PORTABLE SMOKING PIPE FOR OUTDOORS TRAVEL

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a smoking pipe. The pipe bowl of the current invention preferably directs heated airflow. Further, the invention is directed to an elongated cap and combustion chamber shape that facilitates manipulation of the combustion chamber contents. Further, the present invention is directed to a cap and pipe body that also provides a means to secure the cap to locations other than the pipe bowl.

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to smoking pipes generally, to include pipes that utilize liquids for the purposes of cooling or flavor. In part, this invention pertains to a portable pipe design that facilitates improved heated air flow for ignition of combustible materials.

The invention also pertains to a cap that mounts to the pipe bowl. Pipe caps are widely described in the prior art. In the present invention the cap is detachable, and is also re-attachable to a location, or locations on the pipe body other than the bowl. The plurality of attachment locations for the cap may be used to provides a means to stabilize the pipe on flat surfaces. Moreover, the re-attachable cap helps prevent losing the cap when access to the combustion chamber is required.

Finally, the cap, and combustion chamber each have an elongated shape, with the cap having a spatula-like edge. This allows the smoker to access the combustion chamber with the cap. In this way the cap also serves as a tool for the purposes of cleaning, tamping, or stirring of combustible material, or deposits from smoking. This feature is applicable for bowls having a deep combustion chamber which tend to impede access to the combustion chamber interior.

BACKGROUND

Pipe caps attach onto the top of a pipe bowl and are used for multiple reasons. In some instances the cap is ornamental, in others the cap prevents smoke from exiting the pipe while combustible material smolders. For the purpose of portability, caps often attach to the bowl to prevent un-smoked combustible materials from spilling from the pipe bowl. Often, the cap require smokers to remove the cap prior to smoking. In other cases that relate to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cap includes one or more vents that are large enough to permit heated air, or flames, to enter the bowl. Yet, the vent is also made small enough to prevent a substantial amount of materials from spilling out of the bowl. Rather than remove the cap at the time that the pipe is smoked, flame is instead drawn through the vented cap, and into the combustion chamber of the bowl. In this way a smoker might remove the pipe from their pocket, light combustibles material while inhaling smoke, and return the pipe to their pocket in an uncoordinated, or hasty fashion during exercise, recreational activities, or while wearing gloves. Smoker may also use the cap as a means of protection from wind, rain, or snow in outdoor settings.

There are several drawback in using a vented cap. First, for caps having only a single vent, flames tends to flow along a single narrow path through the combustible material leaving the neighboring material unburned. An alternative design in the prior art is to use a plurality of apertures, or a perforated vented cap. The chief limitation to perforated cap ventilation is that the air flow divides among the plurality of apertures while the flame is limited to flowing through a minority of apertures, or perhaps only a single aperture. This results in poor ignition of combustible material, and an uncontrolled thinning of the smoke. Perforated caps, having a plurality of small vents, also increase the likelihood of spilling materials from the combustion chamber. Using a non-circular combustion chamber tends to exacerbate these difficulties because a larger proportion of combustible material becomes located at a greater distance from the flame path. Thus, a circular shape is typically employed for the combustion chamber and bowl. While a circular bowl shape is not necessarily a hindrance during smoking, it does make for a wider, bulkier pipe when inserted into a pocket or bag.

An additional difficulty with removable caps is that they are easily lost while the combustion chamber is loaded or serviced. To remedy this, some caps in the prior art stay attached to the pipe. Several attachment methods include jointed caps that swing or slide side open and closed, or caps that attach to the pipe body with a string, chain, or cable. While these means of attachment significantly reduces the possibility of misplacing the cap, the cap remains attached in the vicinity of the pipe bowl, thus hindering proper manipulation of the combustion chamber. Furthermore, smoking pipes often have irregular, or rounded geometry at their base. This geometry may provide a pleasing feel or aesthetic. However, such pipes tend to tip over onto one side or the other when placed onto a flat surface. If a cap is not attached to the bowl of such a pipe to secure its contents, the pipe may fall to its side and spill the contents of the bowl in an unintended way.

A common difficulty associated with pipe smoking, whether done with or without a cap, is that the contents of the combustion chamber must be stirred, tamped, or scraped. If such actions are required in an outdoor or public setting, manipulation of the combustion chamber is often accomplished ad hoc wherein the smoker fashions whatever tool is immediately available, such as a lighter, pen, or stick. The undesirable consequences that result could include soiling the object being used as tool, or having to fashion a tool with questionable sanitation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the present invention the cap and pipe have several improvements. First, the combustion chamber, and arrangement of apertures at the base of the combustion chamber, follow a common elongated geometry that is in line with the airway of the pipe stem. This allows for a narrow frontal profile of the pipe so that it easily fits inside a pocket or bag for portability. Further, this geometry helps facilitate a broader flame front for the purposes of igniting a larger proportion of combustible material within the combustion chamber. In this way heated air flow is improved. When a vented cap is used, the smoking experience is less interrupted with removal and reattachment of the cap for the purposes of stirring or reloading. The smoking experience is also improved without the cap because a greater proportion of material is ignited, resulting in thicker smoke.

