FIELD AND BACKGROUND

[0001] The present disclosure relates to controlling an aerosol provision system. In particular, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to automating actions of an aerosol provision system.

[0002] A “non-combustible” aerosol provision system is an aerosol provision system 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 to a user.

[0003] The non-combustible aerosol provision system may be an electronic cigarette, also known as a vaping device or electronic nicotine delivery system (END), although it is noted that the presence of nicotine in the aerosol-generating material is not a requirement.

[0004] The non-combustible aerosol provision system may be 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.

[0005] The non-combustible aerosol provision system may be 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. The hybrid system may comprise 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.

[0006] Typically, the non-combustible aerosol provision system may comprise a non-combustible aerosol provision device and a consumable for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device.

[0007] The non-combustible aerosol provision system, such as a non-combustible aerosol provision device thereof, may comprise a power source and a controller. The power source may, for example, be an electric power source or an exothermic power source. The exothermic power source comprises a carbon substrate which may be energised so as to distribute power in the form of heat to an aerosol-generating material or to a heat transfer material in proximity to the exothermic power source.

[0008] The non-combustible aerosol provision system may comprise an area for receiving the consumable, an aerosol generator, an aerosol generation area, a housing, a mouthpiece, a filter and/or an aerosol-modifying agent. [0009] The consumable for use with the non-combustible aerosol provision device may comprise aerosol-generating material, an aerosol-generating material storage area, an aerosol-generating material transfer component, an aerosol generator, an aerosol generation area, a housing, a wrapper, a filter, a mouthpiece, and/or an aerosol-modifying agent.

SUMMARY

[0010] Viewed from a first aspect, there is provided a method of automating actions of a noncombustible aerosol provision system, the method comprising: receiving input indicative of a rule to be set for the non-combustible aerosol provision system, the rule comprising at least one condition and at least one action to be performed by the non-combustible aerosol provision system in response to the at least one condition being satisfied; detecting that the at least one condition is satisfied; and causing the non-combustible aerosol provision system to perform the at least one action.

[0011] Viewed from a second aspect, there is provided a computing device configured to: receive input indicative of a rule to be set for the non-combustible aerosol provision system, the rule comprising at least one condition and at least one action to be performed by the non-combustible aerosol provision system in response to the at least one condition being satisfied; detect that the at least one condition is satisfied; and cause the non-combustible aerosol provision system to perform the at least one action.

[0012] Viewed from a third aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by processing circuitry of a computing device, cause the computing device to: receive input indicative of a rule to be set for the non-combustible aerosol provision system, the rule comprising at least one condition and at least one action to be performed by the non-combustible aerosol provision system in response to the at least one condition being satisfied; detect that the at least one condition is satisfied; and cause the non- combustible aerosol provision system to perform the at least one action.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Embodiments and examples of the present approaches will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0014] Figure 1 is a schematic illustrating an example of a non-combustible aerosol provision system;

[0015] Figure 2 is a schematic illustrating an example of a user device;

[0016] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of automating actions of a non-combustible aerosol provision system; [0017] Figure 4 is a schematic illustrating an example arrangement of a non-combustible aerosol provision system, a user device, and a server providing functionality for the non-combustible aerosol provision system;

[0018] Figures 5A-5B illustrate user interfaces that may be used for automating actions of a non- combustible aerosol provision system; and

[0019] Figure 6 illustrates a collection of rules for a non-combustible aerosol provision system.

[0020] While the presently described approach is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments are shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the scope to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the scope is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] A non-combustible aerosol provision system may provide various functionality in addition to the generation and provision of aerosols to a user. For example, the non-combustible aerosol provision system may comprise a light-emitting diode (LED) than can be turned on/off. The non- combustible aerosol provision system may be able to be locked so as to prevent the system being used to provision aerosols until the system is unlocked and/or the non-combustible aerosol provision system may be able to operate in a low power mode in which less power and/or aerosolisable material is used. In some approaches, this functionality can be controlled from a user device (e.g., using an app on a user’s mobile phone) or with input to the non-combustible aerosol provision system (e.g., pressing a button on the aerosol provision system).

