Smoking Habit-breaking Aid Apparatus

Abstract

A cigarette holder or tobacco pipe having a transverse bore in the stem portion that is in communication with atmosphere. A port-type valve system is included in the stem portion and includes a pair of threaded portions connecting axially arranged members, the members having transverse or radial bores therein and having annular chambers communicating with selected bores whereby rotation of said members relative to each other will move one axially with respect to the other and place portions of said transverse bores in communication with said chambers whereby smoke passing through the device may be mixed with air in a ratio between zero and a maximum. The bores etc., are sized so that the effective draw may not be altered upon a change in said ratio. The valve system is connected with ducts leading thereto from the tobacco holding portion and from the mouthpiece end of the device.

Description

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates generally to smokers' accessories and more particularly to devices to assist the smoker in breaking the smoking habit.

Although the present invention finds particularly useful application in the field of smoking habit breaking and although, in the cause of clarity and brevity, much of the following description and discussion of examples relate particularly thereto, it is expressly to be understood that the advantages of the invention are equally well manifest in other aspects of smoking such as, for example, smoke filtering, smoke cooling, or systematically diminishing the smoker's nicotine and tar intake without necessarily intending to break the habit totally.

2. Discussion of the Prior Art

The disadvantages and seriously deleterious effects of the smoking habit are today obvious and quite universally accepted. Equally well accepted is that the habit, once imbedded as such, is a highly formidable one to attach and "break."

One aspect of the habit which is equally valid, albeit less well understood, is that in addition to the smoker's physiological dependence upon the nicotine, the smoker possesses an equally formidable psychological need for the handling of the cigarette or pipe or the like, lighting it, smelling the tobacco and the match and the smoke, feeling the smoke piece at the lips, being aware of the burning tip, and disposing of the formed ash. Most previous attempts to provide an effective de-smoking aid have not recognized the importance of these psychological forces of the habit and such techniques have been, for the typical smoker, doomed to failure at the outset because the combined fortress of physiological and psychological dependence is for most victims truly impregnable.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a de-smoking aid apparatus which permits the isolation of these two basic difficulties and permits a totally independent attack upon each.

It is another object to provide such apparatus which permits the smoker to continue all these psychological facets of smoking while first attacking only the amount of nicotine ingested.

It is another object to provide such apparatus with which the smoker may directly control the magnitude of nicotine intake from zero to full while not disturbing any of the other "pleasures" encumbent with the smoking process.

Previous approaches toward permitting the smoker to "smoke" while keeping the smoke from reaching the lungs have resulted in the development of devices which adsorb or absorb or otherwise chemically or physically cleanse the smoke before it reaches the lungs. Such devices, as heretofore known or available, have so changed the character of the smoke or the process of smoking as to be more frustrating to the victim than satisfying and therefore not an effective aid.

Other attempts to provide helpful de-smoking aids have resulted in mechanically complex devices which have typically suffered from disadvantages of cost, operational complexity and frustration, or bulkiness causing them to be aesthetically obtrusive and inconvenient or uncomfortable in use.

Accordingly, it is a further object of the invention to provide novel de-smoking aid apparatus to provide novel de-smoking aid apparatus which is not subject to these and other disadvantages and limitations of the prior art.

It is another object to provide such apparatus which does not alter the character of any smoke ingested and which does not alter the magnitude of or impedence to the "draw" as felt by the smoker.

It is another object to provide such apparatus which is compact, durable, mechanically simple, inexpensive, and exceedingly convenient and comfortable to use.

It is another object to provide such apparatus which is precision versatile to adapt to any of a wide spectrum of types of de-smoking programs while inherently achieving all of the above objects and advantages.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Briefly, in accordance with the structural aspects of one example of the invention, these and other objects are achieved in a smoking apparatus which includes two body portions one of which rotationally threadingly travels along the other. Valve means and ports and ducts are provided in the cooperating portions whereby the rotationally caused longitudinal travel of one with respect to the other closes a smoke duct while opening an air inlet means. The smoke duct and the air inlet means both communicate with an oral duct and have approximately equal flow impedances; and their mutual valving by threaded travel is such that the total impedance, or flow capability, at any time is approximately equal to that of either one alone. Accordingly, the net flow capability in series relation with the oral duct is essentially constant irrespective of the instantaneous relative disposition of the two body positions.

Further details of these and other novel features and their operation as well as further objects and advantages and examples of the invention will become apparent and be best understood from a consideration of the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which is presented by way of example only.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an example of smoking habit-breaking apparatus constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are partially sectional views like that of FIG. 1 showing the apparatus in different modes of adjustment;

FIG. 4 is a plan view thereof;

FIG. 5 is an exploded elevational view thereof;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view thereof taken along the reference lines 6--6 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a partially sectional view of an alternative example thereof;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of another example thereof; and

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With specific reference now to the figures in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion only and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and structural concepts of the invention. In this regard no attempt is made to show structural details of the apparatus in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention. The description taken with the drawings will make it apparent to those skilled in the mechanical arts how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice. Specifically, the detailed showing is not to be taken as a limitation upon the scope of the invention which is defined by the appended claims forming, along with the drawings, a part of this specification.

