METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR MANAGING VAPOR DISTRIBUTION

Provided are systems, methods, and vapor devices for providing customized vapor to a user. A customized vapor may ensure a particular flavor and/or chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) concentration of a vapor, or assist to reduce and/or eliminate substance dependency of a user, such as a nicotine or a cannabis dependency.

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Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/444,870, filed Jun. 18, 2019, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/686,639 filed Jun. 18, 2018 and to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/778,762, filed Dec. 12, 2018, both of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

Vapor devices (e.g., cigarettes, pipes, modified vapor devices, etc.) are used as an alternative to personal smoking, such as via cannabis, cigarette, hookah, cigar, and/or similar use. Vapor devices distribute a vapor to a user that may be inhaled. The vapor may have a flavor and/or chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) concentration that is unmanaged, such that users may inhale a vapor with a flavor and/or chemical concentration that is undesirable to the user. A flavor and/or chemical concentration that is undesirable to the user may include a flavor and/or chemical that is too strong or too weak for the user to obtain a desired effect, such as a substance (e.g., nicotine, cannabis, etc.) consumption management effect, physiological effect, psychological effect, social effect, and/or the like.

SUMMARY

It is to be understood that both the following general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive. Method and systems for managing vapor distribution are described. Vapor distribution, such as distribution via a vapor device, may be managed to provide an exact dosing of a vaporizable material (e.g., nicotine, cannabis, herbal material, liquid, oil, etc.) according to user defined settings. A flavor and/or chemical concentration of a vapor may be defined by a user and distributed by the vapor device regardless of a user inhalation rate (e.g., a quantity of vapor inhalations within a given timeframe, etc.) during a user vapor inhalation session. The flavor and/or chemical concentration of the vapor may be managed/changed periodically during the vapor inhalation session according to user preferences. User preferences may be provided to the user device prior to use of the vapor device and/or in real-time, such as during use of the vapor device. In some cases, the user preferences may be provided directly to the vapor device, such as via an interface associated with the vapor device. In some cases, the user preferences may be provided to and/or sent the vapor device, such as via a computing device. To improve the ability to meter a precise dose of a chemical in vapor, the vapor device may employ a power control scheme that can control the amount and duration of heat applied to a vaporizable material.

Additional advantages will be set forth in part in the description which follows or may be learned by practice. The advantages will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features, nature, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which like reference characters are used to identify like elements correspondingly throughout the specification and drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a system for vapor distribution;

FIG. 2 shows an example vapor device;

FIG. 3 shows an example vapor device;

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a method for vapor distribution;

FIG. 5 shows a system for vapor distribution.

 DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the present methods and systems are disclosed and described, it is to be understood that the methods and systems are not limited to specific methods, specific components, or to particular implementations. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting.

As used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressed herein as from “about” one particular value, and/or to “about” another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment. It will be further understood that the endpoints of each of the ranges are significant both in relation to the other endpoint, and independently of the other endpoint.

“Optional” or “optionally” means that the subsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur, and that the description includes instances where said event or circumstance occurs and instances where it does not.

As used herein, the terms “component,” “module,” “system,” and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a server and the server may be a component. One or more components may reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers.

As used herein, a “vapor” includes mixtures of a carrier gas or gaseous mixture (for example, air) with any one or more of a dissolved gas, suspended solid particles, or suspended liquid droplets, wherein a substantial fraction of the particles or droplets if present are characterized by an average diameter of not greater than three microns. As used herein, an “aerosol” has the same meaning as “vapor,” except for requiring the presence of at least one of particles or droplets. A substantial fraction means 10% or greater; however, it should be appreciated that higher fractions of small (<3 micron) particles or droplets may be desirable, up to and including 100%. It should further be appreciated that, to simulate smoke, average particle or droplet size may be less than three microns, for example, may be less than one micron with particles or droplets distributed in the range of 0.01 to 1 micron. A vaporizer may include any device or assembly that produces a vapor or aerosol from a carrier gas or gaseous mixture and at least one vaporizable material. An aerosolizer is a species of vaporizer, and as such is included in the meaning of vaporizer as used herein, except where specifically disclaimed.

Throughout the description and claims of this specification, the word “comprise” and variations of the word, such as “comprising” and “comprises,” means “including but not limited to,” and is not intended to exclude, for example, other components, integers or steps. “Exemplary” means “an example of” and is not intended to convey an indication of a preferred or ideal embodiment. “Such as” is not used in a restrictive sense, but for explanatory purposes.

Disclosed are components that may be used to perform the disclosed methods and systems. These and other components are disclosed herein, and it is understood that when combinations, subsets, interactions, groups, etc. of these components are disclosed that while specific reference of each various individual and collective combinations and permutation of these may not be explicitly disclosed, each is specifically contemplated and described herein, for all methods and systems. This applies to all aspects of this application including, but not limited to, steps in disclosed methods. Thus, if there are a variety of additional steps that may be performed it is understood that each of these additional steps may be performed with any specific embodiment or combination of embodiments of the disclosed methods.

Various aspects presented in terms of systems may comprise a number of components, modules, and the like. It is to be understood and appreciated that the various systems may include additional components, modules, etc. and/or may not include all of the components, modules, etc. discussed in connection with the figures. A combination of these approaches may also be used

The present methods and systems may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and the examples included therein and to the Figures and their previous and following description.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the methods and systems may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the methods and systems may take the form of a computer program product on a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program instructions (e.g., computer software) embodied in the storage medium. More particularly, the present methods and systems may take the form of web-implemented computer software. Any suitable computer-readable storage medium may be utilized including hard disks, CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices.

Embodiments of the methods and systems are described below with reference to block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods, systems, apparatuses and computer program products. It will be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, respectively, may be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus create a means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that may direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including computer-readable instructions for implementing the function specified in the flowchart block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.

Accordingly, blocks of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations support combinations of means for performing the specified functions, combinations of steps for performing the specified functions and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. It will also be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, may be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computer systems that perform the specified functions or steps, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

Various aspects are now described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more aspects. It may be evident, however, that the various aspects may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing these aspects.

Method and systems for managing vapor distribution are described. Vapor distribution, such as distribution via a vapor device, may be managed to provide an exact dosing of a vaporizable material (e.g., nicotine, cannabis, herbal material, liquid, oil, etc.) according to user defined settings. A flavor and/or chemical concentration of a vapor may be defined by a user and distributed by the vapor device regardless of a user inhalation rate (e.g., a quantity of vapor inhalations within a given timeframe, etc.) during a user vapor inhalation session. The flavor and/or chemical concentration of the vapor may be managed/changed periodically during the vapor inhalation session according to user preferences. User preferences may be based on one or more programs/plans for reducing and/or eliminating substance dependency of a user, such as a nicotine or a cannabis dependency. User preferences may be provided to the user device prior to use of the vapor device and/or in real-time, such as during use of the vapor device. In some cases, the user preferences may be provided directly to the vapor device, such as via an interface associated with the vapor device. In some cases, the user preferences may be provided to and/or sent the vapor device, such as via a computing device (e.g., a smart device, a user device, a mobile device, a server, etc.).

