Patent Application
20130199547
The present disclosure relates generally to an apparatus for combustion, and more particularly, to an apparatus for controlled combustion of a substance that facilitates consumption of the combusted substance.
Consumption of a combusted substance, such as tobacco, is more commonly known as smoking. Smoking remains a popular activity, notwithstanding health risks associated with the activity and legal restrictions that regulate where the activity may take place. The most common form of smoking is by way of a cigarette, which cigarette is a roll of paper that contains tobacco and a filter. To consume the tobacco in a cigarette, the user ignites the cigarette and tobacco therein, and draws air through the filter and into his or her mouth. The act of drawing air through the filter causes the tobacco to remain ignited, and the user inhales the smoke of the combusted tobacco to consume and enjoy the sensation of smoking.
This act of consuming tobacco by way of a cigarette suffers from certain drawbacks. For instance, the burnt tobacco and cigarette paper forms an ash, which as needs to be disposed in an ashtray or other receptacle to avoid contaminating the environment. While ashes have some environmental value as a source of carbon or potassium for soil, collection of such ashes in the smoking process can be messy, as ashes are light and subject to being affected and or distributed by even the slightest of wind currents. Further, collection of ashes in ashtrays requires that a user have nearby such a receptacle at all times, which requirement limits a user's mobility. Further an ashtray may require frequent cleaning to reduce the instance of an offensive odor emanating from the ashtray. (Waste baskets and garbage cans are not a preferred receptacle of ashes due to the fact that other contents of the waste baskets or cans may ignite when a user places potentially-still-ignited ashes in such baskets or cans.)
Another drawback of a cigarette is that environmental conditions may cause it to be extinguished. For instance, the force of wind or the dampness of rain may cause a cigarette to be extinguished, and may further render the cigarette completely unusable (i.e., unable to be reignited.)
Further, if a cigarette is poorly constructed (e.g., loosely rolled, or packed too tightly with tobacco), it may not burn evenly, and the user's enjoyment of the smoking experience may be diminished accordingly.
In light of the drawbacks mentioned above, there is a need for a combustion apparatus that facilitates the smoking process that includes a self-contained capacity for collecting waste generated in the smoking process, that allows for a user to smoke in a variety of environmental conditions, and that provides for even and effective burning of tobacco.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the prior art, the general purpose of the present disclosure is to provide a combustion apparatus configured to include all the advantages of the prior art, and to overcome the drawbacks inherent therein.
Accordingly, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a combustion apparatus for consuming tobacco in a controlled fashion.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a combustion apparatus that allows for the even and effective burning of tobacco regardless of the conditions in the surrounding environment.
Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide a combustion apparatus that includes a self-contained mechanism for collecting waste and/or byproducts that are generated in the process of burning tobacco and/or smoking.
To achieve the above objects, the present disclosure provides a combustion apparatus. The combustion apparatus includes a combustion chamber, an air chamber, an air supply, air supply inlet, and an air supply outlet. The apparatus is capable of maintaining a combustible substance (such as tobacco) in a combustible state for a user to ingest. The apparatus is further capable of regulating exhaust of the substance from the apparatus after the substance has been ignited. The apparatus may also receive and retain waste or byproducts that are generated during the combustion of the substance.
These together with other aspects of the present disclosure, along with the various features of novelty that characterize the present disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and form a part of this present disclosure. For a better understanding of the present disclosure, its operating advantages, and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawing and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.
The advantages and features of the present disclosure will become better understood with reference to the following detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like elements are identified with like symbols, and in which:
Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the description of several views of the drawings.
The exemplary embodiments described herein detail for illustrative purposes are subject to many variations in composition, structure, and design. It should be emphasized, however, that the present disclosure is not limited to a particular combustion apparatus, as shown and described. It is understood that various omissions and substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstances may suggest or render expedient, but these are intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims of the present disclosure. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.
Unless limited otherwise, the terms “disposed,” “coupled,” “attached,” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect arrangements. The term “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “back,” “first,” “second,” and the like, herein do not denote any order, elevation or importance, but rather are used to distinguish placement of one element over another. The terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced items.
The present disclosure provides a combustion apparatus for controlling combustion and consumption of a combusted substance. The apparatus comprises a combustion chamber and an air chamber. An air supply is provided for the air chamber may be regulated to facilitate combustion of the substance and consumption of the substance by a user. An air supply inlet and an air supply outlet are provided for regulating the supply of air to the air chamber. The apparatus disclosed herein facilitates for controlled, protected, and effective consumption of a combustible substance, as well as collection of any waste or byproduct generated during the combustion of the combustible substance.