A second improvement is that the cap and combustion chamber are elongated with the cap having a spatula-like, elongated edge. This allows the cap to double as a stirring, tamping, or cleaning tool. The elongated bowl allows significant access for the cap to contact the combustible chamber.

A third improvement is that after the cap is removed from the bowl it can re-attach to an alternative location on the pipe body. In the preferred embodiment, the cap attaches to a location that stabilizes the pipe when the pipe and cap are placed on flat surfaces. In this way the pipe is less likely to tip over and spill its contents. The ability to reattach the cap has an added benefit that it helps prevent the smoker from dropping or misplacing the cap when accessing to the bowl.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a representative perspective view of the smoking pipe of the present invention with the cap attached to the bowl.

FIG. 2 is a representative front view of the smoking pipe of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is representative cutaway view of the preferred embodiment with the cap attached and heated air flowing through the pipe body.

FIG. 4 is a representative perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the smoking pipe of the present invention with the cap being removed.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the preferred embodiment of the smoking pipe of the present invention with the cap removed from bowl. Shading is used to indicate the relative proportions of the combustion chamber and cap.

FIG. 6 is a representative perspective view of the smoking pipe of the present invention with the cap being used to stir combustible material.

FIG. 7 is a representative perspective view of the smoking pipe of the present invention with the cap being attached to the bottom of the pipe.

FIG. 8 is a representative perspective view of the smoking pipe of the present invention with the cap stabilizing the pipe body on a flat surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 through 8 depicts the preferred embodiment of smoking pipe 10 of the current invention and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 depicts smoking pipe 10 defined as having an combustion chamber 21, aperture airway 17, and an elongated cap 12, which all extend substantially along the stem 14 airway. In the preferred embodiment demonstrated in FIG. 3, aperture airway 17 is pictured as a plurality of apertures. Alternatively, aperture airway 7 may also comprises a single elongated aperture that extends substantially along the stem 14 airway. The elongated combustion chamber 21 is visible from the top view in FIG. 5. In the preferred embodiment, pipe body 24 includes a metering aperture 16, see FIG. 2. The narrow frontal profile of pipe 10 is accomplished by this arrangement and is apparent in FIG. 2. Much like a flattened drinking flask, this narrow profile lends itself to comfortable carriage when stowed in a clothing pocket or pack. Referring to FIG. 3, when air is pulled through mouthpiece 15, cap vent 13 allows heated air H to flow through combustion chamber 21, thus igniting combustible material 23 to generate smoke. Smoke then flows through aperture airway 17, through the airway defined by stem 14, and ultimately to mouthpiece 15. When metering aperture 16 is fully or partially obstructed, typically by a finger of the smoker, a greater proportion of air flows through combustion chamber 21. However, even when metering aperture 16 is unobstructed, some air continues to flows through combustion chamber 21. This results in a diluted stream of smoke that still reaches mouthpiece 15. Diluted smoke is sometimes desired. When air is pulled through mouthpiece 15 while cap 12 is removed, air flows directly through combustion chamber 21. Thus, use of the cap 12 during smoking is optional. Together, cap 12 and pipe body 24 comprise the preferred embodiment of smoking pipe 10.

If combustible material 23 is inserted into combustion chamber 21 it tends to conform to the shape of combustion chamber 21. Referring to FIG. 3, below the combustible material 23 is aperture airway 17, which substantially position the apertures along the stem 14 airway. The aperture airway 17 directs heated air H through combustion chamber 21 such that a greater proportion of combustible material 23 is exposed to heated air H. Thus, the shaping of combustible material 23, in combination with the shaping of heated airflow entering and exiting combustion chamber 21, will ignite a greater volume of combustible material 23 despite bowl 11 having a narrow, elongated shape. This arrangement allows smokers to obstruct metering aperture 16 to obtain a richer mixture of smoke, if desired. It also allows the smoker to ignite a greater proportion of combustible material without having to stir the combustible material 23 during smoking. Avoiding the need for stirring is especially preferred when smoking is performed in combination with a vented cap.

Referring to the preferred embodiment in FIG. 4, bowl magnets 20 provide a first receiving area that functions as an interface for cap 12 to attach to bowl 11. In the preferred embodiment, when cap 12 is attached to bowl 11 it is held by the attractive force of bowl magnets 20. This assumes that the cap is composed of ferromagnetic material. Equivalently, the cap might include integrated magnets (not pictured) that attract cap 12 to the first receiving area. Though magnetism is used to fixate the cap 12 to bowl 11 in the preferred embodiment, alternative means of attaching the cap may include spring loaded clips, threads, or friction between mating parts. In the preferred embodiment, cap 12 is prevented from translating or rotating relative to bowl 11 with the fixation bosses 19, see FIG. 7. When cap 12 is attached to bowl 11 the fixation bosses contact the walls of combustion chamber 21 thus keeping cap 12 aligned with bowl 11.

