Aerosol Device Lost Detection via Sensor Fusion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Aerosol provision systems like e-cigarettes are prone to being lost or misplaced due to the lack of a means to determine their location, making it difficult for users to find them when they are dropped or forgotten.
Innovation Solution
Implementing control circuitry in the aerosol provision system to monitor conditions such as light, orientation, current, temperature, and network connectivity to determine if the device has been lost, and trigger a lost event by disabling power to the aerosol generator or sending a notification to an external device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the aerosol provision system is made portable and handheld, then ease of operation and user convenience are improved, but the risk of loss or misplacement increases due to lack of location tracking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary location determination system comprising sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, GPS) and communication modules that act as mediators between the portable aerosol provision system and the user. These intermediaries track and communicate device location without affecting the device's portability or user convenience.
2Reliability
If location determination and tracking features are added to the aerosol provision system, then loss prevention capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control circuitry in the aerosol provision system is designed to perform multiple functions: it controls aerosol generation, monitors device conditions, determines location using various sensors, communicates with external devices, and implements loss prevention logic. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated components for each function, thereby managing complexity while achieving reliable loss prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
The system includes self-service features where the aerosol provision system automatically monitors its own conditions, determines its location, and triggers loss prevention events without requiring constant user intervention. The device can autonomously send notifications to external devices when loss conditions are detected.
3Measurement precision
If multiple sensors and monitoring features are integrated to detect loss conditions, then measurement precision of device status is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple sensor functions (acceleration, orientation, magnetic field, location tracking) and monitoring capabilities into a single integrated control circuitry system. This consolidation allows for more accurate condition monitoring while simplifying the manufacturing process by reducing the number of separate components that need to be assembled and calibrated.
Data Source
AI summary
A system (100) comprises an aerosol provision system (10) provided with control circuitry configured to monitor one or more conditions of the aerosol provision system, to determine based on the one or more conditions whether the aerosol provision system has been lost by an owner of the aerosol provision system, and to trigger a lost event on the aerosol provision system to indicate that the aerosol provision system is lost. The one of more conditions may comprise an amount of light proximate to the aerosol provision system, an orientation of the aerosol provision system, an amount of current received from an external power supply, a temperature of the aerosol provision system, or the status of a network connection with a wireless network or an external device.