Patent Grant
12022889
The present invention relates to smokable rods and cones, including smokable rods and cones with rigid mouthpieces and embedded flavor releasing mechanisms.
A new phenomenon is happening within the smokables industry involving the inclusion of flavor releasing mechanisms within the mouthpiece of a smokable rod or cone. In many cases, the flavor releasing mechanisms include small spheres filled with a flavoring substance (also known as “click balls” or flavor balls) that are designed to be squeezed by the user to effectively explode and release the flavoring into the smoke.
However, many users prefer rigid mouthpieces, e.g., glass or ceramic, compared to the softer paper mouthpieces required to enable the squeezing and bursting of the flavor balls inside. However, because the rigid mouthpieces cannot be squeezed, these mouthpieces cannot be used with the flavor balls in the same manner as the paper mouthpieces.
Accordingly, there is a need for a smoking system including a rigid mouthpiece assembly able to activate one or more flavor releasing mechanisms to maximize the smoking experience.
Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:
For the purposes of this specification, the terms below will mean the following.
Cigarette generally refers to a smokable comprising a thin cylinder of finely cut tobacco, cannabis, other types of leaves, flowers, herbs, and/or other smokable materials, rolled in a suitable paper or leaf for smoking. A cigarette may or may not include a mouthpiece (e.g., an insert, a filter, etc.).
Cigar generally refers to a cylinder of tobacco rolled in tobacco leaves for smoking. A cigar may or may not include a mouthpiece (e.g., an insert).
Blunt generally refers to a cigar that has been hollowed out and filled with other types of smokable materials (e.g., cannabis). A blunt may typically include a mouthpiece, such as the insert system described herein, however, this may not be necessary.
Cone generally refers to a conical- or frustum-shaped cigarette (or “joint”) wherein the shape flares from a smaller diameter proximal base to a larger diameter distal tip. Cones may typically comprise paper, hemp, palm leaves, tobacco leaves, rice, cotton, cellulose, glycerin, and/or other suitable materials.
Pre-roll generally refers to a cigarette or cone that has been formed prior to its sale and is therefore consumer-ready (i.e., a consumer is not required to fill or otherwise form the smokable).
Empty cone refers to an empty cone into which a consumer may place smokable materials (e.g., tobacco, cannabis, etc.) to form a smokable cone.
Insert generally refers to a mouthpiece or tip coupled with a cone, blunt or cigarette that acts to support the proximal end of the smokable (e.g., the end that is pressed against one's lips for smoking). An insert may include a “crutch” formed of thick paper, glass or other materials, a filter (e.g., a cotton filter), other types of inserts, and any combinations thereof. Inserts may be used with cigarettes, blunts, cones (pre-rolled, empty, etc.), rolling papers, and other types of smokable items.
In general, and according to exemplary embodiments hereof, a smoking system including a mouthpiece assembly with a flavor releasing mechanism (e.g., a flavor ball) is provided. The mouthpiece assembly comprises a rigid material (e.g., glass or ceramic) including a flavor ball within its inner volume. A force-applying member is located within the inner volume adjacent the flavor ball and is coupled to an elongate movable member extending out the end of the mouthpiece. Movement of the elongate movable member causes the force-applying member to apply a force to the flavor ball causing the ball to burst. Once the flavor ball bursts, the ball releases its flavoring substance into the smoke passing through the mouthpiece to enhance the smoking experience.
In one exemplary embodiment hereof as shown in
Mouthpiece Assembly 100
In some embodiments, as shown in
The mouthpiece body member 102 includes an open first end 114, an open second end 116, and sidewalls 118 extending between the first and second ends 114, 116 defining an inner volume 120. The first and second ends 114, 116 are in fluid communication with one another through the inner volume 120. In some embodiments, the mouthpiece body member 102 comprises glass, ceramic, plastic, and/or other suitable rigid materials. In this way, the body member 102 is generally rigid. However, in other embodiments, the mouthpiece body 102 comprises less-rigid materials such as cardboard, paper, hemp, leaves, a polymer (e.g., silicone), other suitable materials, and any combinations thereof.
In some embodiments, the body member 102 is formed as a conical frustum with a generally circular cross section of increasing diameter from its first end 114 to its second end 116. Being a conical frustum, the diameter of the first end 114 is preferably smaller than the diameter of the second end 116.
In other embodiments, the body member 102 is formed as a cylinder with a generally circular cross section with a generally constant diameter from its first end 114 to its second end 116. It also is understood that the body member 102 may be formed as any combination of frustum shaped and cylindrical shaped, and/or any other shapes.
