Rate of change of air pressure to determine use of an aerosol provision device

Abstract

An aerosol provision device is provided that includes a power source and circuitry, and the circuitry includes a sensor and processing circuitry. The sensor is configured to produce measurements of air pressure through at least a portion of the aerosol provision device. The processing circuitry is configured to determine a device baseline rate of change of air pressure from the measurements, and detect a puff event, the puff event defined by a predetermined difference between a rate of change of air pressure from the measurements and the device baseline rate of change of air pressure. An aerosol generator is powered by the power source under control of the circuitry to energize an aerosol-generating material to generate an aerosol for delivery to a user, when the pressure caused by the airflow indicates use of the aerosol provision device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An aerosol provision device comprising:
 a power source;   circuitry including:
 a sensor configured to produce measurements of air pressure through at least a portion of the aerosol provision device; and 
 processing circuitry configured to determine:
 a device baseline rate of change of air pressure from the measurements, and detect: 
 a puff event, the puff event defined by a predetermined difference between a rate of change of air pressure from the measurements and the device baseline rate of change of air pressure; 
 
   aerosol-generating material; and   an aerosol generator powered by the power source under control of the circuitry to energize the aerosol-generating material to generate an aerosol for delivery to a user.   
     
     
         2 . The aerosol provision device of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is a microelectromechanical systems-based (MEMS-based) sensor. 
     
     
         3 . The aerosol provision device of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is a multidirectional electromechanical pressure sensor configured to produce the measurements of the air pressure based on pressure on the sensor in different directions. 
     
     
         4 . The aerosol provision device of  claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry configured to determine the rate of change of the air pressure includes the processing circuitry configured to determine an average rate of change of the air pressure. 
     
     
         5 . The aerosol provision device of  claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry configured to determine the rate of change of the air pressure includes the processing circuitry configured to determine an instantaneous rate of change of the air pressure. 
     
     
         6 . The aerosol provision device of  claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry configured to determine a device baseline rate of change of air pressure includes the processing circuitry configured to at least:
 buffer a plurality of the measurements of the air pressure; and   determine the device baseline rate of change of air pressure from the plurality of the measurements.   
     
     
         7 . The aerosol provision device of  claim 5 , wherein the processing circuitry configured to buffer the plurality of measurements includes the processing circuitry configured to update the plurality of measurements that are buffered, as the measurements of the air pressure are produced. 
     
     
         8 . The aerosol provision device of  claim 6 , wherein the processing circuitry configured to determine the device baseline rate of change of air pressure includes the processing circuitry configured to determine an aggregate of the plurality of the measurements of the air pressure. 
     
     
         9 . The aerosol provision device of  claim 6 , wherein the processing circuitry configured to determine the device baseline rate of change of air pressure includes the processing circuitry configured to determine a root mean square of the plurality of the measurements of the air pressure. 
     
     
         10 . The aerosol provision device of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined difference comprising a puff event is at least a rate of change of thirteen millimeters of water (mmH 2 0) per second. 
     
     
         11 . The aerosol provision device of  claim 1  further comprising one or more of a coupler or a receptacle structured to engage and hold a consumable that includes the aerosol-generating material. 
     
     
         12 . The aerosol provision device of  claim 1 , wherein the aerosol-generating material is contained in a reservoir integrated with the device. 
     
     
         13 . A method of operating an aerosol provision device, the method comprising:
 producing measurements of air pressure through at least a portion of the aerosol provision device;   determining a device baseline rate of change of the air pressure from the measurements;   detecting a puff event, the puff event defined by a predetermined difference between a rate of change of air pressure from the measurements and the device baseline rate of change of air pressure; and   powering an aerosol generator to energize aerosol-generating material to generate an aerosol for delivery to a user, when the pressure caused by the airflow indicates use of the aerosol provision device.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the measurements of the air pressure are produced by a microelectromechanical systems-based (MEMS-based) sensor. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the measurements of the air pressure are produced by a multidirectional electromechanical pressure sensor configured to produce the measurements of the air pressure based on pressure on the sensor in different directions. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein determining the rate of change of the air pressure includes determining an average rate of change of the air pressure. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein determining the rate of change of the air pressure includes determining an instantaneous rate of change of the air pressure. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein determining the device baseline rate of change of the air pressure includes to at least:
 buffering a plurality of the measurements of the air pressure;   determining the device baseline rate of change of air pressure from the plurality of the measurements.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein buffering the plurality of measurements includes updating the plurality of measurements that are buffered, as the measurements of the air pressure are produced. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein determining the device baseline rate of change of air pressure includes determining an aggregate of the plurality of the measurements of the air pressure. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein determining the device baseline rate of change of air pressure includes determining a root mean square of the plurality of the measurements of the air pressure. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the predetermined difference comprising a puff event is at least a rate of change of thirteen millimeters of water (mmH 2 0) per second. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the device further comprises one or more of a coupler or a receptacle structured to engage and hold a consumable that contains the aerosol-generating material. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the aerosol-generating material is contained in a reservoir integrated with the device.