Identifying dry nebulizer elements

摘要

Various arrangements for determining whether a liquid is in contact with a nebulizer element are disclosed. A nebulizer element may be energized with an electrical signal at a measurement frequency. An impedance of the nebulizer element may be measured, thereby obtaining a measured impedance value. The impedance value may be compared to a stored impedance value. Based on the comparison, it may be determined whether the liquid contacts the nebulizer element.

主权项

1. A method for determining whether a liquid is in contact with a nebulizer element, the method comprising:
energizing the nebulizer element with an electrical signal at an atomization frequency; ceasing to energize the nebulizer element with the electrical signal at the atomization frequency; after ceasing to energize the nebulizer element with the electrical signal at the atomization frequency, consecutively energizing the nebulizer element with the electrical signal at a plurality of measurement frequencies; measuring an impedance of the nebulizer element at each of the plurality of measurement frequencies, thereby obtaining a plurality of measured impedance value; calculating an average measured impedance value for the plurality of measured impedance values; comparing the average measured impedance value to a stored threshold impedance value; and determining whether the liquid contacts the nebulizer element using the comparison between the average measured impedance value and the stored threshold impedance value.