The vapor device may control the flavor and/or chemical concentration of the vapor by determining a mixture of vaporizable material based on user preferences. The vapor device may comprise one or more self-contained vapor release (exhaust) elements that are each coupled to a respective container for storing a vaporizable material. Each container for storing a vaporizable material may be associated with a respective vaporizing element (e.g., heater, etc.) used to vaporize the respective vaporizable material. Each vaporizing element may vaporize a respective vaporizable material, such as by heating the respective vaporizable material. Each vaporizing element may vaporize the respective vaporizable material according to a respective vaporization rate (e.g., a rate at which each vaporizable material is heated, etc.) to generate a respective vapor. In some cases, the vapor device may control a percentage of a chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) in vapor based on micro-bursting information. A first container for storing a vaporizable material may comprise a flavored vaporizable material, such as a flavored glycerin additive. A second container for storing a vaporizable material may comprise a liquid chemical (e.g., content of 100 percent liquid nicotine, liquid tetrahydrocannabinol, liquid cannabidiol, liquid cannabinol, liquid cannabigerol, etc.). The user may prefer/desire a vapor with a chemical concentration of five percent of the total chemical concentration. The vapor device may receive the user preference, and use a micro-bursting program (or similar method) to cause the respective vaporizing element to continuously heat the flavored vaporizable material (e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.) dispensed from and/or within the first container to produce a first vapor. The vapor device may use the micro-bursting program to cause the respective vaporizing element to intermittently heat the liquid chemical dispensed from and/or within the second container to produce a second vapor. The intermittent heating of the liquid chemical may be based on a rate required to generate/produce the user preferred/desired vapor with a nicotine concentration of five percent. The first vapor and the second vapor may be combined (e.g., combined internal to the vapor device, combined external to the vapor device, etc.) to produce the user preferred/desired vapor. In some cases, the vapor device may control a percentage of a chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) in vapor based on a temperature applied to a vaporizable material by a vaporizing element. For example, the flavored vaporizable material (e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.) dispensed from and/or within the first container may be heated at a higher temperature by the respective vaporizing element than the liquid chemical dispensed from and/or within the second container. Based on the higher temperature, the flavored vaporizable material (e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.) dispensed from and/or within the first container may produce a first vapor that is greater in volume than a second vapor produced by the liquid chemical dispensed from and/or within the second container. The first vapor and the second vapor may be combined to produce the user preferred/desired vapor (e.g., vapor with a nicotine concentration of five percent, etc.). The vapor device may produce vapor with any flavor and/or chemical concentration.

FIG. 1 shows a system for managing vapor distribution. The system 100 may include a vapor device 101. The vapor device 101 (e.g., electronic vapor device, e-cigarette, e-cigar, etc.) may comprise any suitable housing for enclosing and protecting the various components disclosed herein. The vapor device 101 may comprise a processor 102. The processor 102 may be, or may comprise, any suitable microprocessor or microcontroller, for example, a low-power application-specific controller (ASIC) and/or a field programmable gate array (FPGA) designed or programmed specifically for the task of controlling a device as described herein, or a general purpose central processing unit (CPU), for example, one based on 80×86 architecture as designed by Intel™ or AMD™, or a system-on-a-chip as designed by ARM™. The processor 102 may be coupled (e.g., communicatively, operatively, etc) to auxiliary devices, components, and/or modules of the vapor device 101 using a bus or other coupling.

The vapor device 101 may comprise a power supply 120. In an aspect, the power supply 120 may be a sole power source providing power/energy to the vapor device 101. In an aspect, the power supply 120 may comprise one or more batteries and/or other power storage devices (e.g., capacitor) and/or a port for connecting to an external power supply. For example, an external power supply may supply power to the vapor device 101 and a battery may store at least a portion of the supplied power. The one or more batteries may be rechargeable. The one or more batteries may comprise a lithium-ion battery (including thin film lithium ion batteries), a lithium ion polymer battery, a nickel-cadmium battery, a nickel metal hydride battery, a lead-acid battery, a CCell system, solar cells, combinations thereof, and the like. The power supply 120 may provide power/energy to the vapor device 101 by any suitable method and/or technique. Power/energy supplied by the power supply 120 may be adjusted and/or managed by the vapor device (the processor 102) to ensure that vaporizable materials are vaporized at a consistent, desired, preferred, and/or required vaporization rate. For example, the vapor device (the processor 102) may determine, based on one or more user preferences, a power output from the power supply 120 associated with vaporizing a vaporizable material at a particular vaporization rate. The vapor device (the processor 102) may determine that the power/energy output by the power supply 120 satisfies a threshold, such as a threshold value of low and/or reduced power/energy output. The vapor device (the processor 102) may adjust power/energy from the power supply 120, based on the power output satisfying the threshold, to maintain a vaporization rate.

The vapor device 101 may comprise a memory device 104. The memory device 104 may be coupled to the processor 102. The memory device 104 may comprise a random access memory (RAM) configured for storing program instructions (e.g., user preferences, micro-bursting programs, etc.) and data for execution or processing by the processor 102 during control of the vapor device 101. When the vapor device 101 is powered off or in an inactive state, program instructions and data may be stored in a long-term memory, for example, a non-volatile magnetic optical, or electronic memory storage device (not shown). Either or both of the RAM or the long-term memory may comprise a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing program instructions that, when executed by the processor 102, cause the vapor device 101 to perform all or part of one or more methods and/or operations described herein. Program instructions may be written in any suitable high-level language, for example, C, C++, C# or the Java™, and compiled to produce machine-language code for execution by the processor 102.

The vapor device 101 may comprise an input/output device 112 for providing an interface to a user to interact with the vapor device 101. The input/output device 112 may be coupled to one or more of the processor 102, a vaporizer module 108, the network access device 106, and/or any other electronic component of the vapor device 101. Input may be received from a user or another device and/or output may be provided to a user or another device via the input/output device 112. The input/output device 112 may comprise a user interface, such as a graphical user interface, and/or the like. The input/output device 112 may receive user preference information. The input/output device 112 may enable a user to lock, unlock, or partially unlock or lock, the vapor device 101. The vapor device 101 may be transitioned from an idle and locked state into an open state, such as by entering in a password/passcode, a biometric input, and/or the like. The input/output device 112 may display information to a user such as flavor and/or chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) concentration of vapor produced by the vapor device 101, an amount of vaporizable material remaining in a one or more containers of a container module 110, power remaining via the power source 120, and/or the like.

The input/output device 112 and/or the processor 102 may receive and interpret user preference information, commands, and/or other inputs, and/or interface with the other components of the vapor device 101 as required. In some cases the input/output device 112 and/or the processor 102 may include and/or be associated with an application (software application, mobile application, etc.), code, and/or virtual instructions that receive and interpret user preference information, commands, and/or other inputs, and/or interface with the other components of the vapor device 101 as required. The user preference information may comprise one or more formulas/mixtures for vaporizable material and/or instructions to distribute/release vapor from the vapor device 101, such as information used to manage flavor and/or chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) concentration of the vapor, and/or the like. The user interface may comprise a touchscreen interface and/or a biometric interface. The input/output device 112 may provide controls and menu selections, and process commands and requests. The input/output device 112 may include controls that allow the user to interact with and input information and commands, such as user preferences for flavor and/or chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) concentration of vapor produced by the vapor device 101. User preferences for user preferences for flavor and/or chemical concentration may be based on one or more programs/plans for reducing and/or eliminating substance dependency of a user, such as a nicotine or a cannabis dependency. A program/plan for reducing and/or eliminating substance dependency of a user may comprise regulated vapor distributions that alter a chemical concentration of a vapor based on how much of a substance (e.g. nicotine, cannabis, etc.) may be used in any given time period, such as a max per week, per day, or per draw/inhalation of vapor.

The input/output device 112 may comprise an interface port (not shown) such as a wired interface, for example a serial port, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, an Ethernet port, or other suitable wired connection. The input/output device 112 may comprise a wireless interface (not shown), for example a transceiver using any suitable wireless protocol, for example Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11), Bluetooth®, infrared, or other wireless standard. For example, the input/output device 112 may communicate with the computing device 104 or any other device (e.g., a smart device, a user device, a mobile device, a server, etc.) via Bluetooth® such that the inputs and outputs of the computing device 104 or any other device may be used by the user to interface with the vapor device 101.

The input/output device 112 may comprise an audio user interface. A microphone may be configured to receive audio signals and relay the audio signals to the input/output device 112. The audio user interface may be any interface that is responsive to voice or other audio commands. The audio user interface may be configured to cause an action, activate a function, and/or the like, by the vapor device 101 (or another device) based on a received voice (or other audio) command. The audio user interface may be deployed directly on the vapor device 101 and/or via other electronic devices (e.g., the computing device 140, a smart device, a tablet, a laptop, a dedicated audio user interface device, and the like). The audio user interface may be used to control the functionality of the vapor device 101. Such functionality may comprise, but is not limited to, user preferences for flavor and/or chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) concentration of vapor produced by the vapor device 101.

