# US 2018/0020729 A1 · Controlling an operation of an electronic cigarette

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- Number: US 2018/0020729 A1
- Document ID: US20180020729A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 15/219,215
- Filed: 2016-07-25
- Published: 2018-01-25
- Earliest claimed: 2016-07-25
- Assignees: Fontem Holdings 1 B.V.
- Applicants: Fontem Holdings 1 B.V.
- Inventors: Ramon Alarcon; Adam Hoffman; James R. Conrey
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20180020729A1

## CPC

- A24F 40/53: Monitoring, e.g. fault detection
- A24F 40/50: Control or monitoring
- G01F 9/001: {with electric, electro-mechanic or electronic means (G01F9/008 and G01F9/02 take precedence)}
- G05D 23/1924: {using thermal energy, the availability of which is aleatory}
- G05D 23/1927: {using a plurality of sensors (G05D23/1902, G05D23/1917, and G05D23/1919 take precedence)}
- A24F 40/10: Devices using liquid inhalable precursors
- G01F 23/804: {containing circuits handling parameters other than liquid level}
- A24F: SMOKERS' REQUISITES; MATCH BOXES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES (inhaling appliances for medical purposes, shaped like cigars, cigarettes or pipes A61M15/06)
- G01F: MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUID LEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME
- G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES

## Abstract

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for controlling an operation of an electronic cigarette. The method can include determining a total amount of vaporization energy required to vaporize an amount of liquid stored in a reservoir of an electronic cigarette. The method can include determining a total amount of atomizer power that is delivered to an atomizer associated with the electronic cigarette over a period of time. The method can include determining an amount of liquid remaining in the reservoir of the electronic cigarette, based on a comparison between the total amount of vaporization energy and the total amount of atomizer power delivered to the atomizer over the period of time.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer executable instructions for controlling an atomizer of an electronic cigarette, the instructions executable by a processor to:
determine a characteristic associated with the electronic cigarette based on data stored on a memory of a reservoir portion of the e-cigarette;
determine a flow rate of air provided to the atomizer, based on a signal received from a mass airflow sensor; and
determine an amount of power to deliver to the atomizer, based on the characteristic and the flow rate of air.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, further comprising instructions executable to deliver an increased amount of power the atomizer in response to an increase in the flow rate of air.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, further comprising instructions executable to deliver a decreased amount of power to the atomizer in response to a decrease in the flow rate of air.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 3, further comprising instructions executable to:
determine a resistance characteristic associated with a coil in the atomizer from the data stored on the memory, the resistance characteristic including a resistance of the coil; and
determine the amount of power to deliver to the atomizer based on the resistance characteristic associated with the coil.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, further comprising instructions executable to determine a total amount of power delivered to the atomizer over a period of time.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 5, further comprising instructions executable to limit an amount of power delivered to the atomizer, based on the total amount of power delivered to the atomizer over the period of time.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 5, further comprising instructions executable to limit an amount of power delivered to the atomizer, based on the total amount of power delivered to the atomizer over the period of time exceeding a threshold.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, further comprising instructions executable to provide an indication of an amount of liquid remaining in the reservoir, based on the total amount of power delivered to the atomizer over the period of time.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, further comprising instructions executable to:
determine an expiration characteristic associated with the reservoir portion from the data stored on the memory, the expiration characteristic including a time period; and
limit an amount of power delivered to the atomizer base on expiration of the time period.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1, further comprising instructions executable to determine a correction factor characteristic associated with a liquid stored in the reservoir portion from the data stored on the memory, the correction factor characteristic including a correction factor associated with the liquid, wherein the determined amount of power is determined based on the correction factor.

### Claim 11

A method for controlling an operation of an electronic cigarette, comprising:
determining a total amount of vaporization energy required to vaporize an amount of liquid stored in a reservoir of an electronic cigarette;
determining a total amount of atomizer power that is delivered to an atomizer associated with the electronic cigarette over a period of time; and
determining an amount of liquid remaining in the reservoir of the electronic cigarette, based on a comparison between the total amount of vaporization energy and the total amount of atomizer power delivered to the atomizer over the period of time.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, further comprising determining a total amount of vaporization energy for different types of liquids.

### Claim 13 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, further comprising determining that the amount of liquid remaining in the reservoir of the electronic cigarette is less than a particular threshold, based on the comparison between the total amount of vaporization energy and the total amount of atomizer power delivered to the atomizer over the period of time.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13, further comprising causing an indication to be provided via a user interface in response to the determination that the amount of liquid remaining in the reservoir of the electronic cigarette is less than the particular threshold.

### Claim 15 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13, further comprising causing an amount of power delivered to the atomizer to be limited in response to the determination that the amount of liquid remaining in the reservoir of the electronic cigarette is less than the particular threshold.

### Claim 16

A system for controlling an operation of an electronic cigarette, the system comprising:
a processor; and
a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer executable instructions, the instructions executable by the processor to:
determine a total amount of vaporization energy required to vaporize an amount of liquid stored in a reservoir of an electronic cigarette;
determine an amount of power to deliver to an atomizer of the electronic cigarette based on received data;
cause the determined amount of power to be delivered to the atomizer; and
determine an amount of liquid remaining in the reservoir of the electronic cigarette, based on a comparison between the total amount of vaporization energy and the total amount of power delivered to the atomizer over a particular period of time.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The system of claim 16, wherein the amount of power is variable.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The system of claim 17, wherein the received signal is received from a mass airflow sensor.

### Claim 19 (depends on 17)

The system of claim 17, wherein the received signal is received from a variable switch.

### Claim 20 (depends on 17)

The system of claim 17, wherein the received signal is indicative of a characteristic associated with the e-cigarette.