Patent Application
20240349788
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The claimed subject matter relates to the field of smoking articles and, more specifically, the claimed subject matter relates to the field of smoking systems and methods for multiple users.
A waterpipe is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances. A waterpipe is constructed from a water-holding vessel and a bowl connected to the vessel. The bowl is used for heating or vaporizing and then smoking packing material, which refers to tobacco, flavored tobacco (often mu′assel), cannabis, hashish, opium, or the like. The waterpipe further includes a stem, which is a tubular element that guides air and smoke downward from the bowl to below water level within the vessel, whence it bubbles upward during use. A hose with a mouthpiece may be attached to the vessel, which allows the user to inhale the smoke that has passed through the water vessel. There various types of waterpipes, including hookahs and bongs.
One of the drawbacks associated with conventional waterpipes is that the user can only smoke one type of packing material within the bowl at one time. For example, if the user would like to smoke peach flavored tobacco, the user fills the bowl with said peach flavored tobacco, which allows him to heat or vaporize and then smoke the peach flavored tobacco. But if the user would like to switch to another flavor of tobacco during the smoking session, the user would have to remove the peach flavored tobacco from the bowl, clean the remaining debris from the bowl, and then fill the clean bowl with the new flavor of tobacco. This can be tedious and time consuming for user.
It should also be noted that smoking sessions can often be a social activity. Smokers enjoy gathering and smoking from a waterpipe all at once. One solution to this demand is a hookah with multiple hoses that allows multiple users to smoke from the same bowl at once. One of the drawbacks associated with this solution, however, is that the smokers can only smoke one type of packing material within the bowl at one time. Again, the smokers would be required to change out the packing material in the bowl in order to switch to smoking a different packing material.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and method for improving the problems with the prior art, and more particularly for a more expedient and efficient method and system for allowing groups of smokers to engage in smoking activities.
In one embodiment, a multi-user smoking system and method is disclosed. This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of disclosed concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description including the drawings provided. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter. Nor is this Summary intended to be used to limit the claim subject matter's scope.
In one embodiment, the multi-user smoking system comprises: a) two or more smoking assemblies, each smoking assembly including: 1) a receptacle for holding smoking material, 2) a water vessel, and 3) a stem conduit that fluidly connects the receptacle to the water vessel; b) two or more manifolds, each manifold including: 1) an egress outlet, 2) two or more conduits, wherein each conduit of the two or more conduits is connected to a water vessel of a smoking assembly of the two or more smoking assemblies, and 3) a switching means for fluidly connecting the egress outlet to one of the two or more conduits; and c) a base station communicatively coupled with the two or more manifolds, the base station including a processor and memory configured for activating the switching means of each manifold of the two or more manifolds to connect the egress outlet to one of the two or more conduits
In another embodiment, the multi-user smoking system comprises: a) two or more smoking assemblies, each smoking assembly including: 1) a receptacle for holding smoking material, 2) a water vessel, and 3) a stem conduit that fluidly connects the receptacle to the water vessel; b) two or more manifolds, each manifold including: 1) an egress outlet, 2) two or more conduits, wherein each conduit of the two or more conduits is connected to a water vessel of a particular smoking assembly of the two or more smoking assemblies, and 3) a switching means for fluidly connecting the egress outlet to one of the two or more conduits; c) two or more smoking hoses, each smoking hose fluidly coupled with an egress outlet of a particular manifold of the two or more manifolds, and each smoking hose including an interface for indicating a selection of a receptacle from a particular smoking assembly of the two or more smoking assemblies; and d) a base station communicatively coupled with the two or more manifolds, the base station including a processor and memory configured for: 1) reading from each hose of the two or more smoking hoses a selection of a receptacle from a particular smoking assembly of the two or more smoking assemblies, and 2) activating the switching means of each manifold of the two or more manifolds to connect the egress outlet to one of the two or more conduits, according to the selections that were read from each hose of the two or more smoking hoses.
