1. A plug for use in restricting air egress from a inflatable thermal blanket through an inlet port, including:
a central body having a diameter at least as large as an inside diameter of the inlet port; and
a plurality of extensions which extend beyond the central body, at least two of which may be inserted into the inlet port in order to retain the plug over the inlet port and thus restrict an egress of warm air from the blanket.
2. The plug of claim 1 wherein at least one of the extensions is essentially circular.
3. The plug of claim 1 wherein at least one of the extensions is essentially triangular.
4. The plug of claim 1 wherein at least one of the extensions is essentially rectangular.
5. The plug of claim 1 wherein at least one of the extensions is coplanar with the central body formed from a resilient material such that the extensions will return to being essentially after being deformed.
6. The plug of claim 1 wherein at least one of the extensions has a distal end which is not coplanar with the central body.
7. The plug of claim 1 wherein at least one of the extensions has a distal end which is formed at an angle.
8. The plug of claim 1 wherein at least one of the extensions has a distal end which is notched.
9. The plug of claim 1 wherein the plug is stamped from a sheet of plastic.
10. The plug of claim 1 wherein the plug is stamped from a sheet of wood pulp product.
11. The plug of claim 1 wherein the plug includes an even number of opposing extensions.
12. The plug of claim 11 wherein the plug includes two pairs of opposing extensions.
13. The plug of claim 11 wherein the plug includes three pairs of opposing extensions.
14. A plug for use in restricting air egress from a inflatable thermal blanket through an inlet port having an opening therethrough, including:
a central body having a diameter which is nearly equal to the diameter of the opening through the inlet port; and
a plurality of extensions which extend beyond the central body, at least two of which may be inserted into the inlet port in order to retain the plug over the inlet port and thus restrict an egress of warm air from the blanket.
15. The plug of claim 14 wherein at least one of the extensions is essentially circular.
16. The plug of claim 14 wherein at least one of the extensions is essentially triangular.
17. The plug of claim 14 wherein at least one of the extensions is essentially rectangular.
18. The plug of claim 14 wherein at least one of the extensions is coplanar with the central body formed from a resilient material such that the extensions will return to being essentially after being deformed.
19. The plug of claim 14 wherein at least one of the extensions has a distal end which is not coplanar with the central body.
20. The plug of claim 14 wherein at least one of the extensions has a distal end which is formed at an angle.
21. The plug of claim 14 wherein at least one of the extensions has a distal end which is notched.
22. The plug of claim 14 wherein the plug is stamped from a sheet of plastic.
23. The plug of claim 14 wherein the plug is stamped from a sheet of wood pulp product.
24. The plug of claim 14 wherein the plug includes an even number of opposing extensions.
25. The plug of claim 24 wherein the plug includes two pairs of opposing extensions.
26. The plug of claim 24 wherein the plug includes three pairs of opposing extensions.
27. A plug for use in restricting air egress from a inflatable thermal blanket through an inlet port having an inner diameter, including:
a flange having a diameter which is greater than the inner diameter of the inlet port; and
a substantially vertical ring-like wall having an outer diameter that is nearly equal to the inner diameter of the inlet port; and
at least two protuberances which extend from the substantially vertical ring-like wall to resist removal of the plug from the inlet port.
28. The plug of claim 27 wherein at least one of the protuberances have a lower slope to ease insertion of the plug into the inlet port.
29. The plug of claim 27 wherein at least one of the protuberances have an upper slope to reduce resistance to removal of the plug from the inlet port.
30. The plug of claim 27 wherein the flange is sufficiently thick to allow a user to comfortably grasp the flange when removing the plug from the inlet port.
31. The plug of claim 27 wherein at least one of the protuberances are retractable.
32. A plug for use in restricting air egress from a inflatable thermal blanket through an inlet port, including:
a flange having a diameter which is greater than the diameter of the opening of the inlet port; and
a substantially vertical ring-like wall having an outer diameter that is nearly equal to a diameter of the inlet port; and
threads on the substantially vertical ring-like wall to allow the plug to be screwed into the inlet port.
33. A plug for closing an air inlet port in an inflatable thermal blanket, the air inlet port including a sheet of material with a substantially circular opening for receiving an air hose nozzle, the plug including:
a generally planar sheet of flexible material with a central portion for covering the circular opening; and
the generally planar sheet having a plurality of extensions for being flexed to extend into the circular opening and for unflexing to engage an inside surface of the air inlet port material sheet while retaining the central portion in a location which closes the circular opening.
34. A method for controlling airflow through an inflatable thermal blanket having two or more inlet parts for admitting the airflow into the blanket, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a plug having a diameter substantially as large as an inside diameter of the inlet part and a plurality of extensions which extend beyond the central body;
introducing an airflow into the inflatable thermal blanket through a first inlet part; and
restricting egress of the airflow through a second inlet port by placing the plug over the second inlet port and retaining the plug over the second inlet part by inserting at least two of the plurality of extensions into the second inlet port.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
What is claimed is:
1. A system for aiding a patient in quitting smoking, comprising:
a device for aerosolizing a formulation;
a first plurality of containers which are designed for being loaded into the device for aerosolizing formulation wherein the containers are comprised of nicotine and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and wherein the nicotine is present in a first concentration;
a second plurality of containers capable of being loaded into the device for aerosolizing formulation wherein the formulation in the second plurality of containers is comprised of nicotine and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and further wherein the nicotine is present in the formulation in a second concentration which is less than the first concentration.
