U.S. patent application number 11/711880 was filed with the patent office on 2008-08-28 for ashtray.
Invention is credited to Chieh-Ping Huang.
Application Number | 20080202534 11/711880 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39714490 |
Filed Date | 2008-08-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080202534 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Huang; Chieh-Ping |
August 28, 2008 |
Ashtray
Abstract
An improved structure of an ashtray includes a body, a hollowed
rim at the center of the body, an ash disk placed on the bottom of
the hollowed rim, and multiple needles erected at equal distance
from one another on the bottom of the hollowed rim; the ash disk
being provided with multiple pores in quantity and arrangement same
as that of those needles; the ash disk penetrating through those
needles before being secured on the bottom of the hollowed rim; a
burning butt being fast and automatically killed by inserting the
butt upright into tips of those needles; a burning butt when not
desired to be put out firmly resting at a certain inclination on
tips of those needles; and dead butts and ashes being easily
cleaned by removing the ash disk to dump them.
Inventors: |
Huang; Chieh-Ping; (Changhua
City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
TROXELL LAW OFFICE PLLC
SUITE 1404, 5205 LEESBURG PIKE
FALLS CHURCH
VA
22041
US
|
Family ID: |
39714490 |
Appl. No.: |
11/711880 |
Filed: |
February 28, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
131/235.1 ;
131/231 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A24F 19/14 20130101;
A24F 19/02 20130101; A24F 19/10 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
131/235.1 ;
131/231 |
International
Class: |
A24F 19/14 20060101
A24F019/14; A24F 19/00 20060101 A24F019/00 |
Claims
1. An ashtray is comprised of a body, a hollowed rim, an ash disk,
and multiple needles; the hollowed rim being disposed at the center
of the body; the ash disk being made in the same shape as and in
size slightly smaller than that of the hollowed rim; those needles
being erected on the bottom of the hollowed rim at equal distance
from one another and the height of each needle being not greater
than the depth of the hollowed rim; the ash disk being provided
with multiple pores in quantity and arrangement same as that of
those needles; the ash disk being placed into the hollowed rim by
penetrating through those needles and held in position on the
bottom of the hollowed rim.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] (a) Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention is related to an ashtray, and more
particularly to one that ensures of killing a live cigarette butt
and allows easy cleaning.
[0003] (b) Description of the Prior Art
[0004] A conventional ashtray usually has provided a flat surface
surrounded by a rim for a smoker to kill a live cigarette butt by
twisting it on the flat surface; and the rim is disposed with
multiple notches on edges of the rim to serve rests for one or a
plurality of cigarette. However, the conventional ashtray is not
always sufficient to immediately and absolutely kills a live
cigarette butt since it is not provided with a device exclusively
for easy killing of the butt. The remaining smokes may become an
annoyance while it takes a smoker to twist the cigarette butt
several round on the flat surface of the ashtray just to kill it.
Besides the residual butt not immediately killed may well kindle
the packing paper of other butts and the fire may extend further to
objects surrounding the ashtray. In more serious cases, a hard
dying cigarette butt may drop on the floor to wind up a fire
disaster. Accordingly, the conventional ashtray is not practical,
presents cleaning problem, and is not convenient to use.
[0005] To improve, various designs or constructions for an astray
provided with automatic killing a live cigarette butt have been
introduced. An improved structure of an ashtray provides multiple
pits in a diameter that corresponds to that of a cigarette for the
smoker to simply insert the cigarette butt into the pit for an
immediately killing. Another improvement involves having an
independent space below the flat surface that can be closed up or
reduce entrance of oxygen into the space so to put out the
cigarette butt dropped into the space by taking advantage of
suffocating (being deprived of oxygen) the live butt.
[0006] Nonetheless, the pit is not necessarily to fit all brands of
cigarettes, and it prevents easy cleaning thus to result in a mess
in a short time. As for another improvement of ashtray provided
with an independent space is found with the following flaws:
[0007] 1. Small amount of oxygen remains to be admitted into the
space plus the residual air in the space, any burning cigarette
butt is prevented from an instant kill. Accordingly, smokes do
escape out of the space to fill the room with smokes and odors to
make the occupant(s) very uncomfortable.
[0008] 2. The structure to combine the ashtray and the enclosed
space below is very complicated and prevents easy cleaning while
reporting a comparatively incidence of failure. While keeping
sediments and odors of cigarette butts, the closure of the
independent space is getting poor and the amount of escaping smokes
increases by day.
[0009] 3. The volume of the independent space is very limited to
either get jammed or prevent input of extra butt to cause further
inconvenience to its user and frequently render the ashtray
useless.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide
an improved structure of an ashtray that allows safe, fast and
automatic operation for an immediate killing of a burning cigarette
butt to prevent residual smokes. To achieve the purpose, the
present invention is comprised of multiple needles erected on a
flat surface of the ashtray and the height of each needle is not
greater than the depth of the flat surface surrounded by the edges
of the ashtray. A smoker wishing to kill the butt simply inserts
the butt onto the needles for their tips and shanks to fast and
automatically destroy burning point of the butt thus to kill the
but.