Referring to
Combustion chamber 10 comprises an item that receives a combustible substance (such as tobacco) within at least a portion of the chamber 10. The combustion chamber also has a mouthpiece region 12 with an opening whereby a user may draw or inhale so as to consume the combusted substance. In an embodiment, combustion chamber comprises an open tube that allows a combustible substance to be inserted into the chamber at one end of the tube, and that allows a user to initiate inhalation through other otherwise access the substance after combustion from the other end of the tube. It will be apparent that the combustion chamber 10 may be of any configuration that permits the combustible substance that is contained within the combustion chamber 10 to be disposed within the air chamber 20 and that also permits a user to inhale or receive a combusted substance from the combustion chamber 10. As will be described in more detail below, air chamber 20 removably receives a portion of the combustion chamber 10 therewithin, and more particularly, that portion of the combustion chamber 10 that contains a combustible substance.
When combustion chamber 10 is received within air chamber 20, an airtight seal may be formed between the external perimeter of the combustion chamber, while still allowing air to pass through the chamber 10 (for instance, from the portion of the chamber 10 that is received within the air chamber 20 out of the mouthpiece region 12 when a user applies vacuum pressure on the mouthpiece region 12.)
In an embodiment, the combustion chamber 10 comprises a tubular unit that may receive a substance in at least a portion of the length of the tubular unit. The combustion chamber may further comprise an outwardly-extending flange 14 for facilitating the placement of a combustible substance therewithin.
The air chamber 20 is a container of a configuration that may form a closeable environment. In an embodiment, the chamber 20 may be a transparent container that allows a user to view the accumulation of smoke within the air chamber 20, for example. The air chamber includes an air supply inlet 30 and an air supply outlet 40, which inlet and outlet are sealable for forming a closed environment in the air chamber 20.
In an embodiment, the air chamber 20 comprises a flask with a neck 22 and an opening 24 proximate to said neck 22. A stopper (such as a rubber stopper) may be removably placed in the neck 22 to seal the opening 24 of the neck. In such an embodiment, and as shown in
The air chamber 20 further comprises an air supply outlet 40, which outlet may be an openable valve or may be a closeable aperture disposed on the air chamber 20. The air supply outlet 40 allows access to the interior of the air chamber 20 when the outlet is open. In an embodiment, the air supply outlet 40 comprises an aperture that is disposed on a side or face of the air chamber that is a side or face different from which the side or face on which the air supply inlet 30 is disposed. In the embodiment wherein the air chamber 20 comprises a flask, the air supply outlet 40 is disposed away from the neck 22 of the flask and, preferably, on a wall 26 of the flask.
The air supply inlet 30 is operatively coupled to an air supply 50. In an embodiment, the air supply 50 is comprises an air pump. Preferably, the air pump will be lightweight and battery-powered to facilitate portability of the air pump and apparatus. The air supply 50 may be coupled to the air supply inlet 30 by way of flexible tubing, conduit, or any other means that allows the air supply 50 to direct air into the inlet. In an embodiment where the air chamber comprises a flask that receives a rubber stopper, which rubber stopper comprises an aperture as the air supply inlet 20, tubing joined to the air supply 50 may be securely inserted into an aperture to form a removable but substantially airtight connection between the air chamber 20 and air supply 50. When the air supply is activated, the air supply may transmit air into the air chamber, thus increasing the pressure within the air chamber 20.
Referring now to
After configuring the air supply 50 and combustion chamber 10 as described above, the user may ignite the combustible substance and thereafter may install the rubber stopper on the air chamber 20 (as shown in
With the combustible substance disposed within the air chamber 20, it will be apparent that byproduct generated during combustion (such as ash) may remain in the combustion chamber 10 or be collected within the air chamber 20 such that resort to a separate collection area or mechanism (such as an ashtray) is not required.
It will be apparent that the embodiments described herein are exemplary and non-limiting, and that the combustion apparatus disclosed herein may be practiced in any configuration that provides for the selective creation of an airtight seal between the combustion chamber, air supply, air supply inlet, and air supply outlet.
The combustion apparatus disclosed herein facilitates for controlled consumption of a combustible substance. The apparatus allows a user to consume such substance with a minimum of inhalation effort by the user. The apparatus also allows for controlled combustion and exhaust of a substance such that the substance is not exhausted to the atmosphere when the user is not ingesting the substance, but may instead be retained (to the extent that it is combusted) within the air chamber. The apparatus further provides for self-contained collection of waste or unconsumed byproducts that are generated during the combustion of the substance.
The combustion apparatus disclosed herein also allows for combustion and ingestion of a substance that is not subject to exterior adverse elements such as wind and rain. Further, the apparatus allows for even burning of a substance as may be directed by the regulation of air pressure in the air chamber.
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present disclosure and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the present disclosure and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is understood that various omissions and substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstance may suggest or render expedient, but such are intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims of the present disclosure.
