The present invention relates to a disposable ashtray cover. More particularly, the invention relates to a multi-use ashtray cover element for supporting burning cigarettes and through which finished cigarettes butts are deposited into an underlying receptacle.
In recent times, a widespread objection exists to public smoking. Most governmental authorities have passed laws against smoking in public areas, and heavy fines are imposed on those that smoke in such areas and on publicly accessible establishments in which smoking is permitted. A suitable solution for the needs of both smokers and non-smokers is required. Non-smokers do not wish to be exposed to the smoke of cigarettes or to cigarette butts for health, odor and esthetic reasons. On the other hand, smokers that cannot smoke in public areas need disposable and portable ashtrays in order to smoke in many locations that are not harmful or bothersome to non-smokers. Thus, the most convenient smoking areas are generally outdoors or within one's home or vehicle. Vehicle located ashtrays are often very small and difficult to remove. Since a vehicle located ashtray is not readily portable, a smoker that leaves his vehicle in order to smoke outdoors tends not to bring the ashtray, and is therefore encouraged to discard the cigarette butts outdoors, thereby polluting the surroundings.
The prior art is replete with many portable ashtrays.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,595,103 discloses a cigarette ash receiver comprising a receptacle and a funnel shaped, removable ash and cigarette receiving cover fitted over the mouth of the receptacle. When a cigarette is placed or dropped on the cover, the lighted end of the cigarette will engage the wall of the cover opening, dissipating its heat and causing it to be extinguished, and the mouth end thereof extends upwardly from the cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,082,901 discloses an ashtray with a disposable receiver. The ashtray comprises a container and lid made of molded fireproof material. An empty carton is removably disposed within the container. The lid is funnel-like, with a tubular neck depending through an opening, so that ashes and butts may be delivered through the neck into the carton.
Since the container and cover are manufactured articles, the ashtray of each of these two publications is relatively expensive.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,990,983 discloses a disposable foldable cup holder ashtray formed from a single blank of fire retardant paper into a box shape that will fit into a vehicle cup holder. When the ashtray is full of cigarette butts, a top lid panel is folded over the top cavity, locked in place, and is safely disposed. The folding process is relatively time consuming and cannot be used for a receptacle of a significantly different shape.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a disposable ashtray cover that is engageable with the top edge of a plurality of differently shaped cigarette butt receptacles.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive ashtray cover.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an ashtray cover that can be speedily and simply engaged to an underlying receptacle.
Other objects and advantages of present invention will appear as description proceeds.
The present invention provides a multi-use disposable ashtray cover element, comprising flexible fire retardant sheet material and an aperture bored in a central portion of said sheet material through which ash or a cigarette butt is depositable, said sheet material being foldable along one or more top edges of an underlying receptacle and a peripheral portion of said sheet material located outwardly from said one or more top edges being engageable with a corresponding side wall of said receptacle.
As referred to herein, the term “multi-use” means that the cover element can be engaged with many different types of receptacles, and furthermore, may be removed from a first receptacle and engaged with a second receptacle.
The ashtray cover element preferably further comprises a neck having walls extending downwardly from the aperture.
In one aspect, the neck is preformed.
In one aspect, the neck is tubular or conical.
In one aspect, the ashtray cover element further comprises one or more border elements extending perpendicularly from the sheet material, each of said border elements being foldable about a corresponding receptacle top edge and engageable with a corresponding receptacle side wall.
In one aspect, a portion of the sheet material between a receptacle top edge and the neck is sloped.
The sheet material has sufficiently high material strength to support a cigarette placed thereon.
An ashtray comprising the ashtray cover element and a given receptacle can function like any other ashtray for extinguishing cigarettes and receiving cigarettes butts through the aperture. Both the cover element and the receptacle are preferably disposable.
In the drawings
a is a perspective view of a folded cover element of
b is a perspective view of a rectilinear receptacle to which is engaged the cover element of
The present invention is a flexible, multi-use ashtray cover that is engageable with the top edge and a side wall of a plurality of differently shaped cigarette butt receptacles. A disposable ashtray for outdoor and in-vehicle smoking is speedily produced when the ashtray coven is engaged with the top edge and side wall of a selected receptacle.
As shown in
Similarly, cover element 6 can be engaged with the top edges of a triangular receptacle 20 to produce ashtray 30 as shown in
While some embodiments of the invention have been described by way of illustration, it will be apparent that the invention can be carried into practice with many notifications, variations and adaptations, and with the use of numerous equivalents or alternative solution that are within the scope of persons skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention or exceeding the scope of the claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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190328 | Mar 2008 | IL | national |