KR102562173B1 - Portable chemical liquid aerosol inhaler - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler that increases the efficiency of aerosol generation by tracking the resonant frequency of a vibrator installed in a replacement liquid medicine cartridge.
The portable chemical liquid aerosol inhaler of the present invention stores liquid medicine and has at least one terminal electrically connected to a liquid medicine cartridge having a vibrator element, a battery, and receiving power from the battery to generate a sine wave signal under the control of a control unit to generate a terminal An output unit for applying the voltage or current applied to the chemical cartridge through the output unit, a sensing unit for detecting the voltage or current applied to the chemical cartridge from the output unit and applying the voltage or current detection value to the control unit, and controlling the output unit to control the pre-stored frequency sweep information and a control unit for generating a sine wave signal corresponding to , applying it to the chemical liquid cartridge through a terminal, and performing a frequency sweep for tracking the resonant frequency of the vibrator element from the voltage or current detection value from the sensing unit.

Description

Portable chemical liquid aerosol inhaler {PORTABLE CHEMICAL LIQUID AEROSOL INHALER}

The present invention relates to a portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler, and more particularly to a portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler that increases the efficiency of aerosol generation by tracking the resonant frequency of a vibrator installed in a replaceable liquid medicine cartridge.

The respiratory system is divided into a conducting zone, which is a passage for air, and a respiratory zone, where direct gas exchange takes place. It refers to the bronchi and terminal bronchiole, and the respiratory area refers to the respiratory bronchiole, alveolar duct, alveolar sac, and alveoli. The inhaler, which is mainly used by patients with asthma or chronic lung disease, has the advantage of increasing the treatment effect and reducing side effects by directly delivering the drug to the airway. The inhaler is a metered dose inhaler (MDI) depending on the drug properties , dry powder inhaler (DPI), and nebulizer.

A nebulizer turns liquid medication into an aerosol that is sprayed and the medication is inhaled through a face mask or tube that covers the nose and mouth.

Conventional nebulizers were used by plugging in the power in hospitals and clinics/at home, and both mask and mouthpiece types were employed, but in the case of the mask type, most of the aerosol generated by the ultrasonic vibrator from the liquid medicine In the case of the mouthpiece type, it was not easy to effectively generate or inhale aerosol. A portable nebulizer was introduced, but it was used in such a way that the medicinal liquid was poured into the container of the portable nebulizer (similar to the way a humidifier is filled with water) and then refilled when it was used up. this can be serious A nebulizer turns liquid medication into an aerosol that is sprayed and the medication is inhaled through a face mask or tube that covers the nose and mouth. There is a problem in that a significant portion of the generated aerosol does not reach the desired area and is deposited in the larynx and nasal cavity. A chemical aerosol that allows the user to inhale a fixed amount of chemical aerosol without depositing it in an unwanted area while being portable and inhaling with normal breathing without the use of propellants that may be environmentally or harmful to the human body. There is a demand for inhalers.

In addition, in the prior art, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2019-0091760 includes a nebulizer (10); silicon mask 30; A connector 50 connecting the nebulizer 10 and the silicone mask 30; including, but the nebulizer 10 is a drug receptor 11 connected to the discharge port 23 of the pump 20 in communication with each other; The nozzle unit 13, the connection body 15 connecting the drug receptor 11 and the nozzle unit 13, the battery housing 17 detachable from the lower surface of the drug receptor 11, and the battery housing ( A portable asthma medical device including a PCB 19 receiving power through a battery of 17) and an input button unit 25 giving an input to the PCB 19 is disclosed. In the prior art described above, since the drug receptor 11 is included in the nebulizer 10, the drug receptor 11 may be contaminated by foreign substances when used for a long time, and in order to remove the contamination, the drug receptor 11 is washed. Therefore, the convenience of use may be reduced, and the drug solution must be filled by pouring into the drug receptor 11, and when a plurality of drug solutions are to be inhaled, there is the inconvenience of having to subdivide and pour into the drug receptor 11 to fill the drug solution.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication 10-2019-0091760

The present invention tracks the resonant frequency of a vibrator installed in a chemical cartridge to be replaced, and uses the tracked resonant frequency to determine whether or not an aerosol generating operation is performed for the chemical cartridge, or to determine whether or not the chemical cartridge is electrically connected (mounted or not). An object of the present invention is to provide a portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler that increases the efficiency of aerosol generation by determining spray characteristics of a liquid medicine cartridge.

