HEAT-NOT-BURN DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2024/089902, filed on April 25, 2024, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202310603560.5, filed on May 25, 2023. The entire disclosure of both applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD

The present invention relates to the atomization field, and in particular, to a heat-not-burn device and a control method thereof.

BACKGROUND

Currently, an existing HNB (Heat Not Burning, heat-not-burn device) needs to first perform preheating for a period of time (generally more than 5 seconds) before use, and also needs to continuously perform heating in an entire inhalation process, to maintain an aerosol generating substrate (for example, a cigarette) at a set high temperature to ensure a timely response to a next inhalation. Based on this, currently, a common method for using the HNB is that the HNB starts heating after a user inserts a cigarette, the user needs to wait for preheating to be completed before inhaling, and the cigarette needs to be maintained at a high temperature through heating within each interval between inhalations. Consequently, according to this method, the user can only inhale after preheating is completed, there is a long waiting time, and user experience is poor; and after each inhalation, a heating process cannot be stopped in time, the HNB is still in a state of continuous heating for temperature maintaining, resulting in a large power loss.

SUMMARY

In an embodiment, the present invention provides a heat-not-burn device control method for a heat-not-burn device that includes a heating component configured to heat an aerosol generating substrate, the control method comprising: detecting, in real time after startup, whether an inhalation action occurs; controlling, when detecting that the inhalation action occurs, the heating component to start heating and remain at a preset target temperature so as to enable the heating component to heat a corresponding region of the aerosol generating substrate, the heating component being located at a periphery of the aerosol generating substrate and deviating from a central axis of the aerosol generating substrate; and controlling, when detecting that the inhalation action stops, the heating component and/or the aerosol generating substrate to rotate along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate so as to enable the heating component and the aerosol generating substrate to generate a corresponding displacement in a circumferential direction of the aerosol generating substrate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Subject matter of the present disclosure will be described in even greater detail below based on the exemplary figures. All features described and/or illustrated herein can be used alone or combined in different combinations. The features and advantages of various embodiments will become apparent by reading the following detailed description with reference to the attached drawings, which illustrate the following:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of Embodiment 1 of a heat-not-burn device control method according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of positions of a heating component and an aerosol generating substrate of a heat-not-burn device according to the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of determining, based on an airflow detection signal, whether an inhalation action occurs according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In an embodiment, the present invention provides a heat-not-burn device control method. The heat-not-burn device includes a heating component, and the heating component is configured to heat an aerosol generating substrate. The control method includes:

detecting, in real time after startup, whether an inhalation action occurs;

controlling, when detecting the inhalation action occurs, the heating component to start heating and remain at a preset target temperature, to enable the heating component to heat a corresponding region of the aerosol generating substrate, where the heating component is located at the periphery of the aerosol generating substrate and deviates from the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate; and

controlling, when detecting that the inhalation action stops, the heating component and/or the aerosol generating substrate to rotate along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate, to enable the heating component and the aerosol generating substrate to generate a corresponding displacement in the circumferential direction of the aerosol generating substrate.

Preferably, the step of the heating component heating the corresponding region of the aerosol generating substrate includes:

heating, by the heating component, the corresponding region of the aerosol generating substrate in a microwave radiation heating manner.

Preferably, the step of controlling the heating component and/or the aerosol generating substrate to rotate along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate includes:

controlling, when the aerosol generating substrate is fixedly disposed, the heating component to rotate by a preset angle along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate in a preset first rotation direction; or

controlling, when the heating component is fixedly disposed, the aerosol generating substrate to rotate by a preset angle along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate in a preset second rotation direction; or

controlling the heating component to rotate by a first angle along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate in a preset first rotation direction; and controlling the aerosol generating substrate to rotate by a second angle along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate in a preset second rotation direction.

Preferably, after the step of controlling the heating component and/or the aerosol generating substrate to rotate along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate, the method further includes:

recording a current rotation count, and determining whether the current rotation count reaches a preset count; and

outputting, when the preset count is reached, prompt information indicating that an inhalation ends.

Preferably, the controlling, when detecting that the inhalation action stops, the heating component and/or the aerosol generating substrate to rotate along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate includes:

stopping, when detecting that the inhalation action stops, heating of the heating component, or controlling the heating component to perform heating and remain at a preset second temperature, and controlling the heating component and/or the aerosol generating substrate to rotate along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate, where the second temperature is lower than the target temperature.

Preferably, the step of stopping heating of the heating component, and controlling the heating component and/or the aerosol generating substrate to rotate along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate includes:

stopping heating of the heating component;

waiting for a preset time period; and

controlling the heating component and/or the aerosol generating substrate to rotate along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate.

