Refillable Article and Method

The present application is a National Phase entry of PCT Application No. PCT/GB2023/052070 filed Aug. 4, 2023, which claims priority to GB Application No. 2211610.7 filed Aug. 9, 2022, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

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.

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, cartomizer, consumable and clearomizer, 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 vaporize 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.

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 aerosol-generating 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 aerosol-generating 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;

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.

Aspects and features of certain examples and embodiments are discussed/described herein. Some aspects and features of certain examples and embodiments may be implemented conventionally and these are not discussed/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 vaporization 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 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. In some embodiments, the disclosure relates to consumables comprising aerosol-generating material and configured to be used with non-combustible 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 aerosol-generating material, an aerosol-generating component (aerosol generator), an aerosol-generating 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, cartomizer, 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 vapor/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 utilize 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 vapor/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 “aerosol-generating material”, “aerosolizable 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 “aerosolizable 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 “vapor”. 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 flavorants. 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 50 wt %, 60 wt % or 70 wt % of amorphous solid, to about 90 wt %, 95 wt % or 100 wt % of amorphous solid. In some embodiments, the aerosol-generating material may comprise one or more active constituents, one or more flavors, 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 “flavor” and “flavorant” 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 flavor materials, botanicals, extracts of botanicals, synthetically obtained materials, or combinations thereof. The aerosol-former 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, coloring agents, preservatives, binders, fillers, stabilizers, and/or antioxidants.

is a highly schematic diagram (not to scale) of an example electronic aerosol/vapor provision system, 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 systemhas 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(control or power component, section or unit), and an article or consumable(cartridge assembly or section, sometimes referred to as a cartomizer, clearomizer or pod) carrying aerosol-generating material and operable to generate vapor/aerosol. In the following description, the aerosol provision systemis 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 aerosolizing 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 aerosolize different aerosol-generating materials, e.g., solid aerosol-generating materials or gel aerosol-generating materials as described above.

The articleincludes a reservoir(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 flavorings. Nicotine-free source liquid may also be used, such as to deliver flavoring. In some embodiments, a solid substrate (not illustrated), such as a portion of tobacco or other flavor imparting element through which vapor generated from the liquid is passed, may also be included.

The reservoirmay 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 reservoirmay 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) through which new source liquid can be added to enable reuse of the article.

The articlealso comprises an aerosol generator, which in this example has the form of an electrically powered heating element or heaterand an aerosol-generating material transfer elementdesigned to transfer aerosol-generating material from the aerosol-generating material storage area to the aerosol generator. The heateris located externally of the reservoirand is operable to generate the aerosol by vaporization of the source liquid by heating. The aerosol-generating material transfer elementis a transfer or delivery arrangement configured to deliver aerosol-generating material from the reservoirto the heater. In some examples, it may have the form of a wick or other porous element. A wickmay have one or more parts located inside the reservoir, or otherwise be in fluid communication with liquid in the reservoir, so as to be able to absorb source liquid and transfer it by wicking or capillary action to other parts of the wickthat are adjacent or in contact with the heater. The wick may be formed of any suitable material which can cause wicking of the liquid, such as glass fibers or cotton fibers. This wicked liquid is thereby heated and vaporized, and replacement liquid is drawn, via continuous capillary action, from the reservoirfor transfer to the heaterby the wick. The wickmay be thought of as a conduit between the reservoirand the heaterthat delivers or transfers liquid from the reservoir to the heater. In some implementations, the heaterand the aerosol-generating material transfer elementare 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 elementmay operate other than by capillary action, such as by comprising an arrangement of one or more valves by which liquid may exit the reservoirand be passed onto the heater.

A heater and wick (or similar) combination, referred to herein as an aerosol generator, 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. For example, and as mentioned above, the wickmay be an entirely separate element from the heater, or the heatermay 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 heatermay comprise one or more electrical heating elements that operate by ohmic/resistive (Joule) heating. The articlemay comprise electrical contacts (not shown) at an interface of the articlewhich electrically engage to electrical contacts (not shown) at an interface of the aerosol provision device. Electrical energy can therefore be transferred to the heatervia the electrical contacts from the aerosol provision deviceto cause heating of the heater. In other examples, the heatermay 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, 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 vapor 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 vapor-generating element by a wicking action/capillary force or otherwise. An aerosol generator is typically housed in an articleof an aerosol generating system, as in, but in some examples, at least the heater part may be housed in the device. Embodiments of the disclosure are applicable to all and any such configurations which are consistent with the examples and description herein.

