GB2537121A

GB2537121A - Inhalation device

Info

Publication number: GB2537121A
Application number: GB1505882.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Fung Wong Hing
Original assignee: CIGTRONICA Ltd
Current assignee: CIGTRONICA Ltd
Priority date: 2015-04-07
Filing date: 2015-04-07
Publication date: 2016-10-12
Also published as: GB201505882D0

Abstract

An atomiser 9 for atomising a composition for subsequent inhalation comprising a heating element 11 and a sensor 31 configured to generate data related to temperature of the heating element and/or composition, wherein the heating element of the atomiser is controllable based upon a rate of heating derived from the generated data. Preferably the atomizer is also controllable based upon a pre-determined operating temperature which is related to an optimum atomization temperature of the composition, obtained from a look up table. Control of the heating element can be achieved by means of a feedback loop based on the output of the sensor and /or power input to the heating element. Preferably the sensor is a ceramic thermocouple and the composition is a fluid contained in a reservoir. Also claimed is an e-cigarette 1 comprising the atomizer, and a method of operating the atomizer comprising providing, from a computing device, mobile phone 33 (figures 2 and 3) or server 41 (figure 2), data relating to the composition 37 (figure 2), e.g. identification data, or obtaining composition identification data by a camera 57 (figure 3) associated with the computing device configured to read machine readable data 39 (figure 2).

Description

Inhalation Device The present invention relates to a component for an inhalation device, and a method for its operation. The invention relates more particularly, but not necessarily exclusively, to components for inhalation devices having improved aerosol-generating properties.

Inhalation devices, such as electronic cigarettes, typically operate by generation of an aerosol for subsequent inhalation by a user. The aerosol may contain nicotine, a nicotine replacement, and/or flavouring components. Electronic cigarettes thus provide an alternative source of nicotine to smoking tobacco-based cigarettes. Electronic cigarettes do not generate many of the harmful by-products of the combustion of tobacco (e.g. tar), and hence their use is considered to be a less harmful way of delivering nicotine to a user than via conventional tobacco-based cigarettes.

Generation of the aerosol within an electronic cigarette is achieved by means of an atomiser, which is configured to atomise a fluid containing, for example, nicotine and flavouring compounds. Typically, atomisation is achieved by heating the fluid to be delivered. This may be achieved by supplying electrical power to a heating element of the atomiser.

User experiences with electronic cigarettes can be affected by a number of factors. The atomiser component often over-heats the fluid to be atomised, which can cause decomposition of components of the fluid. This is particularly problematic for flavouring components, which may become distasteful upon decomposition. Over-heating can also lead to enhanced depletion of the electronic cigarette power supply.

Furthermore, over-heating can cause a higher dose of atomised components to be delivered by the cigarette than intended. Additionally, over-heating may cause the components in the fluid to be atomised at different rates such that the relative concentrations of the various components in the atomised fluid become different to those in the un-atomised fluid. This latter effect may have the consequence that the atomised composition delivered by the cigarette is altered in terms of the relative concentrations of the components as compared to that in the un-atomised fluid. This may adversely affect the flavour or other properties of the atomised composition delivered by the cigarette.

Optimum operating temperature for the atomiser component can also be Influenced by a number of factors, particularly the composition of the fluid to be atomised. Certain fluid components require higher temperatures for atomisation to occur, whereas others may require lower temperatures.

Known electronic cigarettes measure power supplied to the heating element of the atomiser and use this to extrapolate the operating temperature of that element during use. Once calculated, power supplied to the heating element can be adjusted in an effort to achieve/maintain optimum operating temperature.

However, while operating temperature does increase as a function of power supplied, there are other factors which may influence the operating temperature of the heating element. In particular, it is known that the condition of the atomiser component may deteriorate over time, such that it becomes less effective at converting electrical power into heat. Additionally, debris can build up on the heating element and further affect the efficiency of converting electrical power into heat within the fluid to be atomised.

Furthermore, there is typically a delay between measuring the power supplied and a corresponding response by the controller to adjust power supplied to the heating element (for example, to supply no further power to the atomiser). This response delay can mean that the heating element 'over-shoots' the target operating temperature before adjustment can be made, which also contributes to the abovementioned associated disadvantages with over-heating.