In some embodiments, the first spacer 110 is located within the inner volume 120 at the first end 114. The first spacer 110 may be formed as a conical frustum that generally corresponds to the form of the inner volume 120 in which it resides, while in other embodiments, the first spacer 110 may be cylindrical, tubular, a rectangular prism, a cuboid, other shapes that generally fill the area of the inner volume 120 in which the spacer 110 resides, and any combinations thereof. It may be preferable that the first spacer 110 is formed of a compressible material such as cotton, foam, silicone, or other suitable materials so that the spacer 110 may generally fit snugly within the inner volume 120.
In some embodiments, the first spacer 110 preferably includes a through-hole 122 passing longitudinally through the spacer 110 from its top end to its bottom end. In this way, the first spacer 110 may be generally tubular. However, this may not be required.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
It also is understood that any other type(s) and/or shapes of flavor releasing mechanisms 104 may be used with the insert 10, and that the scope of the insert 10 is not limited in any way by the type of flavor releasing mechanism(s) used. It also is understood that any number of flavor releasing mechanisms 104 may be used, and when multiple flavor releasing mechanisms 104 are included, the other elements of the mouthpiece assembly 100 may be duplicated and/or rearranged as necessary in order to activate the multiple flavor releasing mechanisms 104 as described herein. For example, additional force-applying members 106 may be configured with the elongate movable member 107 (e.g., one force-applying member 106 for each flavor releasing mechanism 104) in order to cause the additional flavor releasing mechanisms 104 to burst when desired.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the second spacer 112 is located within the body member's inner volume 120 towards the second end 116 (the top end as shown in
As mentioned above, the purpose of the force-applying member 106 and the pull member 108 is to cause the flavor releasing mechanism 104 to burst when desired. To facilitate this, in some embodiments, a user may grasp a portion of the pull member 108 extending out the open first end 114 of the mouthpiece body member 102 (see
As the pull member 108 moves downward, the force-applying member 106 is forced downward against the flavor releasing mechanism 104. Because the flavor releasing mechanism 104 is secured between the force-applying member 106 and the upper end of the first spacer 110, and because the first spacer 110 is held in place by the mouthpiece body's lower circumferential rim 124, the flavor releasing mechanism 104 is squeezed between the force-applying member 106 and the first spacer 110. When adequate pressure is applied to the flavor releasing mechanism 104 by the pulling of the pull member 108, the flavor releasing mechanism 104 will burst and release its flavor substance.
In some embodiments, the released flavor substance generally remains within the mouthpiece's inner volume 120 between the first spacer 110 and the second spacer 112. In some embodiments, the first and/or second spacers 110, 112 include absorbent materials that may absorb and/or generally hold the released flavor substance within the inner volume during the smoking experience. In other embodiments, the first and/or second spacers 110, 112 include non-absorbent materials that may not absorb the released flavor substance so that the released flavor substance may simply remain within the inner volume 120 separately. In other embodiments, the first and/or second spacers 110, 112 include filter materials to filter the smoke passing through the spacers 110, 112. It is understood that the first and second spacers 110, 112 may include any type(s) of suitable materials as desired. In other embodiments, the flavor releasing mechanism 104 is held within a small tubular (or other shaped) absorption member that may absorb at least some of the released flavor substance. In some embodiments, the absorption member may comprise cotton or other suitable materials.
In some embodiments, the tab 126 is designed to break from the end of the pull member 108 when adequate downward force is applied to the pull member 108. If the pull member 108 is connected directly to the force-applying member 106, the junction between the end of the pull member 108 and the force-applying member 106 is designed to break when adequate force is applied. However, it is preferred that the minimum force required to break the tab 126 from the end of the pull member 108 (or to break the junction between the force-applying member 106 and the end of the pull member 108) is greater than the minimum force required to burst the flavor releasing mechanism 104. In this way, as downward force is applied to the pull member 108, the flavor releasing mechanism 104 will burst first, and as a further amount of force is applied to the pull member 108 after the bursting of the flavor releasing mechanism 104, the tab 126 may break from the end of the pull member 108 (or the pull member 108 will break from the force-applying member 106) allowing the pull member 108 to be pulled out and generally removed from the mouthpiece assembly 100.
Given the above, it is understood that the force-applying member 106 may include any shape and/or form that when pulled downward causes the flavor releasing mechanism 104 to burst. For example, the force-applying member 106 may include a spherical bead, a cuboid, a plate, a wedge, a pyramid, any other type of polygon, any other suitable shape or form, and any combinations thereof.