Preferably, the preset time period ranges from 0 ms to 150 ms.

Preferably, the step of detecting, in real time, whether an inhalation action occurs includes:

obtaining, in real time, an airflow detection signal from an airflow sensor disposed in an airflow channel, and determining, based on the airflow detection signal, whether the inhalation action occurs.

Preferably, the step of determining, based on the airflow detection signal, whether the inhalation action occurs includes:

determining whether the airflow detection signal is higher than a threshold; and

determining, when the airflow detection signal is higher than the threshold, that the inhalation action occurs; or

determining, when the airflow detection signal is not higher than the threshold, that the inhalation action stops.

Preferably, the target temperature is a temperature range or a specific temperature value.

The present invention further constructs a heat-not-burn device, including a processor, a memory storing a computer program, and a heating component configured to heat an aerosol generating substrate. The heating component is located at the periphery of the aerosol generating substrate, and the processor, when executing the computer program, implements the steps of the heat-not-burn device control method.

TECHNICAL PROBLEMS

A technical problem to be resolved by the present invention lies in that technical defects of long waiting time for preheating and large power consumption exist in the existing technology.

BENEFICIAL EFFECTS

According to the technical solutions of the present invention, the heating component is located at the periphery of the aerosol generating substrate and deviates from the central axis of the target object. In addition, after each inhalation ends, the heating component and/or the aerosol generating substrate is controlled to rotate along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate, so that the heating component and the aerosol generating substrate generate a new displacement in the circumferential direction of the aerosol generating substrate. In this way, when the user inhales next time, the heating component heats only a part of region of the aerosol generating substrate, so that a temperature of the region of the aerosol generating substrate can be rapidly increased to reach an inhalable temperature, thereby generating an aerosol through atomization. In addition, the heating component heats a different region of the aerosol generating substrate each inhalation, implementing circumferential segmented heating of the aerosol generating substrate. Based on this, after startup, the heat-not-burn device detects, in real time, whether the inhalation action occurs, and controls, when the inhalation action occurs, the heating component to perform heating and remain at the preset target temperature. Therefore, when the user uses the heat-not-burn device, since the aerosol generating substrate does not need to be preheated, preheating is achieved without waiting, and user experience is improved; and in addition, power consumption of the heat-not-burn device is reduced.

The technical solutions in embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Apparently, the described embodiments are merely some rather than all of the embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of Embodiment 1 of a heat-not-burn device control method according to the present invention. It is first described that the heat-not-burn device includes a heating component, and the heating component is configured to heat an aerosol generating substrate. The aerosol generating substrate may be, for example, cylindrical, and have the central axis. The heating component may have a plurality of forms, for example, may be a heating sheet, a heating pin, a heating bar, or a heating cable or wire, or may be a combination of two or more of the above heating devices in different forms.

With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, in this embodiment, a heating component 100 is located at the periphery of the aerosol generating substrate 200, and deviates from the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate 200. In addition, the control method includes the following steps.

Step S10: Detect, in real time after startup, whether an inhalation action occurs.

In this step, the heat-not-burn device may be started by detecting an interaction action of a user (for example, a long press of a button or an input of a microphone), or may be automatically started when detecting that the aerosol generating substrate is inserted into the device. After startup, the heat-not-burn device detects, in real time without needing to preheat the aerosol generating substrate, whether the inhalation action occurs, that is, waits for the user to perform the inhalation action.

Step S20: Control the heating component to start heating and remain at a preset target temperature when detecting that the inhalation action occurs, to enable the heating component to heat a corresponding region of the aerosol generating substrate.

In this step, when the user inhales, that is, when the inhalation action is detected, the heating component may be started to perform heating and enabled to remain at the preset target temperature. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, because the heating component 100 is located at the periphery of the aerosol generating substrate 200 and deviates from the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate 200, compared with an existing central heating manner (in which the heating component is at least partially inserted into the aerosol generating substrate) and a peripheral heating manner (in which the heating component is sleeved on the periphery of the aerosol generating substrate), and during operation of the heating component, because the heating component heats only a region of the aerosol generating substrate close to the heating component, a temperature of the aerosol generating substrate in the region is rapidly increased to reach an inhalable temperature, thereby generating an aerosol through atomization, for the user to inhale.

