# US 11,992,061 B2 · Heart rate monitor for an aerosol delivery device > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,992,061 B2 - Document ID: US11992061B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/162,330 - Filed: 2023-01-31 - Published: 2023-06-15 - Granted: 2024-05-28 - Earliest claimed: 2017-05-23 - Assignees: RAI Strategic Holdings, Inc. - Applicants: RAI Strategic Holdings, Inc. - Inventors: Rajesh Sur; Sawyer A. Hubbard; Kyung Soo Hong; Stephen B. Sears - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11992061B2 ## CPC - A24F 40/49: Child proofing - A24F 40/51: Arrangement of sensors - A24F 40/53: Monitoring, e.g. fault detection - A24F 40/65: Devices with integrated communication means, e.g. wireless communication means - A61M 11/042: {electrical} - A61M 15/06: Inhaling appliances shaped like cigars, cigarettes or pipes - A24F 40/10: Devices using liquid inhalable precursors - A61M 15/0081: {Locking means} - A61M 2205/128: with incorporated valves - A61M 2205/27: preventing use - A61M 2205/3334: Measuring or controlling the flow rate - A61M 2205/3368: Temperature - A61M 2205/3372: Temperature compensation - A61M 2205/35: Communication - A61M 2205/3553: remote, e.g. between patient's home and doctor's office - A61M 2205/3561: local, e.g. within room or hospital - A61M 2205/3592: using telemetric means, e.g. radio or optical transmission - A61M 2205/502: User interfaces, e.g. screens or keyboards - A61M 2205/52: with memories providing a history of measured variating parameters of apparatus or patient - A61M 2205/581: by audible feedback - A61M 2205/582: by tactile feedback - A61M 2205/583: by visual feedback - A61M 2205/587: Lighting arrangements - A61M 2205/609: Biometric patient identification means - A61M 2205/8212: with means or measures taken for minimising energy consumption - A61M 2205/8256: being integrated in the case or housing of the apparatus - A61M 2205/8262: connectable to external power source, e.g. connecting to automobile battery through the cigarette lighter - A61M 2230/04: Heartbeat characteristics, e.g. ECG, blood pressure modulation - A61M 2230/06: Heartbeat rate only - A24F: SMOKERS' REQUISITES; MATCH BOXES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES (inhaling appliances for medical purposes, shaped like cigars, cigarettes or pipes A61M15/06) - A61M: DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY (introducing media into or onto the bodies of animals A61D7/00; means for inserting tampons A61F13/26; devices for administering food or medicines orally A61J; containers for collecting, storing or administering blood or medical fluids A61J1/05); DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY (surgery A61B; chemical aspects of surgical articles A61L); DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR {(Electrotherapy, e.g. producing anaesthesia by the use of alternating or intermittent currents A61N1/36021)} ## Abstract An aerosol delivery device includes at least one housing structured to retain an aerosol precursor composition, and an atomizer. A microprocessor is configured to operate in an active mode in which the control body is configured to control the atomizer to activate and produce an aerosol from the aerosol precursor composition. A heart rate monitor is configured to obtain biopotential measurements from a user, the biopotential measurements forming an identifier of the user. The microprocessor is operably coupled with the heart rate monitor and is configured to perform a biometric authentication of the user based on the identifier, and to control operation of at least one functional element of the aerosol delivery device based on the biopotential measurements, with the controlling operation of at least one functional element including altering a locked state of the aerosol delivery device based on the biometric authentication. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An aerosol delivery device comprising: at least one housing structured to retain an aerosol precursor composition; an atomizer; a microprocessor configured to operate in an active mode in which a control body of the aerosol delivery device is configured to control the atomizer to activate and produce an aerosol from the aerosol precursor composition; and a heart rate monitor configured to obtain biopotential measurements from a user, the biopotential measurements forming an identifier of the user, wherein the microprocessor is operably coupled with the heart rate monitor and is configured to perform a biometric authentication of the user based on the identifier, and to control operation of at least one functional element of the aerosol delivery device based on the biopotential measurements, the controlling operation of at least one functional element including altering a locked state of the aerosol delivery device based on the biometric authentication. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, wherein the heart rate monitor includes a plurality of biopotential electrodes affixed to the housing, and is configured to obtain the biopotential measurements via the biopotential electrodes. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, wherein the heart rate monitor includes signal conditioning circuitry configured to produce an electrocardiogram signal from the biopotential measurements. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The aerosol delivery device of claim 3, wherein the microprocessor configured to control operation of the at least one functional element includes the microprocessor configured to control operation of at least one functional element of the aerosol delivery device based on the electrocardiogram signal or a heart rate of the user calculated therefrom. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) The aerosol delivery device of claim 3, wherein the electrocardiogram signal or samples of the electrocardiogram signal form the identifier of the user, and the microprocessor is configured to perform the biometric authentication of the user based on the identifier. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor configured to perform the biometric authentication includes the microprocessor configured to at least: access a corresponding identifier of an authorized user; perform a comparison of the identifier with the corresponding identifier; and based on the comparison, verify the user is the authorized user when the identifier and the corresponding identifier match or have at least a threshold similarity. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The aerosol delivery device of claim 6, wherein the microprocessor is configured to operate in an enrollment mode to enroll the user for biometric authentication, the microprocessor in the enrollment mode configured to receive a baseline electrocardiogram signal for the user from the heart rate monitor, and generate the corresponding identifier from the baseline electrocardiogram signal. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The aerosol delivery device of claim 7, wherein the microprocessor is configured to force re-enrollment of the user, including the microprocessor configured to repeat the enrollment mode in which the microprocessor is configured to receive an updated baseline electrocardiogram signal for the user, and update the corresponding identifier from the updated baseline electrocardiogram signal. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor configured to perform the biometric authentication includes the microprocessor configured to at least: access corresponding identifiers of an authorized user, the corresponding identifiers formed from respective baseline electrocardiogram signals for the authorized user; perform a comparison of the identifier with the corresponding identifiers; and based on the comparison, verify the user is the authorized user when the identifier and any of the corresponding identifiers match or have at least a threshold similarity. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The aerosol delivery device of claim 9, wherein the microprocessor is configured to operate in an enrollment mode in which the microprocessor is configured to receive the respective baseline electrocardiogram signals from the heart rate monitor, and generate the corresponding identifiers from the respective baseline electrocardiogram signals. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor configured to perform the biometric authentication includes the microprocessor configured to at least: access corresponding identifiers of authorized users, the corresponding identifiers formed from respective baseline electrocardiogram signals for respective ones of the authorized users; perform a comparison of the identifier with the corresponding identifiers; and based on the comparison, verify the user is one of the authorized users when the identifier and any of the corresponding identifiers match or have at least a threshold similarity. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The aerosol delivery device of claim 11, wherein the microprocessor is configured to operate in an enrollment mode in which the microprocessor is configured to receive the respective baseline electrocardiogram signals from the heart rate monitor, and generate the corresponding identifiers from the respective baseline electrocardiogram signals. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, comprising a communication interface configured to enable communication with a computing device, wherein the microprocessor configured to control operation of the at least one functional element includes the microprocessor configured to cause the communication interface to communicate a notification to the computing device when the biometric authentication fails to verify the user is an authorized user. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, comprising a communication interface configured to enable communication with an age verification system that is configured to perform an age verification of the user, wherein the microprocessor is configured to alter the locked state of the aerosol delivery device based on the age verification. ### Claim 15 A control body for an aerosol delivery device, the control body comprising: a housing; a microprocessor configured to operate in an active mode in which the microprocessor is configured to control an atomizer to activate and produce an aerosol from an aerosol precursor composition; and a heart rate monitor configured to obtain biopotential measurements from a user, the biopotential measurements forming an identifier of the user, wherein the microprocessor is operably coupled with the heart rate monitor and is configured to perform a biometric authentication of the user based on the identifier, and to control operation of at least one functional element of the control body or the aerosol delivery device based on the biopotential measurements, the controlling operation of at least one functional element including altering a locked state of the aerosol delivery device based on the biometric authentication. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The control body of claim 15, wherein the heart rate monitor includes a plurality of biopotential electrodes affixed to the housing, and is configured to obtain the biopotential measurements via the biopotential electrodes. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The control body of claim 15, wherein the heart rate monitor includes signal conditioning circuitry configured to produce an electrocardiogram signal from the biopotential measurements. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The control body of claim 17, wherein the microprocessor configured to control operation of the at least one functional element includes the microprocessor configured to control operation of at least one functional element of the control body or the aerosol delivery device based on the electrocardiogram signal or a heart rate of the user calculated therefrom. ### Claim 19 (depends on 17) The control body of claim 17, wherein the electrocardiogram signal or samples of the electrocardiogram signal form the identifier of the user, and the microprocessor is configured to perform the biometric authentication of the user based on the identifier. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The control body of claim 19, wherein the microprocessor configured to perform the biometric authentication includes the microprocessor configured to at least: access a corresponding identifier of an authorized user; perform a comparison of the identifier with the corresponding identifier; and based on the comparison, verify the user is the authorized user when the identifier and the corresponding identifier match or have at least a threshold similarity. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The control body of claim 20, wherein the microprocessor is configured to operate in an enrollment mode to enroll the user for biometric authentication, the microprocessor in the enrollment mode configured to receive a baseline electrocardiogram signal for the user from the heart rate monitor, and generate the corresponding identifier from the baseline electrocardiogram signal. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The control body of claim 21, wherein the microprocessor is configured to force re-enrollment of the user, including the microprocessor configured to repeat the enrollment mode in which the microprocessor is configured to receive an updated baseline electrocardiogram signal for the user, and update the corresponding identifier from the updated baseline electrocardiogram signal. ### Claim 23 (depends on 19) The control body of claim 19, wherein the microprocessor configured to perform the biometric authentication includes the microprocessor configured to at least: access corresponding identifiers of an authorized user, the corresponding identifiers formed from respective baseline electrocardiogram signals for the authorized user; perform a comparison of the identifier with the corresponding identifiers; and based on the comparison, verify the user is the authorized user when the identifier and any of the corresponding identifiers match or have at least a threshold similarity. ### Claim 24 (depends on 23) The control body of claim 23, wherein the microprocessor is configured to operate in an enrollment mode in which the microprocessor is configured to receive the respective baseline electrocardiogram signals from the heart rate monitor, and generate the corresponding identifiers from the respective baseline electrocardiogram signals. ### Claim 25 (depends on 19) The control body of claim 19, wherein the microprocessor configured to perform the biometric authentication includes the microprocessor configured to at least: access corresponding identifiers of authorized users, the corresponding identifiers formed from respective baseline electrocardiogram signals for respective ones of the authorized users; perform a comparison of the identifier with the corresponding identifiers; and based on the comparison, verify the user is one of the authorized users when the identifier and any of the corresponding identifiers match or have at least a threshold similarity. ### Claim 26 (depends on 25) The control body of claim 25, wherein the microprocessor is configured to operate in an enrollment mode in which the microprocessor is configured to receive the respective baseline electrocardiogram signals from the heart rate monitor, and generate the corresponding identifiers from the respective baseline electrocardiogram signals. ### Claim 27 (depends on 19) The control body of claim 19, comprising a communication interface configured to enable communication with a computing device, wherein the microprocessor configured to control operation of the at least one functional element includes the microprocessor configured to cause the communication interface to communicate a notification to the computing device when the biometric authentication fails to verify the user is an authorized user. ### Claim 28 (depends on 19) The control body of claim 19, comprising a communication interface configured to enable communication with an age verification system that is configured to perform an age verification of the user, wherein the microprocessor is configured to alter the locked state of the control body based on the age verification.