Patent Application
20090133705
The present invention is related to cigar smoking implements and accessories. More particularly, this invention is a tool for punching a hole in the head of a cigar in preparation for smoking.
Structurally, cigars consist of a filler tobacco, rolled within binder tobacco, and then rolled within wrapper tobacco. The filler is often scraps or pieces of flavorful tobacco. Larger leaves of low aesthetic quality and flavor are generally used for binders to tightly contain and compact the filler. Leaves of highest aesthetic quality are typically used for the wrapper, to provide a smooth and consistent outer surface that is attractive to the smoker and comforting to the lips.
In regards to shape and terminology, cigars consist of a barrel, a head, and a foot. The barrel is the long tubular body portion. The foot is the end which is burned during smoking. The head is the end of the cigar which the consumer places in his mouth during smoking. Cigars are typically sold with their heads in a “closed” state, that is, the binder and wrapper cover the head completely to retain the compacted filler and provide a neat and tapered tip.
Additionally, binders and wrappers help to keep fresh the filler tobacco, so cigars that are sold with their heads closed tend to remain fresh longer.
Implements for opening the heads of cigars come in two main types, cutters and punches. Cutters typically include one or two sharp blades that traverse and slice through the head to remove the head tip and create an opening. Punches, on the other hand, are tubular cutting tools that create a longitudinal hole into the head. The diameter of the hole is always the same as the size of the punch, and is therefore perfectly consistent from cigar to cigar.
A shortcoming in the prior art exists in the lack of a cigar punching tool which combines, in whole or in part, the following aspects;
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide all of these aspects, in whole or in various combinations. Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in view of the following disclosure of an exemplary embodiment thereof.
The invention is a cigar punching tool arranged to advance and overcome the deficiencies of the prior art by providing means for: simple and reliable blade extension for cutting; means for simple and easy use; means for simple and reliable blade retraction for storage; a neat, compact and safe storage configuration; a configuration allowing equal use by the right or left hand, and automatic ejection of the punched-out cigar plug.
As such, a punching tool according to the invention may have a tubular housing and a tubular gripping portion surrounding the housing and longitudinally movable relative thereto between a forward position and a rearward position displaced rearwardly there-from. A tubular blade may be surrounded by the housing and may have a hollow interior and a circular cutting edge disposed forwardly of the gripping portion. The blade may be longitudinally movable relative to the housing between a storage position in which the cutting edge is rearwardly retracted into the housing and a cutting position in which the cutting edge projects forwardly from the housing. A spring may engage the housing and blade and bias the cutting edge to the storage position, and a lever may be pivotally engaged to the housing at a hinge and have a first lever arm engaged and pivoted rearwardly by the gripping portion when the gripping portion is moved from the forward position to the rearward position, and have a second lever arm pivoted forwardly and engaging the blade when the gripping portion is moved from the forward position to the rearward position to cause movement of the cutting edge from the storage position to the cutting position.
The punching tool may be sized and shaped to allow it to be carried and stored in the slots or channels typically found in cigar boxes and humidors for receiving cigars, or may be equipped with a key ring for carrying on a key chain.
During the storage condition, the blade edge may be protected for safety and to avoid damage to the sharp edge.
Further potential features and aspects of the invention are disclosed with more specificity in the Detailed Description and Drawings of an exemplary embodiment provided herein.
Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
Reference is now made to
Punching tool 100 has a tubular housing 102, a tubular gripping portion 104 surrounding the housing and longitudinally movable relative thereto between the forward position shown in
A tubular blade 106 is surrounded by the housing and has a hollow interior 108 and a circular cutting edge 110 disposed forwardly of the gripping portion and longitudinally movable relative to the housing between the storage position shown in
When the cutting edge is extended forwardly into its cutting position of
The cooperation between the gripping portion and blade to cause the cutting edge to move between its cutting and storage positions as the gripping portion is moved between its rearward and forward positions is shown in
Gripping portion 104 traps first lever arm 118 rearwardly when the gripping portion is in its rearward position, to retain cutting edge 108 in its cutting position against the bias of spring 112. This prevents the rearwardly-acting force from the cigar trying to push the cutting edge back into the housing during punching from doing so. Spring 112 forces the blade rearwardly, and thereby forces the cutting edge into its storage position, as the gripping portion is moved from its rearward position to its forward portion and releases first lever arm 118.
Ejector 124 is disposed within the hollow interior of blade 106 and affixed to the housing by pin 126. The blade is longitudinally movable relative to the ejector such that cutting edge 108 is substantially forward of the ejector's forward end 128 when the cutting edge is in the cutting position, as shown in
Tubular housing 106 and gripping portion 104 are cylindrically shaped and coaxial, and cooperate when the gripping portion is in the forward position to form a cylinder approximately nine-sixteenths of an inch in diameter and approximately three inches long, which allows the tool to be carried and stored in the slots or channels typically found in cigar boxes and humidors. The cylindrically shaped structure is equally useful for right-handed and left-handed users. The circular cutting edge is coaxial with the housing and gripping portion, which improves the feel and balance during holding and punching.
As shown in
Housing 102 is preferably constructed of three components; tubular base 102A, collar 102B and tip 102C. The tubular base receives blade 106 within its interior chamber 132. Key 134 of the blade and key way 136 of the base to prevent rotation while allowing longitudinal movement of the blade within the chamber. Tip 102C is internally threaded at its rearward end to mate with external threading 138 at the forward end of the base.