In another embodiment, the multi-user smoking system comprises: a) two or more smoking assemblies, each smoking assembly including: 1) a receptacle for holding smoking material, 2) a water vessel, and 3) a stem conduit that fluidly connects the receptacle to the water vessel; and b) two or more manifolds, each manifold including: 1) an egress outlet, 2) two or more conduits, wherein each particular conduit of the two or more conduits is connected to a water vessel of a smoking assembly of the two or more smoking assemblies, 3) a switching means for fluidly connecting the egress outlet to one of the two or more conduits, and 4) an interface for activating the switching means of each manifold of the two or more manifolds to connect the egress outlet to one of the two or more conduits.
Additional aspects of the claimed subject matter will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the claimed subject matter. The aspects of the claimed subject matter will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosed subject matter, as claimed.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the claimed subject matter and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the claimed subject matter. The embodiments illustrated herein are presently preferred, it being understood, however, that the claimed subject matter is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown, wherein:
It should be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein are only examples of the many advantageous uses of the innovative teachings of the claimed embodiments. In general, statements made in the specification of the present application do not necessarily limit any of the various claimed embodiments. Moreover, some statements may apply to some inventive features but not to others. In general, unless otherwise indicated, singular elements may be in the plural and vice versa with no loss of generality. In the drawing like numerals refer to like parts through several views.
The disclosed embodiments improve upon the problems with the prior art by providing a multi-user smoking system and method that reduces or eliminates the need for smokers to change the smoking material in a bowl or to change hoses when desiring to change smoking material. The disclosed embodiments allow a user who wants to smoke a different flavor to simply press a button, which changes the origin of the smoke he is inhaling. The disclosed embodiments provide a system that has multiple different bowls, each with different smoking material (tobacco, hashish, flavored tobacco, etc.), and multiple different hoses, which allows multiple users to smoke multiple different bowls at the same time. This is advantageous for users, as it provides greater flexibility in the use of a smoking system and allows for simultaneous use by multiple users. The main benefit of the claimed subject matter is an improvement in multi-user smoking systems by increasing the ease-of-use while allowing a communal smoking experience.
We shall now refer to the drawing
The multi-user smoking system 100 also comprises a base station or control system 250 communicatively coupled with the two or more manifolds 206, the control system 250 including a processor and memory configured for: 1) reading from each hose of the two or more smoking hoses a selection of a receptacle from a particular smoking assembly of the two or more smoking assemblies, and 2) activating the switching means of each manifold of the two or more manifolds to connect the egress outlet to one of the two or more conduits, according to the selections that were read from each hose of the two or more smoking hoses. Said multi-user smoking system 100 allows multiple users 200 to utilize the two or more smoking hoses 210 to smoke from the two or more receptacles (or bowls) of the two or more smoking assemblies 204 without switching hoses. That is, a single user can utilize a single smoking hose to smoke from any of the two or more receptacles (or bowls) without switching hoses. Said single user can also dynamically switch receptacles (or bowls) without switching hoses. Therefore, each hose has access to all of the receptacles (or bowls).
Each of the manifolds 350, 351, 352, 353, 354, 355 include: 1) an egress outlet (such as 120), 2) two or more conduits, wherein each conduit of the two or more conduits is connected to a water vessel of a particular smoking assembly of the two or more smoking assemblies, and 3) a switching means for fluidly connecting the egress outlet to one of the two or more conduits.
After passing their respective solenoids, all conduits 309, 319, 329 join and meet at smoke egress outlet 120. If the user desires to smoke from bowl 304, then solenoid 609 is activated to be open, while solenoids 619, 629 are activated to be closed. If the user desires to smoke from bowl 314, then solenoid 619 is activated to be open, while solenoids 609, 629 are activated to be closed. If the user desires to smoke from bowl 324, then solenoid 629 is activated to be open, while solenoids 619, 609 are activated to be closed.