The portable chemical liquid aerosol inhaler of the present invention stores liquid medicine and has at least one terminal electrically connected to a liquid medicine cartridge having a vibrator element, a battery, and receiving power from the battery to generate a sine wave signal under the control of a control unit to generate a terminal An output unit for applying the voltage or current applied to the chemical cartridge through the output unit, a sensing unit for detecting the voltage or current applied to the chemical cartridge from the output unit and applying the voltage or current detection value to the control unit, and controlling the output unit to control the pre-stored frequency sweep information and a control unit for generating a sine wave signal corresponding to , applying it to the chemical liquid cartridge through a terminal, and performing a frequency sweep for tracking the resonant frequency of the vibrator element from the voltage or current detection value from the sensing unit.

In addition, the controller preferably determines a frequency corresponding to an inflection point of the voltage sensing value or the current sensing value as the tracked resonant frequency.

Also, the frequency sweep information preferably includes the frequency sweep range of the sine wave signal, the magnitude of the sine wave signal, and the application time and duty of the sine wave.

In addition, it is preferable that the control unit determines whether the chemical cartridge is mounted using the tracked resonant frequency.

In addition, the control unit preferably determines that the liquid medicine cartridge is mounted when an inflection phenomenon descending by more than a standard size occurs during frequency sweep.

In addition, the control unit stores the reference resonant frequency range, and when the tracked resonant frequency is included in the reference resonant frequency range, the control unit controls the output unit to apply a sine wave signal having the tracked resonant frequency to the liquid medicine cartridge through the terminal to create an aerosol. It is desirable to perform generation.

In addition, when the tracked resonance frequency is not included in the reference resonance frequency range or the resonance frequency is not tracked during the frequency sweep process, the control unit preferably does not apply a sine wave signal to the liquid medicine cartridge.

In addition, when the control unit is electrically connected to the liquid medicine cartridge, it is preferable to perform a frequency sweep.

In addition, it is preferable that the control unit performs a frequency sweep whenever aerosol generation is performed on the liquid medicine cartridge.

In addition, it is preferable that the control unit stores sine wave characteristic information for each resonance frequency for performing aerosol generation with respect to the chemical cartridge by determining spray characteristics or sine wave characteristics of the chemical liquid cartridge based on the tracked resonance frequency.

In addition, the control unit applies the relationship data between each of a plurality of resonance frequencies included in the sine wave characteristic information for each resonance frequency and the spray characteristics and sine wave characteristics of the chemical solution or the relationship data between each of the plurality of resonance frequencies and the sine wave characteristics to the chemical liquid cartridge Preferably, a sine wave signal corresponding to the determined sine wave characteristics is applied to the vibrator element by determining the sine wave characteristics to be controlled and controlling an output unit.

In addition, the sine wave characteristics preferably include a resonant frequency of the sine wave signal applied to the liquid medicine cartridge, a voltage magnitude and an application time of the sine wave signal applied.

Further, it is preferable that the frequency of the sine wave signal applied to the oscillator element after determining the sine wave characteristics is the tracked resonance frequency.

The present invention tracks the resonant frequency of a vibrator installed in a chemical cartridge to be replaced, and uses the tracked resonant frequency to determine whether or not an aerosol generating operation is performed for the chemical cartridge, or to determine whether or not the chemical cartridge is electrically connected (mounted or not). By determining the spray characteristics of the chemical cartridge, the efficiency of aerosol generation can be increased, and only the dedicated chemical cartridge can be used or aerosol can be generated according to the spray characteristics of each of the various liquid cartridges.

1 is a perspective view showing a portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler equipped with a liquid medicine cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a perspective view illustrating a portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler from which a liquid medicine cartridge is separated according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a block diagram illustrating a liquid medicine cartridge mounted in a portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a liquid medicine cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a mouthpiece that can be applied to the present invention.
6 is a block diagram illustrating a liquid medicine cartridge and a portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail through examples and drawings. However, it should be understood that this is not intended to limit the present invention to the specific embodiments, and includes various modifications, equivalents, and/or alternatives of the embodiments of the present invention. In connection with the description of the drawings, like reference numerals may be used for like elements.

In this document, expressions such as "has", "may have", "includes", or "may include" refer to the presence of a corresponding feature (eg, numerical value, function, operation, or component such as a part). , which does not preclude the existence of additional features.

In this document, expressions such as "A or B", "at least one of A and/and B", or "one or more of A or/and B" may include all possible combinations of the items listed together. . For example, "A or B", "at least one of A and B", or "at least one of A or B" includes (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, Or (3) may refer to all cases including at least one A and at least one B.

Expressions such as "first", "second", "first", or "second" as used herein may modify various elements, in any order and/or importance, and may refer to one element as another. It is used to distinguish from components, but does not limit the components. For example, a first user device and a second user device may represent different user devices regardless of order or importance. For example, without departing from the scope of rights described in this document, a first element may be called a second element, and similarly, the second element may also be renamed to the first element.

A component (e.g., a first component) is "(operatively or communicatively) coupled with/to" another component (e.g., a second component); When referred to as "connected to", it should be understood that the certain component may be directly connected to the other component or connected through another component (eg, a third component). On the other hand, when an element (eg, a first element) is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly connected” to another element (eg, a second element), the element and the above It may be understood that other components (eg, third components) do not exist between the other components.

As used in this document, the expression "configured to" means "suitable for", "having the capacity to", depending on the situation. ", "designed to", "adapted to", "made to", or "capable of" can be used interchangeably. The term "configured (or set) to" may not necessarily mean only "specifically designed to" hardware. Instead, in some contexts, the phrase "device configured to" may mean that the device is "capable of" in conjunction with other devices or components. For example, the phrase "a processor configured (or set) to perform A, B, and C" may include a dedicated processor (eg, an embedded processor) to perform those operations, or one or more software programs stored in a memory device that executes By doing so, it may mean a general-purpose processor (eg, CPU or application processor) capable of performing corresponding operations.

Terms used in this document are only used to describe a specific embodiment, and may not be intended to limit the scope of other embodiments. Singular expressions may include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, may have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the technical field described in this document. Among the terms used in this document, the terms defined in general dictionaries may be interpreted as having the same or similar meaning to the meaning in the context of the related art, and unless explicitly defined in this document, in an ideal or excessively formal meaning. not interpreted In some cases, even terms defined in this document cannot be interpreted to exclude the embodiments of this document.

1 is a perspective view showing a portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler equipped with a liquid medicine cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a liquid medicine cartridge and a portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler according to an embodiment of the present invention separated. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , in the liquid medicine cartridge and the portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the liquid medicine cartridge 100 is detachable from the portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler 200 and attachable. Provided. In addition, the liquid medicine cartridge 100 is provided separately from the mouthpiece 300 so that the mouthpiece 300 is detachably provided to the liquid medicine cartridge 100 or the liquid medicine cartridge 100 is integrally formed including the mouthpiece 300. It could be. The portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler 200 has a space in which the liquid medicine cartridge 100 is mounted, and may be provided with a physical button and display means for starting an operation. Details will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6 .

3 is a block diagram for explaining a liquid medicine cartridge mounted in a portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a liquid medicine cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 , the liquid medicine cartridge 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided to be mounted interchangeably on an inhaler having a power supply and a control unit, and includes a plurality of terminals 110 including a plurality of terminals ( 110) is electrically connected when the liquid medicine cartridge 100 is mounted on an inhaler having a power source and a control unit, and can be supplied with electricity from the inhaler and controlled by the inhaler.

The liquid medicine cartridge includes a storage space 130 capable of storing liquid medicine. According to an embodiment, the storage space 130 may be partitioned by partition walls (not shown) to form a plurality of storage spaces 130 .

The chemical cartridge 100 includes a vibrator element 120, and the vibrator element 120 is portable through a plurality of terminals 110 in a state in which the chemical cartridge 100 is mounted on a portable liquid aerosol inhaler 200 to be described later. Electricity (eg, sine wave signal) is supplied from the chemical liquid aerosol inhaler 200 to vibrate, and at least a portion of the chemical liquid stored in the storage space 130 connects the storage space 130 and the vibrator element 120, for example. Aerosol is generated by the vibrator element 120 and discharged through the passage 150 connected to the mouthpiece 300, so that the user can inhale the aerosol.

