of a article 30 projecting through the opening 102.

[0129] The closure member 40 may also be used to distinguish between articles of different article types. This can be used to distinguish between articles having different predefined heating profiles or to determine whether an article 30 inserted in the internal chamber 22 is compatible with the aerosol-generation system 1. As shown in Figures 6A and 6B, articles may be provided as different article types having different external dimensions, D. Figure 6A shows an article 30a having an external dimension D1 and Figure 6B shows an article 30b having an external dimension D2. Since D1 and D2 are different, the closure member 40 adopts a different intermediate position between the open and closed positions with the articles 30a, 30b located in the internal chamber 22, with a portion of the entry 108 to the bore 106 abutting against an external surface of the article 30a, 30b. This effect can be demonstrated whether or not the closure member 40 is biased towards the closed position by a biasing means 114. In the exemplary embodiment, D1 is larger than D2, and therefore the intermediate position of the closure member 40 when article 30a is inserted is closer to the open position than the intermediate position of the closure member 40 when article 30b is inserted. The processing resource can be configured to distinguish between these two intermediate positions, and thereby determine whether the article 30 is of a first article type (30a) or a second article type (30b). This can also extend to further article types, having different external dimensions and corresponding different intermediate positions of the closure member 40 when an article 30 of that article type is inserted into the internal chamber 22.

[0130] The closure member 40 and the processing resource may be used to determine that an article 30 is located within the internal chamber 22. Additionally or alternatively, the closure member 40 and the processing resource may be used to determine whether an article 30a of a first type is located within the internal chamber 22 or an article 30b of a second type is located within the internal chamber 22. In another exemplary embodiment, there is provided a method 200 of operation of an aerosolgenerating system 1. Figure 7 shows a schematic representation of the method 200 of operating the

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[0133] aerosol-generating system 1. The method 200 comprises, in a first determining step 202, determining that an article 30 is located within an internal chamber 22 of a device body 20 of the aerosol-generating system 1 based on the detection by a processing resource that a closure member 40, arranged at an opening 102 of the internal chamber 22, is located at an intermediate position between a closed position, in which the closure member 40 fully obstructs the opening 102 of the internal chamber 22 and prevents insertion of an article 30 into the internal chamber 22, and an open position, in which the closure member 40 does not obstruct the opening 102 of the internal chamber 22 and an article 30 may be inserted into the internal chamber 22. This first determining step 202 may be carried out in a manner in accordance with the exemplary embodiments described above.

[0134] The method 200 further comprises, in an activating step 208, activating an aerosol-generating unit 2, such as a heating element 2a, inside the internal chamber 22 in response to the processing resource determining that an article 30 is located within the internal chamber 22. The method 200 further comprises, in a fourth determining step 210, determining that an article 30 has been removed from the internal chamber 22 based on the processing resource detecting that the closure member 40 is located at the closed position after previously detecting that the closure member 40 was located at an intermediate position. The method 200 further comprises, in a deactivating step 212, deactivating the aerosol-generating unit 2, such as the heating element 2a, in response to the processing resource determining that an article 30 has been removed from the internal chamber 22.

[0135] Where the aerosol-generating system 1 includes a plurality of articles having different article types, the method 200 comprises the steps of:

[0136] • in a second determining step 204, determining whether the closure member 40 is located at one of a plurality of intermediate positions ;

[0137] • in a third determining step 206, determining, on the basis of whether the closure member 40 is located at one of a plurality of intermediate positions, whether the article 30 is associated with one of a plurality of article types and optionally selecting, on the basis of whether the article 30 is associated with one of a plurality of article types, one of a selection of predefined heating profiles corresponding to the article type with which the article 30 in the internal chamber 22 is associated and controlling the operation of an aerosol-generating unit 2, such as the heating element 2a, in accordance with the selected predefined heating profiles.

[0138] Each of the selection of predefined heating profiles comprises at least one aerosol-generating parameter, such as a plurality of aerosol-generating parameters, associated with the generation of aerosol from the article type assigned to the respective predefined heating profile. The aerosolgenerating parameter may comprise any known aerosol-generating parameter known in the art, such as a target temperature for heating the article 30 or a duration for heating the article 30.

[0139] The method 200 may therefore be used to determine that an article 30 is located within the internal chamber 22 of the device body 20 of the aerosol-generating system 1. Additionally or alternatively, the

[0140] 00890993917

[0141] method 200 may be used to determine whether an article 30a of a first type is located within the internal chamber 22 or an article 30b of a second type is located within the internal chamber 22 of the device body 20 of the aerosol-generating system 1.

