Patent ID: 7018443

Claim:
A method for providing a desired enclosed atmospheric environment within an enclosure for reducing the body weight of a user periodically residing in the enclosed atmospheric environment and breathing the same, comprising: first obtaining predictive data indicative of a future composition of constituent gases of said enclosed atmospheric environment, said predictive data being dependent upon each of (a) through (c) following: (a) data indicative of an expected gas exchange rate between said enclosed atmospheric environment and an atmospheric environment external to said enclosure, wherein said enclosure is expected to have a first predetermined state related to a gas permeability therethrough; (b) data indicative of an approximate volume of said enclosure; and (c) data indicative of an expected rate at which one or more devices, operably associated with said enclosure for changing said enclosed atmospheric environment, changes a relative amount of at least one of the gases of said enclosed atmospheric environment, said one or more devices including one or more of: an oxygen concentrator, a CO 2 scrubber and a nitrogen generator; said predictive data selected from the group consisting of: (a) data indicative of an oxygen volume in said enclosed environment; (b) data indicative of an oxygen consumption by one or more users in said enclosed environment; (c) data indicative of a rate of oxygen removal; (d) data indicative of an amount of air exiting said enclosed environment through said enclosure; (e) data indicative of an amount of air entering said enclosed environment through said enclosure; (f) data indicative of a volume of CO 2 in said enclosed environment; (g) data indicative of a volume of CO 2 being produced by one or more users; (h) data indicative of a CO 2 production from one or more users of said enclosed environment; (i) data indicative of a CO 2 portion of said air exchange rate exiting said enclosed environment; (j) data indicative of a CO 2 portion of said air exchange rate entering said enclosed environment; (k) data indicative of an amount of CO 2 removed from said enclosed environment by said CO 2 scrubber; (l) data indicative of a relative amount of oxygen in said enclosed environment; (m) data indicative of a simulated altitude in said enclosed environment; and (n) data indicative of a concentration of CO 2 in said enclosed environment; using said predictive data to provide an interior of said enclosure with a desired simulated altitude; providing control information for controlling a composition of constituent gases of said enclosed atmospheric environment for simulating said desired simulated altitude which is different from that of the atmospheric environment external to said enclosure; wherein said control information is used for changing a composition of said constituent gases of said enclosed atmospheric environment.