Patent Application
20250143382
In general, the present invention relates to the structure of inhalation sticks of the type that are used to help a person safely break certain habits associated with smoking. More particularly, the present invention relates to the structure of smokeless and vaporless inhalation sticks that are held in the mouth and inhaled, in the manner of a cigarette.
When a person begins to smoke cigarettes, they often develop a nicotine addiction. Furthermore, smokers also develop physical and physiological habits associated with the physical act of smoking. For instance, many people form the physical habit of holding a cigarette and inhaling from the cigarette at certain times, such as when speaking on the phone or after a meal. These physical and psychological habits are often as difficult to break as is the nicotine addiction.
Some people attempt to hold a short pencil or a trimmed straw in place of a cigarette. However, the use of such substitutes is typically ineffective in reducing cigarette cravings since such substitutes do not provide the look, feel, smell or taste of a cigarette. The result is that the subconscious mind is not fooled and the craving for a cigarette is not satisfied. In order to better fool the subconscious mind, the cigarette substitute must have a look and feel of a real cigarette. More importantly, the substitute cigarette must provide some stimulus to the sense of taste and smell when used. This objective is difficult to achieve in a cost effective manner.
When quitting the habit of smoking, a person typically wants to use a smokeless substitute, so as not to replace one harmful habit for another. However, it is difficult to create a smokeless cigarette substitute that stimulates the senses of taste and smell. In the prior art, there exist smokeless products that are designed to be substitutes for cigarettes. However, the cigarette substitutes that stimulate the senses of taste and smell are complex assemblies that are expensive to manufacture and are expensive to use. Many such cigarette substitutes use canisters of compressed gas that release a puff of gas when brought to the mouth. Such prior art cigarette substitutes are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 9,693,584 to Hearn, U.S. Patent No. 5,535, 735 to McPherson, U.S. Patent No. 8, 733, 346 to Rinker, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0206004to Shinkawa. The mechanisms needed to retain and selectively release gas from pressurized canisters are complex. Furthermore, the canisters themselves are both complicated to manufacture. As a result, it is expensive to both manufacture and use such cannister systems. The cost of the products make such products unappealing for a person who is trying to quit smoking. If the per-use cost of the product is higher than that of a cigarette, a person is more likely to smoke a cigarette when having a craving than use the cigarette substitute.
Over five trillion tobacco cigarettes are manufactured each year worldwide. Billions of these cigarettes contain filters and are wrapped in tipping paper. Due to the economy of scale, cigarette filters and cigarette tipping paper are abundant and extremely inexpensive. The present invention utilizes the availability and low cost of these cigarette components to produce an extremely low cost cigarette substitute that can assist people in quitting smoking or reducing the number of cigarettes smoked each day. The use of low cost cigarette components makes the substitute cigarette very inexpensive and makes the substitute cigarette very similar in look and feel to a traditional cigarette. The result is a system to help break the physical and psychological habits associated with smoking in a manner that is highly effective, harmless to the user, and available at low cost. The details of the system are described below.
The present invention is an inhalation stick that is used to help a person quit smoking or reduce the number of cigarettes being smoked each day. The inhalation stick looks like a traditional tobacco cigarette and mimics the feel of a traditional tobacco cigarette both in the hand and on the mouth. The inhalation stick has a cartridge assembly and a filter that are linearly aligned and are wrapped in traditional tipping paper. The cartridge assembly includes a tube. Scented bodies, the form of menthol crystals and/or scented oils, are inside the tube. When the inhalation stick is brough to the mouth, it looks and feels like a cigarette. When an individual inhales through the inhalation stick, the volatiles from the menthol crystals and/or scented oil are released into the inhaled air. This scents the inhaled air and provides taste and smell to the inhaled air. Accordingly, the fingers, lips, taste buds and olfactory senses all are provided with sensory inputs that mimic the smoking of a cigarette. This sensory input is sufficient to trick the subconscious mind and satisfy one's craving to smoke.
For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following description of exemplary embodiments thereof, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Although the present invention inhalation stick can be embodied in many ways, only two exemplary embodiments are illustrated. The exemplary embodiments are being shown for the purposes of explanation and description. The exemplary embodiments are selected in order to set forth some of the best modes contemplated for the invention. The illustrated embodiments, however, are merely exemplary and should not be considered as limitations when interpreting the scope of the claims.
Referring to
Referring to
The inhalation stick 10 has a first end 20 and a second end 22. The filter 16 is positioned adjacent the first end 20 of the inhalation stick 10 and is covered by the tipping paper 14. The filter 16 serves two purposes. The first purpose of the filter 16 is to provides the same feel in the mouth as does a real cigarette filter. In this manner, when relying solely upon tactile sensations in the mouth, an individual cannot tell the difference between a real cigarette and the inhalation stick 10. The second purpose of the filter 16 is to prevent any material from passing into the user's mouth when inhaling air through the inhalation stick 10.
The filter 16 can be an actual cigarette filter. Such filters are widely commercially available and are inexpensive. Alternatively, an even less expensive filter can be made from a tight roll of paper 24, such as is illustrated. The roll of paper 24 is loose enough to allow air to pass, but is tight enough to prevent any particle over 500 microns from passing. The roll of paper 24 is robust enough to be placed in the mouth without quickly becoming moisture saturated and soft. As such, the roll of paper 24 has the same general feel in the mouth as a real cigarette filter and yet prevents any particulate matter from passing through the inhalation stick 10 and into the mouth.
The cartridge assembly 18 is positioned between the filter 16 and the second end 22 of the inhalation stick 10. The cartridge assembly 18 has the same diameter as does the filter 16 and is covered in the tipping paper 14 with the filter 16. The cartridge assembly 18 utilizes a tube 26. The tube 26 can be made from paper or plastic, wherein the wall of the tube 26 is impervious to air. The tube 26 is hollow and defines an inner conduit 28 that extends from a first end 30 that faces the filter 16 and an opposite second end 32. Both ends 30, 32 are open but are stopped with end plugs 34, 36. The end plugs 34, 36 are made from material that permits air to flow through the inner conduit 28 of the outer tube 26. Usable materials for the end plugs 34, 36 include cotton, polypropylene fiber, or an open cell synthetic foam. The end plugs 34, 36 can maintain position in the tube 26 by friction and/or with a small application of adhesive. The end plugs 34, 36 prevent any significant flow of air through the tube 26 when air is not being actively inhaled through the tube 26. This prevents the premature evaporation of the scented volatiles 12.
An open internal space exists between the end plugs 34, 36 within the inner conduit 28 of the tube 26. One or more scented bodies 40 are placed in the open internal space. In the shown embodiment, the scented bodies 40 are crystals of menthol 42. Menthol has a crystalline structure at room temperature and releases scent as it sublimates into vapor. The diameter of the crystals of menthol 42 are smaller than the diameter of the inner conduit 28. In this manner, air is free to pass around the crystals of menthol 42 within the confines of the tube 26. The combined length of the crystals of menthol 42 are preferably equal to or near the length of the open space between the end plugs 34, 36. In this manner, the crystals of menthol 42 have little room to move within the inhalation stick 10 and will not rattle as the inhalation stick 10 is manipulated.
Referring to
Referring to
Once unpackaged, the filter portion of the inhalation stick 10 is placed in the mouth. When a person places the inhalation stick 10 to the mouth and inhales, air is drawn through the inhalation stick 10. With reference to
The inhalation stick 10 can be used in place of a cigarette when a person has a craving to smoke. The inhalation stick 10 satisfies the physical and physiological aspects of the craving without harming the body. The inhalation stick 10 also provides taste and olfactory stimuli to invoke the sensation of smoking. The amount of scented material in the inhalation stick 10 can be controlled so that a single inhalation stick 10 can be used once or multiple times.
It will be understood that the embodiments of the present invention that are illustrated and described are merely exemplary and that a person skilled in the art can make many variations to those embodiments. All such embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/595,722, filed Nov. 2, 2023.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63595722 | Nov 2023 | US |
