System and method for improved volume measurement
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for metering the volume of an aerosolized fluid, the apparatus comprising:
- a chamber comprising a gas region and a fluid region;
an atomizer in fluid communication with the fluid region of the chamber for aerosolizing fluid delivered from the fluid region;
an acoustic source configured to be acoustically coupled to the-gas region of the chamber;
a microphone configured to be acoustically coupled to the gas region of the chamber; and
a processor configured to receive a signal from the microphone, and further configured to determine a volume of the gas region of the chamber based on the received signal and thereby to determine a corresponding volume of aerosolized fluid.
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Abstract
An apparatus comprises a variable acoustic source and a microphone, both acoustically coupled to a volume having a fluid region and an air region. The apparatus also can include a processor to determine a volume of the air region based on signals received from the microphone and the variable acoustic source. A fluid valve is coupled to the processor, and is configured to allow an amount of fluid to exit the fluid region associated with the volume of the air region. An atomizer, coupled to the fluid region, is configured to aerosolize at least a portion of the fluid.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. An apparatus for metering the volume of an aerosolized fluid, the apparatus comprising:
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a chamber comprising a gas region and a fluid region; an atomizer in fluid communication with the fluid region of the chamber for aerosolizing fluid delivered from the fluid region; an acoustic source configured to be acoustically coupled to the-gas region of the chamber; a microphone configured to be acoustically coupled to the gas region of the chamber; and a processor configured to receive a signal from the microphone, and further configured to determine a volume of the gas region of the chamber based on the received signal and thereby to determine a corresponding volume of aerosolized fluid. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An apparatus for metering the volume of an aerosolized fluid, the apparatus comprising:
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a housing containing a first volume and a second volume, the housing configured to be acoustically coupled to a a chamber comprising a gas region and a fluid region; an atomizer in fluid communication with the fluid region of the chamber for aerosolizing fluid delivered from the fluid region; a first microphone disposed within the first volume;
a second microphone disposed within the second volume;a printed circuit board disposed within the housing such that the printed circuit board separates the first volume from the second volume, the printed circuit board including an acoustic source; and a processor configured to calculate a change in volume of the gas region of the chamber, and thereby to determine a quantity of fluid delivered to the atomizer. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An apparatus for metering the volume of fluid delivered as an aerosol, the apparatus comprising:
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an atomizer for aerosolizing fluid; a housing configured to be in communication with a valve, the housing containing a first volume, a second volume and a third volume including a gas region and a fluid region, the gas region acoustically coupled to the second volume and the fluid region coupled to the atomizer; a printed circuit board disposed within the housing such that the printed circuit board separates the first volume from the second volume, the printed circuit board including an acoustic source; a first microphone disposed within the first volume; a second microphone disposed within the second volume; and a processor configured to calculate a change in volume of the gas region and thereby to determine an amount of fluid output to the atomizer. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. An apparatus for metering the volume of an aerosolized fluid, the apparatus comprising:
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a housing configured to be in communication with a valve; a printed circuit board disposed within the housing such that the printed circuit board defines a first volume and a second volume including a gas region and a fluid region, the printed circuit board including an acoustic source; a first microphone disposed within the first volume; a second microphone disposed within the second volume; and a processor configured to calculate a change in volume of the gas region and thereby to determine an amount of fluid output from the fluid region for aerosolization. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification