Aerosol generating device

Abstract

Provided are an aerosol generating device, and a method of performing sensor calibration in an aerosol generating device. The method includes providing a reference current for charging a capacitive sensor in a charging cycle of the capacitive sensor, when the capacitive sensor is fully charged by the reference current from a discharge voltage to a charge voltage, obtaining a counting value corresponding to a time required for the full charging of the capacitive sensor, determining whether the obtained counting value is within a preset normal range including a reference counting value indicating normal, when an aerosol generating article is inserted, and, when it is determined that the obtained counting value deviates from the normal range, performing calibration with respect to sensitivity of the capacitive sensor by adjusting a level of the reference current provided to the capacitive sensor.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of performing sensor calibration in an aerosol generating device, the method comprising:
 providing a reference current for charging a capacitive sensor in a charging cycle of the capacitive sensor;   when the capacitive sensor is fully charged by the reference current from a discharge voltage to a charge voltage, obtaining a counting value corresponding to a time required for the full charging of the capacitive sensor;   determining whether the obtained counting value is within a preset normal range including a reference counting value indicating normal, when an aerosol generating article is inserted; and   when it is determined that the obtained counting value deviates from the normal range, performing calibration with respect to sensitivity of the capacitive sensor by adjusting a level of the reference current provided to the capacitive sensor.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the performing of the calibration comprises adjusting the level of the reference current provided by a current source so that the obtained counting value falls within the normal range. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein
 the normal range includes an upper threshold and a lower threshold,   the upper threshold is set as a value that is a preset percentage greater than the reference counting value, and   the lower threshold is set as a value that is a preset percentage less than the reference counting value.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the upper threshold is set as a value that is less than a threshold value of the counting value for determining that the aerosol generating article is inserted. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the performing of the calibration comprises, when the obtained counting value exceeds the upper threshold, performing the calibration by controlling a current source so that the level of the reference current increases to decrease the counting value. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the performing of the calibration comprises, when the obtained counting value is less than the lower threshold, performing the calibration by controlling the current source so that the level of the reference current decreases to increase the counting value. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the reference counting value is initially set as half a maximum counting value providable by the capacitive sensor. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the performing of the calibration comprises performing the calibration by updating the reference counting value and the normal range in stages by adjusting the level of the reference current in stages. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the performing of the calibration comprises, when the reference current is provided using a single current source, performing the calibration by proportionally or inverse-proportionally adjusting the counting value according to an influence due to adjustment of a current level output by the single current source. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the performing of the calibration comprises, when the reference current is provided using a first current source and a second current source, performing the calibration by proportionally or inverse-proportionally adjusting the counting value according to a gain based on a first current level adjusted by the first current source and adjusting the counting value by an offset based on a second current level adjusted by the second current source. 
     
     
         11 . An aerosol generating device comprising:
 a capacitive sensor that is fully charged from a discharge voltage to a charge voltage during a charge cycle by using a reference current provided by a current source; and   a controller configured to control operation of the aerosol generating device,   wherein the controller is configured to:
 when the capacitive sensor is fully charged, obtain a counting value corresponding to a time taken for the full charging of the capacitive sensor; 
 determine whether the obtained counting value is within a preset normal range including a reference counting value indicating normal, when an aerosol generating article is not inserted; and 
 when it is determined that the obtained counting value deviates from the normal range, perform calibration with respect to sensitivity of the capacitive sensor by adjusting a level of the reference current provided to the capacitive sensor. 
   
     
     
         12 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 11 , wherein the controller is further configured to adjust the level of the reference current provided by the current source so that the obtained counting value falls within the normal range. 
     
     
         13 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 11 , wherein
 the normal range includes an upper threshold and a lower threshold,   the upper threshold is set as a value that is a preset percentage greater than the reference counting value, and   the lower threshold is set as a value that is a preset percentage less than the reference counting value.   
     
     
         14 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 13 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 when the obtained counting value exceeds the upper threshold, control the current source so that the level of the reference current increases to decrease the counting value; and   when the obtained counting value is less than the lower threshold, control the current source so that the level of the reference current decreases to increase the counting value.   
     
     
         15 . The aerosol generating device of  claim 11 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 when the current source is a single current source, perform the calibration by proportionally or inverse-proportionally adjusting the counting value according to an influence due to adjustment of a current level output by the single current source; and   when the current source is a dual current source including a first current source and a second current source, performing the calibration by proportionally or inverse-proportionally adjusting the counting value according to a gain based on a first current level adjusted by the first current source and adjusting the counting value by an offset based on a second current level adjusted by the second current source.