The vibrator element 120 includes a piezoelectric mesh disk according to an embodiment. According to the embodiment, the piezoelectric mesh disk is made of a thin mesh plate, and the vibrator has a structure in which a ring-type piezo element and a thin mesh plate in the middle are electrically connected with a wire. Also, according to an embodiment, the vibrator element 120 includes a ceramic vibrator. The mouthpiece 300 is provided integrally with or separately from the liquid medicine cartridge 100, and when provided integrally, for example, the mouthpiece 300 may be combined with the liquid medicine cartridge 100 by ultrasonic fusion, and optionally A structure in which the liquid medicine cartridge 100 cannot be refilled with medicine is provided. In addition, according to the embodiment, when the liquid medicine cartridge 100 is mounted on the portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler 200 to be described later, the indicator 170 enables the portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler 200 to determine the type of the medicine or whether the medicine is genuine or not. includes For example, the indicator 170 may be a color displayed on the outer surface of the liquid medicine cartridge 100 according to the type of liquid medicine. In addition, the indicator 170 may have a physical shape or material (corresponding to the type of the chemical solution) provided on the outer surface of the chemical cartridge 100 to determine the type of the chemical solution or whether the chemical solution is genuine or not. In a state in which the liquid medicine cartridge 100 is mounted on the portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler 200, details of determining the type of liquid medicine or whether the liquid medicine is authentic will be described later with reference to FIG. 6 . The chemical cartridge 100 according to the present invention may be manufactured by storing the chemical solution at the manufacturer, or may be manufactured so that the user directly pours the chemical solution into the chemical liquid cartridge 100 for use. In addition, it may be manufactured so that the user may directly subdivide it, for example, mix the drug solution and the saline solution together for use.

5 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a mouthpiece that can be applied to the present invention. As described above in the present invention, the mouthpiece 300 is provided integrally with or separately from the liquid medicine cartridge 100. According to the embodiment, the mouthpiece 300 is made of plastic that is not deformed by heat, including TPE or PPSU. is made of Referring to FIG. 5 , according to an embodiment, the mouthpiece 300 may be provided in a shape that allows the user to inhale aerosol generated by the user's breath while holding the mouthpiece 300 in the user's mouth.

6 is a block diagram illustrating a liquid medicine cartridge and a portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 6, the portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention is equipped with the above-described liquid medicine cartridge 100 to generate an aerosol from the liquid medicine ( 200) is provided.

The portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler 200 has a plurality of terminals 210 and is electrically connected to the plurality of terminals 110 provided in the liquid medicine cartridge 100 when the liquid medicine cartridge 100 is mounted.

In addition, the portable medical liquid aerosol inhaler 200 includes a battery 230 as a power source. According to an embodiment, the battery 230 is charged from an external power source through the USB port 231 provided in the portable liquid medical liquid aerosol inhaler 100. It can be recharged by (232).

In addition, the portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler 200 includes a current sensor 215a or an output unit 240 that detects current applied to the vibrator element 120 at the output unit 240 and applies the detected current value to the control unit 220. includes a current sensor 215a that senses the voltage applied to the vibrator element 120 and applies the detected voltage value to the control unit 220.

The portable medicinal liquid aerosol inhaler 200 includes a controller 220, and the controller 220 controls the operation and interruption of the vibrator element 120 through the output unit 240. The output unit 240 includes a booster converter 241 that adjusts the voltage (voltage level) applied from the battery 230 by the voltage control signal of the control unit 120 and applies it to the sine wave generator 242, and a booster. Voltage is applied from the converter 241 and a sine wave signal having a frequency corresponding to the output control signal (eg, PWM signal) of the control unit 120 is generated through electrical connection between the terminals 210 and 110. It is configured to include a sine wave generator 242 applied to the vibrator element 120 .

The voltage control signal from the control unit 120 corresponds to a signal for applying a voltage (or peak-to-peak voltage) applied to the sine wave generator 242 from the booster converter 241 and adjusting the magnitude of the voltage.

The output control signal from the controller 120 corresponds to a signal for determining the frequency of the sine wave signal generated by the sine wave generator 242, and the vibrator element 120 operates while the output control signal is applied. During the time when the control signal is not applied, the operation of the vibrator element 120 is stopped.

