Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to articles for use with an aerosol provision system, particularly refillable articles, and apparatuses for refilling a reservoir of an article. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to determining the operational lifetime of an article. Background

Electronic aerosol provision systems, which are often configured as so-called electronic cigarettes, can have a unitary format with all elements of the system in a common housing, or a multi-component format in which elements are distributed between two or more housings which can be coupled together to form the system. A common example of the latter format is a two-component system comprising a device and an article. The device typically contains an electrical power source for the system, such as a battery, and control electronics for operating elements in order to generate aerosol. The article, also referred to by terms including cartridge, cartomiser, consumable and clearomiser, typically contains a storage volume or area for holding a supply of aerosol-generating material from which the aerosol is generated, and in some instances an aerosol generator such as a heater operable to vaporise the aerosol-generating material. A similar three-component system may include a separate mouthpiece that attaches to the article. In many designs, the article is designed to be disposable, in that it is intended to be detached from the device and thrown away when the aerosol-generating material has been consumed. The user obtains a new article which has been prefilled with aerosol-generating material by a manufacturer and attaches it to the device for use. The device, in contrast, is intended to be used with multiple consecutive articles, with a capability to recharge the battery to allow prolonged operation.

While disposable articles, which may be called consumables, are convenient for the user, they may be considered wasteful of natural resources and hence detrimental to the environment. An alternative design of article is therefore known, which is configured to be refilled with aerosol-generating material by the user. This reduces waste, and can reduce the cost of electronic cigarette usage for the user. The aerosol-generating material may be provided in a bottle, for example, from which the user squeezes or drips a quantity of material into the article via a refilling orifice on the article. However, the act of refilling can be awkward and inconvenient, since the items are small and the volume of material involved is typically low. Alignment of the juncture between bottle and article can be difficult, with inaccuracies leading to spillage of the material. This is not only wasteful, but may also be dangerous. Aerosol-generating material frequently contains liquid nicotine, which can be poisonous if it makes contact with the skin.

Therefore, refilling units or devices have been proposed, which are configured to receive a bottle or other reservoir of aerosol-generating material plus a refillable cartridge, and to automate the transfer of the material from the former to the latter. Alternative, improved or enhanced features and designs for such refilling devices are therefore of interest.

Additionally, such refillable cartridges are intended to be used repeatedly in the process of generating aerosol for user inhalation. However, the components making up the article may be prone to degradation or general wear and tear over the course of multiple uses. Using a refillable cartridge which experiences degradation or wear and tear may lead to poor user experiences, and improved or enhanced techniques for determining and/or alerting a user that an article is approaching an operational lifetime are therefore of interest.

Summary

According to a first aspect of certain embodiments there is provided a method for determining when a refillable article comprising an aerosol generator for generating aerosol from aerosol-generating material stored within the refillable article reaches a determined lifetime, the method including: identifying a cumulative operation value based on the cumulative operation of the aerosol generator of the article; comparing the cumulative operation value with a lifetime threshold; determining that the article reaches a determined lifetime when the cumulative operation value equals or surpasses the lifetime threshold, wherein at least one of the cumulative operation value and the lifetime threshold is based, in part, on information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article for generating aerosol from the stored aerosol-generating material.

According to a second aspect of certain embodiments there is provided a refillable article for use with a refilling unit to refill the article with aerosol-generating material, and for use with an aerosol provision device for generating aerosol from the aerosol-generating material for user inhalation, the article including: a storage area for storing aerosol-generating material; an aerosol generator for generating aerosol from the aerosol-generating material; and a data storing element configured to: store a cumulative operation value based on the cumulative operation of the aerosol generator of the article; and store information indicative of user inhalation characteristics when using the article for generating aerosol from the stored aerosol-generating material.

According to a third aspect of certain embodiments there is provided an aerosol provision device for use with an article comprising an aerosol generator, wherein the aerosol provision device includes a power source configured to couple to an aerosol generator of the article when the article is engaged with the aerosol provision device; a controller configured to control operations of the aerosol provision device, wherein the controller is configured to: identify a cumulative operation value based on the cumulative operation of the aerosol generator of the article; compare the cumulative operation value with a lifetime threshold; and determine that the article reaches a determined lifetime when the cumulative operation value equals or surpasses the lifetime threshold, wherein at least one of the cumulative operation value and the lifetime threshold is based, in part, on the information indicative of user inhalation characteristics when using the article for generating aerosol from the stored aerosolgenerating material.

According to a fourth aspect of certain embodiments there is provided refilling unit for refilling an article comprising an aerosol generator for use with an aerosol provision device, wherein the refilling unit includes: an article port for receiving at least a refillable article; an aerosol transfer mechanism for transferring aerosol-generating material to the refillable article received in the article port; and a controller configured to control operations of the refilling unit, wherein the controller is configured to: identify a cumulative operation value based on the cumulative operation of the aerosol generator of the article; compare the cumulative operation value with a lifetime threshold; and determine that the article reaches a determined lifetime when the cumulative operation value equals or surpasses the lifetime threshold, wherein at least one of the cumulative operation value and the lifetime threshold is based, in part, on information indicative of user inhalation characteristics when using the article for generating aerosol from the stored aerosol-generating material.

According to a fifth aspect of certain embodiments there is provided refillable article for use with refilling means to refill the article with aerosol-generating material, and for use with an aerosol provision means for generating aerosol from the aerosol-generating material for user inhalation, the article including: storage means for storing aerosol-generating material; aerosol generator means for generating aerosol from the aerosol-generating material; and data storing means configured to: store a cumulative operation value based on the cumulative operation of the aerosol generator of the article; and store information indicative of user inhalation characteristics when using the article for generating aerosol from the stored aerosolgenerating material.

According to a sixth aspect of certain embodiments there is provided aerosol provision means for use with an article comprising aerosol generator means, wherein the aerosol provision means includes: power means configured to couple to aerosol generator means of the article when the article is engaged with the aerosol provision means; controller means configured to control operations of the aerosol provision means, wherein the controller means is configured to: identify a cumulative operation value based on the cumulative operation of the aerosol generator means of the article; compare the cumulative operation value with a lifetime threshold; and determine that the article reaches a determined lifetime when the cumulative operation value equals or surpasses the lifetime threshold, wherein at least one of the cumulative operation value and the lifetime threshold is based, in part, on information indicative of user inhalation characteristics when using the article for generating aerosol from the stored aerosol-generating material. According to a seventh aspect of certain embodiments there is provided refilling means for refilling an article comprising aerosol generator means for use with aerosol provision means, wherein the refilling means includes: receiving means for receiving at least a refillable article; aerosol transfer means for transferring aerosol-generating material to the refillable article received in the receiving means; and controller means configured to control operations of the refilling means, wherein the controller means is configured to: identify a cumulative operation value based on the cumulative operation of the aerosol generator of the article; compare the cumulative operation value with a lifetime threshold; and determine that the article reaches a determined lifetime when the cumulative operation value equals or surpasses the lifetime threshold, wherein at least one of the cumulative operation value and the lifetime threshold is based, in part, on information indicative of user inhalation characteristics when using the article for generating aerosol from the stored aerosol-generating material.

These and further aspects of the certain embodiments are set out in the appended independent and dependent claims. It will be appreciated that features of the dependent claims may be combined with each other and features of the independent claims in combinations other than those explicitly set out in the claims. Furthermore, the approach described herein is not restricted to specific embodiments such as set out below, but includes and contemplates any appropriate combinations of features presented herein.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Various embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail by way of example only with reference to the following drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a simplified schematic cross-section through an example electronic aerosol provision system to which embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable;

Figure 2 shows a simplified schematic representation of a refilling device in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

Figure 3 shows an example method for using a refilling device to determine when the operational lifetime of an article for use with an aerosol provision device is exceeded, on the basis of information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article, in accordance with first embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 4 shows a simplified schematic representation of the refilling device of Figure 2, further including a data containing element;

Figure 5 shows an example method for using a refilling device to determine when the operational lifetime of an article for use with an aerosol provision device is exceeded, on the basis of information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article, in accordance with second embodiments of the present disclosure; Figure 6 shows an example method for using an aerosol provision system whereby the aerosol provision system is configured to determine whether an article has reached a defined lifetime; and

Figure 7 schematically shows an example method for using an aerosol provision device to determine when the operational lifetime of an article for use with an aerosol provision device is exceeded, on the basis of information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article, in accordance with further embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Aspects and features of certain examples and embodiments are discussed I described herein. Some aspects and features of certain examples and embodiments may be implemented conventionally and these are not discussed I described in detail in the interests of brevity. It will thus be appreciated that aspects and features of apparatus and methods discussed herein which are not described in detail may be implemented in accordance with any conventional techniques for implementing such aspects and features.

As used herein, the terms “system” and “delivery system” are intended to encompass systems that deliver a substance to a user, and include non-combustible aerosol provision systems that release compounds from an aerosol-generating material without combusting the aerosol-generating material, such as electronic cigarettes, tobacco heating products, and hybrid systems to generate aerosol using a combination of aerosol-generating materials, and articles comprising aerosol-generating material and configured to be used within one of these non-combustible aerosol provision systems.

According to the present disclosure, a “non-combustible” aerosol provision system is one where a constituent aerosol-generating material of the aerosol provision system (or component thereof) is not combusted or burned in order to facilitate delivery of at least one substance of the aerosol-generating material to a user. In some embodiments, the delivery system is a non-combustible aerosol provision system, such as a powered non-combustible aerosol provision system. In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision system is an electronic cigarette, also known as a vaping device or electronic nicotine delivery (END) system, although it is noted that the presence of nicotine in the aerosol-generating material is not a requirement. The systems are intended to generate an inhalable aerosol by vaporisation of a substrate (aerosol-generating material) in the form of a liquid or gel which may or may not contain nicotine. In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision system is an aerosol-generating material heating system, also known as a heat-not- burn system. An example of such a system is a tobacco heating system. In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision system is a hybrid system to generate aerosol using a combination of aerosol-generating materials, one or a plurality of which may be heated. Each of the aerosol-generating materials may be, for example, in the form of a solid, liquid or gel and may or may not contain nicotine. In some embodiments, the hybrid system comprises a liquid or gel aerosol generating material and a solid aerosol generating material. The solid aerosol generating material may comprise, for example, tobacco or a nontobacco product.

Typically, the non-combustible aerosol provision system may comprise a noncombustible aerosol provision device and an article (consumable) for use with the noncombustible aerosol provision device. In some embodiments, the disclosure relates to consumables comprising aerosol-generating material and configured to be used with noncombustible aerosol provision devices. These consumables are sometimes referred to as articles throughout the disclosure. However, it is envisaged that articles which themselves comprise a means for powering an aerosol generator or aerosol generating component may themselves form the non-combustible aerosol provision system. In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise a power source and a controller. The power source may, for example, be an electric power source. In some embodiments, the article for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise an aerosolgenerating material, an aerosol-generating component (aerosol generator), an aerosolgenerating area, a mouthpiece, and/or an area for receiving and holding aerosol-generating material.

In some systems the aerosol-generating component or aerosol generator comprises a heater capable of interacting with the aerosol-generating material so as to release one or more volatiles from the aerosol-generating material to form an aerosol. However, the disclosure is not limited in this regard, and applies also to systems that use other approaches to form aerosol, such as a vibrating mesh.

In some embodiments, the article for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise aerosol-generating material or an area for receiving aerosol-generating material. In some embodiments, the article for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise a mouthpiece. The area for receiving aerosol-generating material may be a storage area for storing aerosol-generating material. For example, the storage area may be a reservoir which may store a liquid aerosol-generating material. In some embodiments, the area for receiving aerosol-generating material may be separate from, or combined with, an aerosol generating area (which is an area at which the aerosol is generated). In some embodiments, the article for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise a filter and/or an aerosol-modifying agent through which generated aerosol is passed before being delivered to the user.

As used herein, the term “component” may be used to refer to a part, section, unit, module, assembly or similar of an electronic cigarette or similar device that incorporates several smaller parts or elements, possibly within an exterior housing or wall. An aerosol provision system such as an electronic cigarette may be formed or built from one or more such components, such as an article and a device, and the components may be removably or separably connectable to one another, or may be permanently joined together during manufacture to define the whole system. The present disclosure is applicable to (but not limited to) systems comprising two components separably connectable to one another and configured, for example, as an article in the form of an aerosol-generating material carrying component holding liquid or another aerosol-generating material (alternatively referred to as a cartridge, cartomiser, pod or consumable), and a device having a battery or other power source for providing electrical power to operate an aerosol generating component or aerosol generator for creating vapour/aerosol from the aerosol-generating material. A component may include more or fewer parts than those included in the examples.

In some examples, the present disclosure relates to aerosol provision systems and components thereof that utilise aerosol-generating material in the form of a liquid, gel or a solid which is held in an aerosol-generating material storage area such as a reservoir, tank, container or other receptacle comprised in the system, or absorbed onto a carrier substrate. An arrangement for delivering the aerosol-generating material from the aerosol-generating material storage area for the purpose of providing it to an aerosol generator for vapour I aerosol generation is included. The terms “liquid”, “gel”, “solid”, “fluid”, “source liquid”, “source gel”, “source fluid” and the like may be used interchangeably with terms such as “aerosolgenerating material”, “aerosolisable substrate material” and “substrate material” to refer to material that has a form capable of being stored and delivered in accordance with examples of the present disclosure.

