The present disclosure relates to an aerosol provision system, or part thereof, having controller functionality, and a method for performing control functions using an aerosol provision system.

Background

Aerosol provision systems are often small handheld devices that a user typically carries with them in order to have access to the provided aerosol whenever required or desired. While some systems are very simple, more recent systems can include a processor or controller for controlling operation of the system in order to give optimised and adjustable aerosol generation. The controller may include software for this purpose. Accordingly, an aerosol provision system can be readily adaptable for the expansion of its functionality, by modification of the controller and any programming associated with the controller in order to allow the system to perform additional functions. Since the system is likely to be carried regularly by the user or otherwise kept near at hand, functionality relating to typical actions and requirements of the user can be usefully incorporated in an aerosol provision system so as to be easily accessible for the user at any time.

Accordingly, techniques for configuring aerosol provision systems for expanded functionality are of interest.

Summary

According to a first aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a device component for an aerosol generating system, the device component comprising: a speaker operable to emit acoustic signals; a user input element configured to receive a user input corresponding to a control command for controlling an external electronic entity having a microphone; and a controller configured to: generate a drive signal representing the control command for the speaker; and supply the drive signal to the speaker to cause the speaker to emit an acoustic signal carrying the control command for detection by the external electronic entity.

According to a second aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided an aerosol provision system comprising a device component according to the first aspect.

According to a third aspect of some embodiments described herein, there is provided a method of controlling an electronic entity comprising: receiving, via a user input element comprised in an aerosol generating system, a user input corresponding to a control command for controlling the electronic entity; generating in the aerosol generating system a drive signal for a speaker comprised in the aerosol generating system, the drive signal representing the control command; supplying the drive signal to the speaker to cause the speaker to emit an acoustic signal carrying the control command; and detecting the acoustic signal via a microphone comprised in the electronic entity.

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. For example, an aerosol provision system or part thereof, or a related method, may be provided in accordance with approaches described herein which includes any one or more of the various features described below as appropriate.

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 in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

Figure 2 shows a simplified schematic cross-sectional view through a first example of a device component for an aerosol provision system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 3 shows a simplified schematic representation of an example apparatus for carrying out control functions using an aerosol provision system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 4 shows a simplified schematic representation of an example system comprising a plurality of electronic entities able to be controlled using an aerosol provision system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

Figure 5 shows a flow chart of steps in an example method for carrying out a control function using an aerosol provision system according to an embodiment 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 described above, the present disclosure relates to (but is not limited to) aerosol or vapour provision systems, including electronic systems such as e-cigarettes. Throughout the following description the terms “e-cigarette” and “electronic cigarette” may sometimes be used; however, it will be appreciated these terms may be used interchangeably with aerosol (vapour) provision system. 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. Additionally, hybrid systems may comprise a liquid or gel substrate plus a solid substrate which is also heated. The solid substrate may be for example tobacco or other non-tobacco products, which may or may not contain nicotine. The terms “aerosol-generating material” and “aerosolisable material” as used herein are intended to refer to materials which can form an aerosol, either through the application of heat or some other means. The term “aerosol” may be used interchangeably with “vapour”.

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 aerosolisable material without combusting the aerosolisable material, such as electronic cigarettes, tobacco heating products, and hybrid systems to generate aerosol using a combination of aerosolisable materials, and articles comprising aerosolisable material and configured to be used within one of these noncombustible aerosol provision systems. According to the present disclosure, a “noncombustible” aerosol provision system is one where a constituent aerosolisable material of the aerosol provision system (or component thereof) is not combusted or burned in order to facilitate delivery 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 aerosolisable material is not a requirement. In some embodiments, the non-combustible aerosol provision system is a hybrid system to generate aerosol using a combination of aerosolisable materials, one or a plurality of which may be heated. Each of the aerosolisable 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 aerosolisable material and a solid aerosolisable material. The solid aerosolisable material may comprise, for example, tobacco or a non-tobacco product.

Typically, the non-combustible aerosol provision system may comprise a non- combustible aerosol provision device and an article (consumable) for use with the non- combustible aerosol provision device. 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 aerosolisable material, an aerosol generating component (aerosol generator), an aerosol generating area, a mouthpiece, and/or an area for receiving aerosolisable material.

In some systems the aerosol generating component or aerosol generator comprises a heater capable of interacting with the aerosolisable material so as to release one or more volatiles from the aerosolisable 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 aerosolisable material or an area for receiving aerosolisable material. In some embodiments, the article for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise a mouthpiece. The area for receiving aerosolisable material may be a storage area for storing aerosolisable material. For example, the storage area may be a reservoir. In some embodiments, the area for receiving aerosolisable material may be separate from, or combined with, an aerosol generating area.

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 aerosolisable material carrying component holding liquid or another aerosolisable 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 aerosolisable 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 aerosolisable material in the form of a liquid or a gel which is held in a 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 material from the reservoir for the purpose of providing it to an aerosol generator for vapour I aerosol generation is included. The terms “liquid”, “gel”, “fluid”, “source liquid”, “source gel”, “source fluid” and the like may be used interchangeably with terms such as “aerosol-generating 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.

Figure 1 is a highly schematic diagram (not to scale) of a generic example electronic aerosol/vapour provision system such as an e-cigarette 10, in which aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied and which is 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 e-cigarette 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 a 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 or clearomiser) carrying aerosol-generating material and operating to generate vapour/aerosol.

The article 30 includes a storage area such as a reservoir 3 containing a source liquid or other aerosol-generating material comprising a formulation such as liquid or gel 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. A solid substrate (not illustrated), such as a portion of tobacco or other flavour 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. 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; otherwise, it may have an inlet port or other opening through which new source liquid can be added by the user. The article 30 also comprises an aerosol generator 5, comprising in this example an aerosol generating component, which may have the form of an electrically powered heating element or heater 4 and an aerosol-generating material transfer component 6. 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 component 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. This liquid is thereby heated and vaporised, and replacement liquid drawn, via continuous capillary action, from the reservoir 3 for transfer to the heater 4 by the wick 6. The wick 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 designs, the heater 4 and the aerosolgenerating material transfer component 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 component 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). If the system is an electronic system, the heater 4 may comprise one or more electrical heating elements that operate by ohmic/resistive (Joule) heating, although inductive heating may also be used, in which case the heater comprises a susceptor in an induction heating arrangement. In general, therefore, an atomiser or aerosol generator, in the present context, can be considered as one or more elements that implement the functionality of a vapour-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 device 20 includes 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 e-cigarette 10, in particular to operate the heater 4. Additionally, there is a controller 8 such as a printed circuit board and/or other electronics or circuitry for generally controlling the e-cigarette. The controller may include a processor programmed with software, which may be modifiable by a user of the system. The control electronics/circuitry 8 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 controller 8 is suitably configured I programmed to control the operation of the aerosol provision system to provide functionality in accordance with embodiments and examples of the disclosure as described further herein, as well as for providing conventional operating functions of the aerosol provision system in line with established techniques for controlling such devices. The controller 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 lights, and user input detections via one or more user actuable controls 12. It will be appreciated that the functionality of the controller 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 double-headed arrows in Figure 1. The components 20, 30 are joined together when the device 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 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. 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 (the reservoir is empty or the battery is flat, for example), 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.

In accordance with the present disclosure, an aerosol provision system is configured with the capability to enable its use as a remote controller (also remote control, remote control unit, remote control device, etc.) in addition to being configured to generate aerosol. The user will typically carry an aerosol provision system all or most of the time, and will likely have it to hand or nearby when desiring to remotely control another electrical or electronic entity. Accordingly, it is proposed to configure an aerosol provision system to generate and emit control commands for operating one or more external electronic entities for transmission to the one or more external electronic entities. In this way, the user need no longer have multiple remote controllers for various external electronic entities, and the requirement to locate each controller when required can be avoided. Instead, remote control can be achieved using a device that the user will typically already have to hand, and which can be configured to control more than one external electronic entity.

In particular, it is proposed that the aerosol provision system is configured as a remote controller by the use of audio signals, which the aerosol provision system operates to transmit as control commands to one or more external electronic entities equipped with a microphone for receipt and detection of the audio signals. For convenience, a remote controller preferably communicates wirelessly or contactlessly with the controlled entity. An existing widely used medium for the transmission of remote control commands is infrared optical signals. However, optical signal transmission through free space requires a line of sight between the remote controller and the entity being controlled, so the user may have to reposition either themselves or the remote controller to successfully deliver a control command.

Other techniques offer wireless or contactless communication from one electronic entity to another. Near-field-communication (NFC) is a technology standard used, for example, to enable contactless payments. NFC comprises a set of communication protocols to allow communication between two NFC-enabled entities by radio frequencies over very small distances - 4 cm or less. The extreme physical proximity required between the entities is considered to provide good security so the communication channel need not be encrypted. However, this close proximity is of limited use for remote control purposes. Also, appropriate compatibility, software drivers and the like are required for an entity to make use of NFC. An alternative technology for contactless communication is Bluetooth, which is a wireless technology standard by which data can be exchanged between two paired devices over distances up to about 10 m using ultrahigh frequency radio waves. The considerably longer range compared to NFC is more applicable for remote controlling, but means that a variety of channel encryptions are employed to secure Bluetooth communications. The encryption can consume a non-negligible amount of power, so can impact on the battery life of a portable electronic device. The electronic device must also be configured for Bluetooth compatibility to be used in this way, and two devices must be currently in a paired state to communicate via Bluetooth. The various requirements of NFC or Bluetooth would need to be met by an aerosol provision system to use these techniques for remote control functionality.

