Smoker's Pipe

Abstract

The present invention envisions a smoker's pipe of simplified construction featuring a pair of mutually telescopic stem members and a removable bowl member likewise telescopically arrangeable on the end extremity of one of said stem members for storage, etc. Each of the stem members and the bowl comprises a hollow cylindrical tube and one of the members has an opening through the wall adjacent one end thereof sized to snugly receive a portion of the bowl. One end of the bowl is shaped to engage the internal wall portion of the one member opposite the through opening. One portion of the shaped end of the bowl is notched to permit smoke to pass therethrough into the mouth of the smoker while blocking the passage of solids.

Description

The present invention relates to a smoker's pipe adapted for the ignition and burning of tobacco with the smoke as the product of combustion being conveniently transmittable to the mouth of the user, permitting intimate enjoyment of the aroma and taste of the combusting tobacco.

More particularly, the present invention relates to a smoker's pipe of simple but yet unique construction which allows the pipe to be manipulated and rearranged as to its component parts from a larger position in condition for use and a smaller, more compact arrangement of parts for easy carrying and easy portability in a minimum of space.

Smoker's pipes, of course, have been known in the art for literally centuries. These pipes are generally composed of a receptacle or bowl adapted to receive a measured amount of tobacco and a mouth or stem piece which is usually hollow and features an end conveniently held in the mouth by the user and another end connectible, rigidly or flexibly, to the bowl member and also being in fluid communication therewith so that the products of combustion can be transmitted to the mouth of the user at his option.

Usually, pipes, at least of modern day structure, are composed of two pieces; (1) a hollow bowl having an integrally joined shank extending normally to the bowl and a small opening in the bottom which communicates with a passageway along the axis of the shank and (2) a mouth piece stem which is flat at one end for holding in the teeth of the user and an opposite end which fits into the terminal end of the shank. Normally, one end of the mouth piece and/or shank is equipped with some sort of filtering device.

Another contemporary pipe includes a wooden bowl which has a threaded lower extremity engageable with a metallic bowl-shaped member having a shank piece fluidly connecting therewith and a connectible mouth piece stem as described.

All of the known pipes, however, even those composed of multiple pieces, are only capable of being taken apart; in which case, the disassembled parts occupy the same volume of space as in the assembled position.

Normally, of course, the conventional pipes are maintained in the assembled position and are quite bulky in the pockets of the apparel of the user.

Conventional pipes are also quite complicated in terms of their interior structure, that is, the interior walls of the shank, bowl and stem, such that they become carbonized and fouled from repeated use and the contact of the interior wall surfaces with the smoke and products of combustion of the particular tobacco. Consequently, the smoke passing over the dirty bowl and interior shank and stem region is untasteful and therefore undesirable. Conventional pipes, usually briar, are quite expensive and possess poor heat transmission characteristics. As a consequence of the heat transmissibility of the briar, the shank region, the bowl and the plastic stem become hot and similarly the products of combustion coming to the mouth of the user are hot and obnoxious.

It is an object of the present invention to produce a smoker's pipe incorporating features of construction and, as well, selection of materials which provide a desirable combination of properties which overcome the above-described shortcomings of pipes known heretofore.

It is a particular object of the present invention to provide a pipe which is composed of more than one piece but which multiple pieces are what may be called complementarily configurated such that when dismantled they may be stored mutually one in the other such that totality of the volume is less than that of the same parts in the assembled position.

It is a particular object of the present invention to provide a pipe featuring complementary members which are mutually telescopic, permitting convenient portability and storage.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a pipe fabricated of metal which permits the escape of the heat of combustion occasioned by the burning of the tobacco in such manner that the smoke reaching the user at the opposite end of the pipe is cool and pleasing.

It is a significant object of the present invention to provide a pipe composed of multiple members which are of such simple configuration that cleaning is easily accomplished and, perhaps equally important, are of such simplistic contour and configuration that the surfaces are not as prone to becoming fouled and coated with the products of combustion, even upon repeated usages.

