Multiple chamber vaporizer

Abstract

The present device has at least two chambers for receiving vaporizable components, two heating elements, and circuitry to control heater behavior.

Claims

1. A device for generating vaporized material comprising: an outer housing comprising an inner surface, an outer surface, and one or more gaps; an inner housing made material with a thermal conductivity of less than 0.3 W/mK and comprising: a proximal end embedded with one or more magnets and comprising a concentrate chamber recess; a distal end embedded with one or more magnets and comprising an herbal chamber recess; and an outer surface that is flush against the inner surface of the outer housing; a mouthpiece, comprising: a protruding portion comprising a narrow end, a wider end, and a mouthpiece hole disposed on the narrow end; a base comprising an upper portion that is connected to the wider end of the protruding portion and a lower portion that is embedded with magnets that engage with the magnets embedded in the proximal end of the inner housing; at least one set of prongs that protrude from the lower portion of the base and are disposed adjacently to at least one of the one or more gaps in the outer housing; a mouthpiece chamber in fluid communication with the mouthpiece hole and in fluid communication with at least one of the one or more gaps through the at least one set of prongs; and a mouthpiece tower that is attached to the lower portion of the base; a reverse concentrate channel disposed within the concentrate chamber recess; a cradle disposed within the reverse concentrate channel and comprising an upper portion and a lower portion, the lower portion comprising a wall, the wall comprising a hole; a concentrate chamber disposed in the cradle, comprising: a shell comprising an inner wall, an outer wall, an upper portion, and a lower portion, where the lower portion comprising a hole, the hole aligns with the hole in the cradle, and the lower portion is surrounded by the cradle; a ceramic enclosure capable of receiving at least 15 mL of material, disposed in the upper portion of the shell, and comprising an inner wall, an outer wall, and a floor, where the outer wall of the enclosure is flush against the inner wall of the shell and the floor comprises at least one hole in fluid communication with the reverse concentrate channel; an o-ring disposed and fitted between the mouthpiece tower and the enclosure; a ceramic dish for receiving concentrate material and comprising a bottom surface, a top surface, and a periphery, where the top surface features a concave contour and at least a portion of the periphery is not attached to the inner wall of the enclosure; a concentrate heating element baked into the ceramic dish and capable of being heated to at least 380 F; a debris well disposed in the lower portion of the shell and comprising a wall, where the wall is incompletely flush with the floor of the enclosure; and an atomizer disposed within the debris well and connected to the concentrate heating element by a metal connection, where the metal connection passes through the hole in the floor of the enclosure; a concentrate channel disposed in the mouthpiece tower and comprising a first opening and a second opening, where the first opening is connected to the mouthpiece chamber and the second opening is connected to the enclosure on a side of the enclosure opposite the atomizer; an herbal chamber removably disposed in the herbal chamber recess of the inner housing and comprising a shell comprising: a thin film heater able to heat up to a temperature of 440 F and capable of heating up to 360 F in less than 60 seconds; an enclosure disposed within the shell, capable of receiving 45 mL of material, and having at least 2.5 square inches of contact area with the heater; a lower portion; and an upper portion, where the upper portion is flush against the herbal chamber recess; an herbal channel held in place within the inner housing by one or more o-rings and comprising a first opening and a second opening, where the first opening is connected to the mouthpiece chamber and the second opening is connected to the upper portion of the herbal chamber; a disc disposed between the herbal channel and the herbal chamber and comprising at least one hole that provides for fluid communication between the herbal chamber and the herbal channel, the at least one hole measuring between 0.02 and 0.045 inches in diameter; a bottom lid, comprising: an outer portion, an inner portion made of material with a thermal conductivity of at least 50.2 W/mK, a spring disposed between the outer portion and the inner portion, a lip that at least partially protrudes from the outer housing, and one or more magnets that engage with the one or more magnets in the distal end of the inner housing; an accelerometer to determine orientation; and a circuitry controller comprising: a circuit board disposed in the inner body, having a computer-readable storage memory, and connected to a slide switch, a pushbutton, at least one power supply, a haptic feedback vibrating motor, a ceramic heater temperature sensor, and a thin film heater temperature sensor, the circuit board programmed to: upon receiving a first stage signal from the slide switch, send current from the power supply to the vibrating motor, and then, upon receiving a push signal from the pushbutton, send current from the power supply to the ceramic heater, but if the push signal from the pushbutton is no longer received, or a maximum temperature signal is received from the ceramic heater temperature sensor, cease sending current from the power supply to the ceramic heater; upon receiving a second stage signal from the slide switch, send current from the power supply to the vibrating motor and send current from the power supply to the thin film heater until a ready temperature signal is received from the thin film heater temperature sensor, and then, upon receiving a push signal from the pushbutton, continue sending current from the power supply to the thin film heater, but if the push signal from the pushbutton is no longer received, or a maximum temperature signal is received from the thin film heater temperature sensor, cease sending current from the power supply to the thin film heater; and upon receiving a third stage signal from the slide switch, send current from the power supply to the vibrating motor and send current to the thin film heater until a ready temperature signal is received from the thin film heater temperature sensor, and then, upon receiving a push signal from the pushbutton, continue sending current from the power supply to the thin film heater and begin sending current from the power supply to the ceramic heater, but: if the push signal from the pushbutton is no longer received, cease sending current to the ceramic heater and cease sending current to the thin film heater; if the maximum temperature signal is received from the thin film heater temperature sensor, cease sending current to the thin film heater; and if the maximum temperature signal is received from the ceramic heater temperature sensor, cease sending current to the ceramic heater; where: the mouthpiece tower at least partially protrudes into the concentrate chamber and the reverse concentrate channel is in fluid communication with the ceramic dish through the hole in the cradle, the hole in the shell, the hole in the floor of the enclosure, and a space the ceramic dish and the inner wall of the enclosure.