Further, during control of the heating component, a temperature measurement module may be set to detect a temperature of the heating component in real time, and the temperature of the heating component is controlled by using a PID algorithm with reference to a preset target temperature, so that the heating component remains at the target temperature. For example, when the heating component exceeds the target temperature, heating is stopped, or power is reduced; and when the heating component is lower than the target temperature, heating is started, or power is increased. In other words, each inhalation of the user is controlled as an independent inhalation process. In addition, the temperature measurement module may be disposed on an outer wall of the heating component, and may be a thermistor, a temperature measuring film, or the like. It should be understood that, because the temperature of the aerosol generating substrate is controlled by controlling the temperature of the heating component, the temperature of the heating component and the temperature of the aerosol generating substrate are in a positive correlation, but are not necessarily exactly the same. In other words, in some embodiments, the temperature of the heating component may be used to represent the temperature of the aerosol generating substrate.

The target temperature may be a temperature range, for example, 230 °C to 260 °C, that is, when the user inhales, a normal operating temperature of the heating component is a temperature range. In addition, in some embodiments, the target temperature may be a specific temperature value, that is, when the user inhales, the temperature of the heating component remains at a fixed value, for example, 250 °C.

Step S30: Control, when detecting that the inhalation action stops, the heating component and/or the aerosol generating substrate to rotate along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate, to enable the heating component and the aerosol generating substrate to generate a corresponding displacement in the circumferential direction of the aerosol generating substrate.

In this step, when the user stops inhaling, that is, when it is detected that the inhalation action stops, at least one of the heating component and the aerosol generating substrate is controlled to rotate, the heating component and the aerosol generating substrate are enabled to generate a new displacement in the circumferential direction of the aerosol generating substrate, and a next inhalation of the user is waited for.

In the technical solution of this embodiment, the heating component is located at the periphery of the aerosol generating substrate and deviates from the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate. In addition, after each inhalation ends, the heating component and/or the aerosol generating substrate is controlled to rotate along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate, so that the heating component and the aerosol generating substrate generate a new displacement in the circumferential direction of the aerosol generating substrate. In this way, when the user inhales next time, the heating component heats only a part of region of the aerosol generating substrate, so that a temperature of the region of the aerosol generating substrate can be rapidly increased to reach an inhalable temperature, thereby generating an aerosol through atomization. In addition, the heating component heats a different region of the aerosol generating substrate each inhalation, implementing circumferential segmented heating of the aerosol generating substrate. Based on this, after startup, the heat-not-burn device detects, in real time, whether the inhalation action occurs, and controls, when the inhalation action occurs, the heating component to perform heating and remain at the preset target temperature. Therefore, when the user uses the heat-not-burn device, since the aerosol generating substrate does not need to be preheated, preheating is achieved without waiting, and user experience is improved; and in addition, power consumption of the heat-not-burn device is reduced.

Further, in an optional embodiment, step S30 includes:

stopping, when detecting that the inhalation action stops, heating of the heating component, or controlling the heating component to perform heating and remain at a preset second temperature, and controlling the heating component and/or the aerosol generating substrate to rotate along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate, to enable the heating component and the aerosol generating substrate to generate a corresponding displacement in the circumferential direction of the aerosol generating substrate, where the second temperature is lower than the target temperature.

In an implementation, when it is detected that the inhalation action stops, the heating of the heating component is immediately stopped, that is, heating the aerosol generating substrate is stopped. In this way, after each inhalation of the user, a heating process can be disabled in time, and heating is not started to be performed again until a next inhalation action is detected, thereby actually implementing an instant-smoke-and-instant-stop function. In addition, because continuous heating for temperature maintaining is not needed within an interval between two inhalations, the power consumption of the heat-not-burn device is further reduced.

In another implementation, when it is detected that the inhalation action stops, the heating component is controlled to perform heating and remain at the preset second temperature, where the second temperature is lower than the target temperature. In this way, the power consumption of the heat-not-burn device can also be reduced.

Further, in an optional embodiment, in step S20, the step of the heating component heating the corresponding region of the aerosol generating substrate includes: heating, by the heating component, the corresponding region of the aerosol generating substrate in a microwave radiation heating manner. In this embodiment, because the aerosol generating substrate is heated in the microwave radiation heating manner, a frequency of microwaves is high, and radiated energy is also high. Therefore, the temperature of the heating component can be instantly increased, to rapidly heat the aerosol generating substrate, thereby implementing rapid aerosol generation.

Further, in step S30, implementations of controlling the heating component and/or the aerosol generating substrate to rotate along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate includes the following several implementations.

