# US 2025/0082016 A1 · Refilling apparatus > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2025/0082016 A1 - Document ID: US20250082016A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 18/576,985 - Filed: 2022-07-01 - Published: 2025-03-13 - Earliest claimed: 2021-07-05 - Assignees: Nicoventures Trading Limited - Applicants: Nicoventures Trading Limited - Inventors: Howard ROTHWELL; My-Linh TRAN; Stephen POTTER; Robert KERSEY; Tomi VINTOLA - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20250082016A1 ## CPC - A24F 40/40: Constructional details, e.g. connection of cartridges and battery parts - A24F 40/42: Cartridges or containers for inhalable precursors - A24F 40/10: Devices using liquid inhalable precursors - A24F 40/53: Monitoring, e.g. fault detection - A24F 40/60: Devices with integrated user interfaces - A24F: SMOKERS' REQUISITES; MATCH BOXES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES (inhaling appliances for medical purposes, shaped like cigars, cigarettes or pipes A61M15/06) ## Abstract A refilling unit for refilling a refillable article for use with an aerosol provision device for generating aerosol from aerosol-generating material stored within the refillable article, the refilling unit including: an article port for receiving at least the article; an information reader configured to read a readable element for storing information corresponding to the article; and a controller for controlling operations of the refilling unit, wherein the controller is configured to: determine or obtain an actual usage of the article based on an indication of usage of the article read from the readable element; determine or obtain an expected usage of the article; and compare the actual usage with the expected usage and, if the actual usage is within a predetermined range of the expected usage, permit the refilling unit to refill the article with aerosol-generating material. Also described is an article, aerosol provision device, system and method. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A refilling unit for refilling a refillable article for use with an aerosol provision device for generating aerosol from aerosol-generating material stored within the refillable article, the refilling unit comprising: an article port for receiving at least the article; an information reader configured to read a readable element for storing information corresponding to the article; and a controller for controlling operations of the refilling unit, wherein the controller is configured to: determine or obtain an actual usage of the article based on an indication of usage of the article read from the readable element of the article; determine or obtain an expected usage of the article; and compare the actual usage with the expected usage and, if the actual usage is within a predetermined range of the expected usage, permit the refilling unit to refill the article with aerosol-generating material. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The refilling unit of claim 1, wherein when the actual usage is outside of a predetermined range of the expected usage, the refilling unit is configured to prevent refilling of the article with aerosol-generating material. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The refilling unit of claim 1, wherein when the actual usage is outside of a predetermined range of the expected usage, the refilling unit is further configured to disable the article such that the article is no longer able to be used to generate aerosol when coupled to an aerosol provision device. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The refilling unit of claim 1, wherein when the actual usage is outside of a predetermined range of the expected usage, the refilling unit is configured to cause an alert to be provided to the user of the refilling unit. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The refilling unit of claim 1, wherein when the actual usage is outside of a predetermined range of the expected usage, the refilling unit is configured to cause a user account corresponding to a user of the refilling unit and/or of the article to be notified. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The refilling unit of claim 1, wherein the indication of usage of the article indicates the amount of aerosol-generating material aerosolised from the article. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The refilling unit of claim 1, wherein the indication of usage of the article indicates the amount of aerosol-generating material aerosolised from the article since a previous filling or refilling operation in which the article was supplied with aerosol-generating material. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The refilling unit of claim 1, wherein the indication of usage of the article includes a counter value indicative of the number of times an aerosol generator, for generating aerosol from aerosol-generating material, has been activated. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The refilling unit of claim 1, wherein the refilling unit is configured to obtain an indication of the current amount of aerosol-generating material within the article, and wherein the expected usage is based on the current amount of aerosol-generating material within the article. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The refilling unit of claim 1, wherein the refilling unit is configured to convert the indication of the current amount of aerosol-generating material within the article into the expected usage of the article based, in part, on a mapping between a quantity of aerosol-generating material and an activation of the aerosol generator. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The refilling unit of claim 1, wherein the expected usage is based on a previous refill operation. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The refilling unit of claim 1, wherein the expected usage is based on the amount of aerosol-generating material transferred to the article during a previous refill operation. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12) The refilling unit of any of claims 1 to 12, wherein the predetermined range is either an absolute value or a relative value of the amount of expected usage. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The refilling unit of claim 1, wherein the refilling unit is configured to update the indication of usage stored by the readable element of the article in response to initiation or completion of a refill operation. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The refilling unit of claim 14, wherein the refilling unit is configured to reset the indication of usage stored by the readable element. ### Claim 16 A refillable article for use with an aerosol provision device for generating aerosol from aerosol-generating material stored within the refillable article, the refillable article comprising: a storage area for storing aerosol-generating material; a readable element for storing information corresponding to the article; and an indication of usage of the article stored in the readable element, wherein the indication of usage is indicative of the amount of aerosol-generating material aerosolised by the article since a previous filling or refilling operation in which the article is supplied with aerosol-generating material. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The refillable article for use with an aerosol provision device of claim 16, wherein the refillable article further comprises circuitry for updating the indication of usage of the article stored in the readable element in response at least to an user interaction indicative of a user's desire to generate aerosol from the aerosol-generating material of the article. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1, 16) A system comprising the refilling unit of claim 1 and a refillable article of claim 16, wherein the refillable article is configured to releasably engage with the refilling unit. ### Claim 19 An aerosol provision device for use with a refillable article for generating aerosol from aerosol-generating material stored within the article, the device comprising: a power source for supplying power to cause aerosolisation of aerosol-generating material within the article; and a controller for controlling aspects of operation of the aerosol provision device, wherein the controller is configured to update an indication of usage of the article indicative of the amount of aerosol-generating material aerosolised by the article since a previous filling or refilling operation in which the article is supplied with aerosol-generating material stored by a readable element of the article. ### Claim 20 (depends on 16, 19) A system comprising the refillable article of claim 16 and the aerosol provision device of claim 19, wherein the refillable article is configured to releasably engage with the aerosol provision device. ### Claim 21 A method for refilling a refillable article for use with an aerosol provision device for generating aerosol from aerosol-generating material stored within the refillable article using a refilling unit, the method comprising: determining or obtaining an actual usage of the article based on information from the article; determining or obtaining an expected usage of the article; and comparing the actual usage with the expected usage and, if the actual usage is within a predetermined range of the expected usage, permitting the refilling unit to refill the article with aerosol-generating material. ### Claim 22 A refilling means for refilling a refillable article for use with an aerosol provision device for generating aerosol from aerosol-generating material stored within the refillable article, the refilling means comprising: receiving means for receiving at least the article; reading means configured to read a readable element for storing information corresponding to the article; and controller means for controlling operations of the refilling means, wherein the controller means is configured to: determine or obtain an actual usage of the article based on an indication of usage of the article read from the readable element of the article; determine or obtain an expected usage of the article; and compare the actual usage with the expected usage and, if the actual usage is within a predetermined range of the expected usage, permit the refilling unit to refill the article with aerosol-generating material. ### Claim 23 A system comprising: an aerosol provision device for generating aerosol from aerosol-generating material; a docking unit for engaging with the aerosol provision device, the docking unit arranged to at least one of: refill an article containing aerosol generating material for use with the aerosol provision device, and recharge a power source of the aerosol provision device, and a controller arranged to obtain status information regarding the status of the docking unit, wherein the aerosol provision device comprises a feedback mechanism arranged to provide feedback to a user; and the controller is configured to cause the feedback mechanism of the aerosol provision device to provide feedback to the user indicative of the status of the docking unit. ### Claim 24 (depends on 23) The system of claim 23, wherein the feedback mechanism is configured to provide feedback to the user regarding the status of the aerosol provision device. ### Claim 25 (depends on 23) The system of claim 23, wherein the controller is configured to cause the feedback mechanism to selectively provided feedback to the user indicative of the status of the docking unit. ### Claim 26 (depends on 23) The system of claim 23, wherein the status information comprises a plurality of different statuses