Smoking Topography Detection via Battery Voltage Shifts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic smoking devices lack efficient methods to collect and analyze smoking topography data, such as puff duration and frequency, which are crucial for optimizing device performance and user experience.
Innovation Solution
An electronic aerosol smoking article equipped with sensors, a processor, and memory that detects smoking events through battery voltage shifts, collects data on puff events, and stores it in a structured format for later analysis, enabling optimization of device functions and user feedback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If battery voltage monitoring is used to detect smoking events, then measurement precision of smoking topography is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The battery's natural voltage fluctuations during discharge are utilized as the detection signal for smoking events. The system does not require external power sources or additional sensors beyond the existing battery, as the battery's own electrical characteristics provide the measurement data needed for smoking topography analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The battery serves multiple functions: it provides power to the heating element and simultaneously acts as a sensor for detecting smoking events through voltage monitoring. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate sensing components and reduces overall device complexity despite the sophisticated data processing required.
2Loss of information
If comprehensive smoking event data is collected and stored, then information completeness is improved, but memory requirements and data management complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Only the essential smoking topography parameters are extracted and stored from the raw voltage data: puff start time, puff end time, and puff duration. This selective extraction of critical information maintains data completeness for smoking habit analysis while minimizing memory requirements and simplifying data management compared to storing all raw sensor data.
3Measurement precision
If battery voltage shifts are monitored continuously, then detection accuracy of puff events is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The battery voltage is monitored continuously throughout its discharge cycle, as the voltage changes occur naturally and continuously during normal battery operation. This continuous monitoring does not require additional energy input beyond what is already consumed by the battery's normal discharge process, making the detection method energy-efficient despite the ongoing nature of the measurement.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution allows for precise monitoring and recording of smoking habits, optimizing device performance, extending battery life, and enhancing the user experience by collecting and storing smoking topography data in a structured format for further analysis.
Implementation Method 1
each puff event on an electronic cigarette drains a portion of charge from the battery, which causes a shift in the battery voltage over the duration of the puff event
Data Source
AI summary
An exemplary smoking topography circuit of an electronic aerosol smoking article, includes at least one sensor configured to measure user interaction with the smoking article, a processor, and memory. The processor is configured to detect a smoking event based an output of the at least one sensor, collect data associated with the smoking event, and arrange the data in a pattern that associates the smoking event to shifts in battery voltage. The memory is configured to store the data pattern in a structured multi-byte format.