Patent Application
20170099872
Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to water pipes and more particularly to a water pipe having an elastic body formed of a heat resistant polymer.
Background
Water pipes are well known and have been in use for thousands of years by cultures spanning the globe. Pipes, including water pipes, are well known in the