This invention relates to a method and apparatus for processing cigarette butts so as to reduce the amount of litter on streets and in parks and other public places.
For decades cigarette butts have been a major nuisance since smokers tend to discard their cigarette butts in virtually all public locations. The problem has worsened since smoking indoors has been banned in many cities. This simply increases the number of cigarette butts which are discarded on streets and near building entrances. In some locations nearly half of all the litter consists of cigarettes butts. Some experts estimate that in 2009 more than one trillion cigarette butts were discarded in public places.
Cigarette butts normally have two components. The first component is tobacco wrapped in thin paper. This first component disintegrates quickly once it has been discarded and does not usually create a major littering problem.
The second component of a cigarette butt is a filter tip. Virtually all cigarettes have filter tips. The filter tips are made of cellulose which is resistant to biodegrading, so the filter tips therefore remain relatively intact for a long time on streets and in other locations where they are discarded. The discarded filter tips are extremely unsightly and may in some cases present health concerns.
For the above reasons, various attempts have been made in the past to prevent cigarette butts from being discarded in public areas. A number of patents have been issued for devices which collect or destroy cigarette butts. In many cases these devices include containers to collect and store the cigarette butts until they can be discarded in a more suitable location, or otherwise destroyed. However, none of these devices has been commercially successful, and most have been inconvenient to use.
Therefore it is an object of this invention to provide a device for processing cigarette butts, and which device is more convenient to use and more effective than the solutions provided in the past.
In a preferred embodiment, the invention provides a device for processing cigarette butts, said butts being of the kind having a filter tip and having a tobacco and paper portion extending from the filter tip, said device comprising (a) a container having top and bottom sections, said top and bottom sections each having a sidewall, the sidewall of one of said sections being larger in perimeter than the sidewall of the other section so that one of said sections is nested within the other, (b) said top and bottom sections being held together in said nested position by a set of pivot hinges, said hinges being arranged to allow at least one of said top and bottom sections to pivot back and forth on the other, (c) the sidewall of one of said top and bottom sections including an end wall having a pair of openings therein, one of said openings being to accept said tobacco and paper portion, the other being to accept said filter tip, (d) the sidewall of the other of said top and bottom sections including a second end wall adjacent the first mentioned end wall and having a sharpened edge adjacent said openings, so that said sharpened edge can move past said opening to cut off said filter tip from said tobacco and paper portion, and (e) so that the user may then insert the cut-off filter tip through another of said openings to store such cut-off filter tip until the user is ready to discard it.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description, taken together with the accompanying drawings.
Reference is first made to
The bottom section 14 similarly contains a bottom wall 20 (see
The top sidewall 18 is slightly longer and wider than the bottom sidewall 22, so that the bottom sidewall can “nest” within the space enclosed by the top sidewall 18, for a purpose to be described.
The bottom section 14 of the container includes front and rear end walls 28, 30 (which are part of the sidewalls). The front end wall 28 contains a pair of side-by-side openings 34, 36 in its upper edge. The opening 34 connects to a passageway 38 in the interior of the container 10. The passageway 38 may be formed entirely from the structure of the lower section 14, or it may be formed in two parts from the structures of the upper and lower sections 12, 14 (this latter version is not preferred). The passageway 38 leads to a discharge opening 40 in the bottom wall 20, so that a piece of material inserted through the opening 34 into the passageway 38 will exit through opening 40 and thus will be discarded.
The second opening 36 in the end wall 28 simply opens into the interior space of the container 10.
The container 10 operates as follows. To begin, a cigarette butt 42 (
Next, a cigarette butt is inserted into opening 34 (for which purpose the device must be in its opened position), and then the front end wall 130 of the top section 12 is pushed downwardly as indicated by arrow 48. The sharp lower edge of the front end wall 130 then moves downwardly to close the openings 34, 36 and at the same time cuts off the portion of the cigarette butt which projects outwardly from the opening 34. In effect the front end wall 130 of the top section acts as a guillotine to cut off the paper and tobacco portion of the butt from the filter tip 46. After these two parts of the butt have been cut apart, then the user while continuing to grip the filter tip 46, moves the filter tip to a location in front of the opening 36. The user then opens the opening 36 (by pushing on the rear of the container's top wall as shown by arrow 49 (
When the user wishes to open the container to discard the stored filter tips, the user pulls the top and bottom sections 12, 14 apart by separating the pivot hinges 50 in any desired manner. For example the hinges 50 may be formed from a pair of short cylindrical axles which are spot welded or secured in any other desired manner to the sidewall 18 of the top section and which may be press fitted into matching openings (not shown) in the sidewall 22 of the bottom section 14. The mating parts can be tapered and can have detents formed in them in known manner so that the hinges connect together sufficiently securely and yet are disconnectable without the need for undue force.
It is desirable to be able to open the openings 34, 36 wide enough to accept most or all standard size cigarette butts. For this purpose it must be possible to lift the front end wall 130 of the top section 12 (i.e. the “guillotine blade”) high enough so that the openings 34, 36 will accept a large enough cigarette butt or a filter tip. To permit this without making the container 10 too thick, the rear part of the top section 12 is preferably made thinner than the front part, i.e. the rear part has a “cut away” portion 60 (see
To guide the user as to where he/she should push, and also to assist the user, small dimples 64 or other rough textures can be applied to the location on the top wall at the rear of the top section where the user must push downwardly. In addition, in order to hold the container 10 in its closed position so that collected filter tips do not spill out of the closed container 10, small mating dimples 66 can be stamped in the front end walls of the upper and lower sections 12, 14. These dimples can be of shape and size so that they will hold the top and bottom sections in closed position by preventing rotation of the top and bottom sections relative to each other. A user can easily release the dimples 66 from their mated position simply by pushing on the top wall of the top section 12 at the rear end thereof, as shown by arrow 49.
If desired, various changes can be made in the container described. For example, if the described container 10 is used outdoors, there is no need to collect the tobacco and paper component of the cigarette butt, and there is usually no concern about this material being discarded on the ground. However, if the container is being used indoors or in certain other locations, it would be undesirable to permit the tobacco and paper to fall to the ground whenever a cigarette butt is cut. Therefore, if the container is to be used indoors, the container may further include an interior wall 70, dividing the interior of the container into two separate spaces 73, 74 (see
In the
Any desired arrangement can be used to empty separately the two interior spaces 72, 73 of the container 10. For example, container 10 can have two separately operable lids, one lid for each storage space in the container.
While preferred embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be understood that appropriate changes can be made, and all such changes if within the scope of the attached claims are intended to be included as part of the invention.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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1459077 | Winans | Jun 1923 | A |
1846252 | Ford | Feb 1932 | A |
2690184 | Campbell | Sep 1954 | A |
3601132 | Etheridge | Aug 1971 | A |
4897033 | Yang | Jan 1990 | A |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20120061269 A1 | Mar 2012 | US |