Patent Application
20120174933
The present invention relates generally to smoking devices and vaporization devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to a vaporizing pipe made from inexpensive and durable wire coils.
Tobacco and other herbs are typically smoked by burning and inhaling the combustion fumes and smoke. In recent years, interest has grown in the technique of vaporization in which the smoking material is carefully heated so that the desired flavor and psychoactive components are liberated, and combustion is minimized.
Vaporization provides many benefits over smoking. Vaporization produces much less toxic and carcinogenic pyrolytic products compared to smoking. Also, vaporization is smoother and more flavorful, and lacks the disagreeable burned taste produced by conventional smoking. Further, vaporization allows more efficient use of smoking materials, since desired flavor and psychoactive compounds are not destroyed by combustion.
However, vaporization is difficult to perform, since vaporization only occurs in a relatively narrow temperature range. If the temperature is too low, desired compounds are not vaporized and nothing is inhaled; if the temperature is too high, combustion will occur. For most smoking materials, vaporization is optimal in a temperature range of about 250-400 degrees Fahrenheit. The optimal temperature depends upon the compounds being vaporized.
A difficulty with vaporizing pipes is that, surprisingly, more heat can be required for vaporization compared to smoking This is because all the air drawn through a vaporizing pipe must be heated to vaporization temperature. Consequently, a vaporizing pipe may become even hotter than a conventional smoking pipe. The pipe can become too hot to hold, and can become so hot that it burns the user. For this reason it is critical for a vaporizing pipe to have effective thermal insulation.
vaporizing pipes are typically made with a wooden pipe body and wooden filter unit. The wood material provides good thermal insulating properties. However, a disadvantage of wood is that it is difficult to clean. Liquid cleaners (e.g. solvents, soap, alcohol) cannot be used. Consequently, a wooden pipe will never be completely clean after it has been used once. Also, wood can chip and crack; it is less durable than metal.
Metal vaporizing pipes can be effectively cleaned with liquid cleaners, but have high thermal conductivity. Consequently, metal pipes become excessively hot. This is particularly a problem with aluminum vaporizing pipes. Also, metal pipes machined from the highest quality materials (e.g. stainless steel, titanium) are very expensive to manufacture.
Consequently, there is a need for a novel vaporizing pipe that can be cleaned with liquid solvents, that is inexpensive and that provides good thermal insulation. It would be particularly desirable to make a vaporizing pipe with these properties out of stainless steel.
The present invention provides a vaporizing pipe comprising a pipe unit and a filter unit. The pipe unit comprises one or more wire coils, and the filter unit comprises one or more wire coils. The pipe unit has a bowl for received tobacco or smoking materials. The filter unit has a tubular shape (with input and output), and a flame filter disposed inside. The pipe unit and filter unit are attachable by nested coils, as explained below.
The flame filter can comprise any of the flame filter materials described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,434,584, which is incorporated by reference. For example, the flame filter can be made of open cell ceramic foam, such as open cell silicon carbide foam.
The vaporizing pipe can further comprise an outer pipe coil disposed around the pipe coil. The pipe coil and outer pipe coil can be attachable by nested coils. An air gap can be provided between the pipe coil and the outer pipe coil. Such an air gap provides excellent thermal insulation.
The vaporizing pipe can further include an outer filter coil disposed around the filter coil. An air gap can be provided between the filter coils, for thermal insulation.
Preferably, the coils are all approximately airtight, meaning that adjacent coil windings are in contact, or nearly in contact. Approximately airtight coils permit only insignificant air leakage.
The coils preferably are attachable by nested coils. If the coils are made with the same diameter wire, they will have the same “thread pitch” (i.e. windings per inch).
Preferably, the coils are made of stainless steel wire. The wire can have a diameter of about 0.040-0.125″ or 0.050-0.080″ for example.
a-2e show each of the 5 coils present in the embodiment of
a-8c show a simple embodiment comprising only two coils. The pipe unit and the filter unit each comprise a single wire coil.
The present invention provides a vaporizing pipe with improved manufacturability and performance and lower cost.