As used herein, “aerosol-generating material” (or “aerosolisable material”) is a material that is capable of generating aerosol, for example when heated, irradiated or energized in any other way. The term “aerosol” may be used interchangeably with “vapour”. Aerosol-generating material may, for example, be in the form of a solid, liquid or gel which may or may not contain an active substance and/or flavourants. In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating material may comprise an “amorphous solid”, which may alternatively be referred to as a “monolithic solid” (i.e. non-fibrous). In some embodiments, the amorphous solid may be a dried gel. The amorphous solid is a solid material that may retain some fluid, such as liquid, within it. In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating material may for example comprise from about 50wt%, 60wt% or 70wt% of amorphous solid, to about 90wt%, 95wt% or 100wt% of amorphous solid. In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating material may comprise one or more active constituents, one or more flavours, one or more aerosol-former materials, and/or one or more other functional materials. The active substance as used herein may be a physiologically active material, which is a material intended to achieve or enhance a physiological response. The active substance may for example be selected from nutraceuticals, nootropics, psychoactives. The active substance may be naturally occurring or synthetically obtained. The active substance may comprise for example nicotine, caffeine, taurine, theine, vitamins such as B6 or B12 or C, melatonin, cannabinoids, or constituents, derivatives, or combinations thereof. The active substance may comprise one or more constituents, derivatives or extracts of tobacco, cannabis or another botanical. As used herein, the terms "flavour" and "flavourant" refer to materials which, where local regulations permit, may be used to create a desired taste, aroma or other somatosensorial sensation in a product for adult consumers. They may include naturally occurring flavour materials, botanicals, extracts of botanicals, synthetically obtained materials, or combinations thereof. The aerosolformer material may comprise one or more constituents capable of forming an aerosol. In some embodiments, the aerosol-former material may comprise one or more of glycerol, propylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, 1 ,3-butylene glycol, erythritol, meso-Erythritol, ethyl vanillate, ethyl laurate, a diethyl suberate, triethyl citrate, triacetin, a diacetin mixture, benzyl benzoate, benzyl phenyl acetate, tributyrin, lauryl acetate, lauric acid, myristic acid, and propylene carbonate. The one or more other functional materials may comprise one or more of pH regulators, colouring agents, preservatives, binders, fillers, stabilizers, and/or antioxidants.

Figure 1 is a highly schematic diagram (not to scale) of an example electronic aerosol/vapour provision system 10, presented for the purpose of showing the relationship between the various parts of a typical system and explaining the general principles of operation. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to a system configured in this way, and features may be modified in accordance with the various alternatives and definitions described above and/or apparent to the skilled person.

The aerosol provision system 10 has a generally elongate shape in this example, extending along a longitudinal axis indicated by a dashed line, and comprises two main components, namely an aerosol provision device 20 (control or power component, section or unit), and an article or consumable 30 (cartridge assembly or section, sometimes referred to as a cartomiser, clearomiser or pod) carrying aerosol-generating material and operable to generate vapour/aerosol. In the following description, the aerosol provision system 10 is configured to generate aerosol from a liquid aerosol-generating material (source liquid), and the foregoing disclosure will explain the principles of the present disclosure using this example. However, the present disclosure is not limited to aerosolising a liquid aerosol-generating material, and features may be modified in accordance with the various alternatives and definitions described above and/or apparent to the skilled person in order to aerosolise different aerosol-generating materials, e.g., solid aerosol-generating materials or gel aerosolgenerating materials as described above. The article 30 includes a reservoir 3 (as an example of an aerosol-generating material storage area) for containing a source liquid from which an aerosol is to be generated, for example containing nicotine. As an example, the source liquid may comprise around 1 % to 3% nicotine and 50% glycerol, with the remainder comprising roughly equal measures of water and propylene glycol, and possibly also comprising other components, such as flavourings. Nicotine-free source liquid may also be used, such as to deliver flavouring. In some embodiments, a solid substrate (not illustrated), such as a portion of tobacco or other flavour imparting element through which vapour generated from the liquid is passed, may also be included.

The reservoir 3 may have the form of a storage tank, being a container or receptacle in which source liquid can be stored such that the liquid is free to move and flow within the confines of the tank. In other examples, the storage area may comprise absorbent material (either inside a tank or similar, or positioned within the outer housing of the article) that substantially holds the aerosol-generating material. For a consumable article, the reservoir 3 may be sealed after filling during manufacture so as to be disposable after the source liquid is consumed. However, the present disclosure is relevant to refillable articles that have an inlet port, orifice or other opening (not shown in Figure 1) through which new source liquid can be added to enable reuse of the article 30.

The article 30 also comprises an aerosol generator 5, which in this example has the form of an electrically powered heating element or heater 4 and an aerosol-generating material transfer element 6 designed to transfer aerosol-generating material from the aerosolgenerating material storage area to the aerosol generator. The heater 4 is located externally of the reservoir 3 and is operable to generate the aerosol by vaporisation of the source liquid by heating. The aerosol-generating material transfer element 6 is a transfer or delivery arrangement configured to deliver aerosol-generating material from the reservoir 3 to the heater 4. In some examples, it may have the form of a wick or other porous element. A wick 6 may have one or more parts located inside the reservoir 3, or otherwise be in fluid communication with liquid in the reservoir 3, so as to be able to absorb source liquid and transfer it by wicking or capillary action to other parts of the wick 6 that are adjacent or in contact with the heater 4. The wick may be formed of any suitable material which can cause wicking of the liquid, such as glass fibres or cotton fibres. This wicked liquid is thereby heated and vaporised, and replacement liquid is drawn, via continuous capillary action, from the reservoir 3 for transfer to the heater 4 by the wick 6. The wick 6 may be thought of as a conduit between the reservoir 3 and the heater 4 that delivers or transfers liquid from the reservoir to the heater. In some implementations, the heater 4 and the aerosol-generating material transfer element 6 are unitary or monolithic, and formed from a same material that is able to be used for both liquid transfer and heating, such as a material which is both porous and conductive. In still other cases, the aerosol-generating material transfer element 6 may operate other than by capillary action, such as by comprising an arrangement of one or more valves by which liquid may exit the reservoir 3 and be passed onto the heater 4.

A heater and wick (or similar) combination, referred to herein as an aerosol generator 5, may sometimes be termed an atomiser or atomiser assembly, and the reservoir with its source liquid plus the atomiser may be collectively referred to as an aerosol source. Various designs are possible, in which the parts may be differently arranged compared with the highly schematic representation of Figure 1 . For example, and as mentioned above, the wick 6 may be an entirely separate element from the heater 4, or the heater 4 may be configured to be porous and able to perform at least part of the wicking function directly (a metallic mesh, for example).

In the present example, the system is an electronic system, and the heater 4 may comprise one or more electrical heating elements that operate by oh mic/resi stive (Joule) heating. The article 30 may comprise electrical contacts (not shown) at an interface of the article 30 which electrically engage to electrical contacts (not shown) at an interface of the aerosol provision device 20. Electrical energy can therefore be transferred to the heater 4 via the electrical contacts from the aerosol provision device 20 to cause heating of the heater 4. In other examples, the heater 4 may be inductively heated, in which case the heater comprises a susceptor in an induction heating arrangement (which may comprise a suitable drive coil, e.g., located in the aerosol provision device 20, and through which an alternating electrical current is passed).

In general, therefore, an aerosol generator in the present context can be considered as one or more elements that implement the functionality of an aerosol-generating element able to generate vapour by heating source liquid (or other aerosol-generating material) delivered to it, and a liquid transport or delivery element able to deliver or transport liquid from a reservoir or similar liquid store to the vapour-generating element by a wicking action I capillary force or otherwise. An aerosol generator is typically housed in an article 30 of an aerosol generating system, as in Figure 1 , but in some examples, at least the heater part may be housed in the device 20. Embodiments of the disclosure are applicable to all and any such configurations which are consistent with the examples and description herein.

Returning to Figure 1 , the article 30 also includes a mouthpiece or mouthpiece portion 35 having an opening or air outlet through which a user may inhale the aerosol generated by the heater 4.

The aerosol provision device 20 includes a power source such as a cell or battery 7 (referred to hereinafter as a battery, and which may or may not be re-chargeable) to provide electrical power for electrical components of the aerosol provision system 10, in particular to operate the heater 4. Additionally, there is control circuitry 8 such as a printed circuit board and/or other electronics or circuitry for generally controlling the aerosol provision system 10. The control circuitry 8 may include a processor programmed with software, which may be modifiable by a user of the system. The control circuitry 8, in one aspect, operates the heater 4 using power from the battery 7 when vapour is required. At this time, the user inhales on the system 10 via the mouthpiece 35, and air A enters through one or more air inlets 9 in the wall of the device 20 (air inlets may alternatively or additionally be located in the article 30). When the heater 4 is operated, it vaporises source liquid delivered from the reservoir 3 by the aerosol-generating material transfer component 6 to generate the aerosol by entrainment of the vapour into the air flowing through the system, and this is then inhaled by the user through the opening in the mouthpiece 35. The aerosol is carried from the aerosol generator 5 to the mouthpiece 35 along one or more air channels (not shown) that connect the air inlets 9 to the aerosol generator 5 to the air outlet when a user inhales on the mouthpiece 35.

More generally, the control circuitry 8 is suitably configured I programmed to control the operation of the aerosol provision system 10 to provide conventional operating functions of the aerosol provision system in line with established techniques for controlling such devices, as well as any specific functionality described as part of the foregoing disclosure. The control circuitry 8 may be considered to logically comprise various sub-units I circuitry elements associated with different aspects of the aerosol provision system’s operation in accordance with the principles described herein and other conventional operating aspects of aerosol provision systems, such as display driving circuitry for systems that may include a user display (such as an screen or indicator) and user input detections via one or more user actuatable controls 12. It will be appreciated that the functionality of the control circuitry 8 can be provided in various different ways, for example using one or more suitably programmed programmable computers and/or one or more suitably configured application-specific integrated circuits I circuitry I chips I chipsets configured to provide the desired functionality.

The device 20 and the article 30 are separate connectable parts detachable from one another by separation in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis, as indicated by the doubleheaded arrows in Figure 1. The components 20, 30 are joined together when the system 10 is in use by cooperating engagement elements 21 , 31 (for example, a screw or bayonet fitting) which provide mechanical and in some cases electrical connectivity between the device 20 and the article 30. Electrical connectivity is required if the heater 4 operates by ohmic heating, so that current can be passed through the heater 4 when it is connected to the battery 5. In systems that use inductive heating, electrical connectivity can be omitted if no parts requiring electrical power are located in the article 30. An inductive work coil I drive coil can be housed in the device 20 and supplied with power from the battery 5, and the article 30 and the device 20 shaped so that when they are connected, there is an appropriate exposure of the heater 4 to flux generated by the coil for the purpose of generating current flow in the material of the heater.

It should be appreciated the Figure 1 design is merely an example arrangement, and the various parts and features may be differently distributed between the device 20 and the article 30, and other components and elements may be included. The two sections may connect together end-to-end in a longitudinal configuration as in Figure 1 , or in a different configuration such as a parallel, side-by-side arrangement. The system may or may not be generally cylindrical and/or have a generally longitudinal shape. Either or both sections or components may be intended to be disposed of and replaced when exhausted, or be intended for multiple uses enabled by actions such as refilling the reservoir and recharging the battery. In other examples, the system 10 may be unitary, in that the parts of the device 20 and the article 30 are comprised in a single housing and cannot be separated. Embodiments and examples of the present disclosure are applicable to any of these configurations and other configurations of which the skilled person will be aware.

The present disclosure relates to the refilling of a storage area for aerosol generating material in an aerosol provision system, whereby a user is enabled to conveniently provide a system with fresh aerosol generating material when a previous stored quantity has been used up. It is proposed that this be done automatically, by provision of apparatus which is termed herein a refilling device, refilling unit, refilling station, or simply dock. The refilling device is configured to receive an aerosol provision system, or more conveniently, the article from an aerosol provision system having a storage area which is empty or only partly full, plus a larger reservoir holding aerosol generating material. A fluid communication flow path is established between the larger reservoir and the storage area, and a controller in the refilling device controls a transfer mechanism (or arrangement) operable to move aerosol-generating material along the flow path from the larger reservoir in the refilling device to the storage area. The transfer mechanism can be activated in response to user input of a refill request to the refilling device, or activation may be automatic in response to a particular state or condition of the refilling device detected by the controller. For example, if both an article and a larger reservoir are correctly positioned inside or otherwise coupled to the refilling unit, refilling may be carried out. Once the storage area is replenished with a desired quantity of aerosol generating material (the storage area is filled or a user specified quantity of material has been transferred to the article, for example), the transfer mechanism is deactivated, and transfer ceases. Alternatively, the transfer mechanism may be configured to automatically dispense a fixed quantity of aerosol generating material in response to activation by the controller, such as fixed quantity matching the capacity of the storage area.

Figure 2 shows a highly schematic representation of an example refilling device. The refilling device is shown in a simplified form only, to illustrate various elements and their relationship to one another. More particular features of one or more of the elements with which the present disclosure is concerned will be described in more detail below.

The refilling device 50 will be referred to hereinafter for convenience as a “dock”. This term is applicable since a reservoir and an article are received or “docked” in the refilling device during use. The dock 50 comprises an outer housing 52. The dock 50 is expected to be useful for refilling of articles in the home or workplace (rather than being a portable device or a commercial device, although these options are not excluded). Therefore, the outer housing, made for example from metal, plastics or glass, may be designed to have a pleasing outward appearance such as to make it suitable for permanent and convenient access, such as on a shelf, desk, table or counter. It may be any size suitable for accommodating the various elements described herein, such as having dimensions between about 10 cm and 20 cm, although smaller or larger sizes may be preferred. Inside the housing 50 are defined two cavities or ports 54, 56.

A first port 54 is shaped and dimensioned to receive and interface with a refill reservoir 40. The first or refill reservoir port 54 is configured to enable an interface between the refill reservoir 40 and the dock 50, so might alternatively be termed a refill reservoir interface. Primarily, the refill reservoir interface is for moving aerosol-generating material out of the refill reservoir 40, but as described below, in some cases the interface may enable additional functions, such as electrical contacts and sensing capabilities for communication between the refill reservoir 40 and the dock 50 and determining characteristics and features of the refill reservoir 40.

The refill reservoir 40 comprises a wall or housing 41 that defines a storage space for holding aerosol-generating material 42. The volume of the storage space is large enough to accommodate many or several times the storage area I reservoir 3 of an article 30 intended to be refilled in the dock 50. A user can therefore purchase a filled reservoir 40 of their preferred aerosol generating material (flavour, strength, brand, etc.), and use it to refill an article 30 multiple times. A user could acquire several reservoirs 40 of different aerosol generating materials, so as to have a convenient choice available when refilling an article. The refill reservoir 40 includes an outlet orifice or opening 44 by which the aerosol generating material 42 can pass out of the refill reservoir 40. The outlet orifice 44 may include any suitable cap, valve, semipermeable membrane, septum, etc. to allow aerosol-generating material to selectively exit the refill reservoir 40 through the orifice 44.

A second port 56 is shaped and dimensioned to receive and interface with an article 30. The second or article port 56 is configured to enable an interface between the article 30 and the dock 50, so might alternatively be termed an article interface. Primarily, the article interface is for receiving aerosol-generating material into the article 30, but in some cases the interface may enable additional functions, such as electrical contacts and sensing capabilities for communication between the article 30 and the dock 50 and determining characteristics and features of the reservoir 30.

The article 30 itself comprises a wall or housing 31 that has within it (but possibly not occupying all the space within the wall 31) a storage area 3 for holding aerosol-generating material. The volume of the storage area 3 is many or several times smaller than the volume of the refill reservoir 40, so that the article 30 can be refilled multiple times from a single refill reservoir 40. The article 30 also includes an inlet orifice or opening 32 by which aerosolgenerating material can enter the storage area 3. The inlet orifice 32 may include any suitable cap, valve, semipermeable membrane, septum, etc. to allow aerosol-generating material to selectively enter the article 30 through the orifice 32. Various other elements may be included with the article 30, as discussed above with regard to Figure 1 .

The housing also accommodates a fluid conduit 58, being a passage or flow path by which the reservoir 40 and the storage area 3 of the article 30 are placed in fluid communication, so that aerosol-generating material can move from the refill reservoir 40 to the article 30 when both the refill reservoir 40 and the article 30 are correctly positioned in the dock 50. Placement of the refill reservoir 40 and the article 30 into the dock 50 locates and engages them such that the fluid conduit 58 is connected between the outlet orifice 44 of the reservoir 40 and the inlet orifice 32 of the article 30. Note that in some examples, all or part of the fluid conduit 58 may be formed by parts of the refill reservoir 40 and the article 30, so that the fluid conduit is created and defined only when the refill reservoir 40 and/or the article 30 are placed in the dock 50. In other cases, the fluid conduit 58 may be a flow path defined within the housing 52 of the dock 50, to each end of which the respective orifices are engaged.

Access to the reservoir port 54 and the article port 56 can be by any convenient means. Apertures may be provided in the housing 52 of the dock 50, through which the refill reservoir 40 and the article 30 can be placed or pushed. The refill reservoir 40 and/or the article 30 may be completely contained within the respective apertures or may partially be contained such that a portion of the refill reservoir 40 and/or the article 30 protrude from the respective ports 54, 56. In some instances, doors or the like may be included to cover the apertures to prevent dust or other contaminants from entering the apertures. When the refill reservoir 40 and/or the article 30 are completely contained in the ports 54, 56, the doors or the like might require to be placed in closed state to allow refilling to take place. Doors, hatches and other hinged coverings, or sliding access elements such as drawers or trays, might include shaped tracks, slots or recesses to receive and hold the refill reservoir 40 or the article 30, which bring the refill reservoir 40 or the article 30 into proper alignment inside the housing 52 when the door, etc. is closed. Alternatively, the housing of the dock 50 may be shaped so as to include recessed portions into which the article 30 or refill reservoir 40 may be inserted. These and other alternatives will be apparent to the skilled person, and do not affect the scope of the present disclosure.

The dock 50 also includes an aerosol generating material transfer mechanism, arrangement, or apparatus 53, operable to move or cause the movement of fluid out of the refill reservoir 40, along the conduit 58 and into the article 30. Various options are contemplated for the transfer mechanism 53, but by way of an example, the transfer mechanism 53 may comprise a fluid pump, such as a peristaltic pump. The peristaltic pump may be arranged to rotate and compress parts of the conduit 58 to force source liquid along the length of the conduit towards the inlet orifice 32 of the article 30 in accordance with the conventional techniques for operating a peristaltic pump. In other implementations, the refill reservoir 40 comprises a collapsible or movable wall (e.g., a plunger) such that the volume of the refill reservoir can be adjusted (reduced) and the aerosol-generating material transfer mechanism 53 comprises a suitable push rod or the like for actuating the collapsible or movable wall of the refill reservoir 40 to supply aerosol-generating material along the conduit 58.

A controller 55 is also included in the dock 50, which is operable to control components of the dock 50, in particular to generate and send control signals to operate the transfer mechanism 53. As noted, this may be in response to a user input, such as actuation of a button or switch (not shown) on the housing 52, or automatically in response to both the refill reservoir 40 and the article 30 being detected as present inside their respective ports 54, 56. The controller 55 may therefore be in communication with contacts and/or sensors (not shown) at the ports 54, 56 in order to obtain data from the ports and/or the refill reservoir 40 and article 30 that can be used in the generation of control signals for operating the transfer mechanism 53. The controller 55 may comprise a microcontroller, a microprocessor, or any configuration of circuitry, hardware, firmware or software as preferred; various options will be apparent to the skilled person.

Finally, the dock 50 includes a power source 57 to provide electrical power for the controller 53, and any other electrical components that may be included in the dock, such as sensors, user inputs such as switches, buttons or touch panels, and, if present, display elements such as light emitting diodes and/or display screens to convey information about the dock’s operation and status to the user. In addition, the transfer mechanism may be electrically powered. Since the dock 50 may be for permanent location in a house or office, the power source 57 may comprise a socket for connection of an electrical mains cable to the dock 50, so that the dock 50 may be “plugged in” to mains electricity. Any suitable electrical converter to convert mains electricity to a suitable operational supply of electricity to the dock 50 may be provided, either on the mains cable or within the dock 50. Alternatively, the power source 57 may comprise one or more batteries, which might be replaceable or rechargeable, and in the latter case the dock 50 may also comprise a socket connection for a charging cable adapted to recharge the battery or batteries while housed in the dock.

As noted above, the fluid conduit 58 is arranged so as to be in fluid communication with the reservoir 40 and the article 30 to allow source liquid to be transferred to the storage area of the article 30. The article 30 is suitably configured to be able to be refilled by the dock 50, e.g., via inlet opening 32. However, the article 30 is arranged so as to, on the one hand, provide a relatively easy engagement between the fluid conduit 58 (or other component(s) linked to the fluid conduit 58) so as to facilitate refilling of the article 30, and on the other hand, is arranged so as to prevent or reduce source liquid exiting the article 30 (for example, when the (full) article 30 is transitioned between the dock 50 and the aerosol provision device after the dock 50 has refilled the article 30 with source liquid).

It should be appreciated that an article 30 may be refilled multiple times via the dock 50, as described above. However, the article 30, which comprises the aerosol generator 5, may not be suitable for being subject to refilling cycles indefinitely. For instance, over time, components of the article 30 may degrade or simply no longer become suitable for their intended use. For example, the performance of the aerosol generator 5 may decrease after a certain number of uses or any seals in the article 30 preventing leakage of source liquid may degrade and/or perish. That is to say, a given article 30 may have a certain operational lifetime beyond which a user’s experience with the article 30 may gradually worsen for the reasons given above.

In order to maintain a user’s satisfaction with the article 30 and I or to potentially avoid situations where the article 30 or components thereof fail during use of the article 30 or provide unsatisfactory performance, it has been proposed to monitor the usage of a given article 30 and determine when the monitored usage reaches an amount which might signify that the article 30 or one or more components thereof may be approaching their expected operational lifetime. By way of example, the usage of the article 30 may be monitored by monitoring the number of times the aerosol generator 5 is activated (which, broadly, may correspond to the number of times the user inhales aerosol generated from the aerosol generator 5). This may be compared to a number of activations of the aerosol generator 5 that the manufacturer of the article 30 may, on average, expect to be achievable before the article 30 (or components thereof) fail or provide an unsatisfactory level of performance.

The present inventors have realised, however, that each user may use articles 30 differently and that a generalised approach to determining the lifetime of an article 30 may not be optimal, thus resulting in some articles 30 being considered to reach their lifetime too early (and therefore resulting in the disposal of articles 30 which could be continued to be used) and some articles 30 being considered to reach their lifetime too late (and therefore increase the risk of components of the article 30 failing or providing a poor level of performance). Accordingly, the present inventors have identified improvements in determining when a refillable article 30 reaches a determined lifetime.

Broadly, the present disclosure provides a method for determining when a refillable article 30 comprising an aerosol generator 5 reaches a determined lifetime. The method includes the step of identifying a cumulative operation value based on the cumulative operation of the aerosol generator 5 of the article 30. The cumulative operation value represents the total cumulative activation of the aerosol generator 5 over the lifetime of the article 30. The method further includes the step of comparing the cumulative operation value for the article 30 with a lifetime threshold for the article 30. The lifetime threshold is an indication, relative to the cumulative operation value, of the expected lifetime for the article 30. Based on the comparison, it is determined that the article 30 reaches a determined lifetime when the cumulative operation value equals or surpasses the lifetime threshold. However, the present disclosure provides that at least one of the cumulative operation value and the lifetime threshold is based, in part, on information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 for generating aerosol from the aerosol-generating material stored in the article 30. That is, when determining whether an article 30 reaches a lifetime threshold, the inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 are taken into account and used to determine either the lifetime threshold or the cumulative operation value for the article 30 (or both).

By way of example, the aerosol generator 5 comprises an electrically powered heater 4 and an aerosol-generating material transfer element such as wick 6, with the wick 6 being configured to supply source liquid from the reservoir 3 to the heater 4 (for vaporisation). The wick 6 maintains a body of source liquid in close proximity to the heater 4 as well as resupplying the body of source liquid with liquid from the reservoir 3 as the heater 4 heats and vaporises the body of source liquid. As source liquid held in the wick 6 is heated, source liquid in the wick 6 is replenished from the reservoir 3 by virtue of the capillary action or the like of the wick 6. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that in such systems there is a rate of vaporisation (that is, the rate at which liquid is vaporised) and a rate of replenishment (that is, the rate at which the wick 6 is capable of replenishing the wick 6 1 wicking from the reservoir 3).

In particular, and without being bound by theory, an article 30 in the moments prior to an aerosol being generated can be viewed as a body of liquid of a certain amount I volume in proximity to the heater 4 (this is assuming the wick 6 has been given enough time since a previous inhalation to fully replenish or saturate). When using the article 30, the rate of vaporisation essentially causes the amount of source liquid stored in the wick 6 to reduce as the source liquid is heated and vaporised from the wick 6 by the heater 4. Conversely, the rate of replenishment essentially causes the source liquid stored in wick 6 to be replenished (e.g., from a reservoir). Mathematically, the instantaneous amount of source liquid held in the wick 6 in e.g., millilitres, Si, for a given inhalation may be expressed as:

Si = So - (Rv - R)At (1) where So is the amount of source liquid held in the wick 6 at or in proximity of the heater 4 e.g., in ml, prior to activation of the heater 4 (i.e. , representing a saturated wick 6), Rv is the rate of vaporisation in e.g., ml per second, RR is the rate of replenishment in e.g., ml per second, and At is the duration for which the heater 4 has been activated for the given inhalation.

Assuming the rate of replenishment, RR, is less than the rate of vaporisation Rv (that is, more liquid is vaporised and removed from the wick 6 than is transported into and along the wick 6 from the reservoir 3), after a certain period of time of activation of the heater 4, the instantaneous amount of liquid in the wick 6 in the proximity of, or at, the heater 4, Si, falls below a certain amount. In this regard, the source liquid in the proximity of, or at, the heater 4 may act effectively as a heat sink and thus help in keeping the temperature of the heater 4 at or below a certain level (i.e., an operating temperature I level). When the amount of source liquid held in the wick 6 at or in the proximity of the heater 4 drops below a certain amount, the temperature of the heater 4 may rise above the normal operating level as the remaining amount of source liquid held in the wick 6 is unable to act as efficiently as a heat sink. (That is, the heater 4 is not cooled as effectively when the amount of liquid held in the wick is low). This means that for a period of time when the source liquid held in the wick 6 is below a certain amount, there is a higher probability that the heater 4 is being driven at a relatively higher temperature than normal. This may be referred to herein as the heater 4 being driven abnormally (i.e., the heater 4 is being driven under non-normal conditions). Running the heater 4 at a higher than normal temperature can have adverse effects on the operational lifetime of the heater 4, essentially shortening the operational lifetime of the heater 4. In some instances, running the heater 4 at a higher than normal temperature may have an adverse effect on other components of the article 30, such as the wick 6 and/or other components such as seals, etc. that are in the vicinity of the heater 4. The precise effect of running the heater 4 at a higher than normal temperature may range from a relatively low effect to a relatively high effect depending on the temperature of the heater 4 and the construction of the article 30.

Different factors may influence the instantaneous amount of source liquid stored in the wick 6, at or, in the proximity of the heater 4. Looking at Equation (1) above, it should be appreciated that the rate of vaporisation R _v , the rate of replenishment RR, and the duration for which the heater 4 is active, At, may all affect the instantaneous amount of source liquid stored in the wick 6. The duration for which the heater is active, At, is in some implementations, a parameter that is almost exclusively controlled by the user. For example, in some implementations, the aerosol provision system 10 may be button actuated whereby the heater 4 is activated while a button, actuated by a user, is depressed and inactive when the button is released. In other implementations, the aerosol provision system 10 may be puff actuated whereby the heater 4 is activated whenever a puff sensor detects the presence of a user’s puff (inhalation) on the system 10. In either of these implementations, the heater 4 is activated proportionally to the duration of user’s inhalation. In other implementations, the aerosol provision system 10 may be arranged to activate the heater 4 for a predetermined duration in response to detecting a button actuation or a puff, whereby the predetermined duration may be a fixed duration or adjustable by a user.

The rate of vaporisation, Rv, may be influenced by factors inherent to the design of the aerosol provision system 10. For example, the size and construction of the heater 4 may contribute to a particular rate of vaporisation. In addition, the properties of the source liquid, e.g., a heat capacity or latent heat of vaporisation, may also contribute to a particular rate of vaporisation. However, other factors which are directly controlled by the user, and in particular relate to the inhalation characteristic of the user, may also affect the rate of vaporisation. For example, the strength or intensity of an inhalation (which may encompass the speed of the airflow and/or the rate of airflow through the system 10) may influence the rate of vaporisation, whereby a stronger inhalation may lead to an increase in vaporisation as relatively more source liquid is pulled towards the heater 4 during a stronger inhalation. In addition, the power that is supplied to the heater 4 for a given inhalation may also affect the rate of vaporisation, whereby a greater power supplied to the heater 4 generally leads to an increase in the rate of vaporisation. In some implementations, the power supplied to the heater 4 for an inhalation may be selectable by a user, while in other implementations, the power supplied to the heater 4 may be fixed.

The rate of replenishment, RR, may also be influenced by factors inherent to the design of the aerosol provision system 10. For example, the size, construction and material of the wick 6 may contribute to a particular rate of replenishment. In addition, the properties of the source liquid, e.g., a viscosity, may also contribute to a particular rate of replenishment. However, other factors which are directly controlled by the user, and in particular relate to the inhalation characteristic of the user, may also affect the rate of replenishment. For example, the strength of an inhalation (which may encompass the speed of the airflow and/or the rate of airflow) may affect the rate of replenishment, whereby a stronger inhalation may lead to an increase in replenishment as relatively more source liquid is pulled along the wick 6 during a stronger inhalation. However, it should be noted that the increase in the rate of replenishment resulting from stronger inhalations may not necessarily be proportional to the increase in the rate of vaporisation.

In respect of Equation (1) above, it should also be appreciated that Equation (1) assumes that the wick 6 is fully replenished between inhalations. That is to say, So is the same for each inhalation. However, the amount of source liquid held in the wick 6 at or in proximity of the heater 4 prior to activation of the heater 4 (i.e. , So) is likely to be dependent on time. Accordingly, the parameter So may depend on the time between activations of the heater 4 or between inhalations. For instance, the wick 6 may take a period of time to fully replenish and, if the heater 4 is activated before the wick fully replenishes, the value So will be correspondingly lower.

In addition, a heater 4 that is cold (i.e., has either not been activated or has had sufficient time to cool since the last activation) may require a period of time to warm up to the operational temperature once the heater 4 is activated. Conversely, a heater 4 that is warm (i.e., has recently been activated and not had a chance to cool) may require a shorter period of time to warm up when activated. In this case, the rate of vaporisation, Rv, may be different for the two different scenarios (or at least may be different over an initial part of an inhalation). Accordingly, it should be appreciated that the time between inhalations I activations of the heater 4 may also have an impact on the instantaneous amount of source liquid stored in the wick 6 at or in the proximity of the heater 4 (either in respect of the value of So or the rate of vaporisation). This is another characteristic which is directly controlled by the user, and in particular relate to the inhalation characteristic of the user.

Hence, it can be seen from the above, that certain factors may influence the instantaneous amount of source liquid stored in the wick 6 at or in the proximity of the heater 4. While some of these factors are inherent to the design of the article 30 or the source liquid contained therein, other factors may be dependent on the user’s use of the device, and in particular, the inhalation characteristics of the user. Accordingly, depending on how the user uses the article 30, and in particular their inhalation characteristics, the amount of source liquid at the heater 4 may differ which, correspondingly, may have an impact on the operational lifetime of the article 30. As noted above, when the instantaneous amount of source liquid is below a certain amount, the heater 4 runs at a higher temperature when activated and thus can have adverse effects on the operational lifetime of the heater 4, essentially shortening the operational lifetime.

Accordingly, the present disclosure describes method(s) and devices which take into consideration information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 to determine either the lifetime threshold or the cumulative operation value for the article 30 (or both). According to some implementations, the refilling dock 50 is configured to take into account the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 to determine a lifetime threshold and/or a cumulative operation value for the article 30.

Figure 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of using the dock 50 to determine a lifetime threshold for the article 30 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

The method starts at step S1. At step S1 , the article 30 is engaged with the dock 50. More specifically, as described above, the article 30 is engaged with the article port 56 of the dock 50 via any of the previously described approaches. The method assumes that the refill reservoir 40 is also coupled to the dock 50, but of course it should be appreciated that the method may also include the step of engaging the refill reservoir 40 with the refill reservoir port 54 of the dock 50 if required.

At step S2, the dock 50 (or rather the controller 55 of the dock 50) is configured to obtain a current lifetime threshold for the article 30.

Figure 4 is based on Figure 2 but schematically depicts an implementation in which the article 30 comprises a data containing element 30a and in which the dock 50 comprises an associated data reader 56a. Like components between Figures 2 and 4 are identified by the same reference numerals and a discussion of these components is omitted here for conciseness (instead the reader is referred to the discussion of these components in conjunction with Figure 2). Only the additional components and differences between Figure 2 and 4 will be discussed herein.

As noted, the article 30 is provided with a data containing element 30a which, in this implementation, is configured to store data corresponding to the article 30. More particularly, the data containing element 30a is configured to store the current lifetime threshold and the cumulative operation value for the article 30.

The data containing element 30a of the article 30 may be any suitable data containing element 30a which is at least capable of storing the aforementioned data and of being read by the associated data reader 56a provided in the dock 50. The data containing element 30a may be an electronically readable memory (such as a microchip or the like) that contains the aforementioned data for the article 30, for example in the form of a numerical value which can be electronically read. The electronically readable memory may be any suitable form of memory, such as electronically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), although other types of suitable memory may be used depending on the application at hand. The electronically readable memory in this implementation is non-volatile, as the article 30 is not continuously coupled to a power source (e.g., the power source 53 located in the dock 50 or the power source 7 located in the device 20). However, in other implementations, the electronically readable memory may be volatile or semi-volatile, in which case the article 30 may require its own power source which may lead to increased costs and increased material wastage when the article 30 is disposed of (e.g., when the article 30 is depleted).

The data containing element 30a may be electronically read by coupling electrical contacts (not shown) on the article 30 with electrical contacts (not shown) in the article port 56. That is, when the article 30 is positioned in the article port 56, an electrical connection is formed between the article 30 and the reader 56a in the article port 56. Application of an electric current from the reader 56a to the data containing element 30a allows the reader 56a to obtain the reference value(s) from the data containing element 30a of the article 30. Alternatively, the data containing element 30a may be electronically read using any suitable wireless technology, such as RFID or NFC, and the article 30 may be provided with suitable hardware (e.g., an antenna) to enable such reading by a suitable wireless reader 56a. The reader 56a is coupled to the controller 55 and is therefore configured to provide the obtained data to the controller 55 of the dock 50.

Referring back to Figure 3, at step S2, the controller 55 of the dock 50 is configured to obtain the current lifetime threshold from the data containing element 30a of the article 30 using the associated reader 56a.

In the present implementations, the current lifetime threshold is indicative of a number of heater activations a user of the article 30 may perform over the course of using the article 30. In some instances, this may alternatively be considered as the number of inhalations a user takes on the article 30, where it is generally presumed that a user inhales on the article 30 when the heater 4 is activated. As will be discussed in detail below, the current lifetime threshold represents a value which may be updated or modified with use of the article 30.

Upon first using an article 30 (e.g., after filling for the first time an empty article 30 or using a prefilled article 30), the current lifetime threshold may be a default value, for example, as set by the manufacturer of the article 30. By way of example, articles containing around 2 ml of source liquid may be expected to provide around 200 inhalations before the source liquid is depleted. In the event that the article 30 is to be refilled, by way of example, 10 times, this provides a default lifetime threshold of around 2000 heater activations for the article 30. That is to say, the current lifetime threshold in this example is the value 2000. Of course, this value is provided merely by way of example and other articles may be expected to provide more or fewer inhalations for a given volume of source liquid and, equally, other articles may be intended to be refilled more or fewer times.

At step S3, the controller 55 of the dock 50 proceeds to obtain the cumulative operation value. The cumulative operation value is stored in the data containing element 30a of the article 30, and thus the dock 50 is configured to read the cumulative operation value from the data containing element 30a using the reader 56a. It should be appreciated that step S3 may be performed at the same time as step S2 (or indeed prior to step S2). In accordance with the present implementation, the cumulative operation value is a value which is based at least in part on the number of activations of the heater 4 that a user of the article 30 has caused to be performed over the course of using the article 30 to the present time. As above, this may alternatively be considered as the number of inhalations the user takes on the article 30. Hence, in the present implementation, whenever a user activates the heater 4, the cumulative operation value is updated to reflect the cumulative usage of the article 30. By way of example, the cumulative operation value may be represented as a counter value configured to count the number of heater activations 4. The cumulative operation value may initially be set at zero and configured to be incremented by a value (e.g., one) each time the heater 4 is activated. The cumulative operation value is therefore a value which is updated I recorded during use of the article 30 (e.g., with the device 20 to generate aerosol for delivery to a user).

At step S4, the controller 55 is configured to perform a comparison between the current lifetime threshold and the cumulative operation value obtained at steps S2 and S3 respectively. More particularly, the controller 55 determines whether the cumulative operation value exceeds the current lifetime threshold. Taking the example above, the controller 55 determines whether the cumulative operation value is equal to or greater than 2000.

If the controller 55 determines that the cumulative operation value exceeds the lifetime threshold (i.e., a YES at step S4), then the controller 55 determines that the article 30 has reached its operational lifetime. In some implementations, at step S5, the dock 50 is configured to prevent refilling of the article 30 when it is determined that the article 30 has reached or surpassed its lifetime threshold. For example, the controller 55 may be configured to prevent the aerosol generating material transfer mechanism 53 from being activated and transferring source liquid from the refill reservoir 40 to the article 30. In some implementations, the dock 50 may be configured to render the article 30 inoperable. For example, this may include writing a value or flag into the data containing element 30a (or in any other control circuitry in the article 30) which may prevent power being supplied to the heater 4. In other examples, the article 30 may include a fuse or the like coupled to the heater 4 and the dock 50 may be configured to cause the fuse to blow (e.g., by passing a high current through the fuse), thus rendering the article 30 inoperable when coupled to a device such as aerosol provision device 20. In some implementations, when it is determined that the lifetime threshold for an article 30 has been surpassed, the dock 50 may provide an indicator (such as an audible, visual, or haptic indicator) to the user to signify that the article 30 has surpassed its lifetime threshold. In any case, at step S5, the user should replace the article 30 with a new article 30 in order to continue generating aerosol for inhalation. Assuming the current threshold lifetime is not surpassed (i.e., NO at step S4), the method proceeds to step S6. At step S6, the dock 50 is configured to obtain information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30.

As noted previously, the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 may relate to one or more of the following characteristics: a duration of inhalation, an average duration of inhalation over a previous number of inhalations, a duration of activation of the aerosol generator (heater 4), an average duration of activation of the aerosol generator (heater 4) over a previous number of inhalations, a strength or intensity of inhalation, and an average strength or intensity of inhalation over a previous number of inhalations.

