# US 12,004,566 B2 · Apparatus for an aerosol generating device

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- Number: US 12,004,566 B2
- Document ID: US12004566B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/250,740
- Filed: 2019-08-30
- Published: 2021-06-24
- Granted: 2024-06-11
- Earliest claimed: 2018-08-31
- Assignees: Nicoventures Trading Limited
- Applicants: Nicoventures Trading Limited
- Inventors: Anton Korus; Patrick Moloney
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12004566B2

## CPC

- A24F 40/465: specially adapted for induction heating
- H05B 6/06: Control, e.g. of temperature, of power
- H05B 6/108: {for heating a fluid}
- A24F 40/20: Devices using solid inhalable precursors
- A24F 40/53: Monitoring, e.g. fault detection
- A24F: SMOKERS' REQUISITES; MATCH BOXES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES (inhaling appliances for medical purposes, shaped like cigars, cigarettes or pipes A61M15/06)
- H05B: ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL

## Abstract

Apparatus for an aerosol generating device comprises a circuit comprising an inductive element for heating a susceptor arrangement to heat an aerosol generating material. The apparatus also comprises a controller configured to determine a change in an electrical parameter of the circuit when the circuit is changed between an unloaded state wherein the susceptor arrangement is not inductively coupled to the inductive element, and a loaded state wherein the susceptor arrangement is inductively coupled to the inductive element. The controller is configured to determine a property of the susceptor arrangement from the change in the electrical parameter of the circuit.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An apparatus for an aerosol generating device, the apparatus comprising:
a circuit comprising an inductive element for heating a susceptor arrangement to heat an aerosol generating material; and
a controller configured to:
determine a change in an electrical parameter of the circuit when the circuit is changed between an unloaded state wherein the susceptor arrangement is not inductively coupled to the inductive element, and a loaded state wherein the susceptor arrangement is inductively coupled to the inductive element; and
determine a property of the susceptor arrangement from the change in the electrical parameter of the circuit,
wherein the electrical parameter is one of a resonant frequency of the circuit and an effective grouped resistance r of the inductive element and the susceptor arrangement.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
the circuit is changed from the unloaded state to the loaded state when the susceptor arrangement is received by the device, and
the circuit is changed from the loaded state to the unloaded state when the susceptor arrangement is removed from the device.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the change in the electrical parameter is determined by comparing a value of the parameter measured when the circuit is in the loaded state to a value of the parameter measured when the circuit is in the unloaded state.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the change in the electrical parameter is determined by comparing a value of the parameter measured when the circuit is in the loaded state to a predetermined value of the parameter corresponding to the circuit in the unloaded state.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein determining the property of the susceptor arrangement comprises comparing the determined change in the value of the electrical parameter to a list of at least one stored value, wherein the property of the susceptor arrangement is indicated by determining to which value in the list the determined change corresponds.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to allow activation of the aerosol generating device for use or not allow activation of the aerosol generating device for use depending on the determined property of the susceptor arrangement.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to cause the device to operate in a first heating mode depending on the determined property of the susceptor arrangement.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine a property of the susceptor arrangement based on the magnitude of the change in the electrical parameter of the circuit.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine a property of the susceptor arrangement based on the sign of the change in the electrical parameter of the circuit.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the property of the susceptor arrangement is whether or not the susceptor arrangement is present in the device, and the controller is configured to determine that the susceptor arrangement is present in the device based on whether a change in the electrical parameter is present.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a temperature measuring device wherein the controller is configured to receive a measured temperature of the susceptor arrangement from the temperature measuring device at a time when the circuit is changed between the loaded state and the unloaded state and use the measured temperature of the susceptor arrangement in determining the property of the susceptor arrangement.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the susceptor arrangement is arranged within a consumable product comprising the aerosol generating material to be heated and the controller is configured to determine a property of the consumable from the determined property of the susceptor arrangement.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the property of the consumable comprises an indicator of whether the consumable is an approved consumable or not an approved consumable, and the controller is configured to determine whether or not the consumable is an approved consumable and activate the device for use if the consumable is an approved consumable and not activate the device for use if the consumable is not an approved consumable.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electrical parameter is the effective grouped resistance r of the inductive element and the susceptor arrangement, and wherein the apparatus further comprises a capacitive element and a switching arrangement for enabling a varying current to be generated from a DC voltage supply and flow through the inductive element; and the controller is configured to determine the effective resistance r from a frequency of the varying current being supplied to the inductive element, a DC current from the DC voltage supply, and a DC voltage of the DC voltage supply, and wherein the effective grouped resistance r of the inductive element and susceptor arrangement is determined by the controller according to the relationship:
r
=
I
s
V
s
⁢
1
(
2
⁢
π
⁢
⁢
f
0
⁢
C
)
2
where Vs is the DC voltage and Is is the DC current, C is a capacitance of the circuit, and f0 is the frequency of the varying current being supplied to the inductive element.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

An aerosol generating device comprising apparatus according to claim 1.