[0022] However, the inventors recognised that in many cases, the actions performed by a user on the non-combustible aerosol provision system are performed in a regular or periodic manner. For example, the user may regularly lock the non-combustible aerosol provision system in the evening (e.g., at 10pm) so that the system is locked overnight. Similarly, the user may perform actions on a regular day of the week or day of the month for example. Even actions that are not performed at regular time intervals may be predictable in the sense that the actions are frequently performed in response to the same conditions occurring. For example, the user may order more aerosolisable material whenever the non-combustible aerosol provision system or the user device notifies the user that the users supply of aerosolisable material is running low.

[0023] The techniques described herein therefore provide a mechanism for automating certain actions, allowing the user to set up rules such that when one or more specified conditions are satisfied, one or more actions defined by the user are carried out. To continue the examples introduced above, the user may define a rule such that at 10pm each day, the non-combustible aerosol provision system is locked or so that whenever the supply of aerosolisable material is low, more aerosolisable material is ordered. This therefore reduces the amount of user interaction required to carry out these actions and provides an efficient way of automatically causing the action to be carried out without requiring manual intervention from the user.

[0024] In accordance with the techniques described herein, the user is able to make a selection from a range of possible conditions and actions such that the user has a large amount of freedom to select and customise rules according to their own routine. In this way, the user can build up a collection of rules suited to that particular user that will be automatically implemented to control actions of the non-combustible aerosol provision system.

[0025] It will be appreciated that the present approaches involve transmission of data to and from a non-combustible aerosol provision system, and for the non-combustible aerosol provision system to process stored and/or received data. Also, the present approaches require a user device to be capable of communicating with a non-combustible aerosol provision system. Such a user device may be capable of communicating with other services or systems. Therefore, to illustrate suitable devices for providing such functionalities, an example non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 and an example user device 40 are illustrated with respect to Figures 1 and 2 respectively.

[0026] An example of a non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 is schematically illustrated in Figure 1. As shown, the aerosol delivery device 10 is a device which contains elements relating to aerosol generation such as an aerosol medium container or cartridge 12 (in the case of an END device, the aerosol medium container or cartridge 12 will contain nicotine or a nicotine- bearing formulation), an aerosol generation chamber 14 and an outlet 16 through which a generated aerosol may be discharged. A battery 18 may be provided to power a thermal generator element (such as a heater 20 which may take the form of a heater coil) within (or functionally adjacent to) the aerosol generation chamber 14. The battery 18 may also power a processor/controller 22 which may serve purposes of device usage, such as activation of the device for aerosol generation in response to an activation trigger, and purposes of communication and functionality control. Processor/controller 22 may have access to a memory 24 which may be used to store operating instructions for the processor/controller 22. The memory 24 may also be used to store data describing operating conditions and/or states of the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 and/or one or more components thereof. The memory 24 may be internal to the processor/controller 22 or may be provided as an additional separate physical element. [0027] To perform transmission and reception of data and/or messaging, the processor/controller 22 is provided with a transmitter/receiver element 26. The transmitter/receiver element 26 enables the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 to communicate with a connected device using a connectivity technology such as a personal area network protocol. Example personal area network protocols include Bluetooth™, Bluetooth Low Energy(tm) (BLE), Zigbee™, Wireless USB, and Near-Field Communication (NFC). Example personal area network protocols also include protocols making use of optical communication such as Infrared Data association (IrDA), and data-over-sound. Other wireless technologies such as a Wi-Fi™ technology may be used if the non-combustible aerosol provision system has suitable capability. In other examples, the transmitter/receiver element 26 may be configured to provide for a wired communication channel provided between physical ports of the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 and a connected device. Such a wired communication channel may utilise a physical connection technology such as USB™, a serial port, FireWire™ or other point-to-point wired connectivity. The remainder of this discussion will use the example of BLE and will use BLE terminology, although it will be appreciated that corresponding or equivalent functionalities of other personal area network technologies may be substituted. Thus, in the present example, the transmitter/receiver element 26 is a BLE interface element including or connected to a radio antenna for wireless communication. In other examples such as those indicated above this may be an interface element for an alternative wireless technology and/or a wired connection interface.