2. A device for generating vaporized material comprising: an outer housing; an inner housing made of different material from the outer housing and comprising an outer surface that is flush against the outer housing; a mouthpiece comprising a mouthpiece hole and a mouthpiece chamber, where the mouthpiece hole is in fluid communication with the mouthpiece chamber; a reverse concentrate channel disposed in the inner housing and in fluid communication with the mouthpiece chamber; a concentrate chamber disposed within the reverse channel, comprising: an enclosure comprising an upper portion and a lower portion; a dish for receiving concentrate material, disposed in the upper portion of the enclosure and comprising a first heating element; an atomizer disposed in the lower portion of the enclosure and connected to the first heating element; and a concentrate channel connecting the mouthpiece chamber to the upper portion of the enclosure, where the concentrate channel is not in direct fluid communication with the reverse concentrate channel except through the mouthpiece chamber on one end and the lower portion of the enclosure on another end; an herbal chamber comprising an enclosure, where the enclosure comprises a second heater and is disposed within the inner housing; an herbal channel disposed within the inner housing and in direct fluid communication with the enclosure of the herbal chamber and the mouthpiece chamber; and a bottom lid attached to the herbal chamber.

3. The device in claim 2, where the mouthpiece further comprises a protruding portion and a base, where the protruding portion comprises a narrow end and a wider end, with the mouthpiece hole disposed on the narrow end, the wider end connected to the base, and the base connected to the outer housing.

4. The device in claim 3, where the base further comprises a hole that is in fluid communication with the mouthpiece chamber but is not identical to the mouthpiece hole.

5. The device in claim 3, where the enclosure further comprises a floor separating the upper portion and the lower portion, where the floor comprises at least one floor hole that occupies less than 30% of the surface area of the floor, an enclosure hole is disposed in the lower portion of the enclosure, and a debris well is disposed in the lower portion of the enclosure; and where the first heater is a ceramic heater, the second heater is a thin film heater, the upper portion of the enclosure is in fluid communication with the lower portion of the enclosure through the at least one floor hole, the lower portion of the enclosure is in fluid communication with the reverse concentrate channel through the enclosure hole, and the atomizer is disposed within the debris well and connected to the heating element by a metal connection passing through the floor hole of the enclosure.

6. The device in claim 3, where the reverse concentrate channel is disposed within a proximal end of the inner housing and the herbal chamber is disposed within a distal end of the inner housing.

7. The device in claim 6, further comprising a disc disposed between the herbal channel and the herbal chamber and comprising at least one hole.

8. The device in claim 6, with the herbal channel held in place within the inner housing by one or more braces such that a majority of an outside surface area of the herbal channel is not in direct contact with the inner housing.

9. The device in claim 6, where the bottom lid comprises an outside portion, an inner portion made of material with a thermal conductivity of at least 50.2 W/mK, and a spring disposed between the outer portion and the inner portion.