The vapor device 101 may comprise a network access device 106 allowing the vapor device 101 to be coupled to a computing device 140 and/or one or more ancillary devices (not shown) such as via an access point (not shown) of a wireless telephone network, local area network, or other coupling to a wide area network, for example, the Internet. In that regard, the processor 102 may be configured to share data with the computing device 140 and/or one or more ancillary devices via the network access device 106. The shared data may comprise, for example, user preferences (e.g., flavor information, chemical information, concentration information, etc.), usage data and/or operational data of the vapor device 101, a status of the vapor device 101, a status and/or operating condition of one or more the components of the vapor device 101, text to be used in a message, a product order, payment information, and/or any other data. Similarly, the processor 102 may be configured to receive control instructions from the computing device 140 and/or one or more ancillary devices via the network access device 106. For example, a configuration of the vapor device 101, an operation of the vapor device 101, and/or other settings of the vapor device 101, may be controlled by the computing device 140 and/or one or more ancillary devices via the network access device 106.

The computing device 140 (e.g., a smart device, a user device, a server, etc.) may comprise may provide be used to provide information/data (e.g., user preferences, etc.) to and/or control operation of the vapor device 101. In an aspect, the computing device 140 may be used as a primary input/output of the vapor device 101. User preferences transmitted to the vapor device 101 from the computing device 140 (or any other device) may comprise one or more formulas/mixtures for vaporizable material and/or instructions to release vapor, such as information used to manage flavor and/or chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) concentration of the vapor, and/or the like.

The vapor device 101 may comprise a vaporizer module 108. The vaporizer module 108 may comprise a plurality of vaporizers elements, such as metal heating elements, ceramic heating elements, glass heating elements, piezoelectric elements, ultrasonic elements, and/or the like. The vaporizer module 108 may be coupled to the container module 110. Each vaporizing element of the plurality of vaporizers elements may be coupled to a separate container of the container module 110. In some cases, a single vaporizing element may be coupled to one or more containers of the container module 110. Each container of the container module 110 may be configured to hold one or more vaporizable (or non-vaporizable) materials. Each container of the container module 110 may be made of any suitable structural material, such as, an organic polymer, metal, ceramic, composite, or glass material.

Each container of the container module 110 may comprise and/or be associated with an identifier, such as a content identifier. The container module 110 may comprise one or more sensors that detect and/or determine the presence and/or contents (one or more vaporizable and/or non-vaporizable materials) of a container of the container module 110. The one or more sensors may comprise one or more tag/identifier scanners/readers, data reception terminals, physical component receptacles and/or analyzers, and/or the like suitable for determining and/or identifying a container of the container module 110 based on a respective identifier, such as a content identifier.

A content identifier may be any identifier, token, character, string, label, classifier, sensor, quick response (QR) asset tag, near-field communication (NFC) tag, and/or the like, for differentiating contents (e.g., vaporizable material, non-vaporizable material, flavor content, liquid content, nicotine content, cannabis content (cannabis strain information), chemical content, drug content, etc.) of a container of the container module 110 from contents of a another container of the container module 110. A content identifier may identify and/or be associated with information relating to a container of the container module 110, such as a manufacturer and/or distributor of contents within the respective container. A content identifier determined and/or received from a container of the container module 110 by the vapor device 101 based on a sensor detection method, an identification transmittal method (e.g., via the network access device 106, etc.), a short-range communication technique (e.g., BLUETOOTH, infrared communication, near-field, communication, etc.), and/or the like.

A content identifier may be a physical identifier, such as an identifier based on a shape, marking, groove, indentation, raised marking, texture, and/or the like of a respective container of the container module 110. In some instances, a shape, grove, and/or other physical attribute of a container of the container module 110 may be used as by the vapor device 101 to determine the contents of the container based on the shape, the grove, and/or the other physical attribute fitting, complementing, matching, and/or the like a shape, a grove, and/or other physical attribute of a container receptacle (and/or sensor) of the vapor device 101, such as a key and lock based system. A content identifier may be any identifier of contents within a container of the container module 110.

Each vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 may receive one or more vaporizable or non-vaporizable materials from a respective container of the container module 110 and heat the one or more vaporizable (or non-vaporizable) materials until the one or more vaporizable (or non-vaporizable materials) achieve a vapor state. In some cases, a single vaporizing element may receive one or more vaporizable or non-vaporizable materials from one or more containers of the container module 110 and heat the one or more vaporizable (or non-vaporizable) materials until the one or more vaporizable (or non-vaporizable materials) achieve a vapor state.

Vaporizable (or non-vaporizable) materials within containers of the container module 110 may be released to a respective vaporizing element (or a single vaporizing element) of the vaporizer module 108 via a respective valve or another mechanism. In some cases, each container of the container module 110 may comprise a wick (not shown) through which vaporizable (or non-vaporizable) materials are drawn to the respective vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108. In some cases, each container of the container module 110 may be associated with a single wick (not shown) via which vaporizable (or non-vaporizable) materials are drawn to the respective vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108. Each container of the container module 110 may be made of any suitable structural material, such as, an organic polymer, metal, ceramic, composite, or glass material. Vaporizable material may comprise one or more of, a Propylene Glycol (PG) based liquid, a Vegetable Glycerin (VG) based liquid, a water based liquid, combinations thereof, and the like. Vaporizable material may comprise nicotine, cannabis, plant-based material, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), cannabinol (CBN), an extract from duboisia hopwoodii, combinations thereof, and the like. Vaporizable material may include any material.

The vapor device 101 may comprise an extraction element 122. The extraction element 122 may be coupled to the processor 102 to receive one or more control signals. The one or more control signals may instruct the extraction element 122 to withdraw specific amounts of fluid (vaporizable material, etc.) from containers of the container module 110. The extraction element 122 may, in response to a control signal from the processor 102, withdraw select quantities of vaporizable material in order to create a customized mixture of different types of vaporizable material and produce a vapor with a specific flavor and/or chemical concentration. Fluid (vaporizable material, etc.) withdrawn from containers of the container module 110 by the extraction element 122 may be provided to a vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108.

Each container of the container module 110 may be associated with a respective vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 that is used to vaporize the respective vaporizable material. Each vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 may vaporize a respective vaporizable material, such as by heating the respective vaporizable material. Each vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 may vaporize the respective vaporizable material according to a respective vaporization rate (e.g., a rate at which each vaporizable material is heated, etc.) to generate a respective vapor. In some cases, each container of the container module 110 may be associated with a single vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 that is used to vaporize the respective vaporizable materials of each container. The vaporizing element may vaporize each vaporizable material associated with each container of the container module 110 according to a respective vaporization rate (e.g., a rate at which each vaporizable material is heated, etc.) to generate a respective vapor.

Input from the input/output device 112 may be used by the processor 102 to cause a respective vaporizing element (or single vaporizing element) of the vaporizer module 108 to vaporize one or more vaporizable or non-vaporizable materials from containers of the container module 110. In some cases, a user may depress a button, causing a respective vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 to vaporize one or more vaporizable or non-vaporizable materials from containers of the container module 110. In some cases, the processor 102 may determine a vaporization rate, such as based on user preferences, on one or more programs/plans for reducing and/or eliminating substance dependency of a user, and/or the like. The vaporization rate may be an amount of vaporizable material vaporized over time. A vaporization rate may be determined based on a vaporizable material. A vaporization rate may be determined for each vaporizable material of a plurality of vaporizable materials. Vaporizable materials may be vaporized at a respective vaporization rate and resulting vapors may be combined to produce a vapor of a particular flavor and/or chemical concentration. Vaporization rates may be used to determine an amount of each vaporizable material to withdraw from a container of the container module 110.

