Systems, methods and articles to provide olfactory sensations

• US 9,931,425 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2014
• Issued: 04/03/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: President and Fellows of Harvard College (Harvard Corporation), Vapor Communications, Inc.
• Original Assignee: President and Fellows of Harvard College (Harvard Corporation), Vapor Communications, Inc.
• Inventors: Edwards, David A., Field, Rachel Diane, Yin, Amy Michelle, Shahar, Eyal
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Viet
• Application Number:
  US14/213,608
• Publication Number:
  US 20150048178A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,481 Days
• Field of Search: 239690, 239261
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2209/11 Apparatus for controlling air treatment
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2209/133 Replaceable cartridges, refills
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2209/134 Distributing means, e.g. baffles, valves, manifolds, nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2209/14 Filtering means
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 9/032 comprising a fan
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 9/035 emanating multiple odours
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 9/122 comprising a fan
• CPC Class Codes: A63J 2005/008 Smell sense
• CPC Class Codes: A63J 5/00 Auxiliaries for producing special effects on stages, or in circuses or arenas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/05 specially adapted for use on head, throat or breast
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/21 Combinations with auxiliary equipment, e.g. with clocks or memoranda pads
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion telephones including GPS signal receivers H04M2250/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4112 having fewer capabilities than the client, e.g. thin client having less processing power or no tuning capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41415 involving a public display, viewable by several users in a public space outside their home, e.g. movie theatre, information kiosk
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805

Abstract

A system to provide scents includes a scent receiver to replaceable receive scent carriers that carry scent media, a scent actuator operable to controllable release scent, and a configurable circulation subsystem. Peltier devices may used to induce active heating and active cooling of scent media according to defined scent sequence information or scent tracks. The system is also operable to collect air, including scents, from an ambient environment, and temporarily retaining such for sampling by a user. Scent tracks may be defined and shared amongst users and other entities.

Claims

1. A portable scent delivery system, comprising:

a housing having at least a scent generation chamber that at least in use holds scent media, a scent mixing chamber and a filter chamber, the filter chamber separate from the scent mixing chamber and sized and dimensioned to hold filter medium;

a scent actuator which includes at least one heater controllably operable to selectively heat the scent media to cause release of one or more scents from the scent media in the scent generation chamber;

a first fan positioned in the housing and selectively operable to cause scent to move outwardly of the housing;

a second fan positioned in the housing and selectively operable to draw scent inwardly back to the housing;

a first valve positioned in the housing and selectively operable to control passage of scent from the scent mixing chamber to a configurable fluidly communicative conduit path;

a second valve positioned in the housing and selectively operable to control passage of scent to the filter chamber from the configurable fluidly communicative conduit path;

a scent port that is operable to selectively release scents, if any, from the scent chamber via convection in response to at least one end user input; and

a control subsystem communicatively coupled to receive a set of scent activation information which is at least in part remotely generated from the portable scent delivery system and which set of scent activation information represents an intensity of the one or more scents to be emitted, and which represents a duration period for emission of the one or more scents specified by a start time and an end time for the one or more scents, the control subsystem further communicatively coupled to control the at least one heater of the scent actuator in response to the received set of scent activation information and a cool down time of the scent media which is an amount of time between stopping a heating of the scent media and stopping emission of the at least one scent from the scent media.

2. The portable scent delivery system of claim 1, further comprising:

a user actuatable control communicatively coupled to provide the at least one end user input to cause the scent port to selectively release scents via convection at a time outside of the duration period.

3. The portable scent delivery system of claim 2 wherein the user actuatable control is coupled to the housing.

4. The portable scent delivery system of claim 1 wherein the control subsystem is communicatively coupled to receive the scent activation information from a mobile communications device or media content player.

5. The portable scent delivery system of claim 1 wherein the control subsystem is communicatively coupled to receive the scent activation information from a mobile communications device or media content player, and causes release of the scents in a synchronization with audio and/or images presented by the mobile communications device or media content player.

6. The portable scent delivery system of claim 1 wherein the scent actuator is controllably operable to release one or more scents in precisely controlled amounts at precisely controlled times.

7. The portable scent delivery system of claim 1 wherein the scent port is operable to release one or more scents in precisely controlled amounts at precisely controlled times.