The use of audio signals instead of NFC or Bluetooth to provide remote controller functionality in an aerosol provision device offers an alternative approach that can be more flexible than the line of sight requirement of infrared, the close proximity needed for NFC, and the pairing requirement of Bluetooth. Audio signal generation and reception is a straightforward technique that can be implemented using simple components which are readily available and inexpensive, and can also be small so as not to occupy too much valuable space in a hand-held portable device. The software needed to operate via audio signal communication can also be simple and compact, thereby not requiring significant storage space in a device’s memory and not requiring much power for execution. This is significant in a portable device where maximum battery lifetime is an important characteristic for the user. The more complex software and operating system compatibility required to enable a device to use NFC or Bluetooth is avoided. For security of the communication channel, which may be of interest in order to prevent remote control of a user’s electronic entities by an unauthorised third party also having an aerosol provision system, an audio signal (or audio transmission channel) can be encrypted in a straightforward manner using, for example, the existing and established encryption method of asymmetric cryptography. This can be compared to the unencrypted communications of NFC, and the more complex encryption techniques required for Bluetooth so that power consumption and associated battery drain can be much less, and compatibility with more detailed encryption is not necessary. The use of a low power approach is attractive for an aerosol provision system, since aerosol generation can consume a relatively large amount of power, and battery capacity is necessarily limited in a portable device.

As discussed above, an aerosol provision system can comprise a device component housing a power supply (battery) and a controller or processor for controlling the system coupled to an article, cartridge or consumable component that contains a supply of aerosolgenerating substrate material which is vaporised to generate the required aerosol. For practical, cost and environmental reasons, longer lifetime parts of the system tend to be housed in the device for multiple uses over a prolonged operating life, while shorter lifetime parts are housed in the consumable which will be replaced regularly. According to the present disclosure, parts relevant for audio signal communication are proposed to be located in the device for long-term usage, and also for improved security. However, this is not a limiting arrangement, and some or all of the parts might be placed in the consumable of a two-part system, or the system might be a one-part design in which the cartridge is not detachable from the device. Hence, the following description showing audio components in the device of an aerosol generating system is an example only and is not limiting; the various parts could be otherwise distributed within an aerosol provision system.

Figure 2 shows a highly schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view through an example device or device component for an aerosol provision system configured for audio signal communication for the purpose of remote control. Note that in this disclosure, the terms “audio” and “acoustic” may be used interchangeably to denote the use of sound and sound waves, with the terms “audio signal” and “acoustic signal” indicating a sound wave deliberately configured to carry specified information (the sound wave is shaped in some way to encode the information) over a specified channel of communication from an acoustic or audio source or transmitter to an acoustic or audio detector or receiver.

In Figure 2, the device 20 comprises, as before in Figure 1 , a housing 20a with a coupling arrangement 21 to allow an article or consumable component to be joined or connected to the device 20 to make a complete aerosol provision system. Inside the housing 20a is a battery 7 and a controller 8 which is configured to control operation of the aerosol generation system, including the supply of power from the battery 7 to electrical components of the system as required. Other elements of the device which may be present but which are not relevant to the present disclosure are omitted for clarity. A memory or data storage element 14 is associated with the controller 8. The memory 14 stores software or other instructions which are executed by the controller in order to operate the aerosol provision system, and also stores various data or information representing values required for the execution of the software, such as power level settings for running a heating element. In some cases these may be pre-set values provided during manufacture for access by the controller when required. In other cases, the data may be input by a user of the device in order to customise or personalise the system. Such data may be input directly into the device via a user input interface or element (not shown) such as a touch screen, or may be transferred to the device from an external device such as a computer or a smartphone via a wired or wireless communications connection (the device being enabled with appropriate connectivity, also not shown). In particular according to the present disclosure, the memory stores control data 15 representing and/or associated with at least one control command for at least one external electronic entity.

The device also includes a speaker 16, which is operable in the usual manner to emit acoustic signals 22 when provided by the controller 8 with appropriate electrical drive signals via control lines 18. A speaker is a passive electrical element which is operated by drive signals alone, without requiring an additional power supply. Hence, it is a useful component for enabling an aerosol provision system, in which it is generally desirable to conserve battery power where possible, to emit communication signals. Depending on the amplitude (volume) and frequency of the acoustic signals which are emitted, the speaker 16 may be mounted behind a suitable aperture or window (not shown) in the housing 20a in order that the material of the housing does not attenuate the acoustic signal. In other cases, the acoustic signal 22 will be strong enough to transmit through the housing 20a so that no window is required; this simplifies construction and protects the speaker 22 from physical damage. The speaker 22 can be located wherever is convenient within the housing 20a, but usefully some consideration is given to location such that a user holding the device is less likely to block the emitted acoustic signal 22 with their hand, and the acoustic signal 22 is likely to be emitted in a direction towards a receiver (microphone) in an external electronic entity.

The drive signal for the speaker 16 is generated by the controller 8, where the drive signal is a conventional electrical signal for driving a speaker, comprising a voltage/current applied to the speaker in order to move a diaphragm in the speaker and cause sound waves to be emitted. The controller 8 takes the control data 15 stored in the memory 14 and uses it to generate a drive signal that represents a control command for an external electronic entity, so that when driven by the drive signal, the speaker 16 emits a varying acoustic signal in which the control command is embedded, encoded or otherwise carried, and from which the control command can be determined or extracted by an appropriately configured receiving entity, in this case the external electronic entity to which the control command relates. The acoustic signal 22 therefore carries the control command, and enables the control command to be transmitted from the aerosol generating system to the external electronic entity.