10. The device in claim 7, where the herbal chamber is removably disposed in the inner housing.

11. The device in claim 7, further comprising a metallic net removably disposed in the herbal chamber, with the metallic net being flush against one or more walls of the herbal chamber.

12. The device in claim 5, where the concentrate chamber further comprises an illumination source.

13. The device in claim 3, where the mouthpiece further comprises a mouthpiece tower, the mouthpiece tower protrudes at least 1 cm into the concentrate chamber, and the concentrate channel is embedded in the mouthpiece tower.

14. The device in claim 2, further comprising a circuitry controller comprising: a circuit board disposed in the inner body and having a computer-readable storage memory and connections to a first controller, a second controller, at least one power supply, a first heater temperature sensor, and a second heater temperature sensor, the circuit board programmed to: upon receiving a first stage signal from the first controller and an signal from the second controller, send current from the power supply to the first heater, but if the on signal from the second controller is no longer received, or a maximum temperature signal is received from the first heater temperature sensor, cease sending current from the power supply to the first heater; upon receiving a second stage signal from the first controller, send current from the power supply to the second heater until a ready temperature signal is received from the second heater temperature sensor, and then, upon receiving on signal from the second controller, continue sending current from the power supply to the second heater, but if the on signal from the second controller is no longer received, or a maximum temperature signal is received from the second heater temperature sensor, cease sending current from the power supply to the second heater; and upon receiving a third stage signal from the first controller, send current to the second heater until a ready temperature signal is received from the second heater temperature sensor, and then, upon receiving an on signal from the second controller, continue sending current from the power supply to the second heater and begin sending current from the power supply to the first heater, but: if the on signal from the second controller is no longer received, cease sending current to the first heater and cease sending current to the second heater; if the maximum temperature signal is received from the second heater temperature sensor, cease sending current to the second heater; and if the maximum temperature signal is received from the first heater temperature sensor, cease sending current to the first heater.

15. The device in claim 14, where the first heater is a ceramic heater and the second heater is a thin film heater.

16. A device for generating vaporized material comprising: an outer housing; an inner housing; a mouthpiece comprising a mouthpiece hole; a first chamber disposed within the inner housing, in fluid communication with the mouthpiece hole through a first channel, and comprising a first heating element and a first receptacle for receiving vaporizable material; a second chamber disposed within the inner housing, in fluid communication with the mouthpiece hole through a second channel, and comprising a second heating element and a second receptacle for receiving vaporizable material; and a circuitry controller comprising: a circuit board disposed in the inner body and having a computer-readable storage memory and connections to a first controller, a second controller, at least one power supply, a first heater temperature sensor, and a second heater temperature sensor, the circuit board programmed to: upon receiving a first stage signal from the first controller and an signal from the second controller, send current from the power supply to the first heater, but if the on signal from the second controller is no longer received, or a maximum temperature signal is received from the first heater temperature sensor, cease sending current from the power supply to the first heater; upon receiving a second stage signal from the first controller, send current from the power supply to the second heater until a ready temperature signal is received from the second heater temperature sensor, and then, upon receiving on signal from the second controller, continue sending current from the power supply to the second heater, but if the on signal from the second controller is no longer received, or a maximum temperature signal is received from the second heater temperature sensor, cease sending current from the power supply to the second heater; and upon receiving a third stage signal from the first controller, send current to the second heater until a ready temperature signal is received from the second heater temperature sensor, and then, upon receiving an on signal from the second controller, continue sending current from the power supply to the second heater and begin sending current from the power supply to the first heater, but: if the on signal from the second controller is no longer received, cease sending current to the first heater and cease sending current to the second heater: if the maximum temperature signal is received from the second heater temperature sensor, cease sending current to the second heater; and if the maximum temperature signal is received from the first heater temperature sensor, cease sending current to the first heater.

17. The device in claim 16, where the mouthpiece further comprises a protruding portion and a base, where the protruding portion comprises a narrow end and a wider end, with the mouthpiece hole disposed on the narrow end, the wider end connected to the base, and the base connected to the outer housing.

18. The device in claim 17, where the base further comprises a hole that is in fluid communication with the mouthpiece chamber but is not identical to the mouthpiece hole.

