Patent Application
20190307165
The present invention relates to a portable/hand held smoke containment and filter device with built-in ignition which permits cigarette users to smoke without contaminating the environment. More particularly, this invention relates a tobacco smoke containment and filter device that treats both secondary smoke and side stream smoke.
As is well known the U.S. government has detetinined that not only is tobacco smoke injurious to the smoker's heath but the secondary smoke and side stream smoke emanating therefrom are also hazardous. In fact, it has been determined that thousands die in the United States every year from such causes. Secondary smoke is the smoke that is exhaled by a smoker and side stream smoke is the smoke that is emitted into the air from a burning cigarette. The obvious way to prevent secondary smoke and side stream smoke from injuring other smokers and non-smokers is for people not to smoke. However, despite the warnings about the hazards of smoke millions of people continue to smoke because they are addicted to the nicotine and because it is very difficult for some smokers to quit smoking.
To overcome the detrimental health problems related to smoking and the issues caused from smoke from cigarette substitutes, such as electronic cigarettes, various containment and filter devices have been proposed. A number of these proposals have been made to provide devices to minimize or eliminate secondary and/or side stream smoke. These devices often catch the secondary smoke but not the side stream smoke or visa versa. Among the proposed devices the various efforts have included devices which capture secondary smoke in some form of container or filter the tobacco smoke before release to the atmosphere. Other efforts include various filter elements. Unfortunately, these substitutes, for the most part, continue to exude either secondary smoke and/or side stream smoke to the atmosphere.
It is therefore desirable, where smoking is permitted, to provide a device that allows for smoking of cigarettes and the elimination or minimization of smoke without detriment either to living things or inanimate objects in the environment and without any inconvenience to the smoker.
It is therefore the general object of the present invention to provide a smoke containment and filter device that prevents both secondary tobacco smoke and side stream tobacco smoke from entering the atmosphere, thus mitigating detrimental health effect or discomfort to others caused thereby.
Another object of the present invention to provide a smoke containment and filter device with a mouthpiece that easily controls the inhalation and exhalation of smoke from a burning cigarette.
Yet another object of the present invention to provide a smoke containment and filter device with a built-in cigarette ignition system.
There is provided a device for containing smoke in an enclosed space and then filtering that secondary and side stream tobacco smoke so that the atmosphere will not be contaminated by the smoke when it is exhaled and passed through the filter into the atmosphere. The smoke containment and filter of the present invention includes a mouthpiece, a main body portion comprising an outer chamber and an inner chamber and a housing unit containing a cigarette ignition system, an exhaust fan and a filter.
The main body portion is connected on one end to the mouthpiece and forms an opening therewith sized to accommodate a cigarette. The other end of the outer chamber connects to the housing unit. The outer chamber includes a tobacco smoke exhaust member branching off from the exterior of the outer chamber serving to supply air to the combustion area and is the means by which the user exhales smoke. An inner chamber is positioned concentric within the outer chamber. The inner chamber contains the lighted cigarette while the outer chamber contains the exhaust smoke admitted into the chamber by the user. The exhaust smoke in the outer chamber is furced through the filter due to the negative pressure created by the fan. The inner chamber has a closed far end containing at least one air hole and a near end joined to the outer chamber foiiiiing the opening for the mouthpiece and providing a means for holding a cigarette. The inner chamber and outer chamber are sized relative to each other to accommodate the force of the exhaust fan and to counteract it.
The mouthpiece has one end into which a cigarette is inserted and placed into the mouthpiece opening and the other end of the mouthpiece being shaped to fit into a user's mouth. In one embodiment, the mouthpiece has a smoke control system that includes a smoke passageway extending through the open interior of the mouthpiece end. A closure plate mounted in the mouthpiece prevents smoke from entering the user's mouth when the smoke passageway is closed. When the smoke passageway is in the open position air is allowed to pass through an opening in the closure plate. To open the smoke passageway a push button extends through an opening in the dorsal wall of mouthpiece. When the push button is depressed the closure plate moves away from the interior wall of the mouthpiece opening the smoke passageway. There is a spring located on the opposite side of closure plate which is depressed when the smoke passageway is open such that when the push button is released, the spring pushed the closure plate back into the closed position.
In another embodiment of the mouthpiece, the mouthpiece incorporates an end cap attached to near opening of the inner and outer chambers, which is used for routing the flow of smoke during inhalation and exhalation. This embodiment thus dispenses with the exhaust member, as exhalation and inhalation both occur directly through the mouthpiece. The endcap is adapted to the inner and outer chambers such that inhalation only occurs via the cigarette, and thus via the inner chamber, whereas exhalation occurs only via the outer chamber. In embodiments wherein the inner and outer chambers are not fused to one another, the endcap is adapted to the separated chambers in such a way as to hold them in place, concentric to one another. A flow channel routes the flow of smoke in the inner chamber through a check valve when the user inhales and through a reversely positioned check valve through the outer chamber when the user exhales. A mouthpiece cover sits on the end cap with the two check valves on either side of a separator plate.
