DISABLING CONTROL FOR AN ELECTRONC SMOKING DEVICE

• US 20180140021A1
• Filed: 01/22/2018
• Published: 05/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fontem Ventures BV (Imperial Tobacco Group PLC)
• Original Assignee: Fontem Holdings 4 B.V. (Imperial Tobacco Group PLC)
• Inventors: Alarcon, Ramon, Healy, Jason
• Granted Patent: US 10,638,795 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/10 Devices using liquid inhalable precursors
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/46 Shape or structure of electric heating means
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/485 Valves; Apertures
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/50 Control or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/51 Arrangement of sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/65 Devices with integrated communication means, e.g. wireless communication means
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/90 Arrangements or methods specially adapted for charging batteries thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/95 structurally associated with cases
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 47/00 Smokers' requisites not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 1/30 designed to control volume of flow, e.g. with adjustable passages B05B11/0094 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0047 with monitoring or indicating devices or circuits

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for controlling disabling of an electronic smoking device. An electronic smoking device includes a body through which a flow path at least partially extends, an air inlet in the body that is fluidly connected to the flow path, a liquid compartment for storing a liquid within the body, a vaporizer positioned in the body and configured to receive liquid from the liquid compartment and air from the flow path to generate vaporized liquid, an outlet in the body configured to receive vaporized liquid from the vaporizer, and circuitry connected to the vaporizer. In one embodiment, the circuitry is configured to shut off the electronic smoking device based on activation time of the vaporizer. In another embodiment, the circuitry is configured to shut off the electronic smoking device after a determined amount of usage has occurred.

Claims

1. An electronic smoking device comprising the following:

a body through which a flow path at least partially extends;

an air inlet in the body that is fluidly connected to the flow path;

a liquid compartment for storing a liquid within the body;

a vaporizer positioned in the body and configured to receive liquid from the liquid compartment and air from the flow path to generate vaporized liquid;

an outlet in the body configured to receive vaporized liquid from the vaporizer; and

circuitry connected to the vaporizer, the circuitry configured to shut off the electronic smoking device based on activation time of the vaporizer.

2. The electronic smoking device of claim 1, wherein the circuitry shuts off the electronic smoking device after the vaporizer has been active for a predetermined period of time.

3. The electronic smoking device of claim 2, wherein the circuitry is configured to limit vaporizer activation over a predefined life of the electronic smoking device.

4. The electronic smoking device of claim 3, wherein the circuitry is configured to execute the following commands:

determine how long a vaporizer has been cumulatively active;

activate the vaporizer if the vaporizer has been activated a cumulative amount of time less than a predetermined total time limit; and

permanently disable the electronic smoking device if the cumulative amount of time is equal to or greater than the predetermined total time limit.

5. The electronic smoking device of claim 4, wherein the predetermined total time limit comprises a constant that sets a total period of time the vaporizer may stay turned on during a product life of the electronic smoking device.

6. The electronic smoking device of claim 4, wherein the cumulative amount of time comprises a count value that indicates the total time the vaporizer has been turned on during a product life of the electronic smoking device.

7. The electronic smoking device of claim 2, wherein the circuitry is configured to control periodic dosage over a predefined time interval less than a predefined life of the electronic smoking device.

8. The electronic smoking device of claim 7, wherein the circuitry is configured to execute the following commands:

determine how long a vaporizer has been periodically active;

activate the vaporizer if the vaporizer has been activated a periodic amount of time less than a predetermined interval time limit; and

idle the vaporizer if the vaporizer has been activated a periodic amount of time equal to or greater than the predetermined interval time limit.

9. The electronic smoking device of claim 8, wherein the periodic amount of time comprises a period of time the vaporizer has been turned on since the last time the vaporizer has been turned on.

10. The electronic smoking device of claim 8, wherein the predetermined interval time limit comprises a constant that sets a limit for the time period the vaporizer may stay turned on during any given period of time.

11. A method of preventing usage of an electronic smoking device, the method comprising the following:

determining how long a vaporizer has been activated;

activating the vaporizer if the vaporizer has been activated an amount of time less than a predetermined time limit; and

preventing usage of the electronic smoking device if the amount of time is equal to or greater than the predetermined time limit.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining how long a vaporizer has cumulatively been activated;

activating the vaporizer if the vaporizer has been activated a cumulative amount of time less than a predetermined total time limit; and

permanently disabling the electronic smoking device if the cumulative amount of time is equal to or greater than the predetermined total time limit.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein determining how long a vaporizer has cumulatively been activated comprises the following:

determining if a sensor is active;

monitoring a status of the sensor until the sensor becomes active if the sensor is inactive; and

determining an amount of time the vaporizer has been active since the last time the vaporizer was activated if the sensor is active in order to determine the cumulative amount of time the vaporizer has been active.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the vaporizer comprises a heater, and the sensor comprises an air flow sensor.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising performing periodic dosage control before activating the vaporizer.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the following:

determining an amount of time the vaporizer has been active since the last time the vaporizer was activated if the sensor is active in order to determine a periodic amount of time the vaporizer has been active;

activating the vaporizer if the periodic amount of time is less than a predetermined interval time limit; and

leaving the vaporizer idle if the periodic amount of time is equal to or greater than the predetermined interval time limit.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising leaving the vaporizer idle until the sensor is activated again at which point the periodic and cumulative amounts of time the vaporizer has been active can be re-determined.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the predetermined total time limit comprises a constant that sets a total period of time the vaporizer may stay turned on during a product life of the electronic smoking device.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the cumulative amount of time comprises a count value that indicates the total time the vaporizer has been turned on during a product life of the electronic smoking device.

20. An electronic smoking device comprising the following:

a housing;

a liquid compartment for storing a liquid within the housing;

a vaporizer positioned in the housing and configured to receive liquid from the liquid compartment; and

circuitry connected to the vaporizer, the circuitry configured to shut off the electronic smoking device after a determined amount of usage has occurred.

21. The electronic smoking device of claim 20, wherein the circuitry is configured to shut off the electronic smoking device if the determined amount of usage exceeds a predetermined limit stored in the circuitry.

22. The electronic smoking device of claim 21, wherein the determined amount of usage is cumulative vaporizer activation time.

23. The electronic smoking device of claim 22, wherein the circuitry is configured to permanently disable the electronic smoking device if the determined amount of usage exceeds the predetermined limit stored in the circuitry.

24. The electronic smoking device of claim 21, wherein the determined amount of usage is periodic vaporizer activation time.

25. The electronic smoking device of claim 24, wherein the circuitry is configured to halt operation of the vaporizer if the determined amount of usage exceeds the predetermined limit stored in the circuitry.

26. The electronic smoking device of claim 21, further comprising a sensor for determining usage, wherein the circuitry is configured to incapacitate the sensor if the determined amount of usage exceeds the predetermined limit stored in the circuitry.

27. A method of disabling an electronic smoking device, the method comprising:

reading the status of a sensor;

if the sensor is active, determining how long a heater has been active over a product life of the electronic smoking device to determine a Cumulative On Time;

comparing the Cumulative On Time to a Total Time representing a maximum Cumulative On Time for the product life;

activating the vaporizer if the Cumulative On Time is less than the Total Time;

disabling the electronic smoking device if the Cumulative On Time is equal to or greater than the Total Time; and

if the sensor is inactive, continuing to read the status of the sensor.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising establishing a limit for dosage per unit time before determining how long the heater has been active over the product life.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein disabling the electronic smoking device comprises permanently disabling the electronic smoking device.