19. The device in claim 18, where: the device further comprises a reverse channel; the first chamber further comprises an upper portion, a lower portion, a debris wall, and a floor; the floor separates the upper portion from the lower portion and comprises at least one floor hole that accounts for less than 30% of the surface area of the floor; the lower portion comprises a lower portion hole; the debris well is disposed in the lower portion; the first heater comprises a ceramic heater and an atomizer; the second heater is a thin film heater; the upper portion of the first chamber is in fluid communication with the lower portion of the first chamber through the at least one floor hole; the lower portion is in fluid communication with the reverse channel through the lower portion hole; and the atomizer is connected to the ceramic heater by a metal connection passing through the at least one floor hole of the first chamber.

20. The device in claim 19, where the second chamber further comprises a bottom lid, and the bottom lid comprises an outside portion, an inner portion made of material with a thermal conductivity of at least 50.2 W/mK, and a spring disposed between the outer portion and the inner portion.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 shows an exterior view of an exemplary device.

(2) FIG. 2 shows an interior view of an exemplary device.

(3) FIG. 3 shows an interior view of an exemplary device.

(4) FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of an exemplary device.

(5) FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of an exemplary program run by a device.

(6) FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an exemplary program run by a device.

(7) FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of an exemplary program run by a device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(8) In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the device comprises an outer housing 10. The outer housing may be made of anodized aluminum, steel, ceramic, polycarbonate plastic, or magnesium. The outer housing is exposed to the atmosphere, and therefore must be durable. The outer housing may have an outer surface 12, and inner surface 14, and one or more gaps 16.

(9) In another embodiment, the device may comprise an inner housing 20. The inner housing may be made of glass, plastic, or glass-lined plastic. The thermal conductivity of the inner housing is ideally less than 0.3 W/mK. It may have a proximal end 22, and a distal end 24, and an outer surface 26. The proximal end may be embedded with one or more proximal end magnets 28, and a concentrate chamber recess 30. The distal end may be embedded with one or more distal end magnets 32, and an herbal chamber recess 34. As can be seen, the outer surface is flush against the inner surface of the outer housing. The recesses are negative space areas in the inner housing.

(10) In another embodiment, the device may comprise a mouthpiece, 40. The mouthpiece may be made of polycarbonate, hard rubber, glass, ceramic, and teflon, aluminum, and steel. It may have a protruding portion 42, and a base 44. The protruding portion may be shaped into a narrow end 46, a wider end 48, and a mouthpiece hole 4. The mouthpiece hole may be disposed on the narrow end. The base may be connected to the wide end of the protruding portion at an upper portion 50. A lower of the base may be embedded with base magnets 52. These base magnets may engage with the proximal magnets of the inner body, so that the mouthpiece may be removably attached to the bulk of the device.

(11) At least one set of prongs 54 may protrude from the lower portion of the base. The prongs provide a guide through which air may flow into the device. They are disposed adjacent to gaps in the outer housing. The air flow provided by these prong-guided gaps mixes with air and/or vapor in a mouthpiece chamber 56. The mouthpiece chamber is in fluid communication with the mouthpiece hole discussed above, as well as many other air filled chambers and channels. The mouthpiece chamber is in part bordered by a mouthpiece tower 58, which protrudes from the lower portion of the base. The mouthpiece tower is shaped so that it does not obstruct air flow from the prong-guided gaps into the mouthpiece tower.

(12) The device further comprises a concentrate system 60, which primarily occupies the concentrate chamber recess. The concentrate chamber recess acts in part as a reverse concentrate channel 62, which permits air from the prong-guided gaps may flow into the reverse concentrate channel. Within the reverse concentrate channel is a cradle 64, and a concentrate chamber 66, which is secured by the cradle. The cradle may be made of silicone, polycarbonate, and has an upper portion 68 and a lower portion 70. The lower portion may be narrower than the upper portion, enabling a more secure fit for the concentrate chamber. Also, the lower portion has a vertically inclined or diagonal wall 72 with a hole 74 disposed in it, permitting air flow from the reverse concentrate channel into the cradle. The cradle may be embedded with magnets that engage with magnets embedded in the concentrate chamber, thereby increasing the sureness of the fit.

(13) The concentrate chamber may have more than one layer, including a shell 76 made of stainless, aluminum, ceramic, glass, or plastic. The shell has an inner wall 78, an outer wall 80, an upper portion 82, and a lower portion 84. A hole 86 may be disposed in the lower portion. This same hole may align with the hole in the cradle, enabling air to continue flowing from the cradle into the shell. The lower portion of the shell is also surrounded by the lower portion of the cradle, and preferably in flush contact with it.