In step 704, the mouthpiece 150 transmits a RF signal to the control system 250, which receives the signal using a RF receiver. Said signal includes an identification of the manifold (350 in this case) and the bowl selected by the user (304 in this case). In step 706, the control system 250 determines which solenoids to open and close based on the user's selection, and then transmits a signal to manifold 350 indicating that it should close solenoids 619 and 629 (controlling ingress of smoke from bowls 314, 324), while opening solenoid 609 (controlling ingress of smoke from bowl 304). In step 708, manifold 350 receives the signal from the control system and proceeds to close solenoids 619 and 629 (controlling ingress of smoke from bowls 314, 324), and open solenoid 609 (controlling ingress of smoke from bowl 304). In step 710, the user 200 is able to inhale through the mouthpiece 150 so as to inhale smoke from bowl 304.
In another embodiment, if the user desires to smoke from bowl 304, then solenoid 609 is activated to be open, while solenoids 619, 629 are activated to be closed. If the user desires to smoke from bowl 314, then solenoid 619 is activated to be open, while solenoids 609, 629 are activated to be closed. If the user desires to smoke from bowl 324, then solenoid 629 is activated to be open, while solenoids 619, 609 are activated to be closed.
With reference to
Computing device 1500 may have additional features or functionality. For example, computing device 1500 may also include additional data storage devices (removable and/or non-removable) such as, for example, magnetic disks, optical disks, or tape. Such additional storage is illustrated in
Computing device 1500 may also contain a network connection device 1515 that may allow device 1500 to communicate with other computing devices 1518, such as over a network in a distributed computing environment, for example, an intranet or the Internet. Device 1515 may be a wired or wireless network interface controller, a network interface card, a network interface device, a network adapter or a LAN adapter. Device 1515 allows for a communication connection 1516 for communicating with other computing devices 1518. Communication connection 1516 is one example of communication media. Communication media may typically be embodied by computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” may describe a signal that has one or more characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media may include wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), infrared, and other wireless media. The term computer readable media as used herein may include both computer storage media and communication media.
As stated above, a number of program modules and data files may be stored in system memory 1504, including operating system 1505. While executing on processing unit 1502, programming modules 1506 (e.g. program module 1507) may perform processes including, for example, one or more of the stages of the process 700 as described above. The aforementioned processes are examples, and processing unit 1502 may perform other processes. Other programming modules that may be used in accordance with embodiments herein may include electronic mail and contacts applications, word processing applications, spreadsheet applications, database applications, slide presentation applications, drawing or computer-aided application programs, etc.
Generally, consistent with embodiments herein, program modules may include routines, programs, components, data structures, and other types of structures that may perform particular tasks or that may implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, embodiments herein may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Embodiments herein may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.
Furthermore, embodiments herein may be practiced in an electrical circuit comprising discrete electronic elements, packaged or integrated electronic chips containing logic gates, a circuit utilizing a microprocessor, or on a single chip (such as a System on Chip) containing electronic elements or microprocessors. Embodiments herein may also be practiced using other technologies capable of performing logical operations such as, for example, AND, OR, and NOT, including but not limited to mechanical, optical, fluidic, and quantum technologies. In addition, embodiments herein may be practiced within a general purpose computer or in any other circuits or systems.
Embodiments herein, for example, are described above with reference to block diagrams and/or operational illustrations of methods, systems, and computer program products according to said embodiments. The functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order as shown in any flowchart. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved.
While certain embodiments have been described, other embodiments may exist. Furthermore, although embodiments herein have been described as being associated with data stored in memory and other storage mediums, data can also be stored on or read from other types of computer-readable media, such as secondary storage devices, like hard disks, floppy disks, or a CD-ROM, or other forms of RAM or ROM. Further, the disclosed methods' stages may be modified in any manner, including by reordering stages and/or inserting or deleting stages, without departing from the claimed subject matter.
Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.