### Claim 16

A method of determining a property of a susceptor arrangement for an aerosol generating device, wherein the susceptor arrangement is for heating an aerosol generating material, the method being performed by a controller of an aerosol generating device comprising the controller and a circuit comprising an inductive element for heating the susceptor, wherein the method comprises:
determining, by the controller, a change in an electrical parameter of the circuit when the circuit is changed between an unloaded state wherein the susceptor arrangement is not inductively coupled to the inductive element, and a loaded state wherein the susceptor arrangement is inductively coupled to the inductive element; and
determining, by the controller, the property of the susceptor arrangement from the change in the electrical parameter of the circuit
wherein the electrical parameter is one of a resonant frequency of the circuit and an effective grouped resistance r of the inductive element and the susceptor arrangement.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The method according to claim 16, wherein:
the circuit is changed from the unloaded state to the loaded state when the susceptor arrangement is received by the device, and
the circuit is changed from the loaded state to the unloaded state when the susceptor arrangement is removed from being received by the device.

### Claim 18 (depends on 16)

The method according to claim 16, wherein the change in the electrical parameter is determined by comparing: a value of the parameter measured when the circuit is in the loaded state to a value of the parameter measured when the circuit is in the unloaded state.

### Claim 19 (depends on 16)

The method according to claim 16 wherein the change in the electrical parameter is determined by comparing a value of the parameter measured when the circuit is in the loaded state to a predetermined value of the parameter corresponding to the circuit in the unloaded state, wherein the predetermined value is accessed by the controller from a memory.

### Claim 20 (depends on 16)

The method according to claim 16, wherein determining the property of the susceptor arrangement comprises comparing the determined change in the value of the electrical parameter to a list of at least one stored value, wherein the property of the susceptor arrangement is indicated by determining to which value in the list the determined change corresponds.

### Claim 21 (depends on 16)

The method according to claim 16 comprising activating the device for use or not activating the device for use depending on the determined property of the susceptor arrangement.

### Claim 22 (depends on 16)

The method according to claim 16 comprising causing the device to operate in a first heating mode depending on the determined property of the susceptor arrangement.

### Claim 23 (depends on 16)

The method according to claim 16 comprising measuring a temperature of the susceptor arrangement at a time when the circuit is changed between the loaded state and the unloaded state and using the measured temperature of the susceptor arrangement in determining the property of the susceptor arrangement.

### Claim 24 (depends on 16)

The method according to claim 16 wherein the magnitude of the change of the electrical parameter is used to determine the property of the susceptor arrangement.

### Claim 25 (depends on 16)

The method according to claim 16 wherein the susceptor arrangement is in a consumable comprising aerosol generating material to be heated and the method comprises determining a property of the consumable from the property of the susceptor arrangement.

### Claim 26 (depends on 25)

The method according to claim 25, wherein the property of the consumable comprises an indicator of whether the consumable is an approved consumable or not an approved consumable, and the method comprises determining whether or not the consumable is an approved consumable and activating the device for use if the consumable is an approved consumable and not activating the device for use if the consumable is not an approved consumable.

### Claim 27 (depends on 16)

The method according to claim 16, wherein the electrical parameter is the effective grouped resistance r of the inductive element and the susceptor arrangement, wherein the apparatus further comprises a capacitive element and a switching arrangement for enabling an varying current to be generated from a DC voltage supply and flow through the inductive element; and the method comprises determining the effective grouped resistance r from a frequency of the varying current being supplied to the inductive element, a DC current from the DC voltage supply, and a DC voltage of the DC voltage supply, and wherein the effective grouped resistance r of the inductive element and the susceptor arrangement is determined by the controller according to the relationship:
r
=
I
s
V
s
⁢
1
(
2
⁢
π
⁢
⁢
f
0
⁢
C
)
2
where Vs is the DC voltage and Is is the DC current, C is a capacitance of the circuit, and f0 is the frequency of the varying current being supplied to the inductive element.

### Claim 28 (depends on 16)

A controller for an aerosol generating device, wherein the controller is configured to perform a method according to claim 16.

### Claim 29 (depends on 16)

A non-transitory computer-readable medium having data stored therein representing a set of machine readable instructions which when executed by a controller in an aerosol generating device cause the controller to execute a method according to claim 16.