Aerosol provision systems

Abstract

An aerosol provision system including a display module configured to display information relating to the aerosol provision system in a display region of a surface of the aerosol provision system and a user input module comprising measurement circuitry coupled to a plurality of sensor elements located around the display region to provide a plurality of sensing regions for detecting the presence of an object over the surface of the aerosol provision system around the display region.

1 . An aerosol provision system comprising:
 a display module configured to display information relating to the aerosol provision system in a display region of a surface of the aerosol provision system; and   a user input module comprising measurement circuitry coupled to a plurality of sensor elements located around the display region to provide a plurality of sensing regions for detecting a presence of an object over the surface of the aerosol provision system around the display region.   
     
     
         2 . The aerosol provision system of  claim 1 , wherein the measurement circuitry comprises capacitance measurement circuitry. 
     
     
         3 . The aerosol provision system of  claim 2 , further comprising processing circuitry configured to provide detection signals to indicate when an object is determined to be in one or more of the sensing regions based on capacitance measurements from the capacitance measurement circuitry. 
     
     
         4 . The aerosol provision system of  claim 3 , further comprising control circuitry configured to determine from the detection signals when an object moves between the sensing regions in accordance with one of a set of predefined sequences comprising one or more predefined sequences. 
     
     
         5 . The aerosol provision system of  claim 4 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to control an operating aspect of the aerosol provision system in response to determining an object has moved between the sensing regions in accordance with one of the set of predefined sequences. 
     
     
         6 . The aerosol provision system of  claim 5 , wherein the set of predefined sequences comprises a plurality of different predefined sequences associated with different operating aspects of the aerosol provision system. 
     
     
         7 . The aerosol provision system of  claim 5 , wherein controlling the operating aspect of the aerosol provision system comprises one or more of:
 selecting a menu option displayed in the display region;   scrolling through different menu options displayed in the display region;   changing a setting for a menu option displayed in the display region;   adjusting a value of an operating parameter for the aerosol provision system;   switching the aerosol provision system to a locked state;   switching the aerosol provision system to an unlocked state;   switching the aerosol provision system to an off state;   switching the aerosol provision system to a standby state; and   activating vapor generation by the aerosol provision system.   
     
     
         8 . The aerosol provision system of  claim 5 , wherein at least one of the predefined sequences corresponds with an object moving along a path from a sensing region on one side of the display region to a sensing region on an opposite side of the display region. 
     
     
         9 . The aerosol provision system of  claim 5 , wherein at least one of the set of predefined sequences corresponds with an object moving along a curved path through at least three sensing regions around the display region. 
     
     
         10 . The aerosol provision system of  claim 5 , wherein at least one of the set of predefined sequences corresponds with an object moving along a path through at least four sensing regions in a predefined order. 
     
     
         11 . The aerosol provision system of  claim 5 , wherein at least one of the set of predefined sequences corresponds with an object moving along a path that includes a plurality of changes in direction. 
     
     
         12 . The aerosol provision system of  claim 5 , wherein the surface of the aerosol provision system includes indicia to indicate locations of the plurality of sensor elements around the display region. 
     
     
         13 . The aerosol provision system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sensor elements comprise four sensor elements located in different quadrants of the surface of the aerosol provision system around the display region. 
     
     
         14 . The aerosol provision system of  claim 13 , wherein the plurality of sensor elements have an arcuate shape and are arranged at different azimuthal positions around a center of the display region. 
     
     
         15 . The aerosol provision system of  claim 1 , further comprising a vaporizer and a source of vapor precursor material. 
     
     
         16 . The aerosol provision system of  claim 15 , wherein the source of vapor precursor material is in a replaceable cartridge for the aerosol provision system. 
     
     
         17 . Aerosol provision means comprising:
 display means configured to display information relating to the aerosol provision means in a display region of a surface of the aerosol provision means; and   user input means comprising measurement means coupled to a plurality of sensor element means located around the display region to provide a plurality of sensing regions for detecting a presence of an object over the surface of the aerosol provision means around the display region.