Aerosol generating system and control method

Abstract

An aerosol generating system including: a power source unit; a heating unit that heats an aerosol source by using power supplied from the power source unit; a temperature changing unit that changes the temperature in following with a temperature change of the heating unit; and a control unit that controls operation of the heating unit on the basis of the difference between the temperature of the heating unit and the temperature of the temperature changing unit, the difference therebetween being indicated by a first measured value measured as a parameter corresponding to the temperature of the heating unit and a second measured value measured as a parameter corresponding to the temperature of the temperature changing unit.

1 . An aerosol generating system comprising:
 a power supply;   a heater configured to heat an aerosol source by using electric power supplied from the power supply;   a temperature-variable unit configured to change in temperature following a change in temperature of the heater; and   a controller configured to, based on a difference between a temperature of the heater and a temperature of the temperature-variable unit, control operation of the heater, the temperature of the heater being indicated by a first measurement value measured as a parameter corresponding to the temperature of the heater, the temperature of the temperature-variable unit being indicated by a second measurement value measured as a parameter corresponding to the temperature of the temperature-variable unit.   
     
     
         2 . The aerosol generating system according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the controller is configured to, based on the difference between the temperature of the heater and the temperature of the temperature-variable unit, switch parameters that serve as a basis for controlling supply of electric power to the heater.   
     
     
         3 . The aerosol generating system according to  claim 2 ,
 wherein the controller is configured to, based on the difference between the temperature of the heater and the temperature of the temperature-variable unit, switch parameters that serve as a basis for resuming the supply of electric power to the heater after temporarily stopping the supply of electric power to the heater.   
     
     
         4 . The aerosol generating system according to  claim 3 ,
 wherein the controller is configured to, when the difference between the temperature of the heater and the temperature of the temperature-variable unit falls within a first range, resume the supply of electric power to the heater based on the second measurement value.   
     
     
         5 . The aerosol generating system according to  claim 4 ,
 wherein the controller is configured to, when the difference between the temperature of the heater and the temperature of the temperature-variable unit exceeds the first range and falls within a second range greater than the first range, resume the supply of electric power to the heater based on an elapsed time.   
     
     
         6 . The aerosol generating system according to  claim 5 ,
 wherein the controller is configured to, when the difference between the temperature of the heater and the temperature of the temperature-variable unit exceeds the second range, execute at least one of stopping of the supply of electric power to the heater or disabling of the supply of electric power to the heater.   
     
     
         7 . The aerosol generating system according to  claim 5 ,
 wherein the controller is configured to set the first range and the second range based on the difference, acquired when heating is executed for a first time by the heater, between the temperature of the heater and the temperature of the temperature-variable unit.   
     
     
         8 . The aerosol generating system according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the aerosol generating system further comprises a memory configured to store information, and   wherein the controller is configured to,
 based on control information, control the operation of the heater, the control information defining time-series transition of a target value of a temperature at which the aerosol source is heated, 
 during a sampling period, acquire the difference between the temperature of the heater and the temperature of the temperature-variable unit, and cause the acquired difference to be stored into the memory, the sampling period being a portion of a period for which the time-series transition of the target temperature is defined by the control information, and 
 based on the difference between the temperature of the heater and the temperature of the temperature-variable unit stored in the memory, control the operation of the heater. 
   
     
     
         9 . The aerosol generating system according to  claim 8 ,
 wherein the controller is configured to
 during the sampling period, acquire the difference between the temperature of the heater and the temperature of the temperature-variable unit a plurality of times, and cause a statistic to be stored into the memory, the statistic being a statistic on a plurality of the differences between the temperature of the heater and the temperature of the temperature-variable unit, and 
 based on the statistic on the differences between the temperature of the heater and the temperature of the temperature-variable unit stored in the memory, control the operation of the heater. 
   
     
     
         10 . The aerosol generating system according to  claim 8 ,
 wherein the period for which the time-series transition of the target value is defined by the control information includes, partway through the period, a period during which the temperature of the heater is temporarily dropped,   wherein the controller is configured to, in the period during which the temperature of the heater is temporarily dropped, stop the supply of electric power to the heater, and   wherein the sampling period is a period subsequent to the period during which the temperature of the heater is temporarily dropped.   
     
     
         11 . The aerosol generating system according to  claim 10 ,
 wherein the controller is configured to set the sampling period, based on the first measurement value measured at a start of heating performed by the heater based on the control information.   
     
     
         12 . The aerosol generating system according to  claim 11 ,
 wherein the controller is configured to set a timing of start of the sampling period earlier with increasing temperature of the heater as indicated by the first measurement value at the start of heating performed by the heater based on the control information.   
     
     
         13 . The aerosol generating system according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the heater is a resistance heating element configured to produce heat when subjected to an applied current,   wherein the first measurement value is an electrical resistance of the resistance heating element,   wherein the temperature-variable unit is a resistor configured to change in electrical resistance with a change in temperature, and   wherein the second measurement value is an electrical resistance of the resistor.   
     
     
         14 . The aerosol generating system according to  claim 1 , further comprising
 a substrate containing the aerosol source.   
     
     
         15 . A control method for controlling an aerosol generating system, the aerosol generating system including
 a power supply,   a heater configured to heat an aerosol source by using electric power supplied from the power supply, and   a temperature-variable unit configured to change in temperature following a change in temperature of the heater,   the control method comprising   based on a difference between a temperature of the heater and a temperature of the temperature-variable unit, controlling operation of the heater, the temperature of the heater being indicated by a first measurement value measured as a parameter corresponding to the temperature of the heater, the temperature of the temperature-variable unit being indicated by a second measurement value measured as a parameter corresponding to the temperature of the temperature-variable unit.