Once the tobacco smoke is exhaled through the smoke exhaust member or mouthpiece, depending upon the embodiment, and into outer chamber the smoke goes through the opening in the far end of outer chamber, i.e., the end away from the user, and into the housing unit. The housing unit contains a cigarette ignition system, an exhaust fan having a power source and a filter. The near end of the housing unit is sized into the opening in the far end of the outer chamber. The faff draws air into the outer chamber to via the exhaust member or the mouthpiece to keep the cigarette burning at the desired rate and intensity, and also pulls smoke through the filter. The draw of the fan and the size of the opening into the housing unit is such to ensure that the flow of all the air containing smoke is passed in the direction of and through the filter.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Having described the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:
The presentt, invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to the elements throughout.
The invention describes a portable, hand-held smoke containment and filter device for treating both secondary smoke and side stream tobacco smoke. The smoke containment and filter device permits cigarette users to smoke without contaminating the environment. The aim is to allow for the smoking of cigarettes not only in private areas, wherein smoke damage will, by this device, be diminished and/or eliminated, but also in public areas, with detriment neither to living things nor inanimate objects in the environment and without any inconvenience to the smoker. As shown in
The main body portion 10 includes outer chamber 12 which is connected on one end 13 to the mouthpiece 30 and forms an opening 18 therewith sized to accommodate a cigarette. The other end 20 of the outer chamber foiiiis an opening that connects to the housing unit 50. In the embodiment depicted in
As shown in
The far end 11 of inner chamber 14, e.g., the end away from the mouthpiece, is provided with means sufficient to supply air to support combustion of a cigarette. As noted in
Smoke from the burning cigarette passes through the inner chamber 14 to the mouthpiece. One example of a mouthpiece 30 is shown in
The smoke from a burning cigarette does not automatically enter the user's mouth. In order to draw smoke into the user's mouth, the mouthpiece smoke control system 32 must be opened. The mouthpiece smoke control system 32 is shown in a closed position in
In another embodiment, that shown in
Because the gases flow in the direction of least resistance, when the user exhales smoke into the mouthpiece 40, the exhaust smoke will make its way into the exhaust chamber and flow through the exhaust check valve 44 and into the outer chamber 12. The cross-talk port, positioned between the inlet check valve and the exhaust check valve, allows any trapped exhaust smoke in the inhale chamber to pass into the mouthpiece exhaust chamber of mouthpiece 40 and finally into the outer chamber 12. By choosing the size of the cross-talk port carefully the cross talk between the two chambers can be tuned so that the smoke product from the cigarette in the inner chamber does not get sucked directly through the exhaust check valve at an unacceptable rate as the user is inhaling smoke from the cigarette.
Once the tobacco smoke is exhaled through smoke exhaust member 16 (or via the valve embodiment of the mouthpiece) and into outer chamber 12 the smoke goes through the opening 20 in the far end of outer chamber 12, i.e., the end away from the user, and into housing unit 50. The housing unit 50 contains an ignition system 62, a fan 60 and a filter 70. As shown in
The interior of housing 50 is configured to contain an exhaust fan 60 having a power source 62. As shown in
In one embodiment the housing unit 50 incorporates a cigarette ignition system 62. The cigarette ignition system 62 comprises a laser or arc (63) positioned in ignition mounting 61. The laser or arc is turned on using on/off button 59 and is operated by the circuitry in PCB 64 and powered by battery 62. In operation, button 59 is pressed to induce an electric arc between four electrodes or a laser. In the arc embodiment of the present invention the position of the cigarette within inner chamber 14 can be adjusted by means of a sliding control on the mouthpiece (not shown) which connects to the arc prong, via one of holes in the closed end 20 of inner chamber 14, thus being able to reach the cigarette. In the laser embodiment, the laser light travels exactly the distance required to make contact with-the cigarette.
A filter 70 is removably attached to the near end 56 of housing unit 50. One other end 57 of filter 70 is sized to be removably fitted into the end of housing unit 50. The other end of filter 70 is open for the expulsion of exhaust air. The opening is covered by a grill to keep the filter material in place and is easily removed to allow for replacement of the filter. The filter is suitably positioned within or attached to housing unit 50. The filter may be made of material conventionally used for filtering particulate matter, vapor and/or gas phase components of tobacco smoke. One example of a suitable filter material is a high energy particulate air filter (HEPA). Other examples of absorbent materials include fuller's earths, activated carbon activated clays, alumina and synthetic polymers. As the exhaust smoke comprising secondary and side stream smoke leaves the fan and passes into the filter the solid particles of the smoke are absorbed eliminating the visibility, scent and contaminating qualities of the smoke.
In a preferred embodiment, the user removes the mouthpiece 30 from the outer chamber opening 18 and inserts a cigarette into the opposite end of the mouthpiece. The mouthpiece is then reinserted, and the fan is powered on. The user then slides the mouthpiece into the outer chamber opening 18 causing the cigarette to contact the lighting element, which is activated by depressing a button located on the housing 50.
The user inhales smoke from the cigarette via the mouthpiece as normal, and exhales the smoke either into the smoke exhaust member (tube 16) or the exhaust compartment containing exhale check valve 44, depending on which of the embodiments of the mouthpiece is being used. The cigarette is extinguishable by powering off the fan and blocking tube 16 for a few seconds, which prevents air from reaching the cigarette. Once the cigarette is extinguished, the user powers on the fan by turning the power switch on; thus, purging the main body portion 10 of any remaining smoke. Once this is complete the user powers off the tobacco smoke filter and empties the ashes into an appropriate receptacle.
Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific temis are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