In some cases, the vapor device 101 (e.g., the processor 102) may control a percentage of a chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) in vapor based on micro-bursting information. A first container of the container module 110 may comprise a flavored vaporizable material, such as a flavored glycerin additive. A second container of the container module 110 may comprise a liquid chemical (e.g., content of 100 percent liquid nicotine, liquid tetrahydrocannabinol, liquid cannabidiol, liquid cannabinol, liquid cannabigerol, etc.). A user may prefer/desire a vapor with a nicotine concentration of five percent of the total chemical concentration of the vapor. The vapor device 101 may receive the user preference (e.g., via the input/output device 112, from the computing device 140, etc.) and use a micro-bursting program (or similar method) to cause the respective vaporizing element (or a single vaporizing element) of the vaporizer module 108 to continuously heat the flavored vaporizable material (e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.) dispensed (e.g., withdrawn by the extraction element 122, etc.) from and/or within the first container of the container module 110 to produce a first vapor. The processor 102 may use a micro-bursting program to cause the respective vaporizing element (or a single vaporizing element) of the vaporizer module 108 to intermittently heat the liquid chemical dispensed (e.g., withdrawn by the extraction element 122, etc.) from and/or within the second container of the container module 110 to produce a second vapor. The intermittent heating of the liquid chemical can be based on a rate required to generate/produce the user preferred/desired vapor with a nicotine concentration of five percent. The first vapor and the second vapor may be combined (e.g., combined internal to the vapor device 101, combined external to the vapor device 101, etc.) to produce the user preferred/desired vapor. Vaporizable materials, such as liquid flavors and/or chemicals, from separate containers (e.g., the first container and/or the second container of the container module 110) may be separated by barrier, such as a thermal insulated barrier, a heat guard, a shield, material, and/or the like when exposed to a vaporizing element so that heating and vaporization of each vaporizable material may be separately and/or independently controlled.

In some cases, the vapor device 101 may control a percentage of a chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) in vapor based on a temperature applied to a vaporizable material by a vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108. For example, the flavored vaporizable material (e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.) dispensed (e.g., withdrawn by the extraction element 122, etc.) from and/or within the first container of the container module 110 may be heated at a higher temperature by the respective vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 than the liquid chemical dispensed (e.g., withdrawn by the extraction element 122, etc.) from and/or within the second container of the container module 110. Based on the higher temperature, the flavored vaporizable material (e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.) dispensed (e.g., withdrawn by the extraction element 122, etc.) from and/or within the first container of the container module 110 may produce a first vapor that is greater in volume than a second vapor produced by the liquid chemical dispensed (e.g., withdrawn by the extraction element 122, etc.) from and/or within the second container of the container module 110. The first vapor and the second vapor may be combined to produce the user preferred/desired vapor (e.g., vapor with a nicotine concentration of five percent, etc.).

In some cases the first container of the container module 110 may contain a mixture of flavored vegetable glycerin and cannabis and the second container of the container module 110 may contain flavored vegetable glycerin with no cannabis. A user may desire to only inhale vapor from the cannabis mixture on a first draw/pull/inhalation (the cannabis mixture is not 100 percent cannabis, and mixtures with different cannabis levels may be created and used), but then reduce the amount of the cannabis mixture in a subsequent draw/pull/inhalation to 20 percent. The user may provide user preferences to the vapor device 101 via the input/output device 112 and/or the computing device 140. The processor 102, based on the user preferences, may cause the respective vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 to vaporize the mixture of flavored vegetable glycerin and in the first container of the container module 110 for the first draw/pull/inhalation without causing the respective vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 to vaporize the flavored vegetable glycerin in the second container of the container module 110. As such the first draw/pull/inhalation may only consist of vapor from the first container of the container module 110. The processor 102 may then cause the respective vaporizing elements for the first and second containers to heat the contents of the respective containers at different temperatures (e.g., use different amounts of power, etc.) to obtain a vapor with twenty percent cannabis concentration. More complex patterns, percentages, formulas, flavors, concentrations, and/or mixtures may be produced, such as by incorporating more containers of the container module 110 with different contents. The vapor device 101 may produce vapor with any flavor and/or chemical concentration.

The vapor device 101 may include a plurality of valves (not shown), wherein a respective one of the valves is interposed between each vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 and a corresponding outlet of an outlet module 114. Each of the valves may be used to control a flow rate of vapor through a respective outlet of the outlet module 114. Managing the flow rate of vapor through an outlet may enable precise control of a total particulate matter and/or chemical concentration of a vapor, such as a vapor inhaled by a user. Each outlet of the outlet module 114 may be separated from another outlet of outlet module 114 to allow respective vapors produced by each vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 to exit the vapor device 101 for inhalation by a user. Each valve may be associated with a sensor that detects and or determines an amount of particulate and/or chemical within a vapor and provides the information to the processor 102. The processor 102 may adjust operations of the vapor device 101, such as power/energy output by the power supply 120, a time and/or temperature applied to vaporizable material by the vaporizer module 108, an amount of vaporizable material extracted from a container of the container module 110, and/or the like based on the information from each valve associated with an outlet of the outlet module 114.

In some cases, each of the plurality of valves may include a lumen of adjustable effective diameter for controlling a rate of vapor flow there through. The assembly may include an actuator, for example a motor, configured to independently adjust respective ones of the valves under control of the processor. The actuator may include a handle or the like to permit manual valve adjustment by the user. The motor or actuator may be coupled to a uniform flange or rotating spindle coupled to the valves and configured for controlling the flow of vapor through each of the valves. Each of the valves may be adjusted so that each outlet of the outlet module 114 may accommodate the same (equal) rate of vapor flow, or different rates of vapor flow. The processor 102 may be configured to determine settings for the respective ones of the valves each based on at least one of: a selected user preference or an amount of suction applied to an outlet of the outlet module 114.

Operations of the vapor device 101 (e.g., chemical dose management, power management, vaporizable material extraction and vaporization, etc.) may be performed in real-time, simultaneously, and/or based on an order, such as an order required to produce a vapor with a specific chemical concentration.

Chemical Dose Management

The vapor device 101 may control an amount of total particulate matter (TPM) and/or chemical concentration (dose) of distributed vapor, such as vapor inhaled by a user. The processor 102 may integrate measurements/readings associated with power/energy provided to vaporizing elements of the vaporizer module 108 by the power supply 120 to determine/calculate a quantity of vapor produced by a vaporizable material. For example, a quantity of vapor produced by a vaporizable material may be based on equation 1:


Δmvap,cumulative=Σi=1i=na[Pi−b(Ti−Ti−1)−cTi]  (equation 1)

    • where Δmvap,cumulative is a total mass of a vaporizable material vaporized during sampling intervals i=1 to i=n, with each interval being of a fixed time increment. Power supplied by the power supply 120 during interval i may be represented as Pi; Ti is temperature reading from a vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 for the interval i; Ti−1 is temperature reading for an interval occurring immediately before the current interval (i−1 immediately prior to interval i).

The values a, b, and c are constants. The values a, b, and c may be set based on attributes of a known vaporization material. The values a, b, and c may reflect physical constants whose values can be determined experimentally and can vary depending on the vaporizable material used. For example, the constants a, b, and c can depend upon the latent heat and the specific heat of the material being vaporized. The constants can further depend upon the overall mass of the system that needs to be heated (such as the liquid material, the vaporizing element (e.g., heater), and/or a wick or similar component used to transfer the liquid material). These constants may be determined empirically or based on theoretical values knowing the dimensions and material properties of the vaporizable material and components of the vapor device 101. In some cases, the empirical determination of (a, b and c) may be accomplished by measuring power/energy (supplied by the power supply 120) and temperature (supplied by the vaporizing module 108) over a series of draws/inhalations and measuring a cumulative mass of the vaporizable material lost (e.g., gravimetrically). The mass lost may be taken as being equal to total delivered mass of TPM (mg). Best values for a, b, and c may then determine by fitting equation 1 to experimental mass delivery, power and temperature data.