2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:
a third plurality of containers which are designed for being loaded into the device for aerosolizing formulation wherein the containers are comprised of nicotine and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and wherein the nicotine is present in a third concentration which is less than the second concentration.
3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the formulation in the first plurality of containers and the formulation in the second plurality of containers is a liquid flowable formulation wherein the nicotine is present in the formulation in a solution or suspension.
4. The system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the first plurality of containers comprises a porous membrane for each container and further wherein the second plurality of containers comprises a porous membrane for each container.
5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the formulation in the first plurality of containers and the formulation in the second plurality of containers is a dry powder formulation.
6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first plurality of containers comprises two or more canisters which canisters contain the formulation in the form of nicotine and low boiling point propellant and wherein the second plurality of containers comprises two or more canisters wherein the formulation in the canisters comprises nicotine and a low boiling point propellant.
7. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the device for aerosolizing formulation is a hand-held, self-contained device.
8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first plurality of containers each comprise a porous membrane wherein the pores have a first average size, and wherein the second plurality of containers each comprise a porous membrane wherein the pores have a second average size which is larger than the first average size of the pores in the membrane of the first plurality of containers.
9. A device for aerosolizing a nicotine formulation, comprising:
a means for aerosolizing formulation by applying force; and
a means for adjusting the means for aerosolizing formulation so that a different amount of force can be applied based on the adjustment.
10. The device as claimed in claim 9, further comprising:
a container loaded into the device which container is comprised of a formulation comprised of nicotine and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
11. A kit for aiding a patient in quitting smoking, comprising:
a first plurality of containers having therein nicotine and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, wherein the nicotine is present in a first concentration;
a second plurality of containers having therein nicotine and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier wherein the nicotine is present in a second concentration which is less than the first concentration.
12. The kit as claimed in claim 11, wherein the first plurality of containers and second plurality of containers hold the nicotine and pharmaceutically acceptable carrier in a liquid flowable form.
13. The kit as claimed in claim 11, wherein the first plurality of containers and second plurality of containers each hold the nicotine and pharmaceutically acceptable carrier in a dry powder form.
14. A method of treatment, comprising:
(a) aerosolizing a formulation comprised of nicotine creating aerosolized particles which are sufficiently small as to target the alveoli of a patient’s respiratory tract;
(b) allowing the patient to inhale the aerosolized particles of (a) thereby causing nicotine to enter the patient’s blood;
(c) repeating (a) and (b) a plurality of times;
(d) aerosolizing a formulation comprised of nicotine creating aerosolized particles which are sized in order to target the bronchioles of the patient’s respiratory tract;
(e) allowing the patient to inhale the aerosolized particles of (d) thereby targeting the bronchioles of the respiratory tract; and
(f) repeating (d) and (e) a plurality of times.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:
(g) aerosolizing a formulation comprised of nicotine creating aerosolized particles which are sized in order to target the bronchi of the patient’s respiratory tract;
(h) allowing the patient to inhale the aerosolized particles of (g) into the bronchi of the respiratory tract; and
(i) repeating (g) and (h) a plurality of times.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein the formulation is a liquid formulation comprising nicotine and an excipient selected from the group consisting of an aqueous solvent to form solutions and a liquid to form suspensions.
17. The method of claim 14, wherein the formulation comprises a solution or suspension of a nicotine and an aqueous solvent or liquid carrier and the aerosolized particles are created by moving the formulation through a porous membrane.
18. A method of treatment, comprising:
(a) aerosolizing a formulation comprising about 0.25 mg or more of nicotine to create aerosolized particles which target an area of a patient’s respiratory tract;
(b) allowing the patient to inhale the aerosolized particles of (a) thereby causing nicotine to enter the patient’s blood;
(c) repeating (a) and (b) a plurality of times.
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:
(d) aerosolizing a formulation comprising about 0.25 mg or more of nicotine to create aerosolized particles which target a second area of the patient’s respiratory tract;
(e) allowing the patient to inhale the aerosolized particles of (d) to the second area of the patient’s respiratory tract; and
(f) repeating (d) and (e) a plurality of times.
20. A method comprising the steps of:
(a) aerosolizing a formulation comprised of nicotine creating aerosolized particles having a diameter of 0.5 to about 2 ;
(b) allowing the patient to inhale the aerosolized particles of (a) into the patient’s respiratory tract;
(c) repeating (a) and (b) a plurality of times;
(d) aerosolizing a formulation comprised of nicotine creating aerosolized particles having a diameter of 2 to about 4 ;
(e) allowing the patient to inhale the aerosolized particles of (d) into the patient’s respiratory tract; and
(f) repeating (d) and (e) a plurality of times.
21. The method of claim 20, further comprising the steps of:
(g) aerosolizing a formulation comprised of nicotine creating aerosolized particles having a diameter of 4 to about 8 ;
(h) allowing the patient to inhale the aerosolized particles of (g) into the patient’s respiratory tract; and
(i) repeating (g) and (h) a plurality of times.