(14) The device may also comprise an enclosure 90 designed as an inner housing for the concentrate chamber. This enclosure may be housed in the upper portion of the shell to be, among other things, closer to the mouthpiece and therefore more readily receive concentrated material. The enclosure may be made of ceramic. By making the enclosure out of ceramic, the chamber will maintain less heat after the heat supply is removed, and thereby prevent over baking of the concentrate received therein. The enclosure may be designed to receive at least 15 mL of material.

(15) The enclosure may feature an inner wall 92, an outer wall 94, and a floor 96. The outer wall may be flush with the inner wall of the shell, thereby preserving a heat seal. The inner wall and outer wall may be two sides of the same wall. The inner wall may wrap around the enclosure and be substantially sealed on the bottom by the floor. However, the floor may feature at least one hole 98 in order to provide for fluid communication with the reverse concentrate channel.

(16) An o-ring 98, perhaps of silicone, may be fitted between the mouthpiece tower, which may protrude into the concentrate chamber, and the enclosure. The o-ring provides for a tight seal to prevent air in the concentrate chamber from directly mixing with air in the reverse concentrate channel.

(17) A receptacle for receiving the concentrate material, such as a dish 100, may be disposed in the upper portion of the chamber. A top surface 102 of the dish may be facing the mouthpiece tower, and a bottom surface 104 may be facing the enclosure floor. The top surface is ideally a concave contour in order to best receive the concentrate. The dish may be bordered by a periphery 106. This periphery, which may or may not have walls that prevent concentrate material from spilling over onto the floor, may be fixed to the inner wall of the enclosure or the the floor of the enclosure. But a part of the periphery must not touch the inner wall of the enclosure in order to permit some fluid communication between the enclosure and the lower portion of the shell. The dish may be made of ceramic and with a first heater or concentrate heating element 108 baked into it. The heating element should be capable of being heated to at least 380 F.

(18) A debris well 110 may be situated in the lower portion of the shell. It is designed to catch any debris that falls through the air gaps between the periphery of the dish and the inner wall and down into the hole in the floor. The debris well comprises a wall 112 that surrounds it on all sides. This top edge of this wall may be incompletely flush with the floor of the enclosure in order to permit some air flow between the enclosure and the lower portion of the shell.

(19) The debris wall may house an atomizer 114. This atomizer, which converts electrical energy into heat, may be connected to the ceramic heater by a thermally conductive connection, such as a metal wire 116 or filament. The metal wire may pass through the floor hole in connecting to the heater in the dish. Once the atomizer sends the heat to the heater, the concentrate on the dish may vaporize. The vapor may travel out of the enclosure through a first opening 118 of a concentrate channel 120 disposed in the mouthpiece tower, through a second opening 121 into the mouthpiece chamber. The concentrate chamber connects to the enclosure on the side of the enclosure opposite the atomizer.

(20) The device may also be fitted with a herbal chamber 122, which may be disposed in the herbal chamber recess of the inner housing. In one embodiment, the herbal chamber is not fixedly attached to the herbal chamber recess but instead can be removed by a user by pulling on a tab of some sort attached to the herbal chamber.

(21) The herbal chamber may have a shell 124 which provides a structural support for an enclosure 126. The enclosure may be made of glass, ceramic, steel, or aluminum, and may be disposed in the shell. It should comprise an upper portion 128 and a lower portion 130, the upper portion being flush against the herbal chamber recess. Embedded in the shell, the enclosure, or between them is a second heater of some sort, perhaps a polyamide thin film heater 132. The second heater may be designed to be capable of heating up to a temperature of 440 F, and up to 360 F in less than 60 seconds. The heater and enclosure may have at least 2.5 square inches of contact together to ensure proper heating of the contents of the enclosure. The enclosure may also be designed to receive up to 45 mL of herbal material.

(22) An herbal channel 134 may also be disposed in a recess of the inner housing. The herbal channel may be made of glass and held in place within the inner housing by one or more braces 135 such as an o-ring. The o-ring may be made of silicone or some other appropriate material that substantially prevents, limits, or amends vibrations. There may be some space between the outside of the herbal channel and the inner housing in order to prevent the herbal channel and the inner housing from touching. The herbal chamber may have a first opening 136 connected to the mouthpiece chamber and a second opening 138 connected to the upper portion of the herbal chamber.

(23) The device may comprise a heat insulating in an air chamber surrounding the herbal chamber. The air chamber walls may be made of thermally non-conductive material.

