Control of total particulate matter production

Abstract

Systems, devices, and methods may control total particulate matter (TPM) production based on air flow rate and TPM density. TPM density is a TPM production rate per flow rate of gas through an aerosol-generating device. The systems, devices, and methods may measure, or sample, air flow during a puff or draw on an aerosol-generating device. The aerosol-generating device may, in turn, adjust the production of the TPM based on the measured air flow rate and a selected, or desired, TPM density, which may be pre-set in the device and/or subsequently set as desired.

1 . A method of controlling a production of a total particulate matter (TPM) in an aerosol-generating device, the method comprising:
 determining a flow rate of a gas through the aerosol-generating device, the determining of the flow rate being performed with a sampling time period between about 1 millisecond and about 200 milliseconds; and   adjusting the production of the total particulate matter (TPM) by the aerosol-generating device in response to the flow rate and a target TPM density such that the adjusting is between about 5 times a second and about 1000 times a second, the target TPM density being a target TPM production rate per flow rate of the gas through the aerosol-generating device.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 selecting the target TPM density prior to the determining of the flow rate and the adjusting of the production.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the adjusting includes increasing the production of the TPM in response to an increase in the flow rate and decreasing the production of the TPM in response to a decrease in the flow rate. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the adjusting is performed to maintain a produced TPM density within a range of the target TPM density. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the range is within 20% of the target TPM density. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the adjusting includes determining an amount of power to be used by the aerosol-generating device as a function of at least the flow rate. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the amount of power to be used increases in response to the flow rate being greater than or equal to a flow threshold. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the amount of power to be used increases proportionally in response to the flow rate. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the adjusting is further in response to a type of an aerosol-producing substrate used by the aerosol-generating device. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the adjusting is further based on the target TPM density being associated with a type of an aerosol-producing substrate for the aerosol-generating device. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 selecting one of a plurality of different TPM densities as the target TPM density.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the production of the TPM involves an aerosol-producing substrate including a nicotine-containing material.