The control unit 120 controls the output unit 240 to adjust the aerosol generating function (generation and non-generation) of the vibrator element 120, and a frequency sweep process of tracking the resonant frequency of the vibrator element 120, and a frequency sweep In the process, a check process of checking whether the vibrator element 120 is mounted, and voltage application and blocking (aerosol generating operation and non-operation) to the loaded chemical cartridge based on the resonant frequency tracked in the frequency sweep process are performed. A processor (e.g., CPU, MCU, MICROPROCESSOR, etc.) that performs an operation determination process and a characteristic determination process for determining and operating the spray characteristics of the chemical cartridge based on the resonant frequency tracked in the frequency sweep process, and a frequency The frequency sweep range of the sine wave signal for the sweep process (eg, 90 to 150 KHz), the application time of the sine wave signal (eg, 400 ms), the duty of the sine wave signal (eg, 50%), and the frequency sweep information including the magnitude of the voltage (peak-to-peak voltage), the reference resonant frequency range for the operation determination process, and the spray characteristics corresponding to the reference resonant frequency range (e.g., particle size, per unit time) Stores reference sine wave characteristic information corresponding to spray amount, spray time, etc.) or sine wave characteristic information for each resonance frequency corresponding to spray characteristics (eg, particle size, spray amount per unit time, spray time, etc.) for each resonance frequency It corresponds to an electrical and/or electronic circuit configured including a storage space (eg, memory, etc.).

The reference resonant frequency range corresponds to the resonant frequency range of the vibrator element 120 to be operated by the portable medicinal liquid aerosol inhaler 200 . That is, the control unit 220 causes the vibrator element 120 having a resonance frequency included in the reference resonance frequency range to perform an aerosol generating function, and the vibrator element 120 having a resonance frequency outside the reference resonance frequency range to generate aerosol. function can be disabled.

The reference sine wave characteristic information is the characteristic of the sine wave signal applied to the vibrator element 120 when the tracked resonance frequency is included in the reference resonance frequency range (eg, the frequency of the sine wave signal that is the tracked resonance frequency, the frequency of the sine wave signal applied magnitude of voltage (peak-to-peak voltage), application time of sine wave signal), etc.

In addition, the sine wave characteristic information for each resonance frequency is the sine wave characteristic for each spray characteristic of the chemical solution accommodated in the plurality of chemical liquid cartridges 100 corresponding to each of the plurality of resonance frequencies (for example, a sine wave signal that is a traced resonance frequency) the frequency of the applied sine wave signal, the magnitude of the voltage (peak-to-peak voltage) of the applied sine wave signal, the application time of the sine wave signal, etc.). That is, the sine wave characteristic information is relational data (or table) between each of a plurality of resonant frequencies, spray characteristics of a liquid chemical (which may include a type of chemical liquid), and sine wave characteristics, or relational data between each of a plurality of resonance frequencies and sine wave characteristics. (or table) or relational data (or table) between each of a plurality of pieces of chemical liquid information (spray characteristics, types of chemical liquids) and sine wave characteristics, and the like.

In addition, in the case of the above reference sine wave characteristic information and sine wave characteristic information for each resonance frequency, for example, the size of aerosol particles must be controlled differently by distinguishing those reaching the lungs, mouth, throat, etc. However, it is possible to solve the problem that the spray amount and spray time must be controlled differently according to the symptoms or age of the user. The controller 220 controls the particle size of the aerosol generated from the liquid medicine by adjusting the frequency of the sine wave signal, and controls the amount of spray per unit time by adjusting the voltage (peak-to-peak voltage) of the sine wave signal. , spraying time and the like are controlled by adjusting the application time of the sine wave signal.

First, a frequency sweep process of tracking the resonant frequency of the vibrator element 120 performed by the control unit 220 will be described.

The control unit 220 reads the frequency sweep information and controls the output unit 240 to apply a sine wave signal having a predetermined sine wave signal duty to the vibrator element 120 during the application time of the sine wave signal according to the frequency sweep information, , The frequency sweep is performed while increasing the frequency of the sine wave signal by a predetermined frequency interval from the initial frequency (eg, 90 kHz) to the final frequency (eg, 150 KHz) of the frequency sweep range. That is, the control unit 220 applies a voltage control signal to the boost converter 241 and an output control signal to the sine wave generator 242 to perform the frequency sweep.

During the frequency sweep process, the controller 220 receives and stores the current sensing value and the voltage sensing value from the current sensor 215a and the voltage sensor 215b, respectively.

As the frequency applied to the vibrator element 120 increases, the current detection value or voltage detection value also increases, but inflection in the change (or change curve) of the current detection value or voltage detection value at the resonance frequency or a frequency around the resonance frequency ( or an inflection point) is known to occur. The controller 220 tracks an inflection point in the change curve of the current or voltage detection value and determines at least one frequency corresponding to the tracked inflection point as the resonance frequency. In addition, when there are a plurality of inflection points, the controller 220 determines a frequency corresponding to an inflection point when the current detection value or the voltage detection value is the largest as the resonance frequency. Here, the determined resonant frequency is equal to the tracked resonant frequency.