In FIG. 1, the example of a de-smoking aid device 10 includes a fireproof plastic body molded in two threadedly assembled portions, a mouthpiece portion 12 and a rotatable body portion 14. The portion 12 includes a mouth-held segment 16 tapering at 18 to a cylindrical body portion 20 and forming at the shoulder 21 a reduced diameter male, partially threaded extension segment 22. The mouthpiece portion 12 is bored centrally from its tip 16 to a point 24 near its opposite end 26 to form an oral duct 28. At the point 24 and at a point 30 near the base end of the threaded extension segment 22, it is transversely bored to form the ducts 32, 34, respectively.

The body portion 14 is essentially tubular and has a collar portion 36 with an inner diameter approximately equal to the outer diameter of the body portion 20 of the mouthpiece over which it is snugly disposed in an essentially air flow sealing relation therewith. The collar portion 36 extends beyond the shoulder 21 to form a chamber 38 the opposite end of which is formed by a shoulder 40 where the inner diameter of the body portion 14 is reduced to a central bore 42 which is female threaded to engage the extension 22 of the mouthpiece portion 12. At the end of the bore 42 opposite from the chamber 38, the inner diameter of the tubular configuration is enlarged adjacent the shoulder 43 to form, in this example, a retaining means for a filter element 44 and, at 45, a stopping shoulder for a cigarette when such is disposed in the enlarged diameter holder portion 46. An air inlet port 48 is formed transversely through the collar portion as shown.

In further detail it may be noted that the axial spacing of the duct 32 and the shoulder 21 is a constant, fixed at the time of fabrication of the mouthpiece portion 12. Similarly, the axial spacing of the air inlet port 48 and the shoulder 43 is fixed upon fabrication of the rotatable body portion 14. These two axial distances are substantially equal whereby as threaded, relative travel between the two body portions occurs, the port 48 is closed while the duct 32 is opened. Obviously, these ducts are therefore of approximately equal diameter. It may further be noted, that, in this example, the disposition of and the spacing between the shoulder 40 and the duct 34 is not critical except that the latter should at all times be clearly positioned axially within the chamber 38.

It may further be noted that the effective flow capability, or impedance, of the serial ducts 34, 48 drawing from the environment should approximate that of the smoke ducts 32 and 50 drawing through a cigarette emplaced within the holder portion 46. Thusly, as one duct is opened and the other closed, the "draw" experienced by the smoker is approximately the same irrespective of which duct or combination of parts of ducts is open. To a good approximation, these impedances are satisfactorily matched by making the diameters of the ducts 32 and 48 approximately equal as indicated supra. By very simple experimentation, the impedances may otherwise and further be adjusted as desired.

Referring to FIG. 2, the apparatus is shown in a "full smoke" configuration as might be chosen by a smoker as he begins a predetermined regime of de-smoking. In this configuration, the air inlet duct 48 is totally closed by the body portion 20 of the mouthpiece 12. At the same time, the smoke duct 32 is fully open by virtue of its axial clearance from the shoulder 43. Since the chamber 38 is closed to all outside air, the smoker draws only through the smoke duct 50 and receives only "pure" smoke.

Conversely, in the configuration of FIG. 3, the portion 14 has been rotated to cause a threaded travel with respect to the mouthpiece 12 whereby the smoke duct 32 is totally closed and the air inlet port 48, cleared by the shoulder 21, is fully open. Hence the smoker with this configuration draws only air and no smoke.

An intermediate, transitional configuration illustrating approximately half air and half smoke being drawn is shown in FIG. 1 wherein the air inlet port 48 and the smoke duct 32 are half closed causing the smoker to draw a mixture of part air and part smoke.

Referring to FIG. 4, the plan view of the device 10 illustrates a typical configuration and shows a micrometer style calibration consisting of a set of indices 52 along the barrel of the mouthpiece body portion 20 and a set of radial marks 54 angularly spaced about the beveled end of the collar portion 36 of the rotatable body piece 14. These marks may, for example, be designated as weeks and days, respectively, of a predetermined or prescribed "quit" regimen.

The exploded, or disassembled view of FIG. 5 illustrates several of the cooperative valve elements: The cylindrical portion 20 of the mouthpiece portion 12; the shoulder 21; the position of the air duct 34 and the smoke duct 32; and the collar portion 36 with its air inlet port 48.

In the cross-sectional view of FIG. 6, the oral duct 28 and the lip or teeth grippable contour of the portion 16 of the mouthpiece is illustrated.