As shown in
In other embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the first and/or second spacers 110, 112, include smoke filtering materials, such as, without limitation, cotton, cellulose acetate, other types of filter materials or tow materials, and any combinations thereof. The first and/or second spacers 110, 112 also may include one or more plant materials, such as, but not limited to, husk material, leaf material, stalk material, stem material, seed material, vegetable material, fruit material, other types of plant material(s), and any combinations thereof. In other embodiments, the spacers 110, 112 comprise plastic, ceramic, and/or other more rigid materials with through-holes passing through the spacers 110, 112 to allow the smoke to pass therethrough. In any event, it is understood that the first and second spacers 110, 112 are generally porous (or include through-holes if the spacers 110, 112 comprise plastic or other solid materials) to allow smoke to pass through the body member's inner volume 120 from the second end 116 to the first end 114 while preferably filtering the smoke. It is understood that filtering of the smoke also may include blocking particles of the smokable material that may not be fully combusted (e.g., parts of the smokable plant material).
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the inner end of the pull member 108 is attached directly to the flavor releasing mechanism 104, e.g., to the lower end of the mechanism 108. Accordingly, when the pull member 108 is pulled downward in the direction of the arrow B, the pull member 108 effectively causes the flavor releasing mechanism 104 to stretch and break, thereby releasing the flavoring substance.
In some embodiments, the flavor releasing mechanism 104 includes a weakened area 142, e.g., a horizontal circumferential perforation, that is designed to break upon a predetermined amount of force being applied to the mechanism 104 by the pull member 108. In this way, as the pull member 108 is pulled downward, the flavor releasing mechanism 104 is caused to break open and release the flavoring substance.
In some embodiments, when the flavor releasing mechanism 104 is caused to open, the pull member 108 preferably detaches from the flavor releasing mechanism 104 so that the member 108 may be removed from the mouthpiece body 102.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the push member 132 includes a rod or other type of elongate structure including a force-applying member 106 coupled to its first end located within the mouthpiece's inner volume 120 adjacent and below the flavor releasing mechanism 104. In this scenario, the force-applying member 106 may be referred to as a head 134. In some embodiments, the force-applying member 106 (e.g., the head 134) may simply include the inner end of the push member 132. The push member 132 extends from its head 134 through the first spacer's through-hole 122, and out the body member's first open end 114. The push member 132 may comprise plastic, rubber, wood, paper, or other suitable materials. In embodiments in which the first spacer 110 does not necessarily include a through-hole 114, the push member 132 may simply pass to the side of the first spacer 110 between the first spacer 110 and the inner surface of the body member's sidewall 118.
In some embodiments, the push member 132 includes a handle 140 coupled to its second end providing an area for the user to grip.
In some embodiments, as the push member 132 is pushed upward in the direction of the arrow C and further into the mouthpiece's inner volume 120, the member's head 134 applies a force to the bottom of the flavor releasing mechanism 104 to burst the mechanism 104 thereby releasing its flavoring substance. In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, after the flavor releasing mechanism 104 has been burst, the user may pull the push member 132 downward and out of the mouthpiece body 102. In this case, it may be preferable that the head 134 of the push member 132 collapse and/or break off so that the push member 132 may pass through the first spacer 110 and out the mouthpiece body 102.
In some embodiments, the elongate movable member 107 (e.g., either the pull member 108 and/or the push member 132) may pass from within the body member's inner volume 120 to outside the body member 102 through the open second end 116 instead of, or in addition to, the open first end 114. It is understood that the elements within the mouthpiece body member 102 may be rearranged so that the functionalities described herein may be realized as the elongate movable member 107 is pulled and/or pushed through the open second end 116 to activate the flavor releasing mechanism 104.
In some embodiments, as shown in
For example, in some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
It also is contemplated that the elongate movable member 107 of
It is understood that the mouthpiece body member 102 may include any hole(s) and/or opening(s) in any location(s) that the elongate movable member 107 may pass though, be pulled through, and/or be pushed into to activate the flavor releasing mechanism 104.
Cone 200
In some embodiments, once the mouthpiece assembly 100 has been formed as described above or otherwise, it may be used as a tip, a mouthpiece, a crutch, a filter, as any type of base for a blunt, cigar, pre-roll, cone, empty cone, cigarette, other type of smokable rod or cone 200, and for any combinations thereof as known in the art or otherwise. An example of this is shown in
It is understood that any details and/or aspects of any embodiments of the assembly 100 and/or of the system 10 described herein may be combined with any other details and/or aspects of any other embodiments of the assembly 100 and/or of the system 10 in any way to form additional embodiment(s) of the assembly 100 and/or of the system 10 all of which are within the scope of the assembly 100 and/or of the system 10.
