Inhalation device with constricted flow pathway

Abstract

An inhalation device includes a light source that emits light, a light sensor that senses an intensity of the light emitted from the light source and a processor or circuit configured to perform a metering process. The metering process may include when a signal indicating that a puff has been detected by the puff detecting element: extracting a predetermined known flow rate that is stored in the memory in advance, determining an amount of vaporized substance that have been produced, and accumulating the determined amount of vaporized substance that has been produced in the memory as a total amount produced. The metering method may also include when the accumulated total amount produced reaches a predetermined threshold: (i) shut off the heating element or (ii) send a signal to an indicator that the predetermined threshold amount of the vaporized substance has been consumed.

1 . An inhalation device for providing metering information regarding vaporized substance inhalation to a user, the inhalation device comprising:
 a main body comprising a channel through which the vaporized substance can flow, the main body including an inlet that is a first opening and an outlet that is a second opening;   a light source that emits light and that is positioned inside of the channel;   a light sensor that senses an intensity of the light emitted from the light source;   a puff detecting element configured to send an electric signal when a puff is detected;   a memory; and   a processor or circuit configured to:
 when a signal indicating that a puff has been detected by the puff detecting element:
 start the heating element to begin vaporizing the substance; 
 extract, from the memory, a predetermined known flow rate that is stored in the memory in advance, the predetermined known flow rate being a known flow rate of either the inhalation device itself or a portion of the channel of the inhalation device; 
 determine, based on the extracted known flow rate and information received from the light sensor regarding the intensity of the light emitted from the light source, an amount of vaporized substance that have been produced; 
 accumulate the determined amount of vaporized substance that has been produced in the memory as a total amount produced; and 
 when the accumulated total amount produced reaches a predetermined threshold dosage amount: (i) shut off the heating element or (ii) send a signal to an indicator that the predetermined threshold amount of the vaporized substance has been consumed. 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The inhalation device of  claim 1 , wherein the light source and the light sensor are positioned in the channel such that the vaporized substance can flow past the light sensor and the light source, and the puff detecting element includes at least one of: a fin or propeller positioned in the vapor flow pathway to spin as the air/vapor passes, a heated wire positioned in the airflow pathway such that passing air will create a drop in the temperature of the wire, a temperature sensor located downstream from the heating element as to measure the temperature of the passing air, and a sensor positioned on the mouthpiece such that when the user's lips touch the mouthpiece a puff is detected. 
     
     
         3 . The inhalation device of  claim 1 , wherein the determining of the amount of vaporized substance includes:
 obtaining a predetermined number of readings from the sensor in a predetermined amount of time;   determining a percentage, which is a vapor factor, as a ratio of an expected amount of production for the predetermined amount of time to the actual amount of vapor produced over the predetermined amount of time;   multiplying the predetermined amount of time by the vapor factor at that time; and   determining a total amount that has been consumed by accumulating each multiplication product.   
     
     
         4 . The inhalation device according to  claim 1 , wherein the processor or circuit is further configured to: determine the amount of vaporized substance based on a correlation between a light intensity and a vapor/air mixture. 
     
     
         5 . The inhalation device according to  claim 4 , wherein the correlation is based on a graph of a value percent drop in light intensity versus a percentage of vapor in a mixture of vapor and air. 
     
     
         6 . The inhalation device according to  claim 4 , wherein the correlation is based on a graph of a value percent drop in light intensity versus a percentage of  cannabis  oil vapor in a mixture of vapor and air. 
     
     
         7 . The inhalation device of  claim 1 , wherein
 the processor or circuit uses data from the light sensor to meter the consumption of the vaporized substance, and   the predetermined known flow rate that is stored in advance is based on a length of the second channel portion.   
     
     
         8 . The inhalation device of  claim 1 , wherein
 the indicator informs the user when a dose of the substance has been inhaled, and   the indicator includes at least one of: an audio signal, a visual signal, a visual display, a vibration and a transmitter that sends a signal to an external device.   
     
     
         9 . The inhalation device of  claim 1 , further comprising: an atomizer configured to vaporize an unvaporized substance into a vaporized substance. 
     
     
         10 . The inhalation device of  claim 1 , wherein the first opening is configured to allow entry of air into the device that flows to the atomizer such that the air flows at a substantially constant rate. 
     
     
         11 . The inhalation device of  claim 10 , wherein the processor or circuit, using the substantially constant rate and the data from the light sensor, is configured to meter an amount of vapor consumed by a user. 
     
     
         12 . The inhalation device of  claim 1 , wherein
 the channel includes a first channel portion and a second channel portion, and   when a user inhales, the vapor will flow in the first channel portion and through the second channel portion before flowing through the outlet, and   the light source and the light sensor may be positioned for sensing concentration of the vapor that flows in the second channel portion.   
     
     
         13 . The inhalation device of  claim 12 , wherein to perform the sensing of the concentration, the light source and the light sensor are positioned such that they are attached at respective ends of the second channel portion. 
     
     
         14 . The inhalation device of  claim 13 , wherein the respective ends of the second channel portion are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the vapor flow direction in the first channel portion. 
     
     
         15 . The inhalation device of  claim 13 , wherein where the vapor flow direction in the first channel portion is an X-axis of a local coordinate grid, a ceiling of the second channel portion is completely or partially below the first channel portion, where below means on a different Y-coordinate plane of the local coordinate grid that has the X-axis corresponding to the vapor flow direction in the first channel portion. 
     
     
         16 . The inhalation device of  claim 13 , wherein the second channel portion is relatively provided at a level below the first channel portion. 
     
     
         17 . The inhalation device of  claim 13 , wherein the inhalation device is configured to cause the vapor to:
 upon exiting the first channel portion, travel in a downward direction to and into the second channel portion, and   upon exiting the second channel portion, travel in a direction upwards to the outlet.   
     
     
         18 . The inhalation device of  claim 1 , wherein the inlet comprises a channel having at least two sidewalls, and the flow rate through the channel is limited by surface tension and friction between the air and the sidewalls. 
     
     
         19 . The inhalation device of  claim 1 , further comprising a plunger that is positioned at the inlet and is configured to move in an axial direction to limit airflow into the device. 
     
     
         20 . The inhalation device of  claim 1 , wherein the processor or circuit is configured to at least one of: produce discreet pulses of vapor at a preset frequency and or produce vapor in the pattern of a sine wave.