Referring to FIG. 7, an example of the invention is illustrated in which the cigarette may be lighted and successfully burned even when the smoke duct to the smoker's mouth is totally closed, as in the FIG. 3 configuration. A flexible, or squeeze bulb, envelope 56 is disposed and enclosed over a portion of the rotatable body 14'. The envelope is provided with a check valve 58 whereby pressure within the envelope is released outwardly. Similarly, a like valve 60 is shown communicating unidirectionally from the interior 62 of the holder and the rear of the cigarette to the interior of the bulb or envelope 56.

Thus, when the bulb is compressed, as by the fingers of the smoker, and released, smoke is drawn through the valve 60 from the cigarette; when the bulb is again squeezed, the smoke is expelled to the atmosphere. The pumping process may be repeated or continued as desired by the "smoker" independently of his drawing purely air through the mouthpiece 12.

In FIG 8, a smoking pipe example of the invention is illustrated in which the mouthpiece portion 70 is rigidly affixed to or formed integrally with the bowl supporting stem 72 whereby the bite of the smoker at the tip 74 supports and rotationally stabilizes the tobacco bowl 76. The valving of the air and smoke ducts therewithin is accomplished by rotation of the collar portion 78 with respect to the stem-mouthpiece portion 70, 72. The graduated indicia 52, 54 may be substantially in the form shown in FIG. 4 and may function exactly as described in connection therewith.

Referring to FIG. 9, it is seen that the mouthpiece portion is centrally bored to provide an oral duct 80 while the stem portion 72 is bored to provide a smoke duct 82. The ducts 80, 82 extend to a point of contiguity but do not communicate directly with each other; instead, each connects with a transverse duct 84, 86, respectively, which, in turn, pass through the stem body to, as shown in the figure, a circumferentially continuous channel or chamber 88 formed from the inner cylindrical surface of the collar portion 78. The end of the annular chamber 88 toward the mouthpiece is disposed whereby rotation of the collar portion 78 about the mouthpiece-stem body and consequent axial, threaded travel thereof causes a selective opening or closing of the lateral duct 84. It may be noted that in normal operation of this example the duct 86 remains open to the annular chamber 88. The threaded travel is provided by cooperative function of engaged threads 87 formed on the inner surface of the collar portion 78 and the outer surface of the stem 72. At a point disposed further toward the mouthpiece end, the inner cylindrical surface of the collar portion is again relieved circumferentially continuously to form a second annular chamber 89. An air inlet port 48' is formed through the remaining wall of the collar portion to provide for the drawing of environmental air into the annular chamber 89. A third transverse duct 90 is formed through the mouthpiece portion body and is axially spaced from the duct 84 by a distance approximately equal to the axial spacing between the contiguous edges of the annular chambers 88, 89. Accordingly, as the collar portion 78 travels axially the air inlet duct 90 is opened coincidentally while the smoke inlet duct 84 is closed and vice versa in accordance with the particular regimen or schedule of de-smoking being employed.

There have thus been disclosed and described a number of examples of a novel de-smoking aid apparatus which achieve the objects and exhibit the advantages set forth hereinabove.

Claims

I claim

1. Smoking accessory apparatus of the character to be interposed between the oral region of the smoker and the tobacco burning region for mixing ambient air with the smoke to be ingested, the mixed ratio of smoke to air being controllably variable continuously from zero to infinity, the apparatus comprising:

body means;

plenum means formed within said body means;

oral duct means connected with said plenum means for providing fluid communication between it and said oral region;

smoke duct means connecting with said plenum means for providing fluid communication to it from said tobacco region;

air inlet means connecting with said plenum means for providing fluid communication to it of said ambient air from the environment, and having a flow capability approximately equal to that of said smoke duct means;

unitary rotary valve means carried by said housing body means and interposed in flow magnitude relation in both said smoke duct means and air inlet means, said valve means being rotationally displaceable, in a primary sense of rotation, continuously from a first disposition of fully closing said air inlet means and fully opening said smoke duct means to a second disposition of fully opening said air inlet means and fully closing said smoke duct means while continuously maintaining their sum flow capability approximately equal to that of either of them alone,

said body means including a mouthpiece portion, and an essentially cylindrical cigarette holder portion, these portions being axially threadingly joined together whereby relative rotation of the threading operates said rotary valve means,

said mouthpiece portion including a tubular body segment and a reduced diameter portion extending co-axially therefrom and along which the male portion of said threading is disposed; and said holder portion including a collar segment of the character to be disposed snugly over said tubular body segment of said mouthpiece portion and which includes a reduced diameter portion extending coaxially therefrom along which the female portion of said threading is disposed,

said reduced diameter portion of said mouthpiece portion being formed to include an axial bore disposed along a portion of its length to define said oral duct means and being further formed to include a transverse bore disposed near its extension end to define said smoke duct means and being further formed to include a transverse bore disposed near said cylindrical tubular portion to form a part of said air inlet means.

2. The invention according to claim 1 in which said collar segment of said holder portion is formed to include a transverse port defining another part of said air inlet means.