By way of example, the information indicative of inhalation characteristic of a user when using the article 30 is stored in the data containing element 30a of the article 30. For example, when the article 30 is coupled to the aerosol provision device 20, the relevant information may be stored in the data containing element 30a, for example in the form of a table or in the form of a value in the data containing element 30a. The information may be written by the device 20 or by the article 30 to the data containing element 30a, where the device 20 or article 30 is suitably provided with circuitry (including any sensors if required) capable of monitoring the relevant characteristics as well as writing the information to the data containing element 30a. During use of the aerosol provision system, the device 20 or article 30 is configured to update the information indicative of inhalation characteristics as and when this information is obtained (e.g., after every activation of the heater I detected inhalation). That is to say, the data containing element 30a, during use of the system 10, is updated to reflect the current information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30. Consequently, when the article 30 is transferred to the dock 50 for refilling, the dock 50 is able to obtain the current information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 from the data containing element 30a.

In the case of the duration of inhalation and/or a duration of activation of the aerosol generator (heater 4), this information may be recorded either as a list or sequence of numbers corresponding to the duration (e.g., in seconds) for each inhalation/activation (e.g., 2.0s, 2.1s, 1.5s, etc.), or it may be stored against an identifier for each inhalation/activation (e.g., inhalation #1 , 2.0s, inhalation #2, 2.1s, inhalation #3, 1.5s, etc.). A similar approach may be taken in respect of the strength of an inhalation for each inhalation, whereby the strength of an inhalation may be monitored using a suitable sensor (such as a flow sensor) and recorded in a suitable manner (e.g., in units of ml/s). The strength of an inhalation may represent a maximum strength over the course of an inhalation (e.g., the peak flow rate for the given inhalation) or it may be indicative of characteristics of a given inhalation (e.g., the average flow rate for the given inhalation). In the case of the average duration of inhalation and/or average duration of activation of the aerosol generator (heater 4) over a number of inhalations I activations respectively, this information may be recorded against a certain number of inhalations I activations. For example, the given number of inhalations / activations may be 10 or 20, by way of an example only. As above, this may be recorded as a series of numbers (e.g., 2.0s, 2.1s, 2.3s, etc.) where each number represents an average over 10 or 20 inhalations I activations, or this may be recorded against an identifier for the certain number of activations of inhalations (e.g., inhalation #1 to #10, 2.0s, inhalation #11 to #20, 2.1s, inhalation #21 to #0, 2.3s, etc.). Alternatively, the certain number of inhalations I activations may be the number of activations I inhalations that have occurred over the operational lifetime of the article 30. That is to say, a single value representing the average duration for all the inhalations I activations that have occurred may be stored in the data containing element 30a (and hence updated with each subsequent activation I inhalation). A similar approach may be taken in respect of the strength of an inhalation over a certain number of inhalations.

In addition or alternatively, the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 may relate to one or more of the following characteristics: a time between consecutive inhalations, an average time between consecutive inhalations over a previous number of inhalations, a time between consecutive activations of the aerosol generator (heater 4) and an average time between activation of the aerosol generator (heater 4) over a previous number of activations (heater 4). In a similar manner to as described above, the duration between subsequent inhalations I activations may be recorded in the data containing element 30a of the article 30.

In some implementations, the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user may also be recorded with an associated power level representative of the power supplied to the heater 4 during use of the article 30. This information may be recorded in situations where the user has control over the power level that is supplied to the heater 4, e.g., a power level that is selectable from one of several options. In this case, information indicative of the power level supplied to the heater 4 may be recorded in the data containing element 30a, either against each given inhalation I activation or against given groups of inhalations I activations, or as an average over the operational lifetime of the article 30 (and again, the device 20 and I or article 30 may be provided with circuitry that enables counting of the number of activations / inhalations in order to assist with calculating average values). In such instances where the power supplied to the heater 4 by the device 20 is fixed, the power level need not be separately recorded. (It should also be appreciated that when the aerosol generator is not a heater 4, as in the present example, corresponding information may be recorded which indicates the operational characteristics of the aerosol generator - for example, for a vibrating mesh, the frequency and/or amplitude of the vibrations may be recorded). Accordingly, it should be appreciated that the dock 50 is capable of obtaining information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 for generating aerosol from the stored aerosol-generating material.

At step S7, the dock 50 is configured to determine or set a new lifetime threshold on the basis of the obtained information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30. That is to say, the lifetime threshold is based, in part, on the obtained information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30.

As noted above, the lifetime threshold may represent a number of heater activations (or inhalations) that the manufacturer considers to define a default lifetime for the article 30 (e.g., 2000 heater activations as given above). Based on the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 during the moment preceding refilling using the dock 50, the controller 55 of the dock 50 can determine how the article 30 has been used since the previous refilling operation, or over the course of the operational lifetime of the article 30.

For example, if the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 shows that the user takes very long inhalations (e.g., the duration of inhalation I activation may be say 3 to 4 seconds), then there may be an increased probability that towards the end of the inhalation I activation of the heater 4 the instantaneous amount of liquid held in the wick Si was relatively low, and therefore an increased probability that the heater 4 was being driven at a relatively higher temperature than normal (that is, the heater 4 may have been driven under abnormal conditions at least for the last part of the inhalation(s) I activation(s)). Accordingly, driving the heater 4 under these conditions likely shortened the lifetime of the heater 4 / article 30 as compared to driving the heater 4 under normal conditions. Based on the obtained information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30, the controller 55 is configured to set a shortened lifetime threshold for the article 30. For instance, the controller 55 may decrease the number of heater activations (represented by the lifetime threshold) when the obtained information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article is in a condition which indicates there is an increased probability of the heater 4 being operated abnormally.

By way of example, when the duration (or average duration over a number of inhalations I activations) of inhalation I activation is greater than a threshold (such as 3.5 seconds), the controller 55 is configured to decrease the number of heater activations (represented by the lifetime threshold) as this may be indicative of a greater probability of the heater being driven at a higher temperature than normal (that is, the heater 4 is being driven abnormally). By way of example, when the strength (or average strength over a number of inhalations I activations) of inhalation is greater than a threshold (such as 20 ml/s), the controller 55 is configured to decrease the number of heater activations (represented by the lifetime threshold) as this may be indicative of a greater probability of the heater being driven at a higher temperature than normal (i.e., abnormally). By way of example, when the strength (or average strength over a number of inhalations I activations) of inhalation is greater than a threshold (such as 20 ml/s), the controller 55 is configured to decrease the number of heater activations (represented by the lifetime threshold) as this may be indicative of a greater probability of the heater being driven at a higher temperature than normal (i.e. abnormally). By way of example, when the time between consecutive inhalations I activations (or average time between consecutive inhalations I activations over a number of previous inhalations I activations) of inhalation I activation is less than a threshold (such as 20 seconds), the controller 55 is configured to decrease the number of heater activations (represented by the lifetime threshold) as this may be indicative of a greater probability of the heater being driven at a higher temperature than normal (i.e., abnormally). It should be appreciated that the above is provided by way of example only, and the precise values for the thresholds may vary depending on the specific construction and properties of the aerosol provision system 10. The values for the threshold may be determined empirically or via modelling.

It should be appreciated that the value by which the controller 55 decreases the lifetime threshold may depend on the implementation at hand. For example, when considering each individual inhalation I activation, the controller 55 may decrease the lifetime threshold by e.g., 0.5 or 1 for each inhalation I activation where the relevant threshold is surpassed. For groups of inhalations I activations, the controller 55 may decrease the lifetime threshold by a suitable amount reflective of the number of inhalations I activations in a group (e.g., for a group of ten activations, the amount may be decreased by 10 times 0.5 (i.e., 5) or 10 times 1 (i.e., 10) for each group where the average inhalation duration is below the threshold). For instances where the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user is representative of the average across the lifetime of the article 30, the controller 55 may determine a change of the default value based on the current value of the average. For example, if the controller 55 determines the first time that the article 30 is coupled to the dock 50 for a refilling operation that the average duration for an inhalation is 3.8 seconds, the controller 55 may decrease the default value by e.g., 500. Assuming the article 30 is coupled to the dock 50 at a later time for a subsequent refilling operation, the average duration for an inhalation is now say 4.2 seconds, the dock 50 may decrease the default value by e.g., 700 (to reflect the increased average value).

Broadly speaking, when the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of user indicates at least one of: the duration of an inhalation or the average duration of a plurality of inhalations is above a predetermined threshold; the strength or intensity of an inhalation or the average strength or intensity of a plurality of inhalations is above a predetermined threshold; and the time between consecutive inhalations or the average time between consecutive inhalations for a plurality of inhalations is below a predetermined threshold, the lifetime threshold is decreased (e.g., by the controller 55).

It should also be appreciated that the value by which the controller 55 decreases the lifetime threshold may be different depending on the magnitude of the inhalation characteristic of a user when using the article. The examples described above use a single threshold to determine whether the inhalation characteristics of a user is said to be indicative of an increased probability the heater 4 was being driven abnormally. However, there may instead be multiple thresholds used to assess the inhalation characteristic, with each threshold corresponding to an amount of decrease to be applied by the controller 55. For example, using the above example, the controller 55 may decrease the lifetime threshold by 0.5 or 1 when the duration of inhalation is greater than a first threshold of 3.5 seconds (as above), and the controller 55 may be configured to decrease the threshold by 0.7 or 1.2 when the duration of inhalation is greater than a second threshold of 4.0 seconds. Accordingly, in some implementations, the controller 55 may be configured to vary the lifetime threshold based on the magnitude of the inhalation characteristic of a user. In some implementations, the value of the inhalation characteristic may be considered as representing a high probability that the heater 4 is being driven abnormally (e.g., when the second threshold is surpassed), a medium probability that the heater 4 is being driven abnormally (e.g., when the first threshold is surpassed), or a low to no probability that the heater 4 is being driven abnormally (e.g., below the first threshold). That is to say, the information indicative of the inhalation characteristics of a user may be classified based on the magnitude of the information into classes that show certain probabilities of the heater 4 operating abnormally). However, it should be appreciated that any number of thresholds (and thus any number of categorisation of the magnitude of the information indicative of the user) may be used in other implementations.

Additionally, it should be appreciated that when the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 indicates there is not an increased probability that the heater was being driven abnormally (e.g., using the above example, the duration of inhalation is less than 3.5 seconds representing a low to no probability that the heater 4 was being driven abnormally) , the controller 55 may not decrease the lifetime threshold at all, and instead maintains the lifetime threshold at the previous value.

Broadly speaking, when the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 indicates that there is in an increased probability of the heater 4 being driven abnormally (that is, surpasses one or more of the thresholds mentioned above), the lifetime threshold of the article 30 is reduced by the controller 55.

It should also be understood that the controller 55 may set the new lifetime threshold in other ways based on the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30. For instance, instead of thresholds, the controller 55 may employ an algorithm where the value of the obtained information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article represents a term within the equation I algorithm. Suitable formulas and algorithms for determining the new lifetime threshold of the article 30 on the basis of the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 may be determined empirically or via computer modelling for a given construction of article 30.

It should be understood that the lifetime threshold is adjusted (decreased) in instances where the lifetime of the heater 4 (or article 30 generally) is adversely affected by how the article 30 is being used. As stated above, when the instantaneous amount of aerosolgenerating material in the wick 6 is low or below a certain level, the heater 4 is operated under abnormal conditions and as such its operational lifetime is adversely affected. This is reflected by the controller 55 adjusting the lifetime threshold for the article 30 based on the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30. As such, fewer activations of the heater 4 are required in order for the cumulative operational value to surpass the lifetime threshold.

Once the new lifetime threshold has been set, the controller 55 may be configured to perform a second comparison between the new lifetime threshold determined at step S7 and the cumulative operation value obtained at step S3. More particularly, the controller 55 determines whether the cumulative operation value exceeds the new lifetime threshold. In the event that the cumulative operation value does exceed the new lifetime threshold, i.e., YES at step S8, the method proceeds to step S5 as described above. In the event that the cumulative operation value does not exceed the new lifetime threshold, i.e., NO at step S8, the method may proceed to step S9 where the dock 50 is configured to perform refilling of the article 30 using the approaches described above.

In addition, although not show on Figure 3, the new lifetime threshold determined at step S7 may be set I stored as the current lifetime threshold (for example, the controller 55 may cause the new lifetime threshold to be written to the data containing element 30a of the article 30 overwriting the current lifetime threshold value). When the refilling operation is completed, the user removes the article 30 from the article port 56 and uses the article 30 along with the device 20 as discussed above. The user may then couple the article 30 to the article port 56 sometime later when the user decides to refill the article 30 again, and thus the method proceeds to repeat steps S1 to S9 but using the new lifetime threshold as the current lifetime threshold.

It should be appreciated that Figure 3 includes two comparison steps S4 and S8. However, only one of these steps may be present with the other omitted. For example, step S4 may be omitted such that the cumulative operation value is only compared to the new lifetime threshold at step S8. In this case, step S3 of the method proceeds straight to step S5. Figure 3 illustrates a method in which the dock 50 determines a lifetime threshold for the article 30 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. However, it should be appreciated that alternatively the dock 50 may set or determine the cumulative operation value for the article 30 based on the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30. Figure 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of using the dock 50 to determine the cumulative operation value for the article 30 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Figure 5 will be understood from Figure 3 and includes many identical steps. For conciseness, a discussion of these steps will not be repeated herein and instead the reader is referred to the discussion in respect of Figure 3. Only differences will be described herein.