[0028] Any communication established with a connected device may be impermanent or otherwise transient in the sense that the channel may be established for a period of time necessary to carry out specific functionalities, but may also be disconnected when not required. For this reason such a connected device will be referred to herein as a user device, in the sense that the device is likely to be utilised and/or controlled by a user of the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 and a connected device. An example of such a user device (which may also be termed a remote device, in the sense that the device is remote from the non-combustible aerosol provision system, or intermediary device, in the sense that the device is intermediate between the non-combustible aerosol provision system and the unlock/age verification services) is described below with reference to Figure 2.

[0029] Returning to the discussion of Figure 1 , the processor/controller 22 may in one example be an STM32 microcontroller as provided by ST Microelectronics and based on the ARM™ Cortex™-M processor. In other examples an alternative microcontroller or processor may be used, which may be based upon an ARM™ architecture, and Atom™ architecture or other low power processor technology. Alternatively or additionally, the transmitter/receiver element 26 may in one example include an nRF BLE chip for cooperating with the processor/controller to provide BLE connectivity to the non-combustible aerosol provision system. In other examples, other communication interface chips or modules may be deployed to provide connectivity services.

[0030] As illustrated, processor/controller 22 may be connected for example to aerosol medium container or cartridge 12, aerosol generation chamber 14 and battery 18. This connection may be to an interface connection or output from ones of the components and/or may be to a sensor located at or in ones of the components. These connections may provide access by the processor to properties of the respective components. For example a battery connection may be used to control activation of the non-combustible aerosol provision system for aerosol generation.

[0031] Further functionalities of the processor/controller 22 and/or the memory 24 will be described with reference to the examples of the present approaches below.

[0032] An example of a user device 40 is schematically illustrated in Figure 2. The user device may be a device such as a mobile telephone (cellphone) or tablet of a user (and/or owner) of the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10. As shown, the user device 40 includes a receiver transmitter element 42 for communicating with a non-combustible aerosol provision system 10. Thus the receiver transmitter element 42 will be configured to use the same connectivity and protocols etc as the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 with which it is to interact in any given implementation. Accordingly, in the present examples, the receiver transmitter element 42 is a BLE interface element including or connected to a radio antenna for wireless communication. In other examples such as those indicated above this may be an interface element for an alternative wireless technology and/or a wired connection interface.

[0033] The receiver transmitter element 42 is connected to a processor or controller 44 which can receive and process the data or messaging received from the non-combustible aerosol provision system. The processor or controller 44 has access to a memory 46 which can be used to store program information and/or data. The user device 40 may include a further data transmission interface 48. This interface may provide one or more interface functionalities, for example to a wired connection such as wired local area network and/or to a wireless connection such as wireless local area network and/or cellular data services. This interface may be used for example for sending and receipt of messaging to and from various other devices, computer systems, and/or computer services as required by any particular implementation. This interface may also or alternatively be used for communications relating to other functionalities of the user device 40 which are unrelated to operation of or interaction with a non-combustible aerosol provision system.

[0034] The user device 40 also includes user interface elements including an output device 50 (which may include one or more of a display, an audio output, and a haptic output) and an input device 52 (which may include one or more of buttons, keys, touch-sensitive display elements, or a mouse/trackpad).

[0035] The user device 40 may be pre-programmed or configured to provide the functionalities according to the approaches discussed below. Additionally or alternatively, the user device may store software (e.g. in memory 46) such as an app to cause the processor or controller 44 to have those functionalities when the software is executed. Thus the user device may be a multi-purpose device that has the described functionalities when the app is executed.