of the docking unit. ### Claim 27 (depends on 26) The system of claim 26, wherein the controller is configured to cause the feedback mechanism to selectively provide ones of the plurality of different statuses of the docking unit to the user. ### Claim 28 (depends on 23) The system of claim 23, wherein the status information comprises at least one of: a status of a refilling operation, a status of a recharging operation, a status of the refilling reservoir, and a status of the power supply. ### Claim 29 (depends on 23) The system of claim 23, wherein the controller is remote from the docking station and the docking station is configured to communicate the status information to the remote controller. ### Claim 30 (depends on 29) The system of claim 29, wherein the controller is located in the aerosol provision device and is configured to control operations of the aerosol provision device. ### Claim 31 (depends on 23) The system of claim 23, wherein the controller is located in the docking unit and wherein the controller in the docking unit is configured to control the feedback mechanism of the aerosol provision device. ### Claim 32 (depends on 23) The system of claim 23, wherein the feedback mechanism comprises at least one of: an optical element, an audio element, and a haptic element. ### Claim 33 (depends on 23) The system of claim 23, wherein the feedback mechanism comprises a display. ### Claim 34 (depends on 23) The system of claim 23, wherein the system further comprises a user input mechanism and wherein the controller is configured to receive an indication of a user input from user input mechanism. ### Claim 35 (depends on 34) The system of claim 34, wherein the controller is configured to control an aspect of the operation of the docking unit in response to receiving the user input. ### Claim 36 (depends on 34) The system of claim 34, wherein the controller is configured to cause the feedback mechanism to provide feedback to the user indicative of the status of the docking unit in response to a user input. ### Claim 37 (depends on 34) The system of claim 34, wherein the user input mechanism is provided on the aerosol provision device. ### Claim 38 (depends on 34) The system of claim 34, wherein the user input mechanism is provided on the docking unit. ### Claim 39 (depends on 23) The system of claim 23, wherein the aerosol provision device comprises a docking unit engagement mechanism for engaging with the docking unit, the docking unit comprises an aerosol provision device engagement mechanism for engaging with the aerosol provision device, and at least one of the docking unit engagement mechanism and aerosol provision device engagement mechanism are configured to enable the aerosol provision device to be engaged with the docking unit in a single orientation. ### Claim 40 (depends on 39) The system of claim 39, wherein the docking unit engagement mechanism and aerosol provision device engagement mechanism are configured such that, when the aerosol provision device is engaged with the docking unit, the feedback mechanism of the aerosol provision device is provided in a predefined position relative to the docking unit. ### Claim 41 (depends on 39) The system of claim 39, wherein the aerosol provision device comprises a user input mechanism and wherein the docking unit engagement mechanism and aerosol provision device engagement mechanism are configured such that, when the aerosol provision device is engaged with the docking unit, the user input mechanism of the aerosol provision device is provided in a predefined position relative to the docking unit ### Claim 42 An aerosol provision device for generating aerosol from aerosol-generating material, the aerosol provision device comprising a feedback mechanism arranged to provide feedback to a use, wherein the aerosol provision device is configured to engage with a docking unit, the docking unit arranged to at least one of: refill an article containing aerosol generating material for use with the aerosol provision device, and recharge a power source of the aerosol provision device, and wherein the feedback mechanism of the aerosol provision device is configured to provide feedback to the user indicative of the status of the docking unit on the basis of obtained status information regarding the status of the docking unit. ### Claim 43 A docking unit for engaging with an aerosol provision device for generating aerosol from aerosol-generating material, wherein the docking unit is arranged to at least one of: refill an article containing aerosol generating material for use with the aerosol provision device, and recharge a power source of the aerosol provision device, and wherein the docking unit is configured to generate status information regarding the status of the docking unit, wherein the status information is for causing the feedback mechanism of the aerosol provision device to provide feedback to the user indicative of the status of the docking unit. ### Claim 44 A method of displaying feedback to a user, the feedback indicative of a status of a docking unit configured to engage with an aerosol provision device for generating aerosol from aerosol-generating material, the docking unit arranged to at least one of: refill an article containing aerosol generating material for use with the aerosol provision device, and recharge a power source of the aerosol provision device, the method comprising: engaging the aerosol provision device with the docking unit; obtaining status information regarding the status of the docking unit; and causing a feedback mechanism of the aerosol provision device to provide feedback to the user indicative of the status of the docking unit. ### Claim 45 A system comprising an aerosol provision device for generating aerosol from aerosol-generating material and a docking unit for engaging with the aerosol provision device, the