A mist inhaler device (200) for generating a mist including a therapeutic for inhalation by a user. The device includes a mist generator device (201) and a driver device (202). The driver device (202) is configured to drive the mist generator device (201) at an optimum frequency to maximise the efficiency of mist generation by the mist generator device (201).

A hookah device (202) which attaches to a hookah (246). The hookah device (202) comprises a plurality of ultrasonic mist generator devices (201) for generating a mist for inhalation by a user. The hookah device (202) comprises a driver device (202) which controls the mist generator devices (201) to maximize the efficiency of mist generation by the mist generator devices (201) and optimize mist output from the hookah device (202).

An aperture plate (1) is attached at its rim (203) to a support washer (3) by adhesive. Anchor grooves (204) having a zig-zag pattern in plan are machined in the lower surface of the rim (203 of the aperture plate before application of the adhesive. The grooves (204) extend out to the edge of the aperture plate (1). The anchor grooves have a depth in the range of 10 μm to 40 μm, and a width in the range of 20 μm to 150 μm, and an angular pitch in the range of 2.5° to 12.5°. Excellent bonding strength is achieved for long term reliable attachment in an environment of high frequency vibration and moisture and chemical corrosion.

An aerosol-generating device is provided, including: a membrane having an aerosol-generation zone, in which the aerosol-generation zone includes a plurality of nozzles, the plurality of nozzles being the only nozzles in the aerosol-generation zone; and an actuator coupled to the membrane, in which the actuator is configured to excite the membrane to induce a vibration of the membrane at one or more predetermined modal frequencies of the membrane such that a liquid aerosol-forming substrate passing through the plurality of nozzles is aerosolised, in which more than 50% of the plurality of nozzles are located closer to antinodes than to nodes of the membrane, where the antinodes and the nodes correspond to the membrane being excited at the one or more predetermined modal frequencies of the membrane, and in which the membrane progressively changes in thickness from a centre of the membrane to a peripheral edge of the membrane.

An improvement to a roadside sprayer fixates spray nozzles on a registration plate. The registration plate may include integral tabs depending on the application. Inclination of the tabs is adjustable to place streams and droplets in a desired swath coverage. With the nozzles rigidly mounted onto the plate, the entire plate is notated. The use of the registration plate in a spray unit creates a uniform nutation among the nozzles, thereby reducing variability in droplet placement, and providing a more predictable spray from the nozzles. In other embodiments, the spray unit is utilized in a spray system adaptable to service vehicles, and may be utilized in conjunction with a vegetation engagement device, such as a cutter to engage multiple zones of a roadway right-of-way. Additionally, an improved spray unit includes an electromagnetic field and an attractor to generate plate motion.

Introduced here is a self-contained face mask system with an automated liquid-droplet dispensing mechanism (ADM) for humidification. The enclosure of the self-contained mask system can be comprised of one or more layers of breathable fabric adapted to flexibly conform to the face of a user when worn to form a cavity that is adjacent the nostrils and mouth. The ADM of the face mask system can be comprised of a reservoir in which liquid is stored, a respiratory cycle detector, a timer and controller, and a droplet dispenser that controllably dispenses droplets of the liquid from the reservoir into the cavity for inhalation by the user. The ADM can be contained entirely within the face mask enclosure or supported on the surface of the face mask enclosure such that the self-contained mask system, when worn by a user, can be supported entirely by the head and neck of the user.

In one arrangement, a vibration system includes a vibratable plate, a support member surrounding the vibratable plate, and a vibration-inducing member surrounding the support member. The vibration-inducing member is configured to radially expand and contract against the support member so as to produce axial vibration of the vibratable plate. In another arrangement, the vibratable plate has an outer circumference; a tubular member is concentrically disposed about the outer circumference of the plate, and an annular vibration-inducing member is concentrically disposed about the outer circumference of the tubular member. The vibration-inducing member is preferably a piezoelectric ring that is radially expandable and contractable against the wall of the tubular member to cause the plate to vibrate in the axial direction.

A nozzle for an atomizer includes a plate, a piezoelectric actuator, a body, and a connector. The plate defines an aperture. The actuator is configured to oscillate the plate. The body supports the plate. The connector is configured to reversibly mount the body to the atomizer in a first orientation and in a second orientation. In the first orientation, fluid exits the nozzle along a first axial direction through the aperture. In the second orientation, fluid exits the nozzle along an opposite axial direction through the aperture.

A nebulizer has an aerosol generator, a reservoir, and an aerosol outlet. A piezoelectric vibration generator is on a downstream side of a support washer, and power to the piezo is provided by a spring contact assembly. The assembly has upstanding electrical terminals for contact with electrical supply conductors. There are spring terminals extending around a rim of the spring contact assembly to engage an exposed underside of the washer, and a resilient ridge extending in the upstream direction to engage the underside of the piezo, which itself is on the downstream side of the washer.

An atomizer for applying a coating to a substrate includes a nozzle and at least one electrode. The nozzle defines a plurality of apertures. The nozzle includes a nozzle plate, a nozzle body, and an actuator. The nozzle plate defines the apertures. The nozzle body and an inner side of the nozzle plate define a reservoir in fluid communication with the first apertures. The actuator is configured to vibrate the nozzle plate to eject droplets of a liquid from the reservoir through the first apertures. The at least one electrode is configured to directly or indirectly electrostatically charge the droplets with a charge that repels the droplets from each other to reduce coalescence of the droplets before the droplets reach the substrate.