The controller 220 may perform the frequency sweep process periodically or repeatedly whenever the aerosol generating process is performed on the liquid medicine cartridge 100 or while being electrically connected to the liquid medicine cartridge 100 . Also, the control unit 220 may vary the frequency sweep information according to an input from the input unit 280 .

Next, a confirmation process in which the control unit 220 checks whether the vibrator element 120 is mounted during the frequency sweep process will be described. The control unit 220 tracks the resonance frequency or resonance frequencies in the frequency sweep process, and uses the resonance frequency when an inflection phenomenon in which the current detection value or the voltage detection value is changed (or the change curve) is lowered by a reference size or more occurs. This confirms the mounting, which means that the liquid medicine cartridge 100 is electrically connected to the portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler 200. That is, the control unit 220 determines that the chemical cartridge 100 is mounted when at least one or more resonant frequencies are tracked and there is a resonant frequency (first resonant frequency) when an inflection phenomenon descending by a reference size or more occurs. , a resonant frequency (second resonant frequency) corresponding to an inflection point at which the current or voltage detection value is the highest may be determined as the resonant frequency of the vibrator element 120 . The control unit 220 may also display whether the liquid medicine cartridge 100 is mounted through the display unit 270 .

Next, an operation determination process in which the control unit 220 applies and cuts off voltage to the loaded chemical cartridge based on the resonant frequency tracked in the frequency sweep process (aerosol generating operation and non-operation) will be described. The controller 220 compares the tracked resonant frequency with a pre-stored reference resonant frequency range. If the tracked resonant frequency is included in the reference resonant frequency range, the control unit 220 reads the reference sine wave characteristic information and controls the output unit 240 to generate a sine wave voltage according to the read reference sine wave characteristic information, A sine wave voltage having a resonant frequency is generated and applied to the vibrator element 120 to perform an aerosol generating operation. The control unit 220 increases the efficiency of aerosol generation by applying a sinusoidal voltage having a resonant frequency tracked to the vibrator element 120 until the chemical cartridge 100 is separated or detached. If the tracked resonant frequency is not included in the reference resonant frequency range or the resonant frequency is not tracked during the frequency sweep process, the control unit 220 controls the output unit 240 not to perform an aerosol generating operation, or the output unit 240 ), that is, by not applying a sine wave signal to the chemical cartridge 100, the aerosol generating operation is not performed. Through this operation determination process, the control unit 220 restrictively operates only the chemical cartridge 100 (for example, the dedicated chemical cartridge) equipped with the vibrator element 120 having a resonance frequency included in the reference resonance frequency range. There are possible effects.

Next, a characteristic determination process in which the control unit 220 determines and operates spray characteristics of the liquid chemical cartridge based on the resonant frequency tracked in the frequency sweep process will be described. As described above, the control unit 220 reads the sine wave characteristic information for each resonance frequency, and controls the output unit 240 using the read sine wave characteristic information for each resonance frequency to obtain a signal corresponding to the resonance frequency tracked in the frequency sweep process. A sine wave voltage is generated and applied to the vibrator element 120 . Through this characteristic determination process, the control unit 220 may distinguish the type or spray characteristics of the chemical liquid by using the resonance frequency by making the spray characteristic or type of the liquid chemical correspond to the resonance frequency. In addition, by the characteristic determination process, the control unit 220 distinguishes spray characteristics of various liquid medicines using a resonance frequency, thereby enabling accurate spraying for each liquid medicine (or user's symptom, prescription, etc.).

Next, a process of performing a characteristic information process after the controller 220 senses or identifies the type of liquid medicine will be described.

The portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler 200 further includes a sensor unit 260 for sensing the type of liquid medicine contained in the liquid medicine cartridge 100 . The control unit 220 determines the type of chemical liquid according to the sensing value of the sensor unit 260, reads sine wave characteristic information for each resonance frequency, and determines the sine wave characteristic corresponding to the determined type of chemical liquid. The control unit 220 performs the aerosol generating function by controlling the operation of the vibrator element 120 by controlling the output unit 240 according to the determined sine wave characteristics.