[0036] Software to cause the user device to become programmed for the techniques described herein may also be embodied or encoded in a computer-readable medium, such as a computer- readable storage medium, containing instructions. Instructions embedded or encoded in a computer-readable medium may cause a programmable processor, or other processor, to perform the method, e.g., when the instructions are executed. Computer-readable media may include non-transitory computer-readable storage media and transient communication media such as carrier signals and transmission media. Computer readable storage media may include random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable read only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), electronically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a cassette, magnetic media, optical media, or other computer-readable storage media. The term “computer-readable storage media” refers to physical storage media. Transient communication media may occur between components of a single computing system (e.g. on an internal link or bus between e.g. a memory and processor) or between separate computing systems (e.g. over a network or other inter-computing device connection), and may include transmission signals, carrier waves or the like.

[0037] Such software may be loaded directly to the user device 40 from a computer-readable medium, or may be loaded to the user device by connecting the user device to another computing device (such as a desktop computer, laptop computer or the like) and using software on the other computing device to control the loading of software to the user device.

[0038] Thus there have been described a non-combustible aerosol provision system and a user device that may interact to provide a number of additional functionalities for the non-combustible aerosol provision system to a user of the user device. Examples of such functionalities will now be described.

[0039] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of automating actions of a non-combustible aerosol provision system 10. At step S41 , input indicative of a rule to be set for the non- combustible aerosol provision system is received. The input specifies at least one condition such that when the at least one condition is satisfied, at least one action that is also specified in the input is carried out. By specifying one or more conditions and one or more corresponding actions to be performed in this way, the rule can be provisioned such that those actions carried out automatically without necessarily requiring further intervention from a user.

[0040] The input itself could take a number of forms. For example, where the method is carried out by the user device 40, the input could be user input via the input device 52. The input could alternatively be a signal received from the user device by a remote server that provides backend functionality for a plurality of non-combustible aerosol provision systems. A manufacturer and/or provider of the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 may provide or authorise such a server in order to implement a service for handling automated rules, whereby the server or a collection of servers are used to set up rules, monitor for conditions being satisfied, and cause the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 to perform the actions when the conditions are satisfied. In such a case, the user may provide user input to the user device 40 to select the at least one condition and at least one action to make up the rule and the server may receive this information as a signal from the user device 40.

[0041] The input could also be provided via an input element 52 of the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10. In the present examples, this input element 52 includes a button or other element capable of receiving a physical input from a user. Where the output element 50 of the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 is a display, the input element may be a touch- sensitive and/or pressure-sensitive detector included in the display, such as a touch-screen display. In some examples, the input element 52 may also or alternatively include an audio detector capable of receiving an audio input. Such an audio input may then be subjected to recognition processing (such as speech recognition processing) by the processor or controller 44 (or other processing hardware of the non-combustible aerosol provision system) in order to receive an audio input from a user.

[0042] The output element 50 and input element 52 (where present) may be described as being, or being part of, a user interface system of the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10. Content to be communicated via the output element 50 is provided from the process or controller 44 to the output element and inputs received via the input element 52 are provided to the processor or controller 44. Thus, the processor or controller 44 and/or instructions operating thereon may also be described as being part of the user interface system. The user interface system provides a mechanism by which a user of the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 can receive information/notifications from the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10, and a mechanism by which the user can provide inputs to the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10. Collectively the output element 50 and input element 52 may be termed user interface elements. [0043] In some examples, the user interface elements of the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 can be used to provide the input indicative of the rule to be provisioned. That is, the input may be provided at the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 by pressing one or more buttons to make and confirm a selection of the one or more conditions and actions, by inputting the rule using a touch-screen display, or by stating the rules such that the input is detected using speech recognition processing, for example. This non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 may then provision and monitor the rules itself, or may forward the input to a user device 40 and/or a server to handle the implementation of the rule.