A total particulate matter (TPM) to active material (currently vaporized material) content can be correlated based on a composition of each vaporizable material extracted from a container of the container module 110. For example, for vaporizable liquid, that contains a percentage of 20-25% chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) content may correlate to a TPM of vapor containing a chemical percentage of 20-25%. In some cases, it may be reasonable to assume total conversion (vaporization) of the vaporizable material. For example, for a liquid vaporizable material where the active chemical is a cannabis extract containing 25% cannabidiol (CBD), then a TPM correlated to 25% CBD, means the TPM has the percentage of the chemical, (assuming total conversion (vaporization) of the chemical.

User preferences received by the vapor device 101 may allow the user to preset an amount of vaporizable material to be vaporized before the user is alerted, component/elements of the vapor device 101 are disabled (e.g., power/energy from the power supply 120 reduced/terminated, heat produced by a vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108 reduced/terminated, etc.), and/or any other controlling logic is implemented by the processor 102. In some cases, the vapor device 101 may include an alert/alarm system that notifies a user when a preset amount of a vaporizable material is vaporized and/or a chemical dosage is received. The alert/alarm may include an audible alarm, a vibration, a message (e.g., notification via an application, text message, email, etc.), and/or the like. In some cases, the processor 102 may disable the vapor device 101 and/or components of the vapor device 101 when a preset amount of a vaporizable material is vaporized. In some cases, the processor, based on user preferences, may cause the vapor device 101 to vaporize a target amount of vaporizable material in a single draw/inhalation. In some cases, the processor, based on user preferences, may cause the vapor device 101 to vaporize a target amount of vaporizable material in a plurality of draws/inhalations.

Power Management

The vapor device 101 may control power/energy output by the power supply 120. The vapor device 101 may use the processor 102 to control power/energy output by the power supply 120, such as an amount of power/energy supplied by the power supply 120 to a vaporizing element of the vaporizer module 108. The vapor device 101 may use the processor 102 to control the total power/energy output by the power supply 120, such power/energy is supplied to a vaporizing element of the vaporizing module 108 to vaporize a vaporizable material according to user preferences. Controlling the power/energy output by the power supply may protect the power source and prevent issues common to over exerted power sources, such as fires, explosions, inconsistent power/energy generation, device errors, and/or the like.

The vapor device 101 may control of the power/energy supplied to a vaporizing element used to vaporize a vaporizable material to provide a predictable and/or consistent dose of a chemical to a user via a vapor. The processor 102 may control power/energy output by the power supply 120 so that a total power/energy output of the power supply 120 is divided according to a ratio associated with power/energy requirements of each vaporizing element of the vaporizing module 108 to provide a user with a vapor with a specific chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) concentration. For example, a user may provide user preferences to the vapor device 101 that indicate that the user desires to inhale a vapor with a specific chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) concentration. To produce a vapor with the specific chemical concentration, a first vaporizing element of the vaporizing module 108 may require 90% of the total power/energy output of the power supply 120 to vaporize a liquid chemical (e.g., vaporizable material, etc.), and a second vaporizing element of the vaporizing module 108 may require 70% of the total power/energy output of the power supply 120 to vaporize a liquid flavor (e.g., vaporizable material, etc.), resulting in need for 160% of the total power/energy output of the power supply 120. However, the power supply 120 may be unable to operate at and/or supply greater than 100% of its available power/energy. To accommodate, the processor 102 may cause the power supply 120 to deregulate and/or reduce its total power/energy supplied to both vaporizing elements (e.g., the first and second vaporizing elements) to a percentage of its total available power/energy, such as deregulating and/or reducing its total power/energy supplied to both vaporizing elements to 80% of its total available power/energy. The deregulated and/or reduced power/energy output (e.g., 80% total power/energy output) may be divided between the vaporizing elements based on a ratio of the power/energy requirements of each vaporizing element. For example, the first vaporizing element may receive a reduced percentage of the 90% of the total power/energy output of the power supply 120 required to vaporize the liquid chemical (e.g., vaporizable material, etc.), such as 70% of the total power/energy output of the power supply 120. The second vaporizing element may a reduced percentage of the 70% of the total power/energy output of the power supply 120 required to vaporize the liquid flavor (e.g., vaporizable material, etc.), such as 30% of the total power/energy output of the power supply 120. As another example, the first vaporizing element may receive 80% of the 90% of the total power/energy output of the power supply 120 required to vaporize the liquid chemical (e.g., vaporizable material, etc.), and the second vaporizing element may receive 80% of the 70% of the total power/energy output of the power supply 120 required to vaporize the liquid flavor (e.g., vaporizable material, etc.). In some cases, percentages of the total power/energy output of the power supply 120 may be applied to respective vaporizing elements at different time intervals so that power/energy output of the power supply 120 may be maintained/regulated at a defined percentage of available power/energy of the power supply 120.

In instances where the power supply 120 is unable to provide power/energy needed to vaporize one or more vaporizable materials to produce a vapor with a specific chemical content, the vapor device 101 notify a user. The user may be notified via an application, a message (e.g., an email message, a text message, etc.), audible alarm, a vibration, and/or the like.

In some cases, power/energy supplied by the power supply 120 to a vaporizing element vaporizing a chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) may be prioritized over power/energy supplied by the power supply 120 to a vaporizing element vaporizing a liquid flavor to ensure that the chemical is vaporized at a consistent vaporization rate required to produce a vapor with a specific chemical concentration.

FIG. 2 illustrates a vapor device 200 (e.g., the vapor device 101, electronic vapor device, etc.). The vapor device 200 may control the flavor and/or chemical concentration of the vapor by determining a mixture of vaporizable material based on user preferences. User preferences may define a flavor and/or chemical concentration of a vapor generated and/or released by the vapor device 200. The flavor and/or chemical concentration of the vapor may be managed/changed periodically during a vapor inhalation session according to the user preferences. In some cases, the user preferences may be provided directly to the vapor device, such as via an interface (not shown) associated with the vapor device 200. In some cases, the user preferences may be received from a device, such as a mobile device, smart device, and/or computing device (e.g., the computing device 140, etc.) prior to use of the vapor device 200 and/or in real-time, such as during use of the vapor device 200.

The vapor device 200 may comprise a power supply 208 (e.g. the power supply 120, etc.). The power supply 208 may be a sole power source providing power/energy to the vapor device 200. In some cases, the power supply 208 may comprise one or more batteries and/or other power storage devices (e.g., capacitor) and/or a port for connecting to an external power supply. For example, an external power supply may supply power to the vapor device 200 and a battery may store at least a portion of the supplied power. The one or more batteries may be rechargeable. The one or more batteries may comprise a lithium-ion battery (including thin film lithium ion batteries), a lithium ion polymer battery, a nickel-cadmium battery, a nickel metal hydride battery, a lead-acid battery, a CCell system, solar cells, combinations thereof, and the like. The power supply 208 may provide power/energy to the vapor device 200 by any suitable method and/or technique.

The vapor device 200 may comprise self-contained vapor release outlets 202a and 202b that are each coupled to a respective container 203a and 203b for storing a vaporizable material (e.g., nicotine, cannabis, herbal material, liquid, oil, etc.). The containers 203a and 203b may be retractable and/or removable from the vapor device 200. The containers 203a and 203b may comprise and/or be associated with an identifier such as a content identifier. A content identifier may be any identifier, token, character, string, label, classifier, quick response (QR) asset tag, near-field communication (NFC) tag, and/or the like, for differentiating contents (e.g., vaporizable material, non-vaporizable material, flavor content, liquid content, nicotine content, cannabis content (cannabis strain information), chemical content, drug content, etc.) of the containers 203a and 203b from contents of a another container of the vapor device 200. The vapor device 200 may comprise any quantity of containers and/or related components. A content identifier may be information relating to a container of the vapor device 200, such as a manufacturer and/or distributor of contents within the respective container. A content identifier may be based on a shape, marking, groove, indentation, raised marking, texture, and/or the like of a container of the vapor device 200. The vapor device 200 may use the shape, marking, groove, indentation, raised marking, texture, and/or the like of the container to determine the contents of the container based on a the shape, marking, groove, indentation, raised marking, texture, and/or the like fitting, complementing, matching, and/or the like a shape, marking, groove, indentation, raised marking, texture, and/or the like of a container receptacle (and/or sensor) of the vapor device 200, such as a key and lock based system. A content identifier may be any identifier of contents within a container of the vapor device 200.