As described above, according to the embodiment, the liquid medicine cartridge 100 includes an indicator 170 according to the type or authenticity of the liquid medicine stored in the cartridge.

The sensor unit 260 determines the type of liquid medicine accommodated in the cartridge according to the mounting of the liquid medicine cartridge 100 in the portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler 200. ) to determine the type of chemical solution by recognizing the color provided in

In addition, according to the embodiment, the sensor unit includes a sensor for recognizing the physical shape or material of the indicator 170. For example, the sensor unit 260 measures the inductance value according to the type or authenticity of the chemical liquid stored in the liquid medicine cartridge. The sensor 262 is included and the SUS or material (corresponding to the type of the chemical solution) provided to the chemical cartridge 100 is sensed by the inductance sensor 262 to determine the type of the chemical solution stored in the cartridge. For example, the indicator 170 may have a physical shape or material (corresponding to the type of chemical) provided on the outer surface of the chemical cartridge 100 so as to determine the type of chemical or whether the chemical is genuine, and an inductance sensor ( In step 262, when the liquid medicine cartridge 100 is mounted on the portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler 200, the type of liquid medicine or whether the liquid medicine is genuine can be determined by measuring the inductance value.

In addition, according to the embodiment, the sensor unit 260 includes a hall sensor 263 that senses whether or not the liquid medicine cartridge 100 is mounted. The hall sensor 263 is made of a material having electromagnetic characteristics provided on the outer surface of the chemical cartridge 100 to determine whether the chemical cartridge 100 is mounted or not by the indicator 170 .

In addition, according to the embodiment, a remaining amount sensor 252 for sensing the remaining amount of the chemical solution stored in the liquid medicine cartridge 100 is further included, and the control unit 220 continues or stops operation according to the remaining amount sensed value. The user may be informed of the remaining amount or give an alarm through the remaining amount display unit 273 of the display unit 270 provided in the portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler 200 . Depending on the embodiment, the remaining amount sensor 252 is a pressure sensor, and may sense the remaining amount by detecting a change in pressure in the storage space 130 of the chemical liquid cartridge 100 according to the change in the remaining amount of the chemical liquid stored in the chemical liquid cartridge 100.

In addition, according to the embodiment, a temperature sensor 253 for sensing the temperature of the vibrator element 120 of the chemical liquid cartridge 100 or the chemical liquid is additionally included, so that the control unit 220 outputs according to the sensed value of the temperature sensor 253. The unit 240 can be controlled.

In addition, according to the embodiment, a suction sensor 254 capable of sensing the user's inhalation is further included, and the control unit 220 outputs the output from the output unit 240 to generate an aerosol from the liquid medicine when the user inhales. The vibrator element 120 may be controlled by adjusting the magnitude of the frequency or voltage to be applied.

In addition, according to the embodiment, the control unit 220 counts the number of times aerosols are generated from the liquid medicine after the liquid medicine cartridge 100 is mounted, and continues operation or stops operation according to the counted number, informs the user of the remaining amount, or reduces an alarm. can For example, the control unit 220 measures the frequency of the sine wave output from the output unit 240 through the current sensor 251, counts the number of aerosol generation as set accordingly, and operates until the preset count number is reached It is possible to control the output unit 240 to continue and to stop the operation when a preset count number is reached. In addition, through the display unit 270, as described above, the user may be notified of the remaining amount of the drug solution or an alarm may be given.

In addition, according to the embodiment, the portable medicinal liquid aerosol inhaler 200 further includes an input unit 280 for initiating an operation. As described above, in the present invention, when the control unit 220 senses the user's suction from the suction sensor 254, the user can start the operation by controlling the output unit 240 without the need to operate a separate button. Depending on the method, when the input unit 280, which is a physical button, is manipulated, an operation may be set to start under the control of the control unit 220.

In addition, according to the embodiment, the portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler 200 includes the display means 270, and the remaining amount display unit 273 as described above, and further includes a liquid medicine type display unit 271 for displaying the type of liquid medicine. can do. Also, according to the embodiment, the display unit 270 may further include a time display unit 272 capable of displaying an operating time. In addition, according to the embodiment, the display unit 270 further includes a battery remaining amount display unit 274 capable of displaying the remaining amount of the battery 230, and the controller 220 checks the remaining amount of the battery 230 and It can be displayed on the remaining amount display unit 274.