The control command can be encoded or embedded into the drive signal and hence the acoustic signal in any way. Amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, or a combination of the two may be used, so that the acoustic signal varies in volume and/or pitch in a way which reflects the embedded control command. Also, the overall frequency range can be selected as preferred, for example in order to make the acoustic signal more or less perceptible to human listeners. For example, a frequency or frequencies in a range audible to humans, generally defined as 20 Hz to 20 kHz, might be used. Use of audible frequencies, particularly towards the mid-part of this range (for example 200 Hz to 2 kHz) allows the user to perceive that a control command has been transmitted. However, in a non-quiet environment, additional audible audio signals might be deemed undesirable or obtrusive, or go unheard anyway so that audibility is not of interest. For example if the external electronic entity is a radio, a television, a sound system or an entertainment system, sound being emitted by the entity may mask an audible audio signal from human hearing. Accordingly, the acoustic signal can be pitched in a non-audible frequency range, such as below 20 Hz (infrasonic frequencies or infrasound) or above 20 kHz (ultrasonic frequencies or ultrasound). The control commands themselves may take any form which is able to be understood, recognised or identified by the external electronic entity, for example in line with existing approaches to remote controlling. A binary or non-binary sequence or string of numbers or other characters might be used, for example. The sequence might be considered to be a code for example. Different codes or sequences can be used for different commands such as “on”, “off’, “volume/temperature/speed up”, “volume/temperature/speed down”, “play”, “pause”, “record”, “switch channel/programme”, “start”, “stop” and the like. If more than one electronic entity is to be controlled using a single aerosol provision system (so that the system is operable as a so-called “universal” remote control), a different set or group of commands can be allocated to each electronic entity, so that any of the electronic entities is able to distinguish its own commands from those intended for other of the electronic entities. Methods for distinguishing commands are discussed in more detail below.

Regardless of the content and format of the control commands, to achieve conversion of the control commands into acoustic signals able to carry the control commands, a suitable acoustic coding scheme is provided, based on, for example, frequency or amplitude modulation as discussed above. The scheme is applied to embed a control command into a drive signal for operating the speaker 16. Each external electronic entity to be controlled is provided with the scheme details in order that it is able to extract the control command from a received acoustic signal.

As noted, encryption may be applied so that a transmitted acoustic signal cannot be easily read if it is intercepted en route to an external electronic entity. In a private domestic environment, such security may be deemed unnecessary, but in some situations it may be relevant to protect control commands sent as acoustic signals to hamper unauthorised control of electronic entities. The known technique of asymmetric cryptography is suitable for encrypting acoustic signals, and is attractive as being established and straightforward, and hence not creating a computation burden and resulting drain of battery power. Other encryption approaches may be used as preferred, however. The controller in the aerosol provision system uses a key for the encryption which is known to or derivable/obtainable by the external electronic entity, so that received acoustic signals can be decrypted. The encryption can be applied to the original control command, so that an encrypted version of the control command is then encoded, converted or translated into the drive signal and resulting acoustic signal. Alternatively, the encryption may be applied to the drive signal after it has been generated to reflect the unencrypted control command. Either approach may be used as is considered convenient or practical, or most secure. For example, if an encryption scheme with a constantly updated key is employed, encryption of the drive signal may be preferred since this allows a pre-generated and stored version of the drive signal to be retrieved from memory and then encrypted using the current key each time a control command is transmitted. For an evolving key arrangement, the controller may be provided with new keys via software updates, or may be provided with software by which it creates the new keys as required. Any convenient encryption scheme may be used to protect the control commands if desired; the skilled person will be able to implement a suitable technique.

Figure 3 shows a schematic representation of an overall arrangement for performing remote control using an aerosol provision system configured as described herein. The arrangement comprises an aerosol provision system 10 configured for transmission of an audio signal, and an external electronic entity 40.

The electronic entity 40 may be any type of electronic entity which a user may wish to control remotely, in other words, to operate without a requirement to physically interact with any user-actuable controls such as switches, buttons or touch screens on the electronic entity. Examples of such electronic entities include, but are not limited to, a television, an audio system, a radio, a lamp, a lighting system, a computing device, a heating appliance, a heating system, a washing machine, a dishwasher, an oven, a hob, a refrigerator, a microwave oven, or an entertainment system. The electronic entity 40 may include a display screen 42 for presenting information relating to its operational status to the user. This can allow the user to see which operational parameters are available for controlling remotely, or to see that a remotely transmitted control command from the aerosol provision system has been received and implemented by the electronic entity 40, in other words that the operational status has changed following receipt of a control command delivered as an acoustic signal. Also, the electronic entity 40 comprises an acoustic receiver or sensor 44 (typically a microphone) which is able to detect the acoustic signal 22 emitted by the aerosol provision system 10. The electronic entity 40 includes a processor or controller (not shown) configured to process a received and detected acoustic signal 22. This includes decryption, decoding and/or other handling of the acoustic signal 22 (as output by the microphone 44 in the form of an electrical signal representing the acoustic signal 22, in the usual manner) in order to extract the control command. The controller can then update or alter the operational status of the electronic entity in accordance with the control command.