The method of Figure 5 starts at step S1 and proceeds to steps S2 to S5 or S6 in the same manner as described above with respect to Figure 3. At step S7a, which proceeds step S6, the controller 55 is configured to determine either a new factor for the cumulative operation value of the article 30 or a new cumulative operation value. That is to say, the cumulative operation value is based, in part, on the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30.

As detailed above, the cumulative operation value represents the usage of the article 30 throughout its life to date. The example given above is that the cumulative operation value is a counter which increments by a certain amount each time the heater 4 is activated. The amount that the cumulative operation value is incremented is referred to herein as a “factor” (or it may be more conveniently referred to as a weighting). The default value for the factor may be set to one, such that each activation of the heater 4 increases the cumulative operation value by one. However, the factor may be modified or directly correspond to the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 to more accurately reflect the user’s usage of the article 30. For instance, the controller 55 may increase the factor from 1 to 1.2 when the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 shows there is a greater (or higher) probability of the heater 4 being operated abnormally, e.g., in this case the factor is increased by 0.2. In a similar manner to as discussed above, in some implementations, the controller 55 may increase the factor from 1 to 1.1 when the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 shows there is a medium probability of the heater 4 being operated abnormally, e.g., an increase of 0.1 , and additionally, when the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 shows there is a low to no probability of the heater 4 being operated abnormally, the controller 55 may not alter the factor at all.

Broadly speaking, when the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article indicates there is a greater probability that the heater 4 is being driven abnormally, the factor influencing the cumulative operation value is increased by the controller 55 and subsequently the rate at which the cumulative operation value increases (with subsequent use of the article 30) is increased (i.e., the cumulative operation value increases at a greater rate with each activation of the heater 4). In particular, when the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of user indicates at least one of: the duration of an inhalation or the average duration of a plurality of inhalations is above a predetermined threshold; the strength or intensity of an inhalation or the average strength or intensity of a plurality of inhalations is above a predetermined threshold; and the time between consecutive inhalations or the average time between consecutive inhalations for a plurality of inhalations is below a predetermined threshold, the cumulative operation value is increased or increases at a greater rate.

In this regard, and more generally, the cumulative operation value may be established by firstly determining a parameter indicative of a current individual activation of the heater 4. For example, this may simply be a counter indicating another count of the heater activation, i.e., the parameter may simply be 1. Secondly, the identified parameter is multiplied by the factor determined from the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article. In this case, the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article may indicate a high probability of the heater 4 being driven abnormally which corresponds to a factor of 1.2. Accordingly, the identified parameter, 1 , is multiplied by the factor corresponding to the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article, 1.2, to provide the value of 1.2. Thirdly, the resulting product (i.e., 1.2) is added to a previous cumulative operation value obtained prior to the current individual activation of the heater element 4.

Accordingly, it can be seen that with every activation of the heater 4, the cumulative operation value increases by a greater amount (or essentially at a greater rate) when the factor is increased as a result of the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30. In a similar way as above, the factor affecting the cumulative operation value is adjusted (increased) in instances where the lifetime of the heater 4 (or article 30 generally) is adversely affected by how the article 30 is being used. This is reflected by the controller 55 adjusting the factor that is used to determine the cumulative operation value. As such, it should be understood that fewer activations of the heater 4 are required in order for the cumulative operational value to surpass the lifetime threshold.

In practical terms, at step S7a, the controller 55 can simply determine the factor to be used for subsequent uses of the article 30. For example, up until the time of the first refill of the article 30 (or second if the article 30 is supplied empty and is to be refilled by the dock 50 before use), each activation of the heater 4 may cause the cumulative value to be incremented by one. This may be regardless of whether the user continues to operate the article 30 when the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 indicates the probability of the heater 4 being activated abnormally is high before coupling the article 30 to the refill dock 50. However, assuming the user couples the article 30 to the dock with the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 indicating the probability of the heater 4 being activated abnormally is high, and the method of Figure 5 is performed, for subsequent activations of the heater, each heater activation increments the cumulative operation value by 1.2. In these implementations, the cumulative operation value is not retroactively calculated for historic activations of the heater 4 but instead the new factor for the cumulative operation value is applied to subsequent inhalations.

In these implementations, there is no need to perform a subsequent comparison between the lifetime threshold and the cumulative operation value as the new factor only applies to subsequent activations of the heater 4. Accordingly, in these implementations, the method may proceed directly to step S9 (illustrated by the dashed arrow in Figure 5).

In other implementations, the controller 55 may be configured to retroactively modify the cumulative operation value on the basis of the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 and the new factor determined at step S7a. For example, assuming the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 indicates the probability of the heater 4 being activated abnormally is high, this signifies that the user used the article 30 prior to coupling the article 30 to the refill dock 50 in a way that exposed the heater 4 to abnormal conditions. Depending on what the previous factor was set to, this may suggest that the heater activations between refills of the article 30 have actually contributed a larger amount to the decrease of the lifetime of the article 30 than the obtained cumulative operation value would suggest. For example, if the current factor is set to one, but the article 30 is coupled with information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article indicating the probability of the heater 4 being operated abnormally is high, the cumulative operation value may not necessarily reflect the impact of the user’s usage on the lifetime of the article 30. In order to ascertain whether this is the case, at step S3, the controller 55 may also be configured to obtain a current factor for the cumulative operation value (e.g., which may be stored in the data containing element 30a of the article 30). At step S7a, once the new factor has been calculated, the controller 55 may additionally compare the new factor and the previous factor to determine whether the previous factor had been correctly set. In the event that the factor is not correctly set, the controller 55 may be configured to adjust the cumulative operation value on the basis of the newly determined factor. For example, the controller may be configured to subtract the last X number of activations multiplied by the previous factor from the cumulative operation value and add the X number of activations multiplied by the new factor thereto. E.g., if the previous factor is 1.1 , the obtained cumulative operation value is 1000, and the new factor is 1 .2, the controller may subtract say 200 times 1.1 from 1000 (to give 780) and add thereto 200 times 1.2 (to give 1020). The number of activations “X” may be a fixed amount (which may depend on the value of the new factor - e.g., a new factor of 1.1 may be 100 activations, and a new factor of 1.2 may be 200 activations), or the number of activations “X” may be recorded in the data containing element 30a of the article 30 (e.g., a separate counter may count the number of activations since the last refill operation). Broadly speaking, when the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a userwhen using the article (e.g., as determined at the time when the article 30 is coupled to the dock 50) surpasses a predetermined threshold (e.g., t indicative of the heater 4 being activated abnormally), the cumulative operation value is increased.

Accordingly, it should be appreciated that in some implementations, the controller 55 is capable of retroactively adjusting the cumulative operation value on the basis of the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30. In such cases, the method may proceed from step S7a to step S8a where the controller 55 performs a second comparison and determines whether the new cumulative operation value exceeds the lifetime threshold obtained at step S2. Taking the example above, the controller 55 determines whether the new cumulative operation value (e.g., 1020) is equal to or greater than the lifetime threshold (e.g., 2000). In the event that the new cumulative operation value does exceed the lifetime threshold, i.e., YES at step S8a, the method proceeds to step S5 as described above. In the event that the new cumulative operation value does not exceed the lifetime threshold, i.e., NO at step S8, the method may proceed to step S9 where the dock 50 is configured to perform refilling of the article 30 using the approaches described above.

In addition, although not show on Figure 5, the new factor for the cumulative operation value and/or the new cumulative operation value determined at step S7a may be set I stored as the current factor and/or current cumulative operation value (for example, the controller 55 may cause the new factor or new cumulative operation value to be written to the data containing element 30a of the article 30 overwriting the current factor or cumulative operation value respectively). When the refilling operation is completed, the user removes the article 30 from the article port 56 and uses the article 30 along with the device 20 as discussed above. The user may then couple the article 30 to the article port 56 sometime later when the user decides to refill the article 30 again, and thus the method proceeds to repeat steps S1 to S9 but using the new factor I cumulative operation value as the current factor I cumulative operation value.

Like Figure 3, it should be appreciated that Figure 5 includes two comparison steps S4 and S8a. However, only one of these steps may be present with the other omitted.

Figures 3 and 5 demonstrate two example methods in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure in which one of the lifetime threshold or the cumulative operation value is based on the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a userwhen using the article 30. However, it should be appreciated that one or both of the lifetime threshold and cumulative operation value may be based on the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 depending on the implementation at hand. In the event that only one of the lifetime threshold or cumulative operation value is set based on the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 by the controller 55, the other of the lifetime threshold or cumulative operation value may remain fixed. For example, the factor contributing to the cumulative operation value may remain fixed at one (essentially thereby acting as a counter for counting each activation of the heater 4) while the lifetime threshold may be varied based on the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30. Alternatively, the lifetime threshold may remain fixed at the default threshold (e.g., 2000) while the factor contributing to the cumulative operation value may be varied on the basis of the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30. Equally, both the lifetime threshold and factor contributing to the cumulative operation value may be varied on the basis of the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30.

It is also expected that the article 30 will be refilled several times over the course of its operational lifetime. Accordingly, continually exposing the heater 4 to abnormal conditions will decrease the lifetime of the article 30 - for instance, if the lifetime threshold is decreased by 100 each time the article 30 is coupled to the article port 56, over ten refill operations the lifetime threshold may drop from a default value of 2000 to a value of 1000. Hence, the operational lifetime of the article 30 is more appropriately matched to the user’s usage of the article 30.

It has been described above that the lifetime threshold and/or cumulative operation value are adjusted such that exposing the heater 4 to abnormal conditions decreases the operational lifetime of the article 30. However, the default lifetime threshold and/or factor for the cumulative values may be set such that they increase the operational lifetime of the article 30 when usage of the article 30 is within normal conditions. For instance, the lifetime threshold may be increased from say an initial value of 2000 to a value of 2100 if the user couples the article 30 to the article port 30 when the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article indicates there is a low to no probability that the heater 4 was operated abnormally. Thus different approaches may allow an increase in the operational lifetime and/or a decrease in the operational lifetime, although the default values for the lifetime threshold and the factor for the cumulative value may need to be set differently in the different approaches to ensure that the operational lifetime of the article 30 is appropriately set.

Broadly speaking, in some implementations, when the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of user indicates at least one of: the duration of an inhalation or the average duration of a plurality of inhalations is below a predetermined threshold; the intensity of an inhalation or the average intensity of a plurality of inhalations is below a predetermined threshold; and the time between consecutive inhalations or the average time between consecutive inhalations for a plurality of inhalations is greater than a predetermined threshold, the lifetime threshold is increased (e.g., by the controller 55). Equally, in some implementations, when the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of user indicates at least one of: the duration of an inhalation or the average duration of a plurality of inhalations is below a predetermined threshold; the strength or intensity of an inhalation or the average strength or intensity of a plurality of inhalations is below a predetermined threshold; and the time between consecutive inhalations or the average time between consecutive inhalations for a plurality of inhalations is greater than a predetermined threshold, the cumulative operation value is decreased or decreases at a greater rate.

It has also generally been described above that the data containing element 30a of the article is a memory chip or the like which can store data. However, depending on the precise implementation at hand, the data containing element 30a may be based on other types of suitable data storage mechanisms and, in principle, any element that is able to contain data in a format which can be obtained I read by a suitable reader can be employed in accordance with the present disclosure.

In some implementations, the data containing element 30a may comprise an identifier for identifying the article 30. For example, each article may be provided with a unique identifier. The unique identifier is communicated to the controller 55 of the dock 50 and the dock 50 may be provided with its own memory or storage element for storing the lifetime threshold and/or factor for the cumulative operation value for a number of articles 30. Alternatively, the dock 50 may be provided with the capability to access a database or the like containing the lifetime threshold and/or factor for the cumulative operation value for a number of articles 30 (e.g., the dock 50 may be WiFi enabled and capable of communicating with a server over the internet). Hence, the article 30 itself in some implementations may not comprise the lifetime threshold and factor for the cumulative operational value, and thus the dock 50 may be configured to obtain these from other sources. Equally, any updates to the lifetime threshold and/or factor of the cumulative operation value may be written to the other sources by the dock 50.

Additionally, the cumulative operation value may also not be stored on the article 30. For example, when the article 30 is coupled to the device 20 for use to generate aerosol, the device 20 may be configured to store the cumulative operation value (either as a count of the heater activations or as a weighted count of the heater activations based on the factor). The cumulative operation value may be communicated to the dock 50 via a suitable communications protocol (e.g., WiFi), or the device 20 may communicate the cumulative operation value to a server or the like along with an identifier for the article 30.

Hence, in some implementations, the data containing element 30a of the article 30 may be required to store only an identifier for the article 30. In some implementations, data which is not expected to be updated (e.g., a fixed lifetime threshold or a fixed factor for the cumulative operation value) may also be stored in the data containing element 30a. In instances where the data containing element 30a is intended to be a read-only, then the data containing element 30a may comprise, for example, an optically readable element containing relevant information (such as a bar code or QR code) and the reader 56a of the dock 50 may comprise a suitable optical reader (such as a camera). In this example, the data containing element 30a contains the information in the form of images (e.g., arranged bars or pixels). In another example, the data containing element 30a may comprise a magnetically readable element storing the reference values (such as magnetic tags or strips) and the reader 56a may comprise a suitable magnetic reader (such as a magnetic reading head).