The vapor device 200 may comprise an extraction element 204. The extraction element 204 may be coupled to the containers 203a and 203b. The extraction element 204 may, in response to a control signal from a processor 205 (based on the user preferences) the extraction element 204 may withdraw select quantities of vaporizable material in order to create a customized mixture of different types of vaporizable material and/or a customized mixture of vaporizable material having varying amounts of a specific substance, such as nicotine, cannabis, and/or the like. The extraction element 204 may withdraw vaporizable material from the containers 203a and 203b via a respective wick 206a and 206b. In some cases, the wick 206a and the wick 206b may be a single wick via which vaporizable (or non-vaporizable) materials are withdrawn from the containers 203a and 203b. In some cases, the vapor device 200 may not comprise wicks and vaporizable material may be withdrawn from the containers 203a and 203b via any suitable method, mode, or means.

Each container 203a and 203b be coupled to and/or associated with a respective vaporizing element 207a and 207b (e.g., heater, etc.) used to vaporize the respective vaporizable material withdrawn from the containers 203a and 203b. The vaporizing elements 207a and 207b may vaporize a respective vaporizable material withdrawn from the containers 203a and 203b, such as by heating the respective vaporizable material. The vaporizing elements 207a and 207b may each vaporize the respective vaporizable material according to a respective vaporization rate (e.g., a rate at which each vaporizable material is heated, etc.) to generate a respective vapor. The vapor device 200 may use the processor 205 to control operations of the extraction element 204, the vaporizing elements 207a and 207b, and/or any related component of the vapor device 200 and meter a precise dose of a chemical in vapor form for inhalation from the vapor device 200.

The processor 205 may control a percentage of a chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) in vapor based on micro-bursting information (according to user preferences). The container 203a may comprise a flavored vaporizable material, such as a flavored glycerin additive. The container 203b may comprise a liquid chemical (e.g., content of 100 percent liquid nicotine, liquid tetrahydrocannabinol, liquid cannabidiol, liquid cannabinol, liquid cannabigerol, etc.). A user may prefer/desire a vapor with a nicotine concentration of five percent of the total chemical concentration. The vapor device 200 may receive the user preference, and the processor 205 may use a micro-bursting program (or similar method) to cause the vaporizing element 207a to continuously heat the flavored vaporizable material (e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.) dispensed from and/or within the container 203a to produce a first vapor. The processor 205 may use the micro-bursting program to cause the respective vaporizing element 207b to intermittently heat the liquid chemical dispensed from and/or within the container 203b to produce a second vapor. The flavored vaporizable material (e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.) dispensed from and/or within the container 203a and the liquid chemical dispensed from and/or within the container 203b may be separated by barrier (not shown), such as a thermal insulated barrier, a heat guard, a shield, material, and/or the like when exposed to the vaporizing elements 207a and 207b so that heating and vaporization of the respective vaporizable materials may be separately and/or independently controlled.

The intermittent heating of the liquid chemical may be based on a rate required to generate/produce the user preferred/desired vapor with a chemical concentration of five percent. The first vapor may be expelled and/or inhaled through the outlet 202a and the second vapor may be expelled and/or inhaled through the outlet 202b. The first vapor and the second vapor may be combined (e.g., combined external to the electronic vapor device, etc.) to produce the user preferred/desired vapor output.

FIG. 3 illustrates a vapor device 300 (e.g., the vapor device 101, electronic vapor device, etc.). The vapor device 300 may control the flavor and/or chemical concentration of the vapor by determining a mixture of vaporizable material based on user preferences. User preferences may define a flavor and/or chemical concentration of a vapor generated and/or released by the vapor device 300. The flavor and/or chemical concentration of the vapor may be managed/changed periodically during a vapor inhalation session according to the user preferences. In some cases, the user preferences may be provided directly to the vapor device, such as via an interface (not shown) associated with the vapor device 300. In some cases, the user preferences may be received from a device, such as a mobile device, smart device, and/or computing device (e.g., the computing device 140, etc.) prior to use of the vapor device 200 and/or in real-time, such as during use of the vapor device 300.

The vapor device 300 may comprise a power supply 308 (e.g. the power supply 120, etc.). The power supply 308 may be a sole power source providing power/energy to the vapor device 200. In some cases, the power supply 308 may comprise one or more batteries and/or other power storage devices (e.g., capacitor) and/or a port for connecting to an external power supply. For example, an external power supply may supply power to the vapor device 300 and a battery may store at least a portion of the supplied power. The one or more batteries may be rechargeable. The one or more batteries may comprise a lithium-ion battery (including thin film lithium ion batteries), a lithium ion polymer battery, a nickel*cadmium battery, a nickel metal hydride battery, a lead-acid battery, a CCell system, solar cells, combinations thereof, and the like. The power supply 308 may provide power/energy to the vapor device 300 by any suitable method and/or technique.

The vapor device 300 may comprise self-contained vapor release outlets 302a and 302b that are each coupled to a respective container 303a and 303b for storing a vaporizable material (e.g., nicotine, cannabis, herbal material, liquid, oil, etc.). The containers 303a and 303b may be retractable and/or removable from the vapor device 300. The containers 303a and 303b may comprise and/or be associated with an identifier such as a content identifier. A content identifier may be any identifier, token, character, string, label, classifier, quick response (QR) asset tag, near-field communication (NFC) tag, and/or the like, for differentiating contents (e.g., vaporizable material, non-vaporizable material, flavor content, liquid content, nicotine content, cannabis content (cannabis strain information), chemical content, drug content, etc.) of the containers 303a and 303b from contents of a another container of the vapor device 300. The vapor device 300 may comprise any quantity of containers and/or related components. A content identifier may be information relating to a container of the vapor device 300, such as a manufacturer and/or distributor of contents within the respective container. A content identifier may be based on a shape, marking, groove, indentation, raised marking, texture, and/or the like of a container of the vapor device 300. The vapor device 300 may use the shape, marking, groove, indentation, raised marking, texture, and/or the like of the container to determine the contents of the container based on a the shape, marking, groove, indentation, raised marking, texture, and/or the like fitting, complementing, matching, and/or the like a shape, marking, groove, indentation, raised marking, texture, and/or the like of a container receptacle (and/or sensor) of the vapor device 300, such as a key and lock based system. A content identifier may be any identifier of contents within a container of the vapor device 300.

The vapor device 300 may comprise an extraction element 304. The extraction element 304 may be coupled to the containers 303a and 303b. The extraction element 304 may, in response to a control signal from a processor 305 (based on the user preferences) the extraction element 304 may withdraw select quantities of vaporizable material in order to create a customized mixture of different types of vaporizable material and/or a customized mixture of vaporizable material having varying amounts of a specific substance, such as nicotine, cannabis, and/or the like. The extraction element 304 may withdraw vaporizable material from the containers 303a and 303b via a respective wick 306a and 306b. In some cases, the wick 306a and the wick 306b may be a single wick via which vaporizable (or non-vaporizable) materials are withdrawn from the containers 303a and 303b. In some cases, the vapor device 300 may not comprise wicks and vaporizable material may be withdrawn from the containers 303a and 303b via any suitable method, mode, or means.