[0044] In some examples, the user device 40 is used to provide a convenient means for defining the rules (e.g., using an app on the user device 40). The rules may then be provided in the form of configuration data for example to the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 for storage and implementation using the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10. This approach may provide a convenient means for setting up the rules using the input mechanisms provided by the user device 40, whilst allowing the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 to implement the rules itself. Hence, if the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 is not connected to the user device 40 for any reason at a given time the rules may nonetheless be monitored and the actions performed by the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10. In some cases, this approach may be selectively used for actions/conditions that the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 can perform without communication with the user device 40. For example, this approach may be used where the condition is a time based condition (e.g., time of day) and the system 10 has its own clock but the user device 40 may separately monitor and cause the action to happen for rules that require input from the user device 40 (e.g., where the condition involves the user device 40 being detected in a particular location).

[0045] To provide the user input, the user may select one or more conditions and one or more actions from lists of supported conditions and actions. In some examples, the user may also or alternatively be provided with the opportunity to define one or more conditions and/or actions. Thus, the user can customise how the rule is to be set up based on the types of rules and their configurations that are most convenient to the user. Additionally, or alternatively, the user may be provided with a library of pre-configured rules, (e.g., a library of rules stored by the server) with the user able to select a rule from the library to use. This approach may allow the user to more quickly provision commonly-used rules and aid the user in identifying rules that may be particularly convenient. When the library of pre-configured rules is a library provided by the server or collection of servers, this may allow the library of pre-configured rules to be used with a plurality of non-combustible aerosol provision systems (either of that user or of other users) thereby simplifying the handling of large numbers of rules by the server. [0046] Examples of possible actions that could be performed include locking or unlocking the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10. As used herein, the terms “locked” and “unlocked” refer to whether the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 can be used to generate aerosols. Accordingly, when in the locked state, the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 is restricted from generating aerosols. This may be achieved for example by preventing power being applied to a thermal generator element of the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10. Conversely, when in the unlocked state, the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 can be used to generate aerosols, subject to any other restrictions (e.g., holding down a button/the user puffing on the device). That is, when in the unlocked state, the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 does not necessarily produce aerosols, but rather is in a state in which the device permits the generation of aerosols.

[0047] Further examples of possible actions include flashing a light (such as a light-emitting diode (LED)) on the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 or vibrating a haptic feedback device. These actions may be used to let the user know that the condition has been satisfied. Such actions may be used in combination with locking/unlocking the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10. For example, the user may configure a rule to lock the device at a particular time (e.g., 10pm) and flash the LED and/or vibrate the haptic feedback device to notify the user that the device is being locked.

[0048] The actions that may be selected for use in a rule may also include causing the non- combustible aerosol provision system 10 to enter a low power mode to conserve battery and/or a supply of aerosolisable material, or automatically ordering more aerosolisable material. This may be convenient for use with a rule to order more aerosolisable material at regular intervals (e.g., each month) or when it is detected that a user’s supply of aerosolisable is low. It will be appreciated that the actions that can be performed as part of a rule are not limited to just the examples given here and further actions may be used depending on the functionality supported by the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 and the user device 40.

[0049] Further, the possible actions could include setting a puff duration. The non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 may therefore be configured to operate with puffs of a different length of time. For example, the user may choose to use longer puffs (e.g., 3.5 seconds) in the morning but then have the aerosol provision system 10 support shorter puffs (e.g. 2 seconds) in the afternoon.

[0050] The actions may in some cases involve interaction with other services such that causing the action to happen involves causing a separate service to perform the action. For example, the separate service may be a music streaming service with the action being to play a particular song or playlist. Therefore, a rule could be created to automatically start the user’s choice of song playing (e.g., on the user device 40) when a puff is detected on the aerosol provision system 10. It will be appreciated that other services may be used to perform the action depending on the action desired. For example, a home automation service may be used to turn on lights in the user’s home, or an email service to automatically send an email.

[0051] Examples of possible conditions that may be used to trigger the action include a battery level of the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 (e.g., to alert the user when the battery level falls below a threshold level) or one or more puffs being detected on the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10. The detection of a puff, or a threshold number of puffs may be used as a trigger to perform actions based on the user’s usage of the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10, e.g., to record how many times the user makes use of the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 or to lock the system 10 after a particular number of puffs.

[0052] As described above in relation to the actions that could be performed, the conditions associated with a rule may also involve the use of a separate service. For example, a weather service may be used to implement a particular weather event (e.g., temperature, presence of rain) as a condition.

[0053] In some examples, an indication of the user’s supply of aerosolisable material is maintained by monitoring the usage of the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10, any aerosolisable material purchased using the user device and/or by allowing the user to specify how much aerosolisable material has been used/purchased. This indication may then be used to as a condition for a rule, for example to trigger one or more actions when the user’s supply falls below a threshold. This could therefore be used to alert the user when the supply of aerosolisable material is low and/or order more aerosolisable material to avoid the user running out. The supply of aerosolisable material may correspond to a level of aerosolisable material within a particular pod being used at the time which may be measured directly using a sensor in the pod, or by inferring the level based on an amount of aerosolisable material consumed whilst using that pod. The supply of aerosolisable may also refer to the user’s total inventory of aerosolisable material tracked for example based on knowledge of the pods ordered by the user, user input to indicate changes in the level of inventory, and/or the detected consumption of aerosolisable material by the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10.

[0054] The non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 and/or the user device 40 may be provided with a location determining element such as a GPS receiver which can be used to determine the location of the system 10 or user device 40 respectively. Thus the location of the system 10/user device 40 may also be used as a condition for a rule so that when the user arrives at a particular location, the action is caused to happen. For example, the use of a location-based condition may be combined with a low-battery condition to produce a rule that specifies that when the user arrives at a defined location (such as a home or work location), (as determined by a location determining element of the user device 40) and the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 has a low battery, a light on the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 is illuminated to indicate to the user that he/she should charge the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10.

[0055] The at least one condition used as part of a rule may additionally or alternatively involve a temporal condition whereby when the action is caused to occur at a particular time. The particular time could be specified as a particular time of day, a particular day of the week, a particular day of the month, or a particular date for example.

[0056] In some cases, the at least one condition is or includes a recurring condition that can be satisfied more than once, such as a time of day which will be satisfied each day or when the user is determined to be at home which will be satisfied each time the user returns home. In this case, the rule may specify that the action or actions are to be performed each time the recurring condition is satisfied so as to create an ongoing rule automating the action, or the rule may indicate that the action is only to be performed the first time that the condition is satisfied and so the action will not be performed on subsequent times that that condition is satisfied.

[0057] According to some examples, having received the input indicative of the rule, the rule is stored in a collection of rules for the user. The collection may comprise a plurality of rules such that several different actions can be automated based on different conditions. In this way, the user can configure a complex series of behaviours for the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 to occur automatically without the user’s intervention or requiring the user to manually track when the conditions for carrying out the actions are satisfied.

[0058] Returning to the flowchart of Figure 4, at step S43, it is detected that the at least one condition is satisfied.

[0059] This detection may be carried out based on information available to the device performing the method itself. For example, where a server carries out the method, the server may identify that the specified time corresponding to the condition for a particular rule has been reached. However, in some examples, detecting that the at least one condition is satisfied may be based on data received from another device. Where the method is carried out by the user device 40, this data could be provided by the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 (e.g., to indicate when a puff on the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 has been detected or a battery level of the system 10). Where the method is carried out by the server, this could involve data provided by the user device 40 (such as a location of the user device 40) and which may in turn have been provided by the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 (such as the battery level of the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10). [0060] Where more than one conditions are provided for the rule, it may be determined that the conditions of the rule are satisfied when all of the conditions are satisfied or the conditions of the rule may be satisfied and thus the action triggered when any of the conditions are satisfied. The input received at step S41 may specify which of these approaches is to be used.

[0061] In response to detecting that the at least one condition is satisfied at step S43, at step S45, the method involves causing the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 to perform the at least one action specified as part of the rule. Causing the action to be performed may involve triggering the action from the user device 40 by sending a signal to the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 to carry out the action for example. The signal may be sent using the receiver transmitter element 42 using, for example, Bluetooth™. Where the server carries out the method, causing the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 to perform the at least one action may involve issuing a signal directly to the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10, or may involve instructing the user device 40 to cause the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 to carry out the at least one action.

[0062] Before causing the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 to perform an action, a prompt may be issued to the user to obtain confirmation that the at least one action is to be performed. Thus, the user device 40 and or the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 may issue a notification to the user indicating that the at least one condition has been satisfied and/or the action to be performed. This may be done for example when the action would incur cost to the user, e.g., where the action involves ordering more aerosolisable material for the non- combustible aerosol provision system 10.

[0063] Thus there has been described an approach by which a user can provision a customised set of rules to control functionality of an aerosol provision system automatically.

[0064] Figure 4 is a schematic illustrating an example arrangement of a non-combustible aerosol provision system 10, a user device 40, and a server 60 providing functionality for the non- combustible aerosol provision system. The non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 and the user device 40 are in communication 302 using the transmitter/receiver element 26 of the non- combustible aerosol provision system 10 and the receiver transmitter element 42 of the user device 40. In this way, information can be provided from the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 to the user device 40 for use in determining whether conditions for any rules handled by the user device 40 or server 60 have been satisfied. Further, once it is detected that a condition for a rule has been satisfied, the user device 40 may signal via a communication channel 302 to the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 that the system 10 is to perform a particular action. [0065] As shown in Figure 4, the user device 40 is also in communication 304 with a server 60. The server 60 provides functionality for the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 as well as for other non-combustible aerosol provision systems of other users. In this case, the functionality provided by the server 60 is that of handling the storage and monitoring of rules. That is, when a new rule is created by a user providing user input at the user device 40 to select one or more conditions and one or more corresponding actions for the rule, this information is provided by the user device 40 as input to the server 60. The server 60 can then store that rule in a collection of rules for that particular user. The server 60 may also store a library of pre-configured rules from which the user can select to provision rules for their own non-combustible aerosol provision system 10. The user device 40 can then report relevant information for the assessment of whether the conditions for a rule have been satisfied, for example by indicating to the server 60 when puffs are taken on the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 or the battery level of the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10. The server 60 can then assess whether the conditions for any of the rules have been satisfied, and if so, cause the user device 40 to trigger the corresponding actions on the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10. By making use of the server 60 to handle the storage and monitoring of the rules in this way, this approach makes of use of the additional processing resources and storage on the server, reducing the processing load and storage requirements of the user device 40.

[0066] The server may also be used to maintain a library of the user’s own rules. That is, in addition to, or instead a library of rules that is available to all users, the user may have access to a library containing rules that they have themself configured. Thus, the input provided by the user to indicate the rule may comprise a selection of a previously configured rule from this library. This may therefore allow the user to re-use rules that they have created for one non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 across other systems 10 that they might have without needing to configure the rule fully again.

[0067] Figures 5A illustrates a user interface 500 that may be used for provisioning a rule to automate actions of a non-combustible aerosol provision system 10. The user interface 500 comprises a list 510 from which the user can select one or more conditions for the rule and a list 520 from which the user can select one or more actions to be performed when the condition is satisfied. Therefore, in this example the input to specify the one or more conditions and the one or more actions comprises selection from the lists 510, 520. As shown in Figure 5A, the selected condition is a time of day and the action to be performed when the condition is satisfied is locking the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10.

