Aerosol generating device and method of controlling the same

Abstract

Provided is an aerosol generating device including a housing including an accommodating portion into which an aerosol generating article is inserted, an insertion detecting sensor configured to detect whether the aerosol generating article is inserted into the accommodating portion, a heater configured to heat the aerosol generating article inserted into the accommodating portion, a plurality of auxiliary sensors arranged around the accommodating portion, and a processor configured to control power to be supplied to the heater in response to receiving a sensing signal from the insertion detecting sensor and a sensing signal from at least one of the plurality of auxiliary sensors.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An aerosol generating device comprising:
 a housing comprising an accommodating portion into which an aerosol generating article is inserted;   an insertion detecting sensor configured to detect whether the aerosol generating article is inserted into the accommodating portion;   a heater configured to heat the aerosol generating article inserted into the accommodating portion;   a plurality of auxiliary sensors arranged around the accommodating portion; and   a processor configured to control power to be supplied to the heater in response to receiving a sensing signal from the insertion detecting sensor and a sensing signal from at least one of the plurality of auxiliary sensors.   
     
     
         2 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 1 , wherein priorities are preset to the plurality of auxiliary sensors. 
     
     
         3 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of auxiliary sensors perform a different function from the insertion detecting sensor in the aerosol generating device. 
     
     
         4 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to
 receive a first sensing signal from the insertion detecting sensor when the aerosol generating article is inserted into the accommodating portion,   receive a plurality of second sensing signals from the plurality of auxiliary sensors when the aerosol generating article is inserted into the accommodating portion, and   determine that the aerosol generating article is inserted into the accommodating portion according to whether the received first sensing signal and one of the received plurality of second sensing signals are within a threshold range.   
     
     
         5 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 4 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine that the aerosol generating article is inserted into the accommodating portion according to whether the first sensing signal and a second sensing signal according to preset priorities among the plurality of second sensing signals are within the threshold range. 
     
     
         6 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 4 , wherein the insertion detecting sensor is an inductive sensor configured to detect an insertion of the aerosol generating article. 
     
     
         7 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 4 , wherein
 a first auxiliary sensor among the plurality of auxiliary sensors is a proximity sensor arranged on an upper end of the accommodating portion and including a color sensor configured to detect whether the aerosol generating article inserted into the accommodating portion is reused, and   a second auxiliary sensor among the plurality of auxiliary sensors is a capacitive sensor arranged on a lower end of the accommodating portion and detecting whether the aerosol generating article inserted into the accommodating portion is over-humidified.   
     
     
         8 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 7 , wherein the proximity sensor has a higher priority than the capacitive sensor. 
     
     
         9 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to, when a sensing signal received from the proximity sensor is within the threshold range, determine that the aerosol generating article is inserted into the accommodating portion according to the sensing signal received from the insertion detecting sensor. 
     
     
         10 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine that the proximity sensor malfunctions when a sensing signal is not received from the proximity sensor, the sensing signal received from the proximity sensor is not within the threshold range, or the sensing signal with a fixed value is received from the proximity sensor. 
     
     
         11 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to, when a sensing signal received from the capacitive sensor is within the threshold range, determine that the aerosol generating article is inserted into the accommodating portion according to the sensing signal received from the insertion detecting sensor. 
     
     
         12 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 1 , wherein
 the insertion detecting sensor is an inductive sensor arranged on a lower end of the accommodating portion and detecting an inductance change when the aerosol generating article is inserted,   one of the plurality of auxiliary sensors is a capacitive sensor arranged on the lower end of the accommodating portion and detecting a capacitance change of the inserted aerosol generating article, and   another one of the plurality of auxiliary sensors is a proximity sensor arranged on an upper end of the accommodating portion and detecting whether the aerosol generating article approaches the accommodating portion.   
     
     
         13 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to, when the sensing signal received from the proximity sensor is within the threshold range and the sensing signal received from the inductive sensor is within the threshold range, determine that the aerosol generating article is inserted into the accommodating portion and control power to be supplied to the heater. 
     
     
         14 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to, when the sensing signal from the proximity sensor is not received, the sensing signal received from the proximity sensor is not within the threshold range, or the sensing signal with a fixed value is received from the proximity sensor, and when the sensing signal received from the capacitive sensor and the sensing signal received from the inductive sensor are within the threshold range, determine that the aerosol generating article is inserted into the accommodating portion and control power to be supplied to the heater. 
     
     
         15 . A method of controlling an aerosol generating device, the method comprising:
 receiving a sensing signal from an insertion detecting sensor configured to detect an insertion of an aerosol generating article;   receiving a sensing signal from at least one of a plurality of auxiliary sensors according to the insertion of the aerosol generating article; and,   in response to the sensing signal received from the insertion detecting sensor and the sensing signal received from at least one of the plurality of auxiliary sensors, controlling the heater to heat the inserted aerosol generating article.