(24) Between the herbal channel and the herbal chamber there may be a disc 140, or filter comprising one or more holes. The disc may be made of stainless steel, aluminum, or ceramic. The one or more holes should be large enough to provide for fluid communication between the herbal chamber and the herbal channel, but not large enough for macro particles or the like to float up the channel. The diameter of a given hole is ideally between 0.02 and 0.045 inches.

(25) The herbal chamber may be on one or more sides detachably sealed by a bottom lid 142. The bottom lid has an outer portion 144, which may be made of plastic, an inner portion 146, which may be made of a material with a thermal conductivity of at least 50.2 W/mK, and may have a spring 148 or other pressure-exerting component disposed between the inner portion and the outer portion. When the bottom lid is closed against the herbal chamber, the spring will exert a force against the inner portion which would then exert a force against the herbal material placed therein. This helps pack more herbal material into the chamber. Also, since the inner portion is capable of communicating heat against the herbal material, it ensures a greater surface area of vaporization, and therefore a more thorough and uniform vaporization.

(26) In order to provide a superior seal as well as an area that the user can use to pry the bottom lid from the device, the bottom lid may comprise a lip 150 that protrudes slightly from the the outer housing, thereby providing a surface area that a finger or thumb can engage with. The bottom lid may also be embedded with one or more magnets 152 that engage with the one or more distal end magnets.

(27) It should be noted that the mouthpiece tower at least partially protrudes into the concentrate chamber and the reverse concentrate channel is in fluid communication with the ceramic dish through the hole in the silicone cradle, the hole in the shell, the hole in the floor of the enclosure, and the portion of the ceramic dish not connected to the inner wall of the enclosure.

(28) In one embodiment, the device has an accelerometer 154 to help determine the orientation of the device.

(29) In one embodiment, the device is fitted with a circuitry controller 161 for enabling the user to selectively heat the two chambers. The circuitry controller comprises a circuit board 160, which provides the functionality of any microprocessor or computer. The circuit board is provided a computer-readable storage memory 162, connections to input devices including a slide switch 164 or first controller, a pushbutton 166 or second controller, at least one power supply 168, a haptic feedback vibrating motor 170, a ceramic heater temperature sensor 172 or first heater temperature sensor, and a thin film heater temperature sensor 174 or second heater temperature sensor. Thermistors may be used in place of the one or more heater temperature sensors. It is also conceivable that a more reduced or simplified version of the circuit board can be implement, one in which one or more of the above components are combined or missing. The circuit board may also be connected to the accelerometer 165 and one or more illumination sources 167. The power supply is connected to a first heater, such as the ceramic heater 173, and the second heater, such as the thin film heater 175. The first heater temperature sensor is connected to the first heater and the second heater temperature sensor is connected to the second heater. The user 163 may operate on the slide switch and push button.

(30) The circuit board may be programmed to 180 upon receiving a first stage signal from the slide switch, 182 send current to the vibrating motor. If no other stage signal is received, and 184 a pushbutton signal or on signal from a pushbutton or second controller is received, the circuit board may 186 send current to the first heater, which may be a ceramic heater, or the atomizer that is connected to the ceramic heater. If 188 the push signal is no longer received, or an off signal is received, or 190 a maximum temperature signal is received from the ceramic heater temperature sensor, then 192 the circuit will cease sending current to the ceramic heater.

(31) The circuit board may be programmed to 194 upon receiving a second stage signal from the slide switch, 196 send current to the vibrating motor. If no other stage signal is received, and 198 a pushbutton signal is received, the circuit board may 200 send current to the thin film heater. If 202 the push signal is no longer received, or 204 a maximum temperature signal is received from the thin film heater temperature sensor, then 206 the circuit will cease sending current to the ceramic heater.

(32) The circuit board may be programmed to 208 upon receiving a third stage signal from the slide switch, 210 send current to the vibrating motor and send current to the thin film heater until 212 a ready temperature signal is received from the thin film heater temperature sensor. If 214 a pushbutton signal is received, 216 send current to the ceramic heater. If 218 the pushbutton signal is no longer received, 224 cease sending current to the ceramic heater and 228 cease sending current to the thin film heater. If 222 the maximum temperature signal is received from the thin film heater temperature sensor, 224 cease sending current to the thin film heater. If 226 the maximum temperature signal is received from the ceramic heater temperature sensor, 228 cease sending current to the ceramic heater.