Accordingly, prior art electronic cigarettes may not accurately and consistently reach optimum operating temperatures.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate one or more of the problems with known inhalation devices, whether identified herein or otherwise. It is another object of the present invention to provide an alternative to known components for an inhalation device and/or methods of operating such components.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a component for an inhalation device, the component comprising: an atomiser for atomising a composition for subsequent inhalation, said atomiser comprising a heating element; and a sensor configured to generate data related to a temperature of the heating element and/or composition, wherein the heating element of the atomiser is controllable based upon a rate of heating derived from the generated data.

The use of a sensor to generate data based on the rate of heating of the heating element of the atomiser allows the heating element to be accurately controlled, for example to reach a predetermined operating temperature (described more fully below). Since the atomiser is controllable based on the rate of heating of the heating element, it is possible to anticipate the time required to reach a given atomisation temperature. As a result, it is possible to avoid issues with temperature over-shooting, which might otherwise be caused by prior art control systems which often inherently suffer from delays in control response.

The component of the present invention provides advantages where operational conditions change over time. For example, an atomiser may suffer from gradual degradation with repeated use. The use of a sensor and feedback control therefore may allow the heating element to function effectively in spite of atomiser degradation.

The rate of heating derived from the generated data may be a rate of change of temperature of the heating element and/or composition.

The sensor may derive the rate of change of temperature of the heating element and/or composition from the generated data.

A feedback loop may be used to control operation of the atomiser based on the output of the sensor and/or power input to the heating element.

Control may comprise increasing, maintaining, reducing or terminating power supplied to the atomiser component.

The atomiser may be controllable based upon the generated data and a predetermined operating temperature of the heating element of the atomiser. The predetermined operating temperature may be related to an optimum atomisation temperature of the composition, i.e. the temperature at which maximum atomisation occurs. Alternatively or additionally, the predetermined operating temperature may be related to the operating efficiency of the heating element.

The predetermined operating temperature may be so determined by means of a calibration process, particularly one conducted in a laboratory environment. For example, data may be used to enable the relationship between optimum atomisation temperature of the composition and the operating temperature of the heating element of the atomiser to be established. The data may be associated with a particular composition. Alternatively or additionally, the data may relate to a particular atomizer, since atomisers of different types may possess different heating characteristics.

Controlling the atomiser based upon the relationship between the generated data and a predetermined operating temperature of the heating element of the atomiser may comprise: determining the temperature of the heating element at a first time point; determining the temperature of the heating element at a second time point which is later than the first time point; calculating the rate of heating based on the temperatures at the first and second time points; determining the current temperature; and extrapolating the rate of heating, based on the current temperature, to determine the time required to reach the predetermined operating temperature.

The atomiser may be controllable so as to attenuate the rate of heating of the heating element (such as by reducing power supplied) and/or composition as the heating element and/or composition approaches the predetermined operating temperature.

Attenuation may be achieved by means of a feedback loop.

Control of the atomiser may be achievable by: receiving, from the sensor, generated data related to the rate of heating of the heating element and/or composition; accessing a look-up table which contains data relating to a relationship between the optimum atomisation temperature of the composition and operating temperature of the heating element; retrieving said relationship data from the look-up table; and generating a control signal for the atomiser based upon the retrieved relationship data and generated data related to the rate of heating of the heating element.

Control of the heating element may be achieved by means of a feedback loop based on the output of the sensor and/or power input to the heating element.

The component may further comprise a controller configured to process the generated data, and/or to generate a control signal for the heating element of the atomiser based upon the generated data.

The controller may be configured to process the generated data to derive the rate of heating of the heating element and/or composition.

The heating element of the atomiser may be considered to be a resistive heater.

Electrical resistivity of most materials changes with temperature. The sensor may, therefore, be configured to measure the rate of heating based on the resistivity of the heating element.

The sensor may be a thermocouple. The sensor may be comprised in the heating element. The sensor may be comprised of ceramic.

The data generated by the sensor may correspond to the first order rate of heating of the heating element and/or composition. The data generated by the sensor may correspond to the second or higher order differential of the rate of heating of the heating element and/or composition.

The component may further comprise a reservoir for containing the composition to be atomised. The component may further comprise a wick for transmitting composition contained within the reservoir to the atomiser. The composition may be a fluid.

In some embodiments the composition may comprise a solid. In such embodiments, the atomizer may be of a type suitable for use with a solid composition. The solid may be a wax-like material, having biologically active ingredients (e.g. nicotine, a nicotine substitute and/or a flavouring compound) dispersed therewithin. The solid composition may be provided in a form which itself acts as a reservoir, such that no separate reservoir is required.