Returning to, the articlealso includes a mouthpiece or mouthpiece portionhaving an opening or air outlet through which a user may inhale the aerosol generated by the heater.

The aerosol provision deviceincludes a power source such as a cell or battery(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, in particular to operate the heater. Additionally, there is control circuitrysuch as a printed circuit board and/or other electronics or circuitry for generally controlling the aerosol provision system. The control circuitrymay include a processor programmed with software, which may be modifiable by a user of the system. The control circuitry, in one aspect, operates the heaterusing power from the batterywhen vapor is required. At this time, the user inhales on the systemvia the mouthpiece, and air A enters through one or more air inletsin the wall of the device(air inlets may alternatively or additionally be located in the article). When the heateris operated, it vaporizes source liquid delivered from the reservoirby the aerosol-generating material transfer componentto generate the aerosol by entrainment of the vapor into the air flowing through the system, and this is then inhaled by the user through the opening in the mouthpiece. The aerosol is carried from the aerosol generatorto the mouthpiecealong one or more air channels (not shown) that connect the air inletsto the aerosol generatorto the air outlet when a user inhales on the mouthpiece.

More generally, the control circuitryis suitably configured/programmed to control the operation of the aerosol provision systemto 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 circuitrymay be considered to logically comprise various sub-units/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. It will be appreciated that the functionality of the control circuitrycan 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/circuitry/chips/chipsets configured to provide the desired functionality.

The deviceand the articleare 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. The components,are joined together when the systemis in use by cooperating engagement elements,(for example, a screw or bayonet fitting) which provide mechanical and in some cases electrical connectivity between the deviceand the article. Electrical connectivity is required if the heateroperates by ohmic heating, so that current can be passed through the heaterwhen it is connected to the battery. In systems that use inductive heating, electrical connectivity can be omitted if no parts requiring electrical power are located in the article. An inductive work coil/drive coil can be housed in the deviceand supplied with power from the battery, and the articleand the deviceshaped so that when they are connected, there is an appropriate exposure of the heaterto flux generated by the coil for the purpose of generating current flow in the material of the heater.

It should be appreciated thedesign is merely an example arrangement, and the various parts and features may be differently distributed between the deviceand the article, and other components and elements may be included. The two sections may connect together end-to-end in a longitudinal configuration as in, 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 systemmay be unitary, in that the parts of the deviceand the articleare 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.

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 devicewill 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 dockcomprises an outer housing. The dockis 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 housingare defined two cavities or ports,.

A first portis shaped and dimensioned to receive and interface with a refill reservoir. The first or refill reservoir portis configured to enable an interface between the refill reservoirand the dock, 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, 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 reservoirand the dockand determining characteristics and features of the refill reservoir.

The refill reservoircomprises a wall or housingthat defines a storage space for holding aerosol-generating material. The volume of the storage space is large enough to accommodate many or several times the storage area/reservoirof an articleintended to be refilled in the dock. A user can therefore purchase a filled reservoirof their preferred aerosol generating material (flavor, strength, brand, etc.), and use it to refill an articlemultiple times. A user could acquire several reservoirsof different aerosol generating materials, so as to have a convenient choice available when refilling an article. The refill reservoirincludes an outlet orifice or openingby which the aerosol generating materialcan pass out of the refill reservoir. The outlet orificemay include any suitable cap, valve, semipermeable membrane, septum, etc. to allow aerosol-generating material to selectively exit the refill reservoirthrough the orifice.