FIG. 5 depicts pipe body 24 next to the detached cap 12. The shaded area of pipe body 24 corresponds to the surface of combustion chamber 21. The furthest extents of the of the shaded combustion chamber along the horizontal direction defines the major axes of combustion chamber 21. The extents of the shaded region for cap 12 along the vertical direction defines the minor axes of the cap 12. Because the length of the minor axes of cap 12 is less than the length of the major axes of combustion chamber 21, cap 12 may be inserted significantly into combustion chamber 21. In the preferred embodiment, this allows the edges of cap 12 to contact a significant proportion of the surface of combustion chamber 21, to include its deepest locations in the vicinity of aperture airway 17, see also FIG. 6. This facilitates using cap 12 as a tool to scrap debris from the combustion chamber 21 surface, or to stir and tamp combustible material 23 during smoking. Use of the cap as a cleaning tool is not limited to scraping of combustion chamber 21. Cap 12 may also include a protrusion for the purpose of clearing debris from aperture airway 17. Thus, the shape of cap 12 in combustion with the shape of combustion chamber 21 allows the smoker to access combustion chamber 21, and aperture airway 17, with an appropriately designed tool that doubles as a cap.

FIG. 7 depicts the preferred embodiment of stem pocket 18 being used as second receiving area. In the preferred embodiment, stem pocket 18 functions as an interface for attaching cap 12 to pipe body 24. In the preferred embodiment, the second receiving area is located beneath stem 14. Stem magnets 22 attract cap 12 to the second receiving area. However, alternative means of attaching cap 12 may include spring loaded clips, screws, or friction between mating parts. In the preferred embodiment, when cap 12 is attached to pipe body 24, fixation bosses 19 contact the walls of stem pocket 18 to prevent translation or rotation of cap 12 relative to pipe body 24. FIG. 8 shows the preferred embodiment wherein the cap is interposed between pipe body 24 and surface S such that smoking pipe 10 is stabilized by cap 12. In the preferred embodiment, the second receiving area positions cap 12 so that the center of mass C of pipe body 24 is not substantially above cap 12. Instead, center of mass C of smoking pipe 10 is located between cap 12 and mouthpiece 15. Thus, the contact between mouthpiece 15 and surface S, in combination with the contact between cap 12 and surface S, helps stabilizes smoking pipe 10 from tipping over. One of many alterative means to stabilize pipe 10 might involve positioning cap 12 underneath center of mass C so that cap 12 supports the entire weight of pipe body 24. Further alternatives might involve attaching cap 12 to pipe body 24 at locations that do not necessarily stabilize the pipe on surface S. In those cases, the second receiving area is used primarily to prevent accidental misplacement of cap 12 when access to combustion chamber 21 is required.

Claims

1. A smoking pipe comprising: a bowl integrally formed in the first end of the pipe,a combustion chamber defining an air passage into the bowl,a mouthpiece integrally formed into the second end of the pipe,a stem extending from the bowl to the second end of the pipe, defining an air passage there between,and an aperture airway from the combustion chamber to the stem air passage, and defining an air passages there between.

2. The combustion chamber of claim 1 is further defined as having a non-circular shape that extends substantially in the direction of said stem air passage in claim 1.

3. The aperture airway of claim 1 is further defined as having a plurality of apertures, or a single elongated aperture, that substantially extends along said stem air passage in claim 1.

4. A smoking pipe comprising: a bowl integrally formed in the first end of the pipe,an elongated combustion chamber defining an air passage into the bowl,a mouthpiece integrally formed into the second end of the pipe,a stem extending from the combustion chamber to the second end of the pipe defining an air passage there between,and a detachable, elongated cap, of negligible thickness, that attaches to the first end of the pipe.

5. Said elongated combustion chamber in claim 4 is further defined as having a major axes and a minor axes such that the length of the major axes is longer than the minor axes.

6. Said cap in claim 4 is further defined as having an elongated shape, with a major axes and a minor axes, such that the length of the major axes is longer than the minor axes.

7. Said length of the cap along its minor axes in claim 6 is defined as having a smaller length than said major axes of the combustion chamber in claim 5 such that the cap, when detached from said bowl in claim 4, can be substantially inserted into the said elongated combustion chamber in claim 5 for the purpose of manipulating its contents, and said stem airway in claim 4.

8. A smoking pipe comprising: a bowl integrally formed in the first end of the pipe,a mouthpiece integrally formed into the second end of the pipe body,a stem extending from the first end of the pipe to the second end of the pipe defining an air passage there between,a first receiving area located on the first end of the pipe,a second receiving area location on the pipe,and a cap that attaches to either the first or second receiving area by means of magnetism, threads, friction, or springs.