The aerosol provision system 10, in addition to comprising a speaker for emitting acoustic signals and a controller for driving the speaker appropriately to emit acoustic signals that carry control commands as described above with regard to Figure 2, comprises a user input element 12. The user input element 12 is configured to enable a user to interact with the aerosol provision system 10 in order to input instructions for the transmission of control commands from the speaker. The user input element can take any form which is suitable for the type and amount of control commands which the aerosol provision system 10 is able to transmit. For example, one or more buttons or switches may be sufficient for remote control of just one or a few electronic entities that lack operational complexity so that a minimal number of control commands is adequate, such as “on” and “off” only. More complex arrangements may encompass the remote control of multiple electronic entities, and/or the control of electronic entities with many operational status options or possible parameters. In this case, the total number of control commands required may be relatively large so that a detailed user input element may be required to allow the various controls to be selected. An example user input element suitable in such as situation (but which can also be used for simpler remote control scenarios) is a touch screen, which can display multiple touch-sensitive icons or buttons organised in different pages or menus and corresponding to the various control commands. The user input element may combine two or more different types of element in order to offer easier access to multiple control commands. For example, a dial might allow selection of a particular electronic entity from a group able to be controlled using the aerosol provision system, while a switch or touch screen allows the input of one or more control commands applicable to the selection electronic entity. Other options for the user input element which will be apparent to the skilled person may be used as preferred. For instance, another alternative is a voice input, if the aerosol provision system is provided with a microphone to detect the user’s voice, and voice recognition software to determine the content of voice inputs. The user input element 12 may be a multi-function user input element configured additionally for other user input interactions with the aerosol provision system 10, relating to aerosol generation, for example. Alternatively, a separate user input elements may be provided dedicated to the remote control functionality.

Operation of the system will now be discussed. When a user wishes to remotely control the electronic entity 40, they bring the aerosol provision system 10 within a suitable range of the electronic entity 40 appropriate for successful reception of an audio signal. Typically, this might in a same room, or with a separation of 10 m or less, or 5 m or less. A volume or intensity of the acoustic signal can be selected having regard to anticipated distances over which detection of the acoustic signal is required. The user operates the user input element 12 to input an instruction or request for a control command for the electronic entity 40; this may include selecting a particular control command out of several available for the electronic entity 40. The user input element 12 notifies the controller 8 of the aerosol provision system 10 that a user input corresponding to a particular control command has been received. The controller 8 uses the relevant control data 15 in the data storage 14 which is associated with or represents that control command to generate a drive signal for the speaker, where the drive signal represents or corresponds with the control command according to the chosen acoustic coding scheme. The controller 8 then supplies the drive signal to the speaker 16, which causes the speaker 16 to emit an acoustic signal 22 which carries the control command.

Provided the electronic entity 40 is within a suitable range of the aerosol provision system 10, the acoustic signal 22 is received at and detected by the microphone 44 in the electronic entity. The controller of the electronic entity 40 processes the electrical output of the microphone to extract the control command, and modify, adjust, alter or set the operation of the electronic entity in accordance with the content of the control command, as discussed above.

The control data 15 stored in the data storage 14 may take various forms, with the controller 8 configured appropriately to handle or process the control data 15 in order to generate a drive signal carrying the required control command.

In one example, the control data may comprise, for each control command, data representing the control command itself, either directly being the control command (a code, string or sequence of characters, for example), or being data from which the controller derives the control command using rules or an algorithm, for example. The controller is configured to generate a drive signal in response to receiving a user input for a particular control command by extracting from the data storage 14 the part of the control data 15 corresponding to that control command, deriving the control command from the extracted data if necessary, otherwise taking the extracted data directly if it is the control command, and converting the control command into a drive signal using the chosen acoustic coding scheme. This approaches requires some computation, with associated power consumption, but does allow other information to be included in the drive signal and the acoustic signal if and when required.

In another example, the control data may comprise a speaker drive signal for each of the control commands. This avoids the requirement for creating a drive signal each time a user inputs a request for a control command. In this case, the controller is configured to generate a drive signal in response to receiving a user input for a particular control command by extracting from the data storage 14 the part of the control data 15 which is the drive signal in which that control command is embedded or carried. The controller can then pass the retrieved drive signal straight to the speaker for emission of the acoustic signal. In this way any drive signal is immediately available for use when it is required, and the controller can save power that would otherwise be consumed to compute the drive signals.

The control data, whichever form it takes, may be provided to the device for storage in any way, as preferred. For example it might be installed on manufacture of the device, if it is known in advance which electronic entities are going to be remotely controllable by the aerosol provision system. Control commands for many compatible electronic entities might be included, so aerosol provision system is configured for use with a wide range of electronic entities, only one or some of which a user might have. More conveniently, the control data relevant to a particular electronic entity can be delivered to the device in order to set it up or configure it to control that particular electronic entity at the behest of the user, for example by the user requesting the control data via a website, an app, or by email, text message or telephone call. The control data can be downloaded to the device from a remote server, local server or terminal, or other electronic entity of the user such as a mobile telephone via any communication arrangement for which the aerosol provision system is configured, wired or wireless (for example, Ethernet, USB, Wi-Fi, mobile telecommunications). As another example, the aerosol provision system may be configured to receive acoustic signals in addition to transmitting acoustic signals. In this case, the acoustic signal itself may be broadcast from an external device (such as a mobile telephone which is inherently configured with a speaker of its own), detected by the aerosol provision system and converted back to the control data for storage and future use when control commands are requested by the user.

In order to improve the acoustic communication between the aerosol provision system and the external electronic entity it is intended to remotely control, various approaches may be adopted. These can aid the electronic entity in picking control signals from other detected sounds, and simplify the control of multiple electronic entities, for instance.

In one example, an external electronic entity may have an acoustic frequency or frequency range associated with it, at which its control commands are broadcast. The controller of the external electronic entity may be configured to listen for incoming audio signals at that frequency and disregard anything at other frequencies, for example. The same effect may be achieved by audio filtering, so that the controller only receives signals from the microphone which are at or near the relevant frequency. The filtering might be provided with electronic filtering components, or by software in the controller. To implement this, the aerosol provision system is configured to generate drive signals that carry control commands for the electronic entity using an acoustic coding scheme that produces acoustic signals at the associated frequency or frequency range. The electronic entity receives the acoustic signal, recognises that it is at the expected frequency or frequency range, and implements the carried control command to alter its operational state.

This arrangement can be extended to accommodate multiple electronic entities for remote control. Each of two or more electronic entity for which the aerosol provision system is intended to remotely control has a different frequency or frequency range associated with it. When the user inputs a request for a control command, the controller of the aerosol provision system determines which of the two or more electronic entities the control command is for, and generates the relevant drive signal to carry that control command using an acoustic coding scheme that produces acoustic signals at the frequency or frequency range that is associated with the determined electronic entity. The relevant electronic entity receives the acoustic signal, recognises that it is at the expected frequency or frequency range and implements the control command to alter its operational state. Others of the two or more electronic entities which receive the acoustic signal will determine that the acoustic signal is not at their own associated frequency or frequency range, and disregard it

Under this approach, it can be possible to reduce the total number of different control commands. The same control command, i.e. the same code, string or sequence, can be allocated to multiple electronic entities for the same operation, such as “on” or “off”, and broadcast at different frequencies to communicate with the different electronic entities. Hence, acoustic frequency is used to differentiate between a plurality of electronic entities.

In another example, an external electronic entity may have an encryption key or other encrypting or encoding scheme or rule associated with it, which is used to broadcast its control commands. The controller of the external electronic entity is configured to identify incoming audio signals with the relevant encryption and disregard anything with other encryptions, for example since it will not be able to decrypt audio signals/control commands with the incorrect encryption. To implement this, the aerosol provision system is provided with the encryption key associated with the electronic entity and is configured to generate drive signals that carry control commands for the electronic entity using that encryption key. The key might be used to encrypt the control command itself, or the drive signal carrying the control command, for example. The electronic entity also holds the encryption key, uses it to decrypt the received acoustic signal, and implements the carried control command to alter its operational state. This is intended to include any appropriate encryption arrangement, such that “key” includes schemes where both parties use the same key, and schemes where the parties use different paired keys.

This arrangement can be extended to accommodate multiple electronic entities for remote control. Each of two or more electronic entities for which the aerosol provision system is intended to remotely control has a different encryption key associated with it, and the aerosol provision system is provided with all the different keys, allocated to the carious electronic entities. When the user inputs a request for a control command, the controller of the aerosol provision system determines which of the two or more electronic entities the control command is for, and generates the relevant drive signal using the key that is associated with the determined electronic entity. The relevant electronic entity receives the acoustic signal, uses its own version or copy of its associated key to decrypt the control command, and implements the control command to alter its operational state. Others of the two or more electronic entities which receive the acoustic signal will be unable to decrypt or decode the control command because they do not hold the correct key, and will disregard it.

Under this approach, it can be possible to reduce the total number of different control commands. The same control command, i.e. the same code, string or sequence, can be allocated to multiple electronic entities for the same operation, such as “on” or “off”, and encrypted using different keys to communicate with the different electronic entities. Hence, encryption is used to differentiate between a plurality of electronic entities.