docking unit arranged to at least refill an article containing aerosol generating material for use with the aerosol provision device and/or recharge a power source of the aerosol provision device, wherein: the aerosol provision device comprises a docking unit engagement mechanism for engaging with the docking unit; the docking unit comprises an aerosol provision device engagement mechanism for engaging with the aerosol provision device; and at least one of the docking unit engagement mechanism and aerosol provision device engagement mechanism are configured to enable the aerosol provision device to be engaged with the docking unit in a single orientation. ### Claim 46 (depends on 45) The system of claim 45, wherein the docking unit engagement mechanism and aerosol provision device engagement mechanism are shaped such that the aerosol provision device can be engaged with the docking unit in a single orientation. ### Claim 47 (depends on 46) The system of claim 46, wherein the docking unit engagement mechanism is at least a part of the outer housing of the aerosol provision device and wherein the aerosol device engagement mechanism is a recessed portion in the outer housing of the docking unit. ### Claim 48 (depends on 46) The system of claim 46, wherein the docking unit engagement mechanism and aerosol provision device engagement mechanism have a cross-sectional shape which, when viewed along an axis perpendicular to the cross-sectional shape, has a single degree of rotational symmetry about the axis perpendicular to the cross-sectional shape. ### Claim 49 (depends on 48) The system of claim 48, wherein the aerosol provision device engagement mechanism is configured to allow engagement of the aerosol provision device with the docking unit by moving the aerosol provision device along a first direction relative to the docking unit, wherein the first direction is parallel with the axis that is perpendicular to the cross-section. ### Claim 50 (depends on 45) The system of claim 45, wherein the aerosol provision device comprises a feedback mechanism for providing feedback to the user, and wherein the docking unit engagement mechanism and aerosol provision device engagement mechanism are configured such that, when the aerosol provision device is engaged with the docking unit, the feedback mechanism is provided in a predefined position relative to the docking unit. ### Claim 51 (depends on 50) The system of claim 50, wherein the feedback mechanism is configured to provide feedback visually to the user and when the predefined position is one in which the visual feedback mechanism is unobstructed by the aerosol provision device engagement mechanism of the docking unit. ### Claim 52 (depends on 45) The system of claim 45, wherein the aerosol provision device comprises a user input mechanism, and wherein the docking unit engagement mechanism and aerosol provision device engagement mechanism are configured such that, when the aerosol provision device is engaged with the docking unit, the user input mechanism is provided in a predefined position relative to the docking unit such that the user input mechanism is accessible to a user. ### Claim 53 A docking unit for engaging with an aerosol provision device for generating aerosol from aerosol-generating material, the docking unit arranged to at least refill an article containing aerosol generating material for use with the aerosol provision device and/or recharge a power source of the aerosol provision device, wherein: the docking unit comprises an aerosol provision device engagement mechanism for engaging with the aerosol provision device; and the docking unit engagement mechanism is configured to enable the aerosol provision device to be engaged with the docking unit in a single orientation. ### Claim 54 An aerosol provision device for generating aerosol from aerosol-generating material, the aerosol provision device comprising a docking unit engagement mechanism for engaging with a docking unit, the docking unit arranged to at least refill an article containing aerosol generating material for use with the aerosol provision device and/or recharge a power source of the aerosol provision device, wherein: the docking unit engagement mechanism is configured to enable the aerosol provision device to be engaged with the docking unit in a single orientation. ### Claim 55 A method of engaging an aerosol provision device for generating aerosol from aerosol-generating material with a docking unit, for engaging with the aerosol provision device, the docking unit arranged to at least refill an article containing aerosol generating material for use with the aerosol provision device and/or recharge a power source of the aerosol provision device, the method comprising: engaging a docking unit engagement mechanism of the aerosol provision device with an aerosol provision device engagement mechanism of the docking unit; wherein at least one of the docking unit engagement mechanism and aerosol provision device engagement mechanism are configured to enable the aerosol provision device to be engaged with the docking unit in a single orientation. ### Claim 56 A system comprising: aerosol provision means for generating aerosol from aerosol-generating material; docking means for engaging with the aerosol provision means, the docking means arranged to at least one of: refill an article containing aerosol generating material for use with the aerosol provision means, and recharge a power source of the aerosol provision means, and controller means arranged to obtain status information regarding the status of the docking means, wherein the aerosol provision means comprises feedback means arranged to provide feedback to a user; and the controller means is configured to cause the feedback means of the aerosol provision means to provide feedback to the user indicative of the status of the docking means.