Non-combustible aerosol provision system

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method of operating an non-combustible aerosol provision system including control circuitry, a power source and an aerosol generator configured to generate an aerosol from an aerosolizable material. The control circuitry causes delivery of power from the power source to the aerosol generator for an aerosol generation event in response to a user input; and determines the amount of aerosol generated from the aerosolizable material, in response to the user input, based on a determined rate of aerosol generation, wherein the determined rate of aerosol generation is adjusted based on a dynamic factor.

1 . A method of operating a non-combustible aerosol provision system comprising control circuitry, a power source and an aerosol generator configured to generate an aerosol from an aerosolizable material, the method comprising:
 by the control circuitry:
 causing delivery of power from the power source to the aerosol generator for an aerosol generation event in response to a user input; and 
 determining an amount of aerosol generated from the aerosolizable material, in response to the user input, based on a determined rate of aerosol generation, wherein the determined rate of aerosol generation is adjusted based on a dynamic factor. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the dynamic factor comprises one or more of:
 an airflow rate;   an intra-puff duration;   an inter-puff duration;   a cumulative puff duration;   an amount of aerosolizable material; and   an ambient temperature.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determined rate of aerosol generation is one of:
 an average rate of aerosol generation during the aerosol generation event, or   a real-time rate of aerosol generation during the aerosol generation event.   
     
     
         4 . (canceled) 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry causes power to be delivered from the power source to the aerosol generator at a first substantially constant average level during a first phase and at a second substantially constant average level during a subsequent phase of the aerosol generation event. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determined rate of aerosol generation is dependent on a static factor. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the static factor comprises at least one factor related to one or more of:
 energy delivered to the aerosol generator during the aerosol generation event;   composition of the aerosolizable material;   the aerosol generator; and   an airway configuration.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the user input comprises at least one of an inhalation or an activation of a user input mechanism. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the intra-puff duration is equivalent to a duration of the user input. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises calculating a usage amount, wherein the usage amount is one of a cumulative amount of aerosol generated from the aerosolizable material or a remaining amounting of aerosol that can be generated from the aerosolizable material. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the method further comprises:
 comparing the usage amount to a threshold; and   controlling an aspect of the non-combustible aerosol provision system based on the comparison of the usage amount to the threshold.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein controlling the aspect of the non-combustible aerosol provision system based on the comparison of the usage amount to the threshold comprises at least one of:
 modulating the delivery of power from the power source to the aerosol generator, or   controlling a detection mechanism configured to detect whether the aerosol generator is operating under abnormal conditions.   
     
     
         13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the detection mechanism is any of a resistance-based detection mechanism, a capacitance-based detection mechanism, and an optical-based detection mechanism. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the control circuitry is configured to define at least one of an upper estimate or a lower estimate for the usage amount. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the usage amount comprises a remaining amount consisting of a prediction of a remaining total duration of aerosol generation events or a remaining number of aerosol generation events for the aerosolizable material, wherein the prediction is based on the usage amount and a historical data set relating to measured durations of previous aerosol generation events. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the prediction based on the historical data set relating to measured durations of previous aerosol generation events comprises the prediction being based on: a duration of a most recent previous aerosol generation event, an average duration of a plurality of previous aerosol generation events, or a predicted usage for a plurality of subsequent puff aerosol generation events. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the usage amount comprises a mass or a volume. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the method further comprises providing an indication to a user in relation to the usage amount. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the indication of the usage amount is at least one of:
 communicated to the user during the user input, or   communicated via at least one of visual means, audio means, or haptic means.   
     
     
         21 . (canceled) 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the non-combustible aerosol provision system further comprises a memory, and wherein the control circuitry is configured to write to the memory a record of the aerosol generation event. 
     
     
         23 . A control unit for a non-combustible aerosol provision system comprising:
 a power source; and   control circuitry configured to cause delivery of power from the power source to an aerosol generator for an aerosol generation event in response to a user input, wherein the aerosol generator is configured to generate an aerosol from an aerosolizable material during the aerosol generation event, and wherein the control circuitry is further configured to determine an amount of aerosol generated from the aerosolizable material, in response to the user input, based on a determined rate of aerosol generation, wherein the rate of aerosol generation is adjusted based on a dynamic factor.   
     
     
         24 . A non-combustible aerosol provision system for generating an aerosol from an aerosolizable material, the non-combustible aerosol provision system comprising:
 the control unit of  claim 23 ;   the aerosol generator; and   the aerosolizable material.   
     
     
         25 . The non-combustible aerosol provision system of  claim 24 , wherein the aerosol generator and the aerosolizable material are provided in a consumable configured to detachably couple with the control unit. 
     
     
         26 . The non-combustible aerosol provision system of  claim 25 , wherein the consumable comprises a memory and wherein the control circuitry is configured to write to the memory a record of the duration of the aerosol generation event. 
     
     
         27 . Non-combustible aerosol provision means comprising:
 power source means;   control means configured to cause delivery of power from the power source means to an aerosol generator means for a period of time in response to a user input, wherein the aerosol generator means is configured to generate an aerosol from an aerosolizable material means, and wherein the control means is further configured to determine the amount of aerosol generated from the aerosolizable material means, in response to the user input, based on a determined rate of aerosol generation, wherein the rate of aerosol generation is adjusted based on a dynamic factor.