Smoking Article Recognition for Reliable Sidestream Smoke Removal

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing sidestream smoke removing devices do not effectively detect suitable smoking articles, leading to potential malfunction and safety risks due to unsuitable cigarette insertion.

Innovation Solution

A sidestream smoke removing device equipped with a smoking article detection part that identifies low flammability coating portions on the cigarette paper to ensure only suitable smoking articles are recognized and activated, incorporating a control part to manage device operations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a sidestream smoke removing device is designed without a smoking article detection part, then the device structure is simpler and easier to manufacture, but the device may malfunction or create safety risks when unsuitable cigarettes are inserted

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedevice operation reliabilityVSAvoiddevice structure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The detection part is positioned in the article inserting part to detect the smoking article before the device is activated. This preliminary detection ensures that only suitable smoking articles are recognized, preventing malfunction while maintaining relatively simple device structure

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The detection part acts as an intermediary between the smoking article and the device activation system. It detects specific features (low flammability coating portions) of the smoking article and transmits this information to the control part, enabling reliable operation without overly complicating the overall device structure

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Measurement precision

If the detection part is positioned to detect low flammability coating portions, then the device can accurately identify suitable smoking articles, but the detection precision requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesmoking article detection precisionVSAvoiddetection implementation difficulty
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The detection part detects low flammability coating portions on the cigarette paper, which typically have distinct visual characteristics (different color or appearance from regular cigarette paper). This allows the device to accurately identify suitable smoking articles through optical detection, achieving high detection precision with relatively straightforward implementation

Inventive Principle:
Principle #32Color changes

Solution Approach 2:

The invention focuses detection on specific local features (low flammability coating portions) rather than attempting to analyze the entire smoking article. This localized detection approach achieves accurate identification of suitable articles while keeping the detection system relatively simple

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP4205570B1Sidestream smoke removal device comprising smoking article recognition part
Publication Date: 2025.12.03 KT&G CO LTD
  • EP4205570B1 patent drawingFigure 1~4
  • EP4205570B1 patent drawing

AI summary

A sidestream smoke removing device includes a housing has a smoking space defined therein, an article inserting part is positioned on one end of the housing and having an open area through which a smoking article is inserted into the smoking space, a sidestream smoke processing part positioned at a distance from an upstream end of the smoking article inserted into the smoking space and configured to process sidestream smoke produced from the smoking article, and an article detection part positioned in the article inserting part to be adjacent to the smoking article so as to detect the smoking article inserted into the article inserting part. The smoking article includes low flammability coating portions within a cigarette paper surrounding the smoking material. The article detection part may be configured to detect the low flammability coating portions of the smoking article. The sidestream smoke removing device detects an inserted smoking article using the article detection part and is activated only when the smoking article is inserted thereinto so as not only to provide the functionality of the device to the maximum extent but also to have superior effects in terms of the durability and stability of the device.