[0142] Each of the second determining step 204, third determining step 206, activating step 208, fourth determining step 210 and deactivating step 212 may be carried out independently of one another or in combination with one another.

[0143] 008909939

Claims

P0174818CLAIMS1. An aerosol-generating system, comprising:a device body comprising:an internal chamber for receiving an article via an opening, the internal chamber being arranged within the device body;an aerosol-generating unit, the aerosol-generating unit being configured to generate an aerosol from the article when the article is received in the internal chamber;a closure member arranged at the opening to control access of the article to the internal chamber; anda processing resource,wherein the closure member is moveable between a closed position, in which the closure member fully obstructs the opening of the internal chamber and prevents insertion of an article into the internal chamber, and an open position, in which the closure member does not obstruct the opening of the internal chamber and an article may be inserted into the internal chamber, through an intermediate position, andwherein the processing resource is configured to detect a position of the closure member and determine, based on the processing resource detecting that the closure member is located at the intermediate position, that an article is located within the internal chamber.

2. An aerosol-generating system according to the preceding claim, wherein the device body further comprises a biasing means configured to bias the closure member towards the closed position.

3. An aerosol-generating system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the processing resource is configured to determine that an article is located within the internal chamber based on the processing resource detecting an additional determination parameter, in addition to the processing resource detecting that the closure member is located at the intermediate position.

4. An aerosol-generating system according to claim 3, wherein the additional determination parameter is a determination that the closure member has been located at the intermediate position for a period of time that exceeds a first duration threshold.

5. An aerosol-generating system according to claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the additional determination parameter is a determination that, prior to the closure member being located at the intermediate position, the closure member was previously located at the open position.

6. An aerosol-generating system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the processing resource is configured to activate the aerosol-generating unit in response to the processing resource determining that an article is located within the internal chamber.008909939P01748197. An aerosol-generating system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the processing resource is configured to determine, based on the processing resource detecting that the closure member is located at the closed position after previously detecting that the closure member was located at the intermediate position, that an article has been removed from the internal chamber.

8. An aerosol-generating system according to claim 7 wherein the processing resource is configured to deactivate the aerosol-generating unit in response to the processing resource determining that an article has been removed from the internal chamber.

9. An aerosol-generating system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the closure member is a rotatable member.

10. An aerosol-generating system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the device body is a heat-not-burn device (HNB).

11. An aerosol-generating system according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a plurality of articles, the plurality of articles comprising articles of a first article type having a first external dimension and articles of a second article type having a second external dimension, wherein the first external dimension and second external dimension are different.

12. An aerosol-generating system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the intermediate position comprises a plurality of intermediate positions and the processing resource is configured to determine whether the closure member is located at any one of the intermediate positions.

13. An aerosol-generating system according to claim 12 when dependent on claim 11 , wherein the processing resource is configured to determine, based on the closure member being located at a particular intermediate position, whether the article located in the internal chamber is of the first article type or the second article type.

14. A method of operation of an aerosol-generating system comprising :determining that an article is located within an internal chamber of a device body of the aerosolgenerating system based on a detection by a processing resource that a closure member, arranged at an opening of the internal chamber, is located at an intermediate position between a closed position, in which the closure member fully obstructs the opening of the internal chamber and prevents insertion of an article into the internal chamber, and an open position, in which the closure member does not obstruct the opening of the internal chamber and an article may be inserted into the internal chamber.

15. An aerosol-generating system comprising :an article of a first article type having a first external dimension,an article of a second article type having a second external dimension, wherein the first external dimension and second external dimension are different; anda device body comprising:008909939P0174820an internal chamber arranged within the device body for receiving an article;an aerosol-generating unit within the internal chamber configured to generate an aerosol from the article when received in the internal chamber;a closure member arranged at an opening of the internal chamber to control access of the article to the internal chamber; anda processing resource,wherein the closure member is moveable between a closed position, in which the closure member fully obstructs the opening of the internal chamber and prevents insertion of an article into the internal chamber, and an open position, in which the closure member does not obstruct the opening of the internal chamber and an article may be inserted into the internal chamber, through a plurality of intermediate positions, andwherein the processing resource is configured to detect a position of the closure member and determine, based on the processing resource detecting that the closure member is located at one of the intermediate positions, that an article of the first type is located within the internal chamber or an article of the second type is located within the internal chamber.008909939

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