Alternatively, the composition may be a liquid, with biologically active ingredients (e.g. nicotine, a nicotine substitute and/or a flavouring compound) dispersed within. The liquid may be propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin (glycerol), or a mixture of the two.

Drops of a liquid composition may be applied to the wick of an atomizer. In such an embodiment the wick itself acts as a reservoir to store the composition. Liquid compositions may be supplied directly to an atomizer, without requiring a reservoir and wick to effect transmission of the composition to the atomiser.

The component is described above having a single "set" of atomiser and sensor components. However, it will be appreciated that the feedback control system in which a sensor is used to measure a rate of heating of the heating element to enable control of the generation of an aerosol by an atomiser may be used with different numbers of each of these components, such as described in UK Patent Application No. 1405937.2. For example, an electronic cigarette may comprise a two atomisers (and associated constituent parts) and the feedback control system described above may be used to ensure that accurate and consistent heating is achieved from both atomisers.

The component may further comprise a flow sensor configured to produce an output which is indicative of a volumetric flow and/or a change in pressure. Activation of the atomiser may be controllable (e.g. by means of the controller) based on this flow. In the context of an electronic cigarette, such a configuration enables the cigarette to be operated simply by drawing an air flow through the device (e.g. by sucking and associated reduction in pressure).

A user operated switch may be provided for use instead of, or in addition to, flow sensor activation. For example, a user operated switch may be pressed, and a minimum flow rate may be required to be detected before atomisers are energised.

In some embodiments, the data generated by the sensor may be used to identify when an atomiser should be replaced. For example, a sensor output may indicate that the rate of heating of the heating element is below a predetermined level. This may be caused by a portion of the atomiser (for example the heating element) being damaged or in some way degraded, indicating that it should be replaced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided an inhalation device, such as an electronic cigarette, comprising the component hereinbefore described.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of operating a component hereinbefore described, the method comprising controlling the heating element of the atomiser to control atomisation of the composition based upon the generated data.

The method may further comprise: providing, from a computing device (e.g. a mobile telephone), data relating to the composition to the component; and controlling atomisation of the composition based upon the generated data.

The method may further comprise receiving, at the computing device, the data associated with the composition from a server. Connectivity between the component of the present invention and computing device for use therewith can be achieved through any suitable means, such as by means of a physical cable or wireless connectivity.

The method may further comprise: receiving, as input to the computing device, identification data identifying the composition; requesting, by the computing device, data associated with the composition from the server based upon the identification data; and providing, to the component, the data received from the server associated with the composition. Receiving identification data may comprise reading, by the computing device, machine-readable data by a camera associated with the computing device. The identification data may conveniently be provided by means of a barcode or the like.

It will be appreciated that where features are discussed in the context of one aspect of the invention, they may be combined with other aspects of the invention. In particular, and features discussed above in the context of the first aspect of the invention maybe combined with features of the second and third aspects of the invention and vice versa.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic of an inhalation device according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a schematic of an inhalation device shown in Figure 1 connected to a network; and Figure 3 is a schematic of a mobile telephone which may be used in combination with the inhalation devices shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 shows an electronic cigarette 1 comprising a mouthpiece 3, a battery 5, a fluid reservoir in the form of a chamber 7 and an atomiser 9 arranged to atomise a composition from the chamber 7.

The atomiser 9 comprises a heating element 11 and a wick 13, the heating element 11 being arranged around the wick 13. The wick 13 extends into the chamber 7 and draws the composition from the chamber 7 by capillary action. The heating element 11 is switchably connected to the battery 5 by means of a switch 15. When supplied with a current (i.e. when connected to the battery 5 via the switch 15), the heating element 11 generates heat and causes the composition drawn by the wick 13 to vaporise. The atomiser 9 may be considered to be energised when the switch 15 allows the heating element 11 to be supplied with current from the battery 5 (i.e. when a voltage is applied across the heating element 11).

The heating element 11 operates as a resistive heater, with heat being generated by the heating element 11 as current flows therethrough. The rate at which the composition is vaporised by the atomiser 9 depends upon the rate at which heat is generated by the resistive heating element 11, which is related to the power supplied to the heating element 11. The power supplied to the heating element 11 of the atomiser 9 is controlled by a controller 17.