8. The portable scent delivery system of claim 1 wherein the set of scent activation information is an integral part of a remotely generated scent experience package.

9. The portable scent delivery system of claim 1 wherein the scent actuator includes

at least one Peltier device operable to actively heat and alternatively actively cool the consumable scent media of the scent media carrier while the scent media carrier is received by the receiver.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the housing includes at least a first compartment, a second compartment, and a third compartment, a receiver located in the first compartment, the system further comprising:

at least one filter, the at least one filter located in the second compartment, separate from the receiver which is located in the first compartment; and

the control subsystem located in the third compartment.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

at least a scent delivery conduit that provides fluid communication between the scent chamber and the scent port that in use releases scent to a user from the scent delivery conduit.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

at least a scent return conduit that provides fluid communication between the scent port and the filter chamber.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the scent delivery and the scent return conduits form a scent circulation loop, and further comprising:

a scent port valve in the scent circulation loop, the scent port valve selectively operable to control passage of scents via the scent port.

14. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a pendant having a scent port.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

a first cable that runs from the housing to the scent port, the first cable including at least a scent delivery conduit that provides fluid communication between the scent chamber and the scent port that in use releases scent to a user from the scent delivery conduit.

16. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one of the scent media carriers, which carries at least two consumable scent media in the form of a wax substrate with a respective lipophillic scent.

17. A portable scent delivery system, comprising:

a housing having at least a scent generation chamber that at least in use holds scent media;

a scent actuator which includes at least one heater controllably operable to selectively heat the scent media to cause release of one or more scents from the scent media in the scent generation chamber;

a scent port that is operable to selectively release scents, if any, from the scent chamber via convection in response to at least one end user input;

a control subsystem communicatively coupled to receive a set of scent activation information which is at least in part remotely generated from the portable scent delivery system and which set of scent activation information represents an intensity of the one or more scents to be emitted, and which represents a duration period for emission of the one or more scents specified by a start time and an end time for the one or more scents, the control subsystem further communicatively coupled to control the at least one heater of the scent actuator in response to the received set of scent activation information and a cool down time of the scent media which is an amount of time between stopping a heating of the scent media and stopping emission of the at least one scent from the scent media,

at least a scent delivery conduit that provides fluid communication between the scent chamber and the scent port that in use releases scent to a user from the scent delivery conduit; and

at least a scent return conduit that provides fluid communication between the scent port and the filter chamber, wherein the scent delivery and the scent return conduits are each respective pieces of stretched neoprene tubing with an inner diameter of approximately 1.5 millimeters.

18. A portable scent delivery system comprising:

a housing having at least a scent generation chamber that at least in use holds scent media;

a scent actuator which includes at least one heater controllably operable to selectively heat the scent media to cause release of one or more scents from the scent media in the scent generation chamber;

a pendant having a scent port, the scent port operable to selectively release scents, if any, from the scent chamber via convection in response to at least one end user input; and

a control subsystem communicatively coupled to receive a set of scent activation information which is at least in part remotely generated from the portable scent delivery system and which set of scent activation information represents an intensity of the one or more scents to be emitted, and which represents a duration period for emission of the one or more scents specified by a start time and an end time for the one or more scents, the control subsystem further communicatively coupled to control the at least one heater of the scent actuator in response to the received set of scent activation information and a cool down time of the scent media which is an amount of time between stopping a heating of the scent media and stopping emission of the at least one scent from the scent media; and

a first cable that runs from the housing to the scent port, the first cable including at least a scent delivery conduit that provides fluid communication between the scent chamber and the scent port that in use releases scent to a user from the scent delivery conduit,

wherein the first cable further includes at least a scent return conduit that provides fluid communication between the scent port and the filter chamber.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the pendant includes at least a first portion and a second portion, the second portion pivotally mounted to the first portion for rotation relative thereto.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the control subsystem activates at least one fan in response to orientation of the second portion of the pendant relative to the first portion of the pendant.

21. The system of claim 18, further comprising:

a touch sensor that senses human touch of at least a portion of the pendant; and

the control subsystem is communicatively coupled to control operation at least partially responsive to human touch of the pendant.

22. The system of claim 18, further comprising:

a motion sensor that senses movement of at least a portion of the pendant; and

the control subsystem is communicatively coupled to control operation at least partially responsive to movement of the pendant.