Device for adjusting an amount of an active substance inhaled by a user and communicating portable terminal

• US 10,398,171 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2015
• Issued: 09/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Enovap
• Original Assignee: Enovap
• Inventors: Scheck, Alexandre, Lemail, Philippe, Devos, Vincent, Elkhoury, Joseph, Suna, Murat, Kayal, Celine
• Primary Examiner(s): Malekzadeh, Seyed Masoud
• Assistant Examiner(s): Willett, Taryn Trace
• Application Number:
  US15/301,736
• Publication Number:
  US 20170027232A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,617 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/10 Devices using liquid inhalable precursors
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/30 Devices using two or more structurally separated inhalable precursors, e.g. using two liquid precursors in two cartridges
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/51 Arrangement of sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 40/65 Devices with integrated communication means, e.g. wireless communication means
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 15/0065 Inhalators with dosage or measuring devices A61M15/0028 takes precedence; dosage devices incorporated in aerosol cans B65D83/52
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 15/06 Inhaling appliances shaped like cigars, cigarettes or pipes
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/36 related to heating or cooling
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/20 Blood composition characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 1/0244 Heating of fluids H05B1/0247 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 2203/021 Heaters specially adapted for heating liquids

Abstract

A device to adjust an amount of an active substance inhaled by a user includes two tanks. A first tank includes a liquid having a lower density of active substance than a liquid in the second tank. Each liquid is configured to evaporate when the liquid is heated beyond a predefined temperature limit. An inhaler to inhale the liquid vapor evaporating from each tank by the user. One heating resistor is associated with each tank. A controller to control the heating of each resistor to actuate each resistor independently in accordance with the determined amount of active substance to be vaporized. The ratio of the heating of the resistor of the second tank to the heating of the resistor of the first tank is an increasing function of the determined amount of active substance to be vaporized.

Claims

1. A device to adjust an amount of an active substance inhaled by a user, comprising:

a first tank comprising a first liquid having an active substance at a first density and being configured to evaporate when said liquid is heated beyond a predefined first temperature limit;

a second tank comprising a second liquid having said active substance at a second density and being configured to evaporate when said second liquid is heated beyond a predefined second temperature limit, said first density is lower than said second density;

an inhaler to inhale, by the user, a liquid vapor evaporating from said first and second tank;

a first heating resistor associated with said first tank and being configured to heat said first liquid within said first tank beyond said first temperature limit, and a second heating resistor associated with said second tank and being configured to heat said second liquid within said second tank beyond said second temperature limit;

a processor configured to determine a required amount of active substance to be vaporized during an inhalation, and to increase or decrease said required amount with respect to previous inhalations;

a controller configured to control an amount of vaporized active substance by actuating said each first and second heating resistors independently in accordance with said required amount;

wherein said controller is configured to set the heating of said second resistor and the heating of said first resistor such that the ratio between the heating of said second resistor and the heating of said first resistor is increased when said processor increases said required amount.

2. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a communication unit to access a user profile, the processor determines the required amount according to data from the user profile.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to increase or decrease said required amount with respect to previous inhalations in accordance with timestamp data related to said previous inhalations.

4. The device according to claim 3, wherein the processor determines an increasing amount of active substance, relative to a last amount of active substance determined, when the timestamp data is a first item of timestamp data greater than a predefined time.

5. The device according to claim 3, wherein the processor determines a decreasing amount of active substance as a function of the timestamp data.

6. The device according to claim 5, further comprising a detector to detect an inhalation frequency of inhaling on the inhaler by the user, and wherein the processor is configured to determine the amount of active substance as a function of the inhalation frequency.

7. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor to capture a blood-alcohol level of the user;

and wherein the processor is configured to determine the amount of active substance to be vaporized as a function of the blood-alcohol level of the user.

8. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a thermometer to capture an item of data representative of a temperature in at least one tank, and wherein the controller is configured to control the heating of the resistor associated with said each tank as a function of the captured temperature.

9. A communicating portable terminal, comprising:

a terminal processor configured to determine an item of information representative of an amount of active substance to be vaporized; and

a transmitter to transmit to a device according to claim 1, the item of information representative of an amount of active substance to be vaporized determined by the terminal processor.