Each container 303a and 303b be coupled to and/or associated with a vaporizing element 307 (e.g., heater, etc.) used to vaporize the respective vaporizable material withdrawn from the containers 303a and 303b. The vaporizing element 307 may vaporize a respective vaporizable material withdrawn from the containers 303a and 303b, such as by heating the respective vaporizable material. The vaporizing element 307 may vaporize the respective vaporizable material according to a respective vaporization rate (e.g., a rate at which each vaporizable material is heated, etc.) to generate a respective vapor, such as a first vapor and a second vapor. The vapor device 300 may use the processor 305 to control operations of the extraction element 304, the vaporizing element 307, and/or any related component of the vapor device 300 and meter a precise dose of a chemical in vapor form for inhalation from the vapor device 300.

The processor 305 may control a percentage of a chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) in vapor based on micro-bursting information (according to user preferences). The container 303a may comprise a flavored vaporizable material, such as a flavored glycerin additive. The container 303b may comprise a liquid chemical (e.g., content of 100 percent liquid nicotine, liquid tetrahydrocannabinol, liquid cannabidiol, liquid cannabinol, liquid cannabigerol, etc.). A user may prefer/desire a vapor with a nicotine concentration of five percent of the total chemical concentration. The vapor device 300 may receive the user preference, and the processor 305 may use a micro-bursting program (or similar method) to cause the vaporizing element 307 to continuously heat the flavored vaporizable material (e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.) dispensed from and/or within the container 303a to produce a first vapor. The processor 305 may use the micro-bursting program to cause the vaporizing element 307 to intermittently heat the liquid chemical dispensed from and/or within the container 303b to produce a second vapor. The flavored vaporizable material (e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.) dispensed from and/or within the container 303a and the liquid chemical dispensed from and/or within the container 303b may be separated by barrier (not shown), such as a thermal insulated barrier, a heat guard, a shield, material, and/or the like when exposed to the vaporizing element 307 so that heating and vaporization of the respective vaporizable materials may be separately and/or independently controlled.

The intermittent heating of the liquid chemical may be based on a rate required to generate/produce the user preferred/desired vapor with a nicotine concentration of five percent. The first vapor may be expelled into a first chamber of a mouthpiece 309 and the second vapor may be expelled into a second chamber of a mouthpiece 309. The first vapor and the second vapor may be combined, such as combined external to the vapor device in a mouth of a user, to produce the user preferred/desired vapor output.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart 400 of a method for vapor distribution. At 410, a vapor device (e.g., electronic vapor device, the vapor device 101, the vapor device 200, etc.) may receive user preferences. The user preferences may be based on one or more programs/plans for reducing and/or eliminating substance dependency of a user, such as a nicotine or a cannabis dependency. The user preferences may be based on a desired/preferred vapor with a particular flavor and/or chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) concentration. The user preferences may be provided to the user device prior to use of the vapor device and/or in real-time, such as during use of the vapor device. In some cases, the user preferences may be provided directly to the vapor device, such as via an interface associated with the vapor device. In some cases, the user preferences may be provided to and/or sent the vapor device, such as via a computing device (e.g., a smart device, a user device, a mobile device, a server, etc.). The vapor device may control the flavor and/or chemical concentration of the vapor by determining a mixture of vaporizable material based on the user preferences.

At 420, a first vaporization rate and a second vaporization rate may be determined, such as by a processor of the vapor device. The vapor device may control the flavor and/or chemical concentration of vapor by determining a vaporization rate for a vaporizable material to produce a vapor with a desired flavor and/or chemical concentration. The vapor device may comprise one or more containers for storing a vaporizable material. The first vaporization rate may be based on a temperature and/or time required to vaporize a vaporizable material from a first container of the vapor device. The second vaporization rate may be based on a temperature and/or time required to vaporize a vaporizable material from a second container of the vapor device.

At 430, a first vaporizable material may be vaporized. The first vaporizable material may be vaporized based on the first vaporization rate. At 440 a second vaporizable material may be vaporized. The second vaporizable material may be vaporized based on the second vaporization rate.

Each vaporizing element may vaporize a respective vaporizable material, such as by heating the respective vaporizable material. Each vaporizing element may vaporize the respective vaporizable material according to a respective vaporization rate (e.g., a rate at which each vaporizable material is heated, etc.) to generate a respective vapor. In some cases, the vapor device may control a percentage of a chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) in vapor based on micro-bursting information.

The first container of the vapor device may comprise a flavored vaporizable material, such as a flavored glycerin additive, and the second container may comprise a liquid chemical (e.g., content of 100 percent liquid nicotine, liquid tetrahydrocannabinol, liquid cannabidiol, liquid cannabinol, liquid cannabigerol, etc.). The user may prefer/desire a vapor with a nicotine concentration of five percent of the total chemical concentration. The vapor device may receive the user preference, and use a micro-bursting program (or similar method) to cause the respective vaporizing element to continuously heat the flavored vaporizable material (e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.) dispensed from and/or within the first container to produce a first vapor. The vapor device may use the micro-bursting program to cause the respective vaporizing element to intermittently heat the liquid chemical dispensed from and/or within the second container to produce a second vapor. The intermittent heating of the liquid chemical may be based on a rate required to generate/produce the user preferred/desired vapor with a nicotine concentration of five percent. The first vapor and the second vapor may be combined (e.g., combined internal to the vapor device, combined external to the vapor device, etc.) to produce the user preferred/desired vapor.

In some cases, the vapor device may control a percentage of a chemical (e.g., nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, cannabigerol, etc.) in vapor based on a temperature applied to a vaporizable material by a vaporizing element. For example, the flavored vaporizable material (e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.) dispensed from and/or within the first container may be heated at a higher temperature by the respective vaporizing element than the liquid chemical dispensed from and/or within the second container. Based on the higher temperature, the flavored vaporizable material (e.g., flavored glycerin additive, etc.) dispensed from and/or within the first container may produce a first vapor that is greater in volume than a second vapor produced by the liquid chemical dispensed from and/or within the second container. The first vapor and the second vapor may be combined to produce the user preferred/desired vapor (e.g., vapor with a nicotine concentration of five percent, etc.). The vapor device may produce vapor with any flavor and/or chemical concentration.

At 450, a first vapor may exit the vapor device from a first port and a second vapor may exit the vapor device from a second port such as by a user inhaling the first vapor and the second vapor from the vapor device.

FIG. 5 shows a system 500 for vapor distribution. The vapor device 101, the computing device 140, the vapor device 200, and the vapor device 300 may be a computer 501 as shown in FIG. 5.

The computer 501 may be one or more processors 503, a system memory 512, and a bus 513 that couples various components of the computer 501 having the one or more processors 503 to the system memory 512. In the case of multiple processors 503, the computer 501 may utilize parallel computing.

The bus 513 may be one or more of several possible types of bus structures, such as a memory bus, memory controller, a peripheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures.

The computer 501 may operate on and/or be a variety of computer readable media (e.g., non-transitory). Computer readable media may be any available media that is accessible by the computer 501 and may be non-transitory, volatile and/or non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. The system memory 512 has computer readable media in the form of volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM), and/or non-volatile memory, such as read only memory (ROM). The system memory 512 may store data such as user preferences 507 and/or program modules such as operating system 505 and vaporization software 506 that are accessible to and/or are operated on by the one or more processors 503.

The computer 501 may also be other removable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer storage media. The mass storage device 504 may provide non-volatile storage of computer code, computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and other data for the computer 501. The mass storage device 504 may be a hard disk, a removable magnetic disk, a removable optical disk, magnetic cassettes or other magnetic storage devices, flash memory cards, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, random access memories (RAM), read only memories (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and the like.

Any number of program modules may be stored on the mass storage device 504. An operating system 505 and vaporization software 506 may be stored on the mass storage device 504. One or more of the operating system 505 and vaporization software 506 (or some combination thereof) may be program modules and the content software 506. User preferences 507 may also be stored on the mass storage device 504. User preferences 507 may be stored in any of one or more databases known in the art. The databases may be centralized or distributed across multiple locations within the network 515.