In a further example, the external electronic entity may have an identifier or identifying data or information associated with it, such as a unique code, string or character sequence, which is included in its control commands. The controller of the external electronic entity may be configured to look for the identifier in incoming audio signals and disregard anything which does not contain or include the identifier, for example. To implement this, the aerosol provision system is provided with the identifier associated with the electronic entity, and configured to generate drive signals that carry control commands for that electronic entity from data that includes both the identifier and the control command. The control command and the identifier may be combined together on demand when a control command is requested, so the control data comprises the identifier plus each control command Alternatively, the control data may comprise each control command already combined with the identifier. The identifier may be combined with a control command by being added to the front of the control command as a header, for example, although other combining techniques are not excluded. The electronic entity receives the acoustic signal, recognises its own associated identifier, and implements the carried control command to alter its operational state.

This arrangement can be extended to accommodate multiple electronic entities for remote control. Each of two or more electronic entity for which the aerosol provision system is intended to remotely control has a different identifier associated with it. When the user inputs a request for a control command, the controller of the aerosol provision system determines which of the two or more electronic entities the control command is for, and generates the relevant drive signal to carry that control command plus the relevant identifier. The relevant electronic entity receives the acoustic signal, recognises that it carries its own identifier, and implements the control command to alter its operational state. Others of the two or more electronic entities which receive the acoustic signal will determine that the acoustic signal does not carry their own identifier, and disregard it.

Under this approach, it can be possible to reduce the total number of different control commands. The same control command, i.e. the same code, string or sequence, can be allocated to multiple electronic entities for the same operation, such as “on” or “off”, and each combined with different identifiers to communicate with the different electronic entities. Hence, unique identifier information is used to differentiate between a plurality of electronic entities.

Any of the preceding examples can be used to improve differentiation between external electronic entities, and provide more targeted remote controlling which is less at risk from errors that might be caused by an electronic entity implementing a control command intended for a different entity, or erroneously obtaining a control command from some other received sound. Additionally, two or more of the different approaches could be used together to further enhance these effects. For example, frequency and encryption differentiation, or frequency and identifier differentiation, or encryption and identifier differentiation might be used together, or all three of frequency, encryption and identifier differentiation could be employed. Other targeting or differentiating approaches may also be used, alone or in combination.

Figure 4 shows a schematic representation of an example system incorporating audio-based remote control using an aerosol provision system as disclosed herein. The system includes an aerosol provision system 10 such as previously described, which is configured to emit control commands carried in acoustic signals 22. In a surrounding or neighbouring environment 50, a quantity of external electronic entities 40a-40e are disposed. The collection of external electronic entities may be termed an ecosystem. The external electronic entities 40a-40e are coupled with or associated with the aerosol provision system, in that the external electronic entities 40a-40e are configured to respond to control commands carried in acoustic signals which the aerosol provision system 10 is configured to emit. In this example, five external electronic entities are included, but there may be more or fewer according to user requirements. The surrounding environment 50 may be a single room, in which the user also places the aerosol provision system 10 to operate it as a remote controller. However, this is not essential, and the external electronic entities 40a-40e may be placed in different rooms, and/or the aerosol provision system 10 may be operated when in a different room from any or all of the external electronic entities 40a-40e. This can be achieved if the acoustic signals 22 emitted by the aerosol provision system 10 have a volume and/or a frequency and/or emission direction which allows the acoustic signals 22 to propagate into a room or rooms different from a room in which the aerosol provision system 10 is located, such as through walls, floors or ceilings, or via a doorway or window. Also, the external electronic entities 40a-40e may be located in several different rooms, and the user can operate each using the aerosol provision system 10 when in the same room. Further, the environment 50 may comprise one or more rooms, but may also be formed of different areas or regions either inside or outside any domestic dwelling, office, work or entertainment space, or other building.

The aerosol provision system 10 can be configured in the manner described above to emit acoustic signals 22 in response to user inputs for control commands at the user input element 12 which carry control commands which are in some way tailored to address a specific one out of the multiple external electronic entities 40a-40e. Examples include the use of acoustic frequencies or frequency ranges which are allocated to individual ones of the external electronic entities 40a-40e, the use of encryption keys or other coding schemes which are allocated to individual ones of the external electronic entities 40a-40e, and the use of identifier codes or sequences which are allocated to individual ones of the external electronic entities 40a-40e and transmitted with the control commands.

The use of acoustic signals allows the communication of control commands without a line-of-sight requirement. Hence, it is not necessary to provide a clear propagation path between the aerosol provision system 10 and all the external electronic entities 40a-40e. Any of the external electronic entities 40a-40e may be wholly or partially obscured by another; see Figure 4 in which the entity 40c is partially between the entity 40b and the aerosol provision system 10. Any of the entities may be similarly obscured by other objects, or otherwise separated, such as being in a cupboard or a drawer. The use of tailored control commands to address the individual entities allows each entity to be controlled separately since any intervening entity will be able to determine if an audio signal carries a control command meant for another entity, and will not implement the command. Figure 5 shows a flow chart of steps in an example method of remotely controlling an electronic entity according to the present disclosure. In a first step S1 , a user of an electronic cigarette or other aerosol provision system enters a request or instructions for a control command to control an external electronic entity using a user input element on the electronic cigarette such as a button, switch or touch pad. In a second step S2, the electronic cigarette receives the user input and determines what control command has been requested. In a third step S3, the electronic cigarette generates a drive signal for a speaker which represents required control command identified from the inputted request. In a fourth step S4 the drive signal is supplied to a speaker comprised in the electronic cigarette, and in a fifth step S5, the speaker responds to the drive signal and emits an acoustic signal which carries the required control command. The emitted acoustic signal is received at the external electronic entity, which detects the acoustic signal in a sixth step S6. Finally, in step S7, the external entity operates to implement the control command so as to adjust, alter or update its operational status in an appropriate way, having extracted the control command from the received acoustic signal. Hence, the external electronic entity is remotely controlled by the electronic cigarette.