The mouthpiece 3 is provided with an outlet 19 and an inlet 21. The atomiser 9 comprises an atomiser chamber 23 which is also provided with an outlet 25 and inlet 27. The outlet 25 of the atomiser 9 is coupled to the inlet 21 of the mouthpiece 3. A flow channel 29 is defined by the atomiser 9 and the mouthpiece 3, and extends from the atomiser inlet 27 to the mouthpiece outlet 19 via the atomiser chamber 23, the atomiser outlet 25 and the mouthpiece inlet 21. In use, air is drawn through the mouthpiece 3 by a user. This causes air to flow via the flow channel 29 through the atomiser 9 whereby aerosol generated by the atomiser 9 is entrained into the mouthpiece 3, for subsequent inhalation by the user. The flow of air along the flow channel is generally shown by arrow "A".

The switch 15 of the electronic cigarette 1 may further comprise a flow sensor configured to produce an output which is a function of a volumetric flow of air through the flow channel 29 and/or a change in pressure in the atomiser chamber 23. A switch including such a flow sensor may enable the cigarette 1 to be operated simply by drawing air through the cigarette via the mouthpiece. The volumetric flow of air through the atomiser and/or the reduction in pressure in the atomiser chamber 23when air is drawn through the cigarette may cause the flow sensor to activate the switch such that the switch permits power to flow from the battery to the heater. If the cigarette includes a controller, the controller may be configured to control the heater of the atomiser as a function of the state of the switch, such that when the switch is in the state caused by the flow sensor sensing volumetric flow of air through the atomiser and/or the reduction in pressure in the atomiser chamber, the controller permits power to flow from the battery to the heater of the atomiser.

Control of the heating element 11 as described above may be based upon known vaporisation rates for the composition for example as determined by a calibration process to derive an operating temperature for the heating element 11 related to an optimum vaporisation temperature of a specific composition. Data relating to this relationship may be stored within a memory associated with the controller 17 (e.g. in a look-up table) and used to generate a predetermined operating temperature for the heating element 11 of the atomiser 9 related to the specific composition to be atomised.

Calibration may be conducted as a series of experiments to determine the optimum atomisation temperature for a given composition. In particular, calibration may involve a series of experiments in which a composition is heated to various temperatures in order to determine the temperature at which the greatest atomisation rate is achieved.

In order to address possible inconsistencies in user experience, the heating element 11 of the atomiser 9 is provided with a sensor 31 for generating data for use by the controller 17. The sensor 31 in the embodiment depicted in Figure 1 is contained within the heating element 11 of the atomiser 9. The sensor is configured to generate data related to the temperature of heating element 11 to enable a rate of heating towards its predetermined operating temperature to be derived from the generated data. The sensor 31 itself may be configured to generate data related to a rate of heating of the composition. The data generated by the sensor 31 may be processed (e.g. in the controller 17) to generate data related to a rate of heating of the composition. The controller may process the data related to a rate of heating of the composition for effecting control of the heating element 11 of the atomiser 9.

In the context of the invention, the generated data may take any appropriate form. For example, the sensor 31 may generate data relating to the temperature of the heating element/composition and process this within the sensor 31 to generate data in the form of a sensor signal which is indicative of the rate of heating of the heating element/composition. Alternatively, the sensor 31 may be configured to generate data in the form of a sensor signal which is indicative of the temperature of the heating element/composition. The rate of heating may then be determined by the controller 17 by processing of the generated data.

The sensor 31 is in the form of a thermocouple which is configured to produce a voltage indicative of the temperature of the heating element and/or composition.

The controller 17 receives data from the sensor 31 and generates a control signal for the atomiser 9 based upon the predetermined operating temperature and generated data related to the temperature of the heating element.

In the event that the generated data indicates that the temperature of the heating element 11 is far below the predetermined operating temperature, for example, then the controller 17 may generate a control signal to maintain or increase power supplied to the atomiser 9. Conversely, if the temperature of the heating element 11 is far above the predetermined operating temperature, then the controller 17 may generate a control signal to decrease or eliminate power supplied to the atomiser 9. The controller 17 may be configured to attenuate the rate of heating of the heating element 11 as it approaches the predetermined operating temperature.

The electronic cigarette 1 described above with reference to Figure 1 is an example of an inhalation device. Alternative inhalation devices may be used to deliver dosages of compositions containing other active ingredients, for example for pharmaceutical components for medicinal purposes. The control based upon data generated by a sensor configured to generate related to a rate of heating of the heating element described above with reference to electronic cigarettes may readily be applied to alternative forms of inhalation device (for example a nebuliser).

The use of calibration data is described above to enable a relationship between optimum atomisation temperature of the composition and the operating temperature of the heating element 11 of the atomiser 9 to be established. This calibration data may be collected in a laboratory environment and may be associated with a particular composition and/or a particular atomizer. As described above, the calibration data may be stored within a memory (not shown) associated with the controller 17.

At different points in time, a single inhalation device may be used with one of a variety of different compositions. Therefore, it may be beneficial to update calibration data which is stored within the memory associated with the controller 17. This updating may be carried out by connecting the inhalation device 1 to another device, for example a computing device, such as a mobile telephone. Of course, the computing device may be any form of computing device (e.g. a personal or tablet computer).

Figure 2 shows a connection between the inhalation device 1 and the mobile telephone 33. The mobile telephone 33 may be connected to the inhalation device 1 by a cable (e.g. a USB cable). A bottle 35 of a composition 37 which is to be used within the inhalation device 1 has a label 39 comprising a barcode (not shown). The barcode label 39 identifies the composition 37. Calibration data associated with the composition 37 is stored on a server 41. The server 41 may be remote from the user of the inhalation device 1. The mobile telephone 33 is connected to the server 41 via a network 43. The network 43 may, for example, comprise a mobile telephone network and/or the internet. In an alternative embodiment the label 39 may store the calibration data in a format which may be interpreted by software running on the mobile telephone 33 without requiring communication with a server 41.

Figure 3 shows the mobile telephone 33 in further detail. It can be seen that the mobile telephone 33 comprises a CPU 45 which is configured to read and execute instructions stored in a volatile memory which takes the form of a random access memory 47. The volatile memory stores instructions for execution by the CPU 45 and data used by those instructions. For example, in use. calibration data may be stored in the volatile memory 47.

The mobile telephone 33 further comprises non-volatile storage in the form of a memory card 49. The calibration data may be stored on the memory card 49. The mobile telephone 33 further comprises an I/O interface 51 to which are connected peripheral devices used in connection with the mobile telephone 33. More particularly, a display 53 is configured so as to display output from the mobile telephone 33. The display 53 may, for example, display a representation of the calibration data.

Input devices are also connected to the I/O interface. Such input devices include a touchpad 55 which allow user interaction with the mobile telephone 33, and a camera 57 which allows images to be captured. A network interface 59 allows the mobile telephone 33 to be connected to an appropriate mobile telephone network so as to receive and transmit data from and to other computing devices, such as the server 41. The CPU 45, volatile memory 47, memory card 49, I/O interface 51, and network interface 59, are connected together by a bus 61.

In use, the user may enter details of the composition 37 into the mobile telephone 33, allowing calibration data associated with the composition 37 to be retrieved from the server 41. Alternatively, the composition 37 may be identified by using the camera 57 to scan the label 39 of the bottle 35, the label 39 being provided with the barcode (or other machine-readable representation of data). In some embodiments, the label 39 itself may contain the calibration data, encoded within a machine-readable representation of data. Once retrieved, the calibration data may then be transferred to the inhalation device 1 from the mobile telephone 3.

It will be appreciated that in some embodiments the mobile telephone 33 may also provide additional power to the inhalation device 1, for example to directly power the atomiser or to charge the battery 5. The mobile telephone 33 may also provide additional processing power to the inhalation device 1. For example, the CPU 45 may be used to process data generated by the sensor 31.

It will be appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity described separately, particularly those in the context of alternative embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention which are described in combination, in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately, or in any suitable combination.

It will also be appreciated that various modification, alterations and/or additions to the described embodiments may be introduced without departing from the scope of the present invention, as defined in the following claims.

For example, the battery described above may be replaced by any suitable power source for supplying power to the heating element of the atomiser, such as, for example, a mains power supply or a solar power device.

The embodiment described above employs a wick in order to transport fluid to be atomised to the atomiser. However, in alternative embodiments, such as, but not limited to, those employing solid compositions, a wick may not be required.