In accordance with the above, the cumulative operation value is a value which tracks or corresponds to the usage of the article 30 in respect of generating aerosol for user inhalation, and as such is a value which is updated when the article 30 is used with a device 20. As discussed above, the cumulative operation value is the product of a parameter indicative of a current individual activation of the aerosol generator (which may simply be a one indicating an activation of the heater 4) with the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 (or more particularly, a factor/weighting indicative of the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30) added to the previous cumulative operation value. This updating of the cumulative operation value may be performed either by suitable circuitry in the article 30 or by suitable circuitry in the aerosol provision device 20.

While the above has described the “parameter indicative of a current activation” as a counter value, it should be appreciated that in other implementations the parameter may encompass other parameters which may indicate a usage of the article 30. For example, in some implementations, the parameter may be a duration for which the heater 4 is activated. In these implementations, the article 30 (or device 20) may comprise circuitry configured to determine the duration of a given heater activation (e.g., as timer value or as a number of clock cycles of a CPU or the like). Accordingly, the cumulative operation value may be a length of time e.g., in seconds, while the parameter may also be a length of time corresponding to the duration of a given heater activation, e.g., also in seconds. In these cases, the parameter (the length of time of the given heater activation) is multiplied by the factor indicative of the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 (e.g., 1 , 1.1 , or 1.2) and the resulting product is added to the previous cumulative value. For example, if the given heater activation is two seconds, and the factor is 1.2, then the product to be added to the previous cumulative value is 2.4 seconds. As before, based on the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article, the cumulative operation value increases at a faster rate with activations of the heater 4, although in this case the duration of the heater activation is also taken into consideration. Correspondingly, it should also be appreciated that the lifetime threshold in such implementations is set accordingly, e.g., the lifetime threshold is a value in seconds, e.g., 4000 (where it might be assumed that at typical inhalation is around two seconds and, as before, there may be 2000 heater activations permitted).

It should be appreciated that the controller 55 may additionally take into consideration the power level when determining the cumulative operation value (or the factor associated therewith) and/or the lifetime threshold. For example, when operating at higher power levels, the various threshold(s) for establishing whether there is a higher probability of the heater 4 being operated abnormally during an inhalation I activation may be changed depending on the power level. For instance, for a duration of inhalation, it may be determined that operating at a power level of 5W (that is 5W are supplied to the heater 4 during an activation I inhalation), a value of 3.5s or greater may be indicative of a greater probability that the heater 4 is being driven abnormally. However, for a power level of 10W, this threshold may be decreased to e.g., a value of 3.0s, whereby an increased power level will likely increase the rate of vaporisation, and therefore mean that the instantaneous liquid held in the wick 6 drops below a certain level much earlier in a puff than when the heater 4 is driven at a higher power level. That is to say, at least one of the cumulative operation value and the lifetime threshold is additionally based on a power supplied to the aerosol generator (heater 4).

Furthermore, in some examples, it should be understood that the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 may be reset after each refilling operation. For example, once the dock 50 determines the lifetime threshold and/or cumulative operation value (or factor thereof) based on the obtained information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article (obtained at step S6 of Figures 3 and 5), assuming the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article is not indicative of the usage over the current lifetime of the article, the dock 50 may reset the data containing element 30a in respect of the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article. This previous information is encoded in the new lifetime threshold and/or cumulative operation value calculated by the method of Figures 3 and 5 and thus, in these implementations, it may not be necessary to retain this information.

Additionally, it should also be appreciated that the foregoing examples have, generally, described the controller 55 determining the lifetime threshold and/or cumulative operation value (or factor associated therewith) on the basis of a one inhalation characteristic (e.g., on the basis of a duration of inhalation exceeding 3.5 seconds). However, it should be appreciated that multiple pieces of information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 may be used by the controller 55 to determine how to set the lifetime threshold and/or cumulative operation value (or factor associated therewith). For example, the controller 55 may assess whether the duration of an inhalation is above a threshold (e.g., of 2.5 seconds) and the time between subsequent inhalations is less than a threshold (e.g., 25 seconds), and if these two conditions are met, the controller 55 may determine there is a high probability that the heater 4 is being operated abnormally, and subsequently adjust the lifetime threshold and/or cumulative operation value. In this example, it can be seen that a combination of lower thresholds for individual characteristics when taken in combination may nonetheless indicate that there is a greater probability of the heater 4 being operated abnormally than what would otherwise have been the case if both characteristics were assessed individually. That is to say, certain combinations of characteristics may also give rise to instances where there is determined to be a greater probability the heater 4 is being driven abnormally. However, this may not be the case in all implementations. Additionally, it should be appreciated that in some implementations, certain combinations of the characteristics may also determine the magnitude to which the lifetime threshold and/or cumulative operation value (or factor thereof) is/are adjusted.

Figures 3 and 5 depict implementations in which the dock 50 is configured to set a lifetime threshold and/or a factor for determining a cumulative operation value for the article 30. In the examples described in Figures 3 and 5, it is the dock 50 that performs the function of comparing the lifetime threshold and the cumulative operation value and making a determination as to whether the cumulative operation value exceeds the lifetime threshold. Subsequently, it is only when the article 30 is coupled to the dock 50 that a determination is made as to whether the article 30 surpasses the lifetime threshold. However, in other implementations, the article 30 and I or device 20 may additionally or alternatively be capable of making this determination as to whether the article 30 surpasses the lifetime threshold.

Figure 6 depicts a method in which the article 30 and I or device 20 is configured to compare the lifetime threshold and the cumulative operation value and make a decision on whether the article 30 exceeds the lifetime threshold.

The method assumes that an article 30 containing at least some aerosol-generating material is coupled to the aerosol provision device 20. The method starts at step S61 where the heater 4 of the article 30 is activated. The heater 4 may be activated in response to a button press on the user actuable controls 12 of the aerosol provision device 20 by supplying power from the power source 7 to the heater 4. In other implementations, power may be supplied to the heater 4 from the power source 7 in response to a signal from an airflow sensor or pressure sensor positioned in the airflow channel of the aerosol provision device 20 and configured to detect airflow through the airflow channel (e.g., in response to a user inhaling on the aerosol provision system 10).

At step S62, circuitry is configured to obtain the current lifetime threshold of the article 30. As discussed above, the current lifetime threshold may be stored in the data containing element 30a of the article 30. The current lifetime threshold may be able to be updated I modified and thus stored in a medium that allows for such an update (e.g., a read-write memory) or the current lifetime threshold may be fixed and thus stored in a medium that only permits reading. Alternatively, the current lifetime threshold may be stored in circuitry in the aerosol provision device 20. The lifetime threshold may be obtained via a remote source such as a server or a dock 50 in response to the device 20 receiving an identifier from the article 30 and requesting such information from the server or dock 50, and subsequently stored locally on the aerosol provision device 20. In other implementations, the aerosol provision device 20 may locally store a lifetime threshold for an identified article 30, with the lifetime threshold being based on a default lifetime threshold for a given article type. The circuitry configured to obtain the current lifetime threshold may be on the article 30 (as part of the data containing element 30a or separate circuitry thereto) or it may be on the device 20 (as part of control circuitry 8).

At step S63, the circuitry obtains a current cumulative operation value and a factor for the cumulative operation value. For example, the current cumulative operation value and/or factor may be stored in the data containing element 30a of the article 30 in a similar way to the current lifetime threshold as discussed above. Alternatively, the current cumulative operation value and/or factor may be stored in circuitry in the aerosol provision device 20. The factor and/or current cumulative operation value may be obtained via a remote source such as a server or dock 50 in response to the device 20 receiving an identifier from the article 30 and requesting such information from the server or dock 50, and subsequently stored locally on the aerosol provision device 20. In other implementations, the aerosol provision device 20 may locally store a cumulative operation threshold and factor for an identified article 30. The circuitry configured to obtain the current cumulative operation value and factor may be on the article 30 (as part of the data containing element 30a or separate circuitry thereto) or it may be on the device 20 (as part of control circuitry 8).

It should be appreciated that step S61 may instead be performed after steps S62 and S63.

The method then proceeds to step S64. At step S64, the circuitry is configured to determine the new cumulative operation value on the basis of the activation of the heater in step S61 . As described above, the parameter indicative of a current activation of the heater 4 may simply be a counter value, e.g., of one. Accordingly, the counter value of one (as the parameter indicative of a current individual activation of the aerosol generator) is multiplied by the factor (which, in some examples, is a numerical indication of the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article but in other examples may just be a default value), and added to the cumulative operation value obtained at step S63 to generate the new cumulative operation value. In this regard, it should be appreciated that, in accordance with the principles discussed so far, either one or both of the lifetime threshold at step S62 and the factor at step S63 are set in dependence on the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30. In particular, when the article 30 is refilled by the dock 50, depending on whether the method of Figure 3 or 5 (or a combination thereof) is followed, the lifetime threshold and the factor are set based on the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 at the time of refilling the article 30. Accordingly, the factor and/or the lifetime threshold are updated based on information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article and stored in a corresponding location (either on the article 30 in the data containing element 30a and/or on a remote server I the dock 50).

At step S65, the circuitry (of the article 30 or device 20) compares the new cumulative operation value at step S64 with the obtained lifetime threshold obtained at step S62. In particular, the circuitry determines whether the new cumulative operation value at step S64 exceeds the obtained lifetime threshold obtained at step S62. Note as above that at least one of the obtained lifetime threshold and the new cumulative operation value is based on the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article.

If at step S65, it is determined that the new cumulative operation value at step S64 does not exceed the obtained lifetime threshold obtained at step S62 (i.e. , NO at step S65), then the article 30 may continue to be used to generate aerosol and the method effectively returns to step S61. However, it should be noted that the new cumulative operation value may replace I overwrite the previous version of the cumulative operation value (e.g., as stored in the circuitry of the article 30 or the device 20). If at step S65 it is determined that the new cumulative operation value at step S64 does exceed the obtained lifetime threshold obtained at step S62 (i.e., YES at step S65), then the circuitry is configured determine that the article 30 has reached an operational lifetime (step S66). The circuitry (or the article 30 and/or device 20) may be configured to prevent power being supplied to the heater 4 once this determination has been made. As discussed in relation to step S5 above, this may involve writing a value or flag into the circuitry of the article 30 and/or device 20 which may prevent power being supplied to the heater 4. In other examples, the article 30 may include a fuse or the like coupled to the heater 4 and the article 30 and I or device 20 may be configured to cause the fuse to blow (e.g., by passing a high current through the fuse), thus rendering the article 30 inoperable for subsequent heater activations when the article 30 is coupled to the (or any) aerosol provision device 20. In some implementations, when it is determined that the lifetime threshold for an article 30 has been surpassed, the device 20 may additionally provide an indicator (such as an audible, visual, or haptic indicator) to the user to signify that the article 30 has surpassed its lifetime threshold (e.g., via a user interface on the aerosol provision device 20). Byway of a concrete example, the article 30 is provided with additional control circuitry (which may include or encompass the data containing element 30a) configured to control the provision of power to the heater 4. For example, the control circuitry of the article 30 is configured to implement step S66 by setting a flag or the like in software activates a switch or the like in the control circuitry to decouple the heater 4 from the power source 7 of the device 20. The control circuitry is also configured to store and update the cumulative operation value, e.g., as a counter value, such that each time power is supplied to the heater 4 from the power source 7 (signifying an activation of the heater 4), the counter value increases by one (i.e., as at step S64). The factor in this implementation is fixed at one, and thus the cumulative operation value is identical to the counter value. Additionally, the control circuitry (or rather the data containing element 30a) stores the lifetime threshold which is obtained from the dock 50 and modified on the basis of the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 prior to a refilling operation performed by the dock 50 (unless the article is sold in a filled stated before engaging with the dock 50, in which case the lifetime threshold is a default value). Accordingly, it should be appreciated that the lifetime threshold is updated each time the article 30 is coupled to the dock 50, and the updated value of the lifetime threshold is subsequently stored in the data containing element 30a. Providing the control circuitry and data containing element 30a on the article 30 enables the article 30 to be engaged with any device 20 I dock 50 and easily maintain the cumulative operational value and other information (e.g., updated lifetime threshold). However, it should be appreciated that the relative cost of the article 30 is increased.

It should be understood that in Figure 6 the article 30 and/or device 20 are responsible for performing the comparison between the lifetime threshold and cumulative operation value. Providing the article 30 and/or the device 20 with the ability to determine whether the lifetime threshold has been exceeded can provide a more accurate and precise determination of when the article 30 exceeds the lifetime threshold. This may help avoid situations where the article 30 may be very close to exceeding the lifetime threshold when it is refilled by the dock 50 (say within ten or so heater activations) but being provided with a potential maximum number of heater activations corresponding to a full reservoir 3 (say 200 or so heater activations). Only allowing the dock 50 to determine when the article 30 exceeds a lifetime threshold may lead to instances where say 190 or so additional heater activations are made before the dock 50 has a chance to determine the lifetime has been exceeded.

It should also be understood that, if the article 30 and/or device 20 are responsible for performing the comparison between the lifetime threshold and cumulative operation value, then such a comparison need not be performed by the dock 50. In other words, steps S4, S8 and S8a may be omitted from the methods of Figures 3 and 5 respectively. However, in some implementations, these steps may be retained to provide a level of redundancy. It should be appreciated that the techniques described above rely on the dock 50 to determine any new or modified lifetime threshold and/or cumulative value (or factor associated therewith). However, in some implementations, the article 30 and I or device 20 is configured to determine the lifetime threshold and/or cumulative value (or factor associated therewith).

