Aerosol Provision Device GPIO-UART Communication for Lower Power
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aerosol provision devices lack efficient and power-saving communication methods with charging units, leading to suboptimal battery life and operational inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of device and charger general purpose input-output (GPIO) pins and universal asynchronous receiver-transmitters (UARTs) for communication between aerosol provision devices and charging units, allowing for power-saving sleep modes and active modes based on data bit rates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the aerosol provision device continuously maintains communication with the charging unit, then communication reliability is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device switches between sleep mode (periodic low-power communication via GPIO) and active mode (continuous communication via UART) based on operational requirements. The system periodically checks connection status through the charging unit using power-efficient GPIO pins, then transitions to full UART communication only when needed, resolving the contradiction between continuous communication reliability and power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The communication interface dynamically switches between two modes: a low-power sleep mode using general purpose input-output pins for periodic status checks, and a high-performance active mode using universal asynchronous receiver-transmitters for continuous data exchange. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to optimize between reliability and energy efficiency based on real-time operational state.
2Duration of action of moving object
If the device uses sleep mode to reduce power consumption, then battery life is improved, but communication responsiveness may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary connection status checks during sleep mode using power-efficient GPIO pins to detect charging unit presence and basic device state. This preliminary action allows the device to remain in low-power sleep mode while maintaining awareness of its operational context, only transitioning to full active communication when the preliminary checks indicate a need for enhanced responsiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The general purpose input-output pins serve as an intermediary communication layer between the sleep mode and full active communication mode. These pins enable basic data exchange and status monitoring during sleep mode, acting as a bridge that allows the device to maintain minimal communication capability while consuming reduced power, then transition to full UART communication when higher responsiveness is required.
Data Source
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AI summary
There is provided an aerosol provision device 12 for generating aerosol from aerosol generating material. The aerosol provision device comprises device electronic circuitry, the device electronic circuitry comprising a device general purpose input-output (GPIO) pin; and a device communication interface configured to communicate with a charger communication interface of a charging unit 14. The device electronic circuitry is configured to connect the device general purpose input-output pin to the device communication interface so that the aerosol provision device communicates with the charging unit via the device general purpose input-output pin. Also provided is an a method of operating an aerosol provision device, a charging unit for an aerosol provision device, a method of operating a charging unit for an aerosol provision device and an aerosol provision system.