Where a process is described herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the process may operate without any user intervention. In another embodiment, the process includes some human intervention (e.g., a step is performed by or with the assistance of a human).
As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “at least some” means “one or more,” and includes the case of only one. Thus, e.g., the phrase “at least some ABCs” means “one or more ABCs”, and includes the case of only one ABC.
As used herein, including in the claims, term “at least one” should be understood as meaning “one or more”, and therefore includes both embodiments that include one or multiple components. Furthermore, dependent claims that refer to independent claims that describe features with “at least one” have the same meaning, both when the feature is referred to as “the” and “the at least one”. As used in this description, the term “portion” means some or all. So, for example, “A portion of X” may include some of “X” or all of “X”. In the context of a conversation, the term “portion” means some or all of the conversation.
As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “using” means “using at least,” and is not exclusive. Thus, e.g., the phrase “using X” means “using at least X.” Unless specifically stated by use of the word “only”, the phrase “using X” does not mean “using only X.”
As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “based on” means “based in part on” or “based, at least in part, on,” and is not exclusive. Thus, e.g., the phrase “based on factor X” means “based in part on factor X” or “based, at least in part, on factor X.” Unless specifically stated by use of the word “only”, the phrase “based on X” does not mean “based only on X.”
In general, as used herein, including in the claims, unless the word “only” is specifically used in a phrase, it should not be read into that phrase.
As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “distinct” means “at least partially distinct.” Unless specifically stated, distinct does not mean fully distinct. Thus, e.g., the phrase, “X is distinct from Y” means that “X is at least partially distinct from Y,” and does not mean that “X is fully distinct from Y.” Thus, as used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “X is distinct from Y” means that X differs from Y in at least some way.
It should be appreciated that the words “first,” “second,” and so on, in the description and claims, are used to distinguish or identify, and not to show a serial or numerical limitation. Similarly, letter labels (e.g., “(A)”, “(B)”, “(C)”, and so on, or “(a)”, “(b)”, and so on) and/or numbers (e.g., “(i)”, “(ii)”, and so on) are used to assist in readability and to help distinguish and/or identify, and are not intended to be otherwise limiting or to impose or imply any serial or numerical limitations or orderings. Similarly, words such as “particular,” “specific,” “certain,” and “given,” in the description and claims, if used, are to distinguish or identify, and are not intended to be otherwise limiting.
As used herein, including in the claims, the terms “multiple” and “plurality” mean “two or more,” and include the case of “two.” Thus, e.g., the phrase “multiple ABCs,” means “two or more ABCs,” and includes “two ABCs.” Similarly, e.g., the phrase “multiple PQRs,” means “two or more PQRs,” and includes “two PQRs.”
The present invention also covers the exact terms, features, values and ranges, etc. in case these terms, features, values and ranges etc. are used in conjunction with terms such as about, around, generally, substantially, essentially, at least etc. (i.e., “about 3” or “approximately 3” shall also cover exactly 3 or “substantially constant” shall also cover exactly constant).
As used herein, including in the claims, singular forms of terms are to be construed as also including the plural form and vice versa, unless the context indicates otherwise. Thus, it should be noted that as used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
Throughout the description and claims, the terms “comprise”, “including”, “having”, and “contain” and their variations should be understood as meaning “including but not limited to”, and are not intended to exclude other components unless specifically so stated.
It will be appreciated that variations to the embodiments of the invention can be made while still falling within the scope of the invention. Alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose can replace features disclosed in the specification, unless stated otherwise. Thus, unless stated otherwise, each feature disclosed represents one example of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
The present invention also covers the exact terms, features, values and ranges, etc. in case these terms, features, values and ranges etc. are used in conjunction with terms such as about, around, generally, substantially, essentially, at least etc. (i.e., “about 3” shall also cover exactly 3 or “substantially constant” shall also cover exactly constant).
Use of exemplary language, such as “for instance”, “such as”, “for example” (“e.g.,”) and the like, is merely intended to better illustrate the invention and does not indicate a limitation on the scope of the invention unless specifically so claimed.
While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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| 3122145 | St Louis | Feb 1964 | A |
| 3339557 | Karalus | Sep 1967 | A |
| 4319590 | Patarra | Mar 1982 | A |
| 20110120483 | Blick et al. | May 2011 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 102066433 | Feb 2020 | KR |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20240074492 A1 | Mar 2024 | US |