[0068] For certain conditions a general type of condition may be selected with further information required to fully define the condition. For example, a location condition may be selected with further information required to specify the location for which detection of the user device 40 in that location constitutes satisfaction of the condition. In the example of Figure 5A, the selected condition is a time of day, and further information can be provided in a box 512 to specify the specific time of day at which the condition will be satisfied. It will be appreciated that a similar box 512 can be provided for other conditions that require further information to fully define the condition, such as day/date/location/battery level etc.

[0069] In some examples, the action to be performed is selected first before a condition is selected, and only those conditions suitable for causing the selected action are presented for selection of a condition. In this way, it can be ensured that an appropriate condition is selected for the action to be performed. For example, if the action selected is to reorder more aerosolisable material, the battery level condition may not be shown as it is unlikely that a user would wish to order aerosolisable material on the basis of the battery level of the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10.

[0070] The user interface 500 also has a selection box 530 to allow the user to indicate whether the user should be prompted for confirmation before the action is carried out. A similar selection box may be provided to allow the user to specify for a recurring condition whether the action is to be performed only the first time that the condition is satisfied or each time the condition is satisfied. Once the user has configured the rule using the user interface 500, he/she can click the OK button 540 to confirm the selection and allow the rule to be provisioned and stored.

[0071] Thus there has been described an interface by which a user can define and configure rules using the user’s choice of conditions and actions to be performed.

[0072] Figure 5B illustrates a user interface showing a prompt issued to lock the device in accordance with the rule configured in Figure 5A. As shown in Figure 5A, the rule specifies that the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 should be locked at 10pm but that the user should be prompted first to confirm the action. As such, at 10pm the prompt 552 will be generated alerting the user of the action to be performed and allowing the user to confirm that the non- combustible aerosol provision system 10 is to be locked using the OK button 554 or to cancel the action using cancel button 556.

[0073] Figure 6 illustrates an example set of rules. The set of rules shown in Figure 6 may correspond to a collection of rules configured for a particular non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 such that when any of the conditions of the rules is satisfied, the actions for that particular rule are carried out. The set of rules may alternatively correspond to a library of rules or a portion thereof such as might be stored by a server (either corresponding to a library of preconfigured rules or a library of the user’s own rules which could be selected for application to another device). [0074] The rule configured using the interface in Figure 5A is shown as rule A in Figure 6.

According to rule A the condition is that the time is 10pm and the action is to lock the device.

[0075] More than one action may be performed in response to the condition being satisfied as illustrated with rule B. According to rule B, when a puff is detected on the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10, the actions taken are to wait 3 minutes, then lock the device, wait 30 minutes and unlock the device. This rule may be used to restrict the length of a session of use of the noncombustible aerosol provision system 10 to 3 minutes, for example, to more closely recreate the experience of using a traditional cigarette, after which the user has to wait 30 minutes before beginning another session.

[0076] In rule C, a combination of two conditions is provided such that the action is performed when both the battery level is low and the time is before 3pm. When both of these conditions are satisfied, the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 is caused to enter a low power mode to conserve the battery. This combination of conditions may be used to ensure that the battery level of the non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 will last the full day and based on a recognition that if the battery level is determined to be low after 3pm, there is still likely to be sufficient charge for the user to get home and charge the system 10.

[0077] Rule D also comprises two conditions, however, in this example, the action to prompt the user to order more aerosolisable material is performed when either of the two conditions is satisfied. Specifically, the user is prompted to order more aerosolisable material when either the aerosolisable material is low or it is the first day of the month. This may allow the user to review their supply of aerosolisable material on a regular basis whilst also acting to prevent the user running out of aerosolisable material in the meantime.

[0078] Thus there has been described a set of rules of the form that could be configured by a user to automate functionality of a non-combustible aerosol provision system 10 or that could be maintained as a library of rules that could be selected for use.