1. Control, when the aerosol generating substrate is fixedly disposed, the heating component to rotate by a preset angle along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate in a preset first rotation direction. In this implementation, the aerosol generating substrate remains fixed, and only the heating component is controlled to rotate along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate by the preset angle in the preset first rotation direction. For example, the heating component may be controlled to rotate through a stepper motor. The first rotation direction may be clockwise, or anticlockwise. It should be understood that, after the first rotation direction is determined, each rotation is rotated in a same direction. The preset angle for each rotation may be set to be the same, or may be set to be different. In a specific application, when the preset angle for each rotation is set to be the same, a total number of puffs for inhalation may be determined in advance based on the size, composition, and the like of the aerosol generating substrate, and then the preset angle Φ for each rotation is calculated by using the following formula, where Φ=360°/N, and N is the total number of puffs for inhalation. For example, when N is 12, the preset angle for each rotation is 30°. Certainly, in other embodiments, the preset angle for each rotation may alternatively be set not to be exactly the same.

2. Control, when the heating component is fixedly disposed, the aerosol generating substrate to rotate by a preset angle along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate in a preset second rotation direction. In this implementation, the heating component remains fixed, and only the aerosol generating substrate is controlled to rotate along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate by the preset angle in the preset second rotation direction. For example, the aerosol generating substrate is controlled to rotate through the stepper motor. The second rotation direction may be clockwise, or anticlockwise. It should be understood that, after the second rotation direction is determined, each rotation is rotated in a same direction. The preset angle for each rotation may be set to be the same, or may be set to be different. In a specific application, when the preset angle for each rotation is set to be the same, a total number of puffs for inhalation may be determined in advance based on the size, composition, and the like of the aerosol generating substrate, and then the preset angle Φ for each rotation is calculated by using the following formula, where Φ=360°/N, and N is the total number of puffs for inhalation. For example, when N is 12, the preset angle for each rotation is 30°. Certainly, in another embodiment, the preset angle for each rotation may alternatively be set not to be exactly the same.

3. Control the heating component to rotate by a first angle along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate in a preset first rotation direction; and control the aerosol generating substrate to rotate by a second angle along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate in a preset second rotation direction. In this implementation, the heating component and the aerosol generating substrate are controlled to rotate simultaneously. For example, the heating component is controlled to rotate through a first stepping motor, and the aerosol generating substrate device is controlled to rotate through a second stepping motor. In a specific application, the first rotation direction and the second rotation direction in this implementation may be different. For example, one of the heating component and the aerosol generating substrate rotates along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate in the clockwise direction, and the other of the aerosol generating substrate rotates along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate in the anticlockwise direction. In this way, a sum of the first angle and the second angle is equal to the preset angle in the foregoing embodiment. Certainly, in some other applications, the first rotation direction and the second rotation direction may alternatively be the same. For example, both the heating component and aerosol generating substrate rotate along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate in the clockwise direction. In this way, a difference between the first angle and the second angle is equal to the preset angle in the foregoing embodiment. In addition, the preset angle corresponding to each rotation may be set to be the same, or may be set to be different. In a specific application, when the preset angle for each rotation is set to be the same, a total number of puffs for inhalation may be determined in advance based on the size, composition, and the like of the aerosol generating substrate, and then the preset angle Φ for each rotation is calculated by using the following formula, where Φ=360°/N, and N is the total number of puffs for inhalation. For example, when N is 12, the preset angle for each rotation is 30°. Certainly, in other embodiments, the preset angle corresponding to each rotation may alternatively be set not to be exactly the same.

Further, in an optional embodiment, after step S30, the method further includes:

recording a current rotation count, and determining whether the current rotation count reaches a preset count; and

outputting, when the preset count is reached, prompt information indicating that an inhalation ends.

In this embodiment, the preset count may be determined in advance based on the total number of puffs for inhalation, and an initial rotation count is 0. After one rotation, the rotation count is increased by one, until the rotation count reaches the preset count. In this case, the prompt information indicating that the inhalation ends is output to the user. For example, the prompt information may be output in a manner such as a sound, vibration, or an LED flash. In a specific application, if the preset count is 12, after the user inhales 12 times, that is, after the heating component and/or the aerosol generating substrate is controlled to rotate 12 times, the user is prompted that the inhalation ends. In this case, even if the user performs interaction action again, heating of the heating component is not started, and a new control process is started until the user uses a new aerosol generating substrate for replacement.

Further, in an optional embodiment, in step S30, the step of stopping heating of the heating component, and controlling the heating component and/or the aerosol generating substrate to rotate along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate includes:

stopping heating of the heating component;

waiting for a preset time period, where the preset time period is, for example, 0 ms to 150 ms; and

controlling the heating component and/or the aerosol generating substrate to rotate along the central axis of the aerosol generating substrate.