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

The articleitself comprises a wall or housingthat has within it (but possibly not occupying all the space within the wall) a storage areafor holding aerosol-generating material. The volume of the storage areais many or several times smaller than the volume of the refill reservoir, so that the articlecan be refilled multiple times from a single refill reservoir. The articlealso includes an inlet orifice or openingby which aerosol-generating material can enter the storage area. The inlet orificemay include any suitable cap, valve, semipermeable membrane, septum, etc. to allow aerosol-generating material to selectively enter the articlethrough the orifice. Various other elements may be included with the article, as discussed above with regard to.

The housing also accommodates a fluid conduit, being a passage or flow path by which the reservoirand the storage areaof the articleare placed in fluid communication, so that aerosol-generating material can move from the refill reservoirto the articlewhen both the refill reservoirand the articleare correctly positioned in the dock. Placement of the refill reservoirand the articleinto the docklocates and engages them such that the fluid conduitis connected between the outlet orificeof the reservoirand the inlet orificeof the article. Note that in some examples, all or part of the fluid conduitmay be formed by parts of the refill reservoirand the article, so that the fluid conduit is created and defined only when the refill reservoirand/or the articleare placed in the dock. In other cases, the fluid conduitmay be a flow path defined within the housingof the dock, to each end of which the respective orifices are engaged.

Access to the reservoir portand the article portcan be by any convenient means. Apertures may be provided in the housingof the dock, through which the refill reservoirand the articlecan be placed or pushed. The refill reservoirand/or the articlemay be completely contained within the respective apertures or may partially be contained such that a portion of the refill reservoirand/or the articleprotrude from the respective ports,. 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 reservoirand/or the articleare completely contained in the ports,, 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 reservoiror the article, which bring the refill reservoiror the articleinto proper alignment inside the housingwhen the door, etc. is closed. Alternatively, the housing of the dockmay be shaped so as to include recessed portions into which the articleor refill reservoirmay be inserted. These and other alternatives will be apparent to the skilled person, and do not affect the scope of the present disclosure.

The dockalso includes an aerosol generating material transfer mechanism, arrangement, or apparatus, operable to move or cause the movement of fluid out of the refill reservoir, along the conduitand into the article. Various options are contemplated for the transfer mechanism, but by way of an example, the transfer mechanismmay comprise a fluid pump, such as a peristaltic pump. The peristaltic pump may be arranged to rotate and compress parts of the conduitto force source liquid along the length of the conduit towards the inlet orificeof the articlein accordance with the conventional techniques for operating a peristaltic pump. In other implementations, the refill reservoircomprises 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 mechanismcomprises a suitable push rod or the like for actuating the collapsible or movable wall of the refill reservoirto supply aerosol-generating material along the conduit.

A controlleris also included in the dock, which is operable to control components of the dock, in particular to generate and send control signals to operate the transfer mechanism. As noted, this may be in response to a user input, such as actuation of a button or switch (not shown) on the housing, or automatically in response to both the refill reservoirand the articlebeing detected as present inside their respective ports,. The controllermay therefore be in communication with contacts and/or sensors (not shown) at the ports,in order to obtain data from the ports and/or the refill reservoirand articlethat can be used in the generation of control signals for operating the transfer mechanism. The controllermay 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 dockincludes a power sourceto provide electrical power for the controller, 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 dockmay be for permanent location in a house or office, the power sourcemay comprise a socket for connection of an electrical mains cable to the dock, so that the dockmay be “plugged in” to mains electricity. Any suitable electrical converter to convert mains electricity to a suitable operational supply of electricity to the dockmay be provided, either on the mains cable or within the dock. Alternatively, the power sourcemay comprise one or more batteries, which might be replaceable or rechargeable, and in the latter case the dockmay 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 conduitis arranged so as to be in fluid communication with the reservoirand the articleto allow source liquid to be transferred to the storage area of the article. The articleis suitably configured to be able to be refilled by the dock, e.g., via inlet opening. However, the articleis arranged so as to, on the one hand, provide a relatively easy engagement between the fluid conduit(or other component(s) linked to the fluid conduit) so as to facilitate refilling of the article, and on the other hand, is arranged so as to prevent or reduce source liquid exiting the article(for example, when the (full) articleis transitioned between the dockand the aerosol provision device after the dockhas refilled the articlewith source liquid).

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