Capsule validation for heat-not-burn (HNB) aerosol-generating devices
AssigneeAltria Client Services LLC
InventorsEric Hawes, Zack W. Blackmon, Jarrett Keen, Rangaraj S. Sundar, Raymond W. Lau, Niall Gallagher
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A heater system for a non-combustible aerosol-generating device includes a heater element and a fuse element. The heater element has a heating region, a first terminal and a second terminal. The fuse element is electrically connected between the first terminal and the second terminal in parallel with the heater element. The fuse element has a region configured to induce a localized hot spot to cause the fuse element to open circuit in response to power applied between the first terminal and the second terminal.
Claims25
A heater system for a non-combustible aerosol-generating device, the heater system comprising:
- a heater element having a heating region, a first terminal and a second terminal;
- a fuse element electrically connected between the first terminal and the second terminal in parallel with the heater element, the fuse element having a region configured to induce a localized hot spot to cause the fuse element to open circuit in response to power applied between the first terminal and the second terminal;
- and
- an end cap having a chamber configured to isolate the fuse element from air flow through the heater system.
A capsule of a non-combustible aerosol-generating device, the capsule comprising:
- a housing containing an aerosol-forming substrate, the housing having a first end cap;
- a heater element arranged within the housing, the heater element having a first terminal, a second terminal and a heating region configured to heat the aerosol-forming substrate;
- and
- a fuse element electrically connected in parallel with the heater element, the fuse element having a region configured to induce a localized hot spot to cause the fuse element to open circuit in response to power applied between the first terminal and the second terminal, the first end cap including a chamber configured to isolate the fuse element from air flow through the capsule.
A non-combustible aerosol-generating device comprising:
- a capsule having an end cap, the capsule including
- a heater element having a first terminal, a second terminal and a heating region configured to heat an aerosol-forming substrate, and
- a fuse element electrically connected in parallel with the heater element, the fuse element having a region configured to induce a localized hot spot to cause the fuse element to open circuit in response to power applied between the first terminal and the second terminal, the end cap having a chamber configured to isolate the fuse element from air flow through the capsule;
- and a device body configured to connect to the capsule, the device body including
- a power supply to provide power to the non-combustible aerosol-generating device, and
- a controller configured to control application of power to the heater element.
A non-combustible aerosol-generating device comprising:
- a capsule including
- a housing containing an aerosol-forming substrate,
- a heater element arranged in the housing, the heater element having a first terminal, a second terminal and a heating region configured to heat the aerosol-forming substrate, and
- a fuse element electrically connected between the first terminal and the second terminal;
- and
- a device body configured to connect to the capsule, the device body including
- a heating engine control circuit configured to apply power to the heater element, and
- a controller configured to
- control the heating engine control circuit to apply a power waveform to the heater element, and
- determine whether the capsule is valid based on a measured resistance profile for the heater element in response to the power waveform.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.