Aerosol generating device and operating method thereof

Abstract

An aerosol generating device includes a housing including a cavity in which an aerosol generating article is accommodated, an optical sensor configured to detect whether an aerosol generating article is in the cavity based on a result of comparison between a sensing value and a threshold including a first threshold and a second threshold, and a processor electrically connected to the optical sensor, wherein the processor is configured to obtain a first sensing value of the optical sensor, which is detected upon insertion of an aerosol generating article, and a second sensing value of the optical sensor, which is detected upon removal of the aerosol generating article, and update the threshold to a new threshold based on the first sensing value and the second sensing value. In addition to this, various embodiments identified through the specification may be provided.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An aerosol generating device comprising:
 a housing including a cavity in which an aerosol generating article is accommodated;   an optical sensor configured to detect whether an aerosol generating article is in the cavity based on a result of comparison between a sensing value and a threshold including a first threshold and a second threshold; and   a processor electrically connected to the optical sensor,   wherein the processor is configured to obtain a first sensing value of the optical sensor, which is detected upon insertion of an aerosol generating article, and a second sensing value of the optical sensor, which is detected upon removal of the aerosol generating article, and update the threshold to a new threshold based on the first sensing value and the second sensing value.   
     
     
         2 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to update the threshold to the new threshold based on a new first threshold that is less than the first sensing value and a new second threshold that is greater than the second sensing value. 
     
     
         3 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 2 , wherein the new first threshold is greater than the first threshold, and the new second threshold is greater than the second threshold. 
     
     
         4 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a cigarette recognition sensor configured to detect whether the aerosol generating article is in the cavity based on a change in electrical characteristics,   wherein the processor is further configured to obtain the first sensing value of the optical sensor based on the insertion of the aerosol generating article detected through the cigarette recognition sensor, and obtain the second sensing value of the optical sensor based on the removal of the aerosol generating article detected through the cigarette recognition sensor.   
     
     
         5 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 4 , wherein the cigarette recognition sensor is an inductive sensor configured to detect a change in inductance. 
     
     
         6 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to update the threshold to the new threshold as the second sensing value is obtained through the optical sensor. 
     
     
         7 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a user interface,   wherein the processor is further configured to output a notification through the user interface when a value obtained by subtracting the second sensing value from the first sensing value is less than a preset difference value.   
     
     
         8 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 7 , wherein the notification output through the user interface is a notification to guide internal cleaning of the aerosol generating device. 
     
     
         9 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine, as the first sensing value, a greatest value among a first plurality of sensing values obtained for a preset time from a point in time when a sensing value obtained through the optical sensor increases, and determine, as the second sensing value, a smallest value among a second plurality of sensing values obtained for a preset time from a point in time when the sensing value obtained through the optical sensor decreases. 
     
     
         10 . An operating method of an aerosol generating device, the operating method comprising:
 obtaining a first sensing value detected upon insertion of an aerosol generating article through an optical sensor configured to detect whether the aerosol generating article is in a cavity and a second sensing value detected upon removal of the aerosol generating article from the cavity based on a result of comparison between a sensing value and a threshold; and   updating the threshold to a new threshold based on the first sensing value and the second sensing value.   
     
     
         11 . The operating method of  claim 10 , further comprising updating the threshold to the new threshold based on a new first threshold that is less than the first sensing value and a new second threshold that is greater than the second sensing value. 
     
     
         12 . The operating method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 obtaining the first sensing value of the optical sensor based on the insertion of the aerosol generating article detected through a cigarette recognition sensor configured to detect whether the aerosol generating article is in the cavity based on a change in electrical characteristics; and   obtaining the second sensing value of the optical sensor based on the removal of the aerosol generating article detected through the cigarette recognition sensor.   
     
     
         13 . The operating method of  claim 10 , further comprising updating the threshold to the new threshold as the second sensing value is obtained through the optical sensor. 
     
     
         14 . The operating method of  claim 10 , further comprising outputting a notification through a user interface when a value obtained by subtracting the second sensing value from the first sensing value is less than a preset difference value. 
     
     
         15 . The operating method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 determining, as the first sensing value, a greatest value among a first plurality of sensing values obtained for a preset time from a point in time when a sensing value obtained through the optical sensor increases; and   determining, as the second sensing value, a smallest value among a second plurality of sensing values obtained for a preset time from a point in time when the sensing value obtained through the optical sensor decreases.