A user may enter commands and information into the computer 501 via an input device (not shown). Such input devices be, but are not limited to, a keyboard, pointing device (e.g., a computer mouse, remote control), a microphone, a joystick, a scanner, tactile input devices such as gloves, and other body coverings, motion sensor, and the like These and other input devices may be connected to the one or more processors 503 via a human machine interface 502 that is coupled to the bus 513, but may be connected by other interface and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game port, an IEEE 1394 Port (also known as a Firewire port), a serial port, network adapter 508, and/or a universal serial bus (USB).

A display device 511 may also be connected to the bus 513 via an interface, such as a display adapter 509. It is contemplated that the computer 501 may have more than one display adapter 509 and the computer 501 may have more than one display device 511. A display device 511 may be a monitor, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), light emitting diode (LED) display, television, smart lens, smart glass, and/ or a projector. In addition to the display device 511, other output peripheral devices may be components such as speakers (not shown) and a printer (not shown) which may be connected to the computer 501 via Input/Output Interface 510. Any step and/or result of the methods may be output (or caused to be output) in any form to an output device. Such output may be any form of visual representation, including, but not limited to, textual, graphical, animation, audio, tactile, and the like. The display 511 and computer 501 may be part of one device, or separate devices.

The computer 501 may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computing devices 514a,b,c. A remote computing device 514a,b,c may be a personal computer, computing station (e.g., workstation), portable computer (e.g., laptop, mobile phone, tablet device), smart device (e.g., smartphone, smart watch, activity tracker, smart apparel, smart accessory), security and/or monitoring device, a server, a router, a network computer, a peer device, edge device or other common network node, and so on. Logical connections between the computer 501 and a remote computing device 514a,b,c may be made via a network 515, such as a local area network (LAN) and/or a general wide area network (WAN). Such network connections may be through a network adapter 508. A network adapter 508 may be implemented in both wired and wireless environments. Such networking environments are conventional and commonplace in dwellings, offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets, and the Internet.

Application programs and other executable program components such as the operating system 505 are shown herein as discrete blocks, although it is recognized that such programs and components may reside at various times in different storage components of the computing device 501, and are executed by the one or more processors 503 of the computer 501. An implementation of vaporization software 506 may be stored on or sent across some form of computer readable media. Any of the disclosed methods may be performed by processor-executable instructions embodied on computer readable media.

While specific configurations have been described, it is not intended that the scope be limited to the particular configurations set forth, as the configurations herein are intended in all respects to be possible configurations rather than restrictive.

Unless otherwise expressly stated, it is in no way intended that any method set forth herein be construed as requiring that its steps be performed in a specific order. Accordingly, where a method claim does not actually recite an order to be followed by its steps or it is not otherwise specifically stated in the claims or descriptions that the steps are to be limited to a specific order, it is no way intended that an order be inferred, in any respect. This holds for any possible non-express basis for interpretation, including: matters of logic with respect to arrangement of steps or operational flow; plain meaning derived from grammatical organization or punctuation; the number or type of configurations described in the specification.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations may be made without departing from the scope or spirit. Other configurations will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice described herein. It is intended that the specification and described configurations be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving one or more user preferences;
determining, based on the one or more user preferences, a first vaporization rate and a second vaporization rate;
vaporizing, based on the first vaporization rate, a first vaporizable material;
vaporizing, based on the second vaporization rate, a second vaporizable material; and
causing, based on vaporizing the first vaporizable material, a first vapor to exit a first port, and based on vaporizing the second vaporizable material, a second vapor to exit a second port.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein vaporizing the first vaporizable material comprises causing, based on the first vaporization rate, a quantity of the first vaporizable material to be exposed to a first heating element, wherein vaporizing the second vaporizable material comprises causing, based on the second vaporization rate, a quantity of the second vaporizable material to be exposed to a second heating element.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the first vaporization rate and the second vaporization rate comprises:

determining, based on the one or more user preferences and one or more container identifiers, a plurality of vaporizable materials; and
determining, based on a vaporizable material of plurality of vaporizable materials, the first vaporization rate, and based on at least two vaporizable materials of the plurality of vaporizable materials, the second vaporization rate.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting, based on an additional one or more user preferences, at least one of the first vaporization rate or the second vaporization rate.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining, based on the one or more user preferences, a power output associated one or more of the first vaporization rate or the second vaporization rate;
determining that the power output satisfies a threshold; and
adjusting, based on the power output satisfying the threshold, at least one of the first vaporization rate and the second vaporization rate.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the power output is based on a temperature associated with vaporizing one or more of the first vaporizable material at the first vaporization rate, or the second vaporizable material at the second vaporization rate.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the first vaporization rate and the second vaporization rate comprises:

determining, based on the one or more user preferences, a formula for a mixed vapor; and
determining, based on the formula, the first vaporization rate and the second vaporization rate.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the one or more user preferences comprises receiving the one or more user preferences from one or more of a smart device, mobile device, or a server.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the one or more user preferences comprises receiving the one or more user preferences via a user interface.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein causing the first vapor to exit the first port, and the second vapor to exit the second port is based on a user inhaling the first vapor and the second vapor.

11. An apparatus comprising:

a power source;
one or more containers;
one or more heating elements;
at least two ports;
one or more processors; and
memory storing processor executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to: receive one or more user preferences; determine, based on the one or more user preferences, a first vaporization rate and a second vaporization rate; cause, based on the first vaporization rate and a first heating element of the one or more heating elements, a first vaporizable material within a first container of the one or more liquid containers to produce a first vapor; cause, based on the second vaporization rate and a second heating element of the one or more heating elements, a second vaporizable material within a second container of the one or more liquid containers to produce a second vapor; and cause, the first vapor to exit a first port of the at least two ports, and the second vapor to exit a second port of the at least two ports.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to cause the first vaporizable material to produce the first vapor further comprise processor executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to expose a quantity of the first vaporizable material to the first heating element, wherein the processor executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to cause the second vaporizable material to produce the second vapor further comprise processor executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to expose a quantity of the second vaporizable material to the second heating element.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to determine the first vaporization rate and the second vaporization rate further comprise processor executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:

determine, based on the one or more user preferences and one or more container identifiers associated with the one or more containers, a plurality of vaporizable materials; and
determine, based on a vaporizable material of plurality of vaporizable materials, the first vaporization rate, and based on at least two vaporizable materials of the plurality of vaporizable materials, the second vaporization rate.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor executable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to, adjust based on an additional one or more user preferences, at least one of the first vaporization rate or the second vaporization rate.

15. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the processor executable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the apparatus to:

determine, based on the one or more user preferences, a power output from the power source associated one or more of the first vaporization rate or the second vaporization rate;
determine that the power output satisfies a threshold; and
adjust, based on the power output satisfying the threshold, at least one of the first vaporization rate and the second vaporization rate.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the power output is based on a temperature associated with vaporizing one or more of the first vaporizable material at the first vaporization rate, or the second vaporizable material at the second vaporization rate.

17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to determine the first vaporization rate and the second vaporization rate further comprise processor executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to:

determine, based on the one or more user preferences, a formula for a mixed vapor; and
determine, based on the formula, the first vaporization rate and the second vaporization rate.

18. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to receive the one or more user preferences further comprise processor executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to receive the one or more user preferences from one or more of a smart device, mobile device, or a server.

19. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to receive the one or more user preferences further comprise processor executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to receive the one or more user preferences via a user interface.

20. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to cause, the first vapor to exit the first port, and the second vapor to exit the second port further comprise processor executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to cause, based on a user inhaling the first vapor and the second vapor, the first vapor to exit the first port, and the second vapor to exit the second port.

Patent History
Publication number: 20190380382
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 12, 2019
Publication Date: Dec 19, 2019
Inventors: Charles Hassan (Scottsdale, AZ), Marcus Shotey (Scottsdale, AZ)
Application Number: 16/538,504
Classifications
International Classification: A24D 3/04 (20060101); A24F 47/00 (20060101);