Figure 7 is an example method showing the operation of the aerosol provision system 10 whereby the aerosol provision system 10 is able to determine the cumulative operation value (or factor associated therewith) and/or lifetime threshold during use of the article 30.

The method begins at step S81 with the user activating the heater 4 of the article 30 (e.g., through any mechanism previously discussed). Prior to step S81 , it is assumed that the article 30 is coupled to the aerosol provision device 20 and, if appropriate, some determination has been performed to determine that the article 30 is capable of being activated (i.e., the lifetime threshold has not been exceeded). This may be performed by the dock 50, the device 20, and/or article 30.

At step S82, either before, during or after the activation of the heater 4, the control circuitry 8 of the device 20 is configured to obtain the current lifetime threshold. The current lifetime threshold may be communicated to the control circuitry 8 of the device 20 from the data containing element 30a via a suitable reader in the device 20 or from another memory (e.g., local to the device 20 or a remote source). In some examples, the device 20 is configured to obtain a current lifetime threshold from the article 30 or remote source and store the current lifetime threshold in a memory local to the device 20 (e.g., in a memory forming part of the control circuitry 8).

At step S83, either before, during or after the activation of the heater 4, the control circuitry 8 of the device is configured to obtain the cumulative operation value, and if appropriate to do so in accordance with the implementation at hand, the current factor for determining the cumulative operation value. The current cumulative operation value and/or factor may be communicated to the control circuitry 8 of the device 20 from the data containing element 30a via a suitable reader in the device 20 or from another memory (e.g., local to the device 20 or a remote source). In some examples, the device 20 is configured to obtain a current cumulative operation value and/or factor from the article 30 and/or remote source and store the cumulative operation value and/or factor in a memory local to the device 20 (e.g., in a memory forming part of the control circuitry 8).

At step S84, on the basis of a measured parameter associated with the activation of the heater 4 (e.g., a counter value or a duration of the heater activation), the control circuitry 8 is configured to calculate a new cumulative operation value based on the factor and the current cumulative operation value obtained at step S83. As discussed above, this may include adding a product of the parameter indicative of the activation of the heater 4 and the factor to the current cumulative operation value. The new cumulative operation value may be stored in the data containing element 30a of the article 30 (e.g., via a suitable write operation performed by the device 20), or it may be stored locally on the device 20, or stored at a remote server via suitable transmission from the device 20.

At step S85, the control circuitry 8 is configured to determine whether the new cumulative operation value exceeds the current lifetime threshold obtained at step S82. If the determination is that the new cumulative operation value exceeds the current lifetime threshold (i.e., a YES at step S85), the method proceeds to step S86 where the article 30 is determined to reach its lifetime. As described previously, the article 30 may be rendered incapable of further use at step S86, either through a software change to the control circuitry of the article 30 and/or via blowing of a fuse or the like (which may be performed by the aerosol provision device 20). Additionally, an indication (e.g., a haptic, audio or visual indication) may be provided to the user to indicate the article 30 has reached its defined lifetime. If the determination is that the new cumulative operation value does not exceed the current lifetime threshold (i.e., a NO at step S85), the method proceeds to step S87.

At step S87, the control circuitry 8 is configured to obtain or determine the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30. As described above, the control circuitry 8 may be provided with suitable circuitry (e.g., a timer and/or an airflow sensor) which enables the control circuitry 8 to determine the relevant inhalation characteristic (e.g., duration of an inhalation, strength of an inhalation, etc.). The control circuitry 8 is configured either to obtain a previous version of the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article (e.g., from the data containing element 30a of the article 30, or from a remote server) to be stored in a memory of the device 20 and to then update the previous version of the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article with the recently measured inhalation characteristic, or the control circuitry 8 instead may pass the recently measured inhalation characteristic to circuitry of the article 30 where the article 30 stores and updates the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article on the basis of the measured inhalation characteristic.

The method proceeds to step S88 where the control circuitry 8 is configured to determine a new lifetime threshold (on the basis of the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article and the current lifetime threshold obtained at step S82) and/or a new factor (on the basis of the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article and the current factor obtained at step S83). In much the same way as described with respect to the dock 50, the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 determined at step S87 may be used to adjust the lifetime threshold and/or factor for calculating the cumulative operation value. The new lifetime threshold and/or factor may be stored in the data containing element 30a of the article 30 (e.g., via a suitable write operation performed by the device 20), or it may be stored locally on the device 20, or stored at a remote server via suitable transmission from the device 20. Accordingly, the new factor and/or new lifetime threshold are stored as the current factor and/or lifetime threshold and subsequently replace their previously stored versions.

As seen in Figure 7, after step S88 the method proceeds to step S81 and effectively repeats upon a subsequent activation of the heater 4 by the user.

In the method shown in Figure 7, it should be appreciated that the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 at the beginning of a heater activation is taken into account when deciding whether the article 30 has reached a predetermined lifetime. However, it may be that in some other implementations, the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 after a heater activation is what is taken into account. For example, the method of Figure 7 may be modified such that the step S87 and S88 are between steps S83 and S84 (and step S88 proceeds directly to step S84), where step S84 calculates the new cumulative operation value for the current heater activation using the newly determined factor at step S88 and/or step S85 uses the newly determined lifetime threshold at step S88. Equally, the method of Figure 7 may be adapted to have a second comparison step between step S88 and step S81 , whereby the new cumulative operation value is compared to the new lifetime threshold value obtained at step S88 and a determination is made as to whether the article lifetime is reached.

The method above has been described on the basis of the device 20 obtaining information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 and determining the new lifetime threshold and/or factor for the cumulative operation value, in addition to calculating the cumulative operation value. However, it should be appreciated this functionality may be implemented by control circuitry of the article 30.

Figure 7 is also described whereby a determination that the article 30 reaches a lifetime threshold is performed with each activation of the heater 4. Additionally, Figure 7 also describes that the determination of the new factor and/or lifetime threshold is performed after (or before) each activation of the heater 4. However, in other implementations, the determination of whether the article 30 reaches a lifetime threshold and/or the determination of the new lifetime threshold and/or factor may be performed after a number of activations of the heater 4 (e.g., 10 activations) or other predetermined usage criteria (e.g., after 20 seconds of heater activation).

Additionally, in other implementations, the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30 may be obtained with each activation of the heater 4 (or after a predetermined number of heater activations). Suitable control circuitry (in the article 30 and/or device 20) may be configured to obtain an average of the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article over a certain number of heater activations (e.g., after 10 heater activations). During calculation of the new cumulative operation value I factor and I or the lifetime threshold, the control circuitry may use the average inhalation characteristic of a user when using the article obtained over the previous number of activations of the heater.

Accordingly, the present disclosure relates to a method, and associated apparatuses, for determining when a refillable article comprising an aerosol generator for generating aerosol from aerosol-generating material stored within the refillable article reaches a determined lifetime. At least one of a cumulative operation value and a lifetime threshold is based, in part, on information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article for generating aerosol from the stored aerosol-generating material. Taking into account the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article when determining the lifetime threshold or cumulative operation value (or rather a factor used to determine the cumulative operation value) means that how the user has used the article directly influences how the lifetime of the article is determined. More significantly, it is not merely the how often the article is used (i.e., the heater activated) that influences the determination of the lifetime of the article, but rather the determination of the lifetime also takes into consideration what effect activations of the heater under certain operational conditions of the heater may have on the lifetime of the article. Accordingly, the determination of the lifetime of the article more accurately maps how the user is using the article and under what conditions, thereby meaning the point at which the article is determined to meet its determined operational lifetime is more accurate, reducing waste and improving a user’s confidence in the product.

It has been described above that the lifetime threshold and/or the cumulative operation value is based on the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article. Accordingly, it has been described that the dock 50, device 20, or article 30 may determine a new lifetime threshold, cumulative operation value or factor for determining the cumulative operation value. In order to better inform a user, in some implementations, the new lifetime threshold, cumulative operation value and/or factor may be provided to the user, e.g., via a visual display or an audible announcement. The new lifetime threshold, cumulative operation value and/or factor may be provided to the user each and every time they are calculated, or in response to a specific request from the user to be presented with the new lifetime threshold, cumulative operation value and/or factor. For example, the dock 50 may comprise a display which displays the new lifetime threshold, cumulative operation value and/or factor to the user during or after a refill operation. Alternatively, the new lifetime threshold, cumulative operation value and/or factor may be communicated to a remote device (e.g., a smartphone or the like communicatively coupled to the dock 50 and/or device 20) and subsequently displayed on the remote device. The presentation of the new lifetime threshold, cumulative operation value and/or factor may additionally be accompanied by informative messages to help educate the user to maximise the lifetime of the article 30. For example, the message “Consider taking shorter puffs” may be displayed when the article 30 is coupled to the dock 50 and its the duration of an inhalation I average duration of inhalations over a number of inhalations/activations is above the threshold.

In addition, while it has been described above that the lifetime threshold and/or cumulative operation value (or factor thereof) may be set on the basis of the inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article 30, in some implementations, the lifetime threshold and/or cumulative operation value (or factor thereof) may additionally be based on a status of the article 30 indicative of the usage of the article 30 with respect to the amount of aerosol-generating material stored in the article 30. Broadly speaking, the rate of replenishment (RR in Equation 1) may also be influenced by the amount of source liquid held in the reservoir 3 - for example, when there is sufficient source liquid, the wick 6 is able to function optimally; however, when the amount of source liquid in the reservoir is relatively low, the wick 6 may functional less efficiently. Accordingly, when the heater 4 is activated with the source liquid in the reservoir 3 being relatively low, there may be an increased probability of the heater 4 being activated under abnormal conditions. Accordingly, the controller 55 of the dock 50, article 30 and/or device 20 may be configured to identify the status of the article 30. The status of the article 30 is herein considered to represent one or more conditions or criteria that the article 30 fulfils, with these conditions being linked to the amount of aerosol-generating material stored in the article 30. The amount of aerosol generating material stored in the article 30 directly determines the status of the article 30. For instance, if the amount of aerosolgenerating material is above a first threshold (e.g., 0.3 ml), the status of the article 30 indicates the amount of aerosol generating material is at a satisfactory level (herein a “satisfactory” status). If the amount of aerosol-generating material is below the first threshold but above a second threshold (e.g., 0.1 ml), the status of the article 30 indicates the amount of aerosol generating material is at a low level (herein a “low” status). If the amount of aerosol-generating material is below the second threshold (e.g., 0.1 ml), the status of the article 30 indicates the amount of aerosol generating material is at a very low level (herein a “very low” status). It should be appreciated that the status “satisfactory”, “low” and “very low” are chosen to represent amounts of aerosol-generating material that have different effects on the lifetime of the article 30. In other implementations, the status of the article 30 may simply be the measured amount of liquid remaining the article 30. Hence, when determining the lifetime threshold and/or cumulative operation value, the controller 55, or circuitry of the device 20 or article 30 take into consideration the status of the article 30. This may practically manifest as an adjustment of the various threshold values as discussed above in respect of the information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user (for example, the first threshold of 3.5 seconds for the duration of the inhalation given in an earlier example, may be decreased to 3.2 seconds if the status of the article is “very low”), although it should be appreciated that other ways of using the status of the article 30 may be employed by the controller 55 or circuitry of the device 20 and/or article 30. The status may be determined or recorded for each inhalation I heater activation, or it may be recorded upon refilling the article 30 (e.g., the amount of liquid in the reservoir may be determined when the article 30 is coupled to the article port 56 of the dock 50.

Although it has been described above that the refilling device I dock 50 is provided to transfer source liquid from a refill reservoir 40 to an article 30, as discussed, other implementations may use other aerosol-generating materials (such as solids, e.g., tobacco). The principles of the present disclosure apply equally to other types of aerosol-generating material, and suitable refill reservoirs 40 and articles 30 for storing I holding the aerosolgenerating materials, and a suitable transfer mechanism 53, may accordingly be employed by the skilled person for such implementations.

Hence, it has been described a method for determining when a refillable article comprising an aerosol generator for generating aerosol from aerosol-generating material stored within the refillable article reaches a determined lifetime, the method including: identifying a cumulative operation value based on the cumulative operation of the aerosol generator of the article; comparing the cumulative operation value with a lifetime threshold; determining that the article reaches a determined lifetime when the cumulative operation value equals or surpasses the lifetime threshold. At least one of the cumulative operation value and the lifetime threshold is based, in part, on information indicative of inhalation characteristics of a user when using the article for generating aerosol from the stored aerosol-generating material. Also described is a refillable article, an aerosol provision device, and a refilling unit

The various embodiments described herein are presented only to assist in understanding and teaching the claimed features. These embodiments are provided as a representative sample of embodiments only, and are not exhaustive and/or exclusive. It is to be understood that advantages, embodiments, examples, functions, features, structures, and/or other aspects described herein are not to be considered limitations on the scope of the invention as defined by the claims or limitations on equivalents to the claims, and that other embodiments may be utilised and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the claimed invention. Various embodiments of the invention may suitably comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of, appropriate combinations of the disclosed elements, components, features, parts, steps, means, etc., other than those specifically described herein. In addition, this disclosure may include other inventions not presently claimed, but which may be claimed in future.