Cylindrical collar 102B may be externally knurled as shown, or may have some other surface finish or color to improve gripping and the aesthetics of the tool. The collar slides over the rear end of the tip prior to affixing the tip to the base. Inserting the blade into the base and the spring into the tip and then threading of the tip onto the base creates a unitary housing that captures within the blade 106 and spring 112 with the blade biased towards its storage position.
Ejector 124 is next inserted through hollow interior 108 and fully rearward though slots 142 in the rearward end 144 of the blade until holes 146 of the ejector align with holes 148 of the base, and pin 126 is inserted to immovably secure the ejector to the base.
Gripping portion 104 is constructed of three components; slotted liner 104A, grip 104B, and rear tip 104C. Slotted liner 104A is inserted over the rear end of base 102A and has an internal key which is received by slot 152 of the base to prevent rotation while allowing longitudinal movement of the liner on the base. Slot 150 of the liner is aligned with slot 152 of the base, to receive lever 114. Second lever arm 122 is inserted into the slots until hinge hole 154 of the lever is aligned with hinge holes 156 of the base and clearance slots 158 of the liner, and hinge pin 116 is inserted there-though to pivotally affix the lever to the base and to affix the liner to the base while allowing the liner to move longitudinally relative to the base within the limits of clearance slot 158.
Grip 104B is next slid over the rear end of liner 104A to hide the inner workings of the tool and provide a smooth cylindrical gripping surface, and is affixed to the liner by rear tip 104C, which screws into the rear end of the liner to trap the grip and create a unitary gripping portion 104, which is longitudinally movable relative to the housing within the limits of clearance slot 158. The rear tip is equipped with a hole 162 for optionally receiving a key ring.
An advantageous feature of this embodiment lies in the interaction of the lever 114 with the rear end 144 of the blade, as shown in
As the gripping portion reaches its fully rearward position of
Upon initial forward movement of the gripping portion back towards its forward position, forward edge 150F is disengaged from first lever arm 118, but the lever arm is temporarily held in its fully clockwise position because of the over-center arrangement in cooperation with the rearward bias that spring 112 is exerting on the blade. The force of the blade attempting to move the blade further rearwardly prevents the lever from pivoting back counter-clockwise to allow the blade to be retracted.
As the gripping portion is and further forwardly moved, the rear edge 150R of slot 150 engages first lever arm 118, forcing it to pivot counter-clockwise, initially against the force of spring 112 until second lever arm 122 passes counter-clockwise back beyond its nadir and begins to move forwardly again, whereby the spring suddenly begins to accelerate the counter-clockwise pivoting of the lever arm. This causes cutting edge 110 to suddenly snap back into housing 102, which causes the distance between the forward end 128 of the ejector and the cutting edge to close rapidly, which has the effect of shooting the cigar plug out of the blade more forcefully. The result is a rapid ejection of the cigar plug which allows the user to shoot the plug into a nearby trash can or such.
In summary, the invention may be embodied as a cigar punching tool having a tubular housing, a tubular gripping portion surrounding the housing and longitudinally movable relative thereto between a forward position and a rearward position displaced rearwardly there-from. A tubular blade is surrounded by the housing and has a hollow interior and a circular cutting edge disposed forwardly of the gripping portion and is longitudinally movable relative to the housing between a storage position in which the cutting edge is rearwardly retracted into the housing and a cutting position in which the cutting edge projects forwardly from the housing.
A spring may engage the housing and blade and bias the cutting edge to the storage position, and a lever may be pivotally engaged to the housing at a hinge and have a first lever arm engaged and pivoted rearwardly by the gripping portion when the gripping portion is moved from the forward position to the rearward position, and have a second lever arm pivoted forwardly and engaging the blade when the gripping portion is moved from the forward position to the rearward position to cause movement of the cutting edge from the storage position to the cutting position.
The cigar punching tool may further have an ejector disposed within the hollow interior and affixed to the housing, wherein the tubular blade is longitudinally movable relative to the ejector such that the cutting edge is substantially forward of the ejector when the cutting edge is in the cutting position and is substantially adjacent to the ejector when the cutting edge is in the retracted position.
The gripping portion may trap the first lever arm rearwardly when the gripping portion is in the rearward position to retain the cutting edge in the cutting position against the bias of the spring. The spring may force the cutting edge into the storage position as the gripping portion is moved from the rearward position to the forward portion.
The tubular housing may be substantially cylindrically shaped and the circular cutting edge may be coaxial therewith. The tubular housing and gripping portion may both be substantially cylindrically-shaped and coaxial. The tubular housing, blade, and gripping portion may all be substantially cylindrically-shaped and coaxial, and the circular cutting edge may be coaxial therewith.
The housing and gripping portion may cooperate to form a cylinder less than approximately three-quarters of an inch in diameter and less than approximately seven inches long when the gripping portion is in the forward position so that it can be carried and stored in the slots or channels typically found in cigar boxes and humidors for receiving cigars.
The cigar punching tool may have a key ring for carrying on a key chain, which may be affixed to the rearward end of the gripping portion.
While the invention has been shown and described with reference to a specific exemplary embodiment, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and that the invention should therefore only be limited according to the following claims, including all equivalent interpretation to which they are entitled.
This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. Design patent application Ser. No. 29/298,069, filed on Nov. 28, 2007, the specification and drawings of which are incorporated herein in their entireties by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 29298069 | Nov 2007 | US |
| Child | 12106721 | US |