The switch may take any appropriate form provided it is suitable for selectively enabling or preventing power from passing from the power source to the heating element of the atomiser. The switch could, for example, take the form of a pressure-sensitive switch such as a push-button switch, or may take the form of a rotary switch.

The heating element may take any appropriate form providing it is configured to generate heat from the power supplied by the power source. For example, the heating element may take the form of a resistor, such as a coil of wire. Other forms of heating element which do not rely on ohmic heating may also be used.

The sensor may take the form of any appropriate component configured to generate data based on a temperature of the heating element and/or composition. The sensor described above takes the form of a thermocouple. However, it will be appreciated that alternative sensors such as a thermistor could be used instead.

Whilst the invention is described in terms of relating to a sensor configured to generate data related to a temperature of the heating element and/or composition, this may be considered to be equivalent to a sensor producing a sensor signal related to a temperature of the heating element and/or composition. Furthermore, whilst the invention is described in terms of relating to the heating element of the atomiser being controllable based upon a rate of heating derived from the generated data, this may be equivalent to the heating element of the atomiser being controllable based upon a rate of heating derived from the sensor signal produced by the sensor.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A component for an inhalation device, the component comprising: an atomiser for atomising a composition for subsequent inhalation, said atomiser comprising a heating element; and a sensor configured to generate data related to a temperature of the heating element and/or composition, wherein the heating element of the atomiser is controllable based upon a rate of heating derived from the generated data.
The component according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is configured to generate data related to the rate of heating of the heating element and/or composition.
3. The inhalation device according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the atomiser is controllable based upon the generated data and a predetermined operating temperature of the heating element of the atomiser.
4. The inhalation device according to any preceding claim, wherein the predetermined operating temperature is related to an optimum atomisation temperature of the composition.
5. The inhalation device according to claim 4, wherein control of the atomiser is achievable by: receiving, from the sensor, generated data related to the rate of heating of the heating element and/or composition; accessing a look-up table which contains data relating to a relationship between the optimum atomisation temperature of the composition and operating temperature of the heating element; retrieving said relationship data from the look-up table; and generating a control signal for the atomiser based upon the retrieved relationship data and generated data related to the rate of heating of the heating element.
6. The inhalation device according to any preceding claim where control of the heating element is achieved by means of a feedback loop based on the output of the sensor and/or power input to the heating element.
7. The inhalation device according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the atomiser is controllable so as to attenuate the rate of heating of the heating element and/or composition as the heating element approaches the predetermined operating temperature.
8. The inhalation device according to claim 7, wherein attenuation is achieved by means of a feedback loop.
9. The component according to any preceding claim, further comprising a controller configured to process the generated data, and/or to generate a control signal for the heating element of the atomiser based upon the generated data.
10. The component according to claim 9, wherein the controller is configured to process the generated data to derive the rate of heating of the heating element and/or composition.
11. The component according to any preceding claim, wherein the sensor is comprised of ceramic.
12. The component according to any preceding claim, wherein the sensor is a thermocouple.
13. The component according to any preceding claim, wherein the sensor is comprised in the heating element.
14. The component according to any preceding claim, wherein the data generated by the sensor corresponds to the first order rate of heating of the heating element and/or composition.
15. The component according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the data generated by the sensor corresponds to the second or higher order differential of the rate of heating of the heating element and/or composition.
16. The component according to any preceding claim, further comprising a reservoir for containing the composition to be atomised.
17. The component according to any preceding claim wherein the composition is a fluid.
18. An inhalation device comprising the component according to any preceding claim.
19. The inhalation device according to claim 18 in the form of an electronic cigarette.
20. An inhalation device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of Figures 1 to 3.
21. A method of operating a component according to any one of claims 1 to 17, or an inhalation device according to claim 18 to 20, the method comprising controlling the heating element of the atomiser to control atomisation of the composition based upon the generated data.
22. The method according to claim 21, further comprising: providing, from a computing device, data relating to the composition to the component; and controlling atomisation of the composition based upon the generated data
23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising receiving, at the computing device, the data associated with the composition from a server.
24. The method according to claim 23, further comprising: receiving, as input to the computing device, identification data identifying the composition; requesting, by the computing device, data associated with the composition from the server based upon the identification data; and providing, to the component, the data received from the server associated with the composition.
25. The method according to claim 24, wherein receiving identification data comprises reading, by the computing device, machine-readable data by a camera associated with the computing device.
26. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 25 wherein the computing device is a mobile telephone.