The foregoing and, as well, other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the annexed sheet of drawings on which there is presented, for purpose of illustration only, a single embodiment of the present invention.

IN THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a three-quarter perspective view of the pipe of the present invention shown with its component parts in mutual assembled relationship for use for the combustion and smoking of tobacco;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but with the component parts disassembled and recombined in smaller telescoped relationship for convenient portability and storage;

FIG. 3 is an end view taken on the line 3--3 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an end view taken on the line 4--4 in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5--5 in FIG. 1.

Most simply considered, the present invention envisions a pipe composed of several tubular members formed such that the inside and outside dimensions permit telescopic engagement of the parts.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, there is disclosed in FIG. 1 a pipe of the present invention shown with its component parts in assembled position, ready for smoking. The component parts include a hollow tubular first stem piece 20, a second tubular hollow stem piece 30 and a hollow tubular bowl 40. In the particular embodiment illustrated, the stem piece 20 is an elongate cylindrical hollow member formed of a metal such as brass. The stem piece 20 is opened at both ends and has a generally uniform wall thickness. The second stem piece 30 is similar; however, the inside diameter (I.D.) of the second stem piece 30 is of a preselected and fabricated dimension as permits the first stem member 20 to slidably but snugly fit within the end of the stem piece 30, as at 21. Ideally, one of the stem pieces is longer than the other. In the present embodiment, the stem piece 20 is longer than the stem piece 30. This is best shown in FIG. 2 wherein the stem piece 20 has been slid into completely telescoping relationship within the stem piece 30 but the end 21 extends to the right and telescopically engages the bowl 40.

The stem piece 30 has an arcuate aperture or cutout 31, permitting or receiving the bowl member 40 which is of cylindrical configuration and is hollow. The upper edge 41 of the bowl member 40 is circular, while the bottom end is of complicated curved configuration, as shown; one region or segment of the lower end of the bowl 40 identified by the reference numeral 42 serving to completely span the otherwise open end of stem piece member 30 whereby it is completely blocked off when the bowl member is inserted fully and seated into the aperture 31. The opposite lower wall segment identified by the reference numeral 43 in FIG. 5 is somewhat similarly configurated in that it spans the inside surface of stem member 30 but at the lower extremity contains a V-shaped notch 44, permitting the smoke produced by the burning of the tobacco in the hollow interior of the bowl 40 to pass into the hollow interior of stem 30 and thence, of course, into the hollow interior of stem 20 and thence to the mouth of the user.

The respective parts, first stem piece 20, second stem piece 30 and bowl 40, are shown in disassembled and telescopically reassembled position for storage and portability in FIG. 2. The first stem member 20 telescopically fits within second stem member 30 and one end extremity is shown through the aperture 31, with the other end extremity sticking out the opposite end, providing an end piece for telescopically carrying the bowl member which is fabricated to have an inside diameter (I.D.) similar to that of the stem member 30 and thus fitting snugly and slidably over the end portion of the longer first stem member 20.

FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 considered together show the interior structure of the pipe.

In FIG. 3, the pipe is viewed axially from the mouth of the user, showing the stem piece 20 snugly and slidably fitting within the outer stem piece 30. The bowl 40 has been inserted snugly down inside the aperture 31, with the end segments 43 and 42, the latter one not being shown in this FIG., completely spanning the interior circumference of the stem piece 30, blocking it and providing a compartment for introduction of tobacco through the upper end 41 of the bowl 40. The notch 44 allows the products of combustion to pass from the interior of the bowl to the interior of the stem 30 and thence to the stem 20 and to the mouth of the user.

In FIG. 4, the opposite end of the pipe is shown, viewed axially and with the stem member 30, and particularly its end extremity, spanned by the lower end extremity 42 of the bowl 40, providing a seal against introduction of air. It may be pointed out at this juncture that the bowl member 40 can be so located in the aperture that there is a slight gap if desired around the lower extremity of the segment 42, serving a carburating function; thus allowing the drawing in of air for admixture with the products of combustion to change the character of the smoke.

In FIG. 5, there is shown once again the notch 44, allowing the smoke to pass from the interior of the bowl to the stem 30.

The component parts of the pipe of the present invention as illustrated are desirably formed of metal, particularly brass, because of its availability and easy formability into the configuration as shown and illustrated. Other metals may be used and the component parts may be formed by appropriate dies or other well-known methods and techniques for metal fabrication. The stem pieces can also be manufactured by an extrusion process. The bowl member does require some special configuration in the shaping of the lower end regions to perform the fitting and interrelationship of parts as described.

In some cases, other materials may be employed in the pipe of the present invention. Thus, wood can be used, providing techniques are employed to accurately size the inside and outside diameters of the component parts such that they can interfit telescopically in order that the advantages of the present invention are accomplished or realized. Similarly, certain flame-resistant plastics may be employed, particularly in the fabrication of the stem pieces since they are not in direct contact with the flame employed in igniting the pipe. For this reason, the bowl is desirably fabricated of metal or a fire-resistant wood such as a briar, in some cases.

It will be appreciated, particularly when formed of brass or similar smooth metal in accordance with the preferred embodiment, that the cylindrical inner surfaces of the component parts are very unlikely to become fouled with the products of combustion of the tobacco product. Furthermore, even if they should become fouled over repeated usages, the parts may be readily disassembled and easily cleaned because the parts are essentially of perfect cylinders or tubes, uncomplicated by interior hidden regions as in the case of conventional pipe structures.

Quite importantly, the pipe structure of the present invention allows the easily disassembly of the parts as shown in FIG. 1 and the reassembly thereof into mutual telescoping relationship as shown in FIG. 2, whereby the pipe may be conveniently stored in the pocket of the user much in the same fashion as a fountain pen, pencil or ballpoint pen; it being of generally cylindrical configuration in its mutually telescoped assembled relationship. The pipe may be formed of any conventional size. As illustrated, for example, the pipe 11 of FIG. 1 measures about 5 to 6 inches in length, allowing the viewer to derive some mental understanding and/or appreciation of relative sizes.

Of course, size is not material or significant in terms of the present invention. The pipe may be formed smaller or larger to meet the convenience of the smoker and to meet the demand of the purchasing public. A larger size will permit the burning of a larger load of tobacco in the bowl 40, while in smaller sizes, a smaller amount of tobacco product may be burned.

From the foregoing description, it may be appreciated that the present features of construction are unique in providing a pipe of novel and convenient constructional features, providing a degree of ease and usability not heretofore known. At the same time, the simplicity of the construction is such as to permit its manufacture at modest cost. The same simplicity, of course, will suggest to others modifications which may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. A smoking pipe comprising a hollow, generally elongate, tubular stem including a wall of preselected thickness, said wall including means providing an aperture, generally normal to the axis of said stem, and a bowl member of hollow configuration for receiving tobacco, said bowl snugly, slidably and removably fitting into said aperture means and also having means providing communication between the interior of the bowl and the interior of the stem, said bowl member having an inside configuration congruent to the outside of said stem member, permitting slidable reception of the extremity of said stem, whereby said bowl may be telescopically carried on the terminal end of said stem.

2. The smoking pipe as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bowl member includes a lower edge configuration contoured to match the inside configuration of the stem member, thereby closing said end.

3. The smoking pipe as claimed in claim 2, wherein said bowl member additionally includes a second lower edge configuration as described in claim 2 to thereby define two spaced arcuate end segments, one of which contains means providing an extremely small notch-like aperture providing said communicating means and serving to allow passage of smoke to the stem interior but screening out solids.

4. The smoking pipe as claimed in claim 1 which includes a second elongate stem member which is telescopically engageable with said first stem member.