At least a part of a device (eg, a processor or functions thereof) or a method (eg, operations) according to various embodiments may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium in the form of a program module. Can be implemented as stored instructions. When the command is executed by a processor, the one or more processors may perform a function corresponding to the command. A computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, a memory.

Computer-readable recording media include hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic media (eg magnetic tape), optical media (eg CD-ROM, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), magnetic- It may include optical media (e.g., a floptical disk), hardware devices (e.g., ROM, RAM, or flash memory, etc.), etc. In addition, the program instructions may include the same as generated by a compiler. It may include not only machine code but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter, etc. The above-described hardware device may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform operations of various embodiments, The reverse is the same.

Processors or functions by processors according to various embodiments may include at least one or more of the aforementioned elements, some may be omitted, or additional elements may be further included. Operations performed by modules, program modules, or other components according to various embodiments may be executed in a sequential, parallel, repetitive, or heuristic manner. Also, some actions may be performed in a different order, omitted, or other actions may be added.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific preferred embodiments described above, and anyone having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can do various things without departing from the gist of the present invention claimed in the claims. Of course, variations are possible, and such variations are within the scope of the claims.

100: chemical cartridge
200: portable liquid aerosol inhaler

Claims (13)

at least one terminal electrically connected to a liquid medicine cartridge storing liquid medicine and having a vibrator element;
with a battery;
an output unit receiving power from a battery, generating a sine wave signal under the control of a control unit, and applying the sine wave signal to the chemical liquid cartridge through a terminal;
a sensing unit that senses the voltage or current applied to the chemical cartridge from the output unit and applies the voltage or current sensing value to the control unit;
Controls the output unit to generate a sine wave signal corresponding to the pre-stored frequency sweep information, applies it to the chemical cartridge through the terminal, and performs frequency sweep tracking the resonant frequency of the vibrator element from the voltage or current detection value from the sensing unit A portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler, characterized in that it comprises a control unit. According to claim 1,
The portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler, characterized in that the control unit determines a frequency corresponding to an inflection point of the voltage detection value or current detection value as the tracked resonance frequency. According to claim 1,
The frequency sweep information includes the frequency sweep range of the sine wave signal, the magnitude of the sine wave signal, and the application time and duty of the sine wave. According to claim 1 or 2,
The portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler, characterized in that the control unit determines whether or not the liquid medicine cartridge is mounted using the tracked resonant frequency. According to claim 4,
The portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler, characterized in that the control unit determines that the medicine liquid cartridge is mounted when an inflection phenomenon that descends more than a standard size occurs during frequency sweep. According to claim 1 or 2,
The control unit stores the reference resonant frequency range,
When the tracked resonant frequency is included in the reference resonant frequency range, the control unit controls the output unit to apply a sine wave signal having the tracked resonant frequency to the chemical cartridge through a terminal to generate aerosol. . According to claim 6,
When the tracked resonant frequency is not included in the reference resonant frequency range or the resonant frequency is not tracked during the frequency sweep process, the control unit does not apply a sine wave signal to the drug cartridge. According to claim 6,
The control unit performs a frequency sweep when electrically connected to the liquid medicine cartridge. According to claim 6,
The portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler, characterized in that the controller performs a frequency sweep whenever aerosol is generated for the liquid medicine cartridge. According to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the control unit determines spray characteristics or sine wave characteristics of the chemical cartridge based on the tracked resonance frequency and stores sine wave characteristic information for each resonance frequency for generating aerosol for the chemical cartridge. According to claim 10,
The control unit uses relationship data between each of a plurality of resonance frequencies included in the sine wave characteristic information for each resonance frequency and spray characteristics and sine wave characteristics of the chemical liquid or relationship data between each of the plurality of resonance frequencies and sine wave characteristics to apply a sine wave to the chemical cartridge. A portable medicinal liquid aerosol inhaler characterized by determining the characteristic and controlling the output unit to apply a sine wave signal corresponding to the determined sinusoidal characteristic to the vibrator element. According to claim 11,
The sine wave characteristics include a resonant frequency of the sine wave signal applied to the drug cartridge, a voltage magnitude and an application time of the sine wave signal applied to the portable drug liquid aerosol inhaler. According to claim 11,
A portable liquid medicine aerosol inhaler, characterized in that the frequency of the sine wave signal applied to the vibrator element after determining the sine wave characteristics is the tracked resonance frequency.

Images