[0011] Another purpose of the present invention is to provide an
improved structure of an ashtray that allows easy cleaning. To
achieve the purpose, a porous ash disk in the same shape as but in
slightly smaller size than that of the hollowed rim is secured in
the hollowed rim with the number of pores equal to that of those
needles erected on the bottom of the hollowed rim and to allow each
needle to merely pass through its respective hole provided on the
ash disk. Accordingly, to clean ashtray, simply pick up the ash
dish to dump ash and butts left on the disk and then replace the
ash disk into the hollowed rim.
[0012] Another purpose yet of the present invention is to provide
an improved structure of an ashtray that prevents ash from
spreading around. To achieve the purpose, those multiple needles
erected on the bottom of the hollowed rim allow ash from burning
cigarette resting upon the edge of the ashtray to drop through gaps
among those needles and quietly stay there to prevent ash from
spreading around.
[0013] Another purpose yet of the present invention is to provide
an improved structure of an ashtray that holds steady a burning
cigarette resting on the edge of the ashtray for safety concerns.
To achieve the purpose, a burning cigarette when resting on the
edge of the ashtray is held in place without rolling around or
falling onto the floor to cause fire disaster since the cigarette
rests directly upon tips of those needles at a certain inclination.
The cigarette keeps on burning when resting on those tips of
needles erected in the hollowed rim as its weight is constantly
shared by those tips without being smuggled.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of
the present invention with a cigarette resting thereupon.
[0016] FIG. 3-A is a sectional view showing an operating status of
the preferred embodiment to put out a burning cigarette.
[0017] FIG. 3-B is a sectional view showing another operating
status of the preferred embodiment to put out a burning
cigarette.
[0018] FIG. 3-C is a sectional view showing that an ash disk is
removed for cleaning purpose.
[0019] FIG. 4-A is a sectional view showing a status of a burning
cigarette rests in the ashtray of the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 4-B is a sectional view showing another status of a
burning cigarette rests in the ashtray of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0021] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an improved structure of an
ashtray is essentially comprised of a body 2 provided with a
hollowed rim 21 in the middle section of the body 2 to accommodate
an ash disk 3 in the same shape as that of the hollowed rim 21 and
in a size slightly smaller than that of the hollowed rim 21 so to
merely stride over and locate in the hollowed rim 21.
[0022] Wherein, multiple needles 211 with each in height not exceed
the depth of the hollowed rim 21 are erected as equal spacing from
one another on the bottom of the hollowed rim 21 either by
plantation, insertion or molding. When a butt S1 of a cigarette S
disregarding how long the residual length of the cigarette has not
yet been burnt is inserted upright onto those tips of needles, tips
and shanks of those needles 211 receiving the insertion of the butt
will destroy the burning point of the cigarette S as illustrated in
FIGS. 3-A and 3-B to fast and automatically kill the burning butt
within a matter of a couple of seconds while preventing any
residual smokes from lingering around.
[0023] When the burning cigarette S is not smoked for a moment, it
rests on the edge of the body 2 of the ashtray as illustrated in
FIG. 4-A with ash S2 dropping onto gaps among those needles 211 and
stay there without spreading around. Since the cigarette S is not
directly inserted onto tips of those needles 211, the burning point
of the cigarette is not destroyed and thus the cigarette S keeps on
burning and waiting for its user to pick it up again. Meanwhile,
the burning cigarette S is secured in position by tips of those
needles 211 since the weight of the remaining cigarette S1 is
constantly shared by those needles 211 to prevent the cigarette
from rolling around or falling on the floor to trigger of fire
disaster.
[0024] As also illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the ash disk 3 is made
in a shape same as and in a size slightly smaller than that of the
hollowed rim 21 to allow the ash disk 3 to be merely inserted into
the hollowed rim 21. Multiple pores are provided on the ash disk in
the same quantity and arrangement of that provided for the erected
needles 211 so to permit each pore receiving insertion of each
needle 211 for the ash disk 3 to be placed on the bottom of the
hollowed rim 21 to achieve the same purpose of having a fast and
automatic killing of the burning cigarette S as illustrated in
FIGS. 3-A and 3-B.
[0025] To clean the ashtray, simply remove the ash disk 3 from the
hollowed rim 21 and dump ashes and dead cigarette butts SA left on
the ash disk 3 or those inserted directly onto tips of those
needles 211, and then restore the ash disk in the hollowed rim
21.
[0026] Accordingly, the present invention allows easy cleaning of
the hollowed rim 21 and the ash disk 3 while providing safety and
convenient operation of fast killing a burning cigarette butt and
secured means to rest a burning cigarette.
* * * * *