The present vaporizing pipe comprises a pipe unit and a filter unit. The pipe unit and filter unit each comprise at least one wound wire coil. The wire coils are wound so that they are approximately airtight (i.e. there is at most a small gap between some adjacent coils). Consequently, the wire coils are functionally equivalent to solid-walled tubes. The wire coils are attachable by nested coils. Attachment by nested coils is a natural consequence of making the coils with the same diameter wire because coils made with identical wire have the same “thread pitch”. Also, additional outer wire coils can be provided on both the pipe unit and filter unit. The inner and outer coils can be designed to create air gaps, thereby providing excellent thermal insulation. The present vaporizing pipe can be made of stainless steel at low cost and can be cleaned with liquid cleaners.
Approximately air tight: Allowing a practically insignificant amount of air leakage between coil windings. For example, a gap between windings will be approximately air tight if a gap between most windings is less than about 0.005″, or more preferably less than 0.002″ or 0.001″.
Metal wire: An elongated material with consistent cross sectional shape. Cross sectional wire shape will typically be round, but can also be square, rectangular, elliptical, triangular, hexagonal or any other shape. All drawings show embodiments with round wire, but the present claims are not so limited.
The filter unit 22 has an input 34 and an output 36. The input and output are in fluid communication. The filter unit 22 has a tubular shape.
A flame filter 38 (e.g. comprising ceramic foam, FeCrAl alloy foam or open cell silicon carbide foam) is disposed inside the filter unit 22, between the input 34 and output 36. Other suitable materials for use as the flame filter 38 are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,434,584, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The pipe unit 20 comprises a bowl 40 where tobacco or other smoking material (not shown) is disposed. The pipe unit 20 has an inhalation end 42, from which a user inhales vapor. A screen (not shown) made of wire cloth may be disposed in the bowl 40, as known in the art.
The pipe unit 20 comprises an air gap 25 between the inner pipe coil 24 and outer pipe coil 26. The air gap provides thermal insulation, which prevents the exterior surface of the pipe unit 20 from becoming hot during use.
Also, the filter unit 22 has air gaps 27a 27b between the inner and outer filter coils 2830, and the filter retaining coil 32. These air gaps 27a 27b also provide thermal insulation, which prevents the exterior surface of the filter unit from becoming hot during use.
It is noted that the air gaps 2527a 27b are optional in the invention. Substantial thermal insulation is provided even if attached coils have no air gap between them.
An outer diameter OD of the vaporizing pipe can be about 0.25-1.5 inches for example.
a-2e show in cross section the coils in the embodiment of
The inner filter coil 28 has an optional constriction 31 on one end for retaining the flame filter 38. Optionally, the constriction 31 can be replaced with a retaining ring (not shown).
In the embodiment of
Also shown in
Inner and outer pipe coils 2426 are attached by nested coils.
Inner and outer filter unit coils 2830 and flame filter retaining coil 32 are all attached by nested coils.
In
Also, it is noted that wire comprising attached coils can have dissimilar shapes. For example, a wire coil made of round wire can be attached by nested coils to a wire coil made of square wire. In this case, the attached should have the same thread pitch (turns per linear inch).
The wire coils are preferably all made of the same diameter wire. This assures that the “thread pitch” of the coils is identical. Attachment by nested coils requires that the turns per linear inch should be the same or similar for attached coils.
The wire diameter can be in the range of about 0.035-0.125 inches. Coils made from wire smaller than about 0.035″ tend to be too soft and flimsy; coils made from wire larger than 0.125″ tend to be too heavy, expensive and large. The optimal wire diameter when stainless steel is used will typically be in the range of about 0.055-0.080″. However the appended claims are not limited to these wire diameter ranges. The optimal wire diameter will depend on many factors, such as the length and diameter of the vaporizing pipe, the wire material, and the wire temper. Suitable materials for the wire coils include stainless steels, steel, titanium, FeCrAl alloys, nickel superalloys, Nickel-titanium alloys, nickel-chromium alloys and the like.
It is noted that the outer filter coil 30 can also have a variable diameter with spaces (not shown).
a-8c show two views (separated and attached) of a simple embodiment of the present invention comprising only two coils. The pipe unit 20 comprises only the pipe coil 24; the filter unit 22 comprises only the filter coil 28. The pipe unit 20 and filter unit 22 attach by nested coils. The pipe unit 20 is the female, and the filter unit 22 is the male (this can be reversed).
The above embodiments may be altered in many ways without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined by the following claims and their legal equivalents.
The present application claims the benefit of priority from provisional patent application 61/461,052 filed on Jan. 12, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61461052 | Jan 2011 | US |