In a further example, the device component may also include an acoustic detector such as a microphone also housed inside the housing of the device component and connected to the controller. This allows the device to engage in two-way acoustic communication, with the microphone being able detect incoming acoustic signals broadcast from external electronic entities, and deliver detected acoustic signals to the controller for processing. Any of the external electronic entities configured to be controlled by the device may be further configured to emit acoustic signals aimed at the aerosol provision system, such as acoustic signals carrying data or information encoded therein where the data or information is part of the control procedure, and which can be processed by the controller to extract the information and use it in control of the aerosol provision system. Usefully, the same coding scheme can be used for incoming acoustic signals as is used to encode the control commands into the acoustic signals for emission from the device. This provides simplicity and reduces the amount of coding instructions required by the controller. However, different schemes may be used for the outgoing and incoming communication channels if preferred. Similarly, incoming acoustic signals may be encrypted, as discussed for the emitted signals, and the controller can be configured to decrypt them.

The external electronic entities may be configured to emit acoustic signals to the aerosol provision system carrying information representing various types of message or communication. These may include acknowledging successful receipt of a control command, indicating that a received control command has been successfully implemented, notifying a problem with receipt of a control command (such as corrupted or incomplete information or an inability to extract or decrypt), informing the aerosol provision system of a status of the external electronic entity (which may modify the selection of future control commands sent to that entity, for example), and/or reporting a fault with the external electronic entity. Other message types and content are not excluded.

The device may additionally comprise a user output element which can be activated by the controller in order to convey the content any such received message to the user. For example, the user output element may comprise one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) or other optical sources, which can be illuminated to represent or indicate the message content such as a green (or first colour) LED illuminated to show success receipt or implementation of a control command, and a red (or second colour) LED illuminated to show failure. Alternatively a single LED may be illuminated to show success and kept unilluminated to show failure, or different sequences of pulses or flashes could be used. The user output element might alternatively be a screen on which information can be displayed for presentation to the user. In other examples, a separate electronic device, such as the user’s mobile telephone, may be utilised as a user output element, to which the device sends a wireless signal (such as by Bluetooth) to cause the separate electronic device to indicate or communicate the transaction outcome to the user.

Alternatively, the need for a separate user output element can be removed if the speaker of the device is employed for this purpose. The controller can generate or be provided with suitable drive signals (stored in the memory, for example) to cause the speaker to emit sounds indicative of the message content the user. The sounds could be sequences of one or more tones or beeps, or brief tunes, or noises traditionally associated with success and failure (“fanfare” and “raspberry”, for example), or spoken words. Additionally, it is possible to make use of the speaker to broadcast spoken word commands, instructions and information to the user. This could be used to instruct the user through the control process, for example, such as explaining how to present the aerosol provision system to the external electronic entities in an optimal manner for successful transmission of the audio signal carrying the control commands.

It is additionally noted that the various functions and operations described herein as being implemented with acoustic signals may alternatively be implemented with other signal types able to be transmitted wirelessly. In general electromagnetic signals may be used, where any convenient frequency or range of frequencies may be employed. For example, radio waves can be used, such as ultrahigh frequency (UHF) radio waves, which may be formatted according to the Bluetooth communication protocol or standard (which operates in the 2.4 - 2.485 GHz range), although other UHF arrangements might be used, and indeed other radio wave frequencies. The electromagnetic signals may be in the optical or light frequency range, such as in the visible frequency range (about 4 - 8 THz) or the infrared range (about 300 GHz - 400 THz). Other electromagnetic frequencies are also contemplated. Accordingly, the device component of the aerosol provision system can be equipped with an electromagnetic signal emitter in place of the speaker (acoustic signal emitter) described above. More generally, a signal emitter can be used which is configured to emit the chosen type of wirelessly transmittable signal. The external electronic entity or entities to be controlled are each equipped with a corresponding signal receiver configured to detect the chosen type of wirelessly transmittable signal.

Hence, in an example, there is provided a device component for an aerosol generating system, the device component comprising: a signal emitter operable to emit wirelessly transmittable signals; a user input element configured to receive a user input corresponding to a control command for controlling an external electronic entity having a signal receiver operable to detect the wirelessly transmittable signals; and a controller configured to: generate a drive signal representing the control command for the signal emitter; and supply the drive signal to the signal emitter to cause the signal emitter to emit a wirelessly transmittable signal carrying the control command for detection by the external electronic entity.

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 the future.