In this embodiment, when the inhalation of the user ends, the heating of the heating component may be immediately stopped. In this case, both the heating component and the aerosol generating substrate are at a high temperature, so that it is possible to wait for a period of time until the temperature of the heating component and the aerosol generating substrate is lower, and then start a rotation function.

Further, in an optional embodiment, in step S10, the step of detecting, in real time, whether an inhalation action occurs includes:

obtaining, in real time, an airflow detection signal from an airflow sensor disposed in an airflow channel, and determining, based on the airflow detection signal, whether the inhalation action occurs.

In this embodiment, the airflow sensor may be disposed in the airflow channel of the heat-not-burn device. An air pressure sensor, for example, an air pressure microphone or an air pressure MEMS, may be selected as the airflow sensor. The airflow detection signal is obtained from the airflow sensor in real time after the heat-not-burn device is started, and whether the inhalation action occurs is determined based on the airflow detection signal. It should be understood that, in some other embodiments, manners such as heat capacity detection and light sensing detection may alternatively be used to detect whether the inhalation action occurs.

Further, the step of determining, based on the airflow detection signal, whether the inhalation action occurs includes:

determining whether the airflow detection signal is higher than a threshold; and

determining, when the airflow detection signal is higher than the threshold, that the inhalation action occurs; or

determining, when the airflow detection signal is not higher than the threshold, that the inhalation action stops.

In a specific embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the airflow sensor is a pressure difference sensor, that is, the airflow detection signal output by the airflow sensor is a pressure difference signal between an air pressure in the airflow channel and the standard atmospheric pressure. In addition, the standard atmospheric pressure or an air pressure value close to the standard atmospheric pressure is set as a threshold, and the threshold is shown by a curve L1. When the user inhales, the detected pressure difference signal is higher than the threshold. In this case, it may be determined that the inhalation action occurs. When the user stops inhaling, the detected pressure difference signal is lower than the threshold. In this case, it may be determined that the inhalation action stops. In addition, for each inhalation, when the pressure difference signal just starts to be higher than the threshold, a jumping interrupt signal (triggered by a rising edge) is output to the processor; and when the pressure difference signal just starts to be lower than the threshold, a jumping interrupt signal (triggered by a falling edge) is output to the processor.

Finally, it should be noted that, in other embodiments, two different thresholds may be set for inhalation start and inhalation stop. For example, with reference to a change trend of the pressure difference signal, when the detected pressure difference signal is higher than a first threshold, it is determined that the inhalation action occurs; and when the detected pressure difference signal is lower than a second threshold, it is determined that the inhalation action stops. In addition, a user may customize the second threshold, for example, set the second threshold to a value higher than the first threshold. In this way, the heating process can be ended in advance, thereby further reducing losses.

The present invention further constructs a heat-not-burn device. The heat-not-burn device includes a processor, a memory storing a computer program, and a heating component configured to heat an aerosol generating substrate. The heating component is located at the periphery of the aerosol generating substrate, and the processor, when executing the computer program, implements the steps of the heat-not-burn device control method.

The processor according to the present invention is configured to provide computing and control capabilities, to support operation of the entire heat-not-burn device. It should be understood that, in this embodiment of this application, the processor may be a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU), and the processor may alternatively be another general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (Digital Signal Processor, DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (Application Specific Integrated Circuit, ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (Field-Programmable Gate Array, FPGA), or another programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, or the like. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may also be any conventional processor, or the like.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive. It will be understood that changes and modifications may be made by those of ordinary skill within the scope of the following claims. In particular, the present invention covers further embodiments with any combination of features from different embodiments described above and below. Additionally, statements made herein characterizing the invention refer to an embodiment of the invention and not necessarily all embodiments.

The terms used in the claims should be construed to have the broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the foregoing description. For example, the use of the article “a” or “the” in introducing an element should not be interpreted as being exclusive of a plurality of elements. Likewise, the recitation of “or” should be interpreted as being inclusive, such that the recitation of “A or B” is not exclusive of “A and B,” unless it is clear from the context or the foregoing description that only one of A and B is intended. Further, the recitation of “at least one of A, B and C” should be interpreted as one or more of a group of elements consisting of A, B and C, and should not be interpreted as requiring at least one of each of the listed elements A, B and C, regardless of whether A, B and C are related as categories or otherwise. Moreover, the recitation of “A, B and/or C” or “at least one of A, B or C” should be interpreted as including any singular entity from the listed elements, e.g., A, any subset from the listed elements, e.g., A and B, or the entire list of elements A, B and C.