US 12,389,940 B2
Aerosol-generating device and system with conductivity sensor
Ihar Zinovik, Peseux (CH)
Assigned to Philip Morris Products S.A., Neuchatel (CH)
Appl. No. 17/618,634
Filed by PHILIP MORRIS PRODUCTS S.A., Neuchatel (CH)
PCT Filed Jun. 24, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/067743
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Dec. 13, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/260414, PCT Pub. Date Dec. 30, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 19182378 (EP), filed on Jun. 25, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0232889 A1, Jul. 28, 2022
Int. Cl. A24F 40/10 (2020.01); A24F 40/46 (2020.01); A24F 40/51 (2020.01)
CPC A24F 40/10 (2020.01) [A24F 40/46 (2020.01); A24F 40/51 (2020.01)] 15 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An aerosol-generating system comprising:
a liquid storage portion for holding a liquid aerosol-forming substrate;
an atomiser in fluid connection with the liquid storage portion;
a conductivity sensor arranged to sense the electrical conductivity of liquid aerosol-forming substrate from the liquid storage portion, the conductivity sensor comprising at least two electrodes;
a power supply; and
control electronics configured to:
control a supply of power from the power supply to the atomiser for atomising liquid aerosol-forming substrate from the liquid storage portion;
control a supply of power from the power supply to the electrodes of the conductivity sensor, the supply of power being provided to the conductivity sensor as an alternating voltage;
receive one or more measurements indicative of the conductivity of the liquid aerosol-forming substrate from the conductivity sensor; and
determine the nicotine concentration of the liquid aerosol-forming substrate based on one or more of the measurements from the conductivity sensor,
wherein the control electronics are configured to control the supply of power from the power supply to the atomiser for atomising the liquid aerosol-forming substrate based on the determined nicotine concentration of the liquid aerosol-forming substrate by comparing the determined nicotine concentration to a predetermined threshold, supplying a first power to the atomiser when the determined nicotine concentration is equal to or below the predetermined threshold and supplying a second power to the atomiser, lower than the first power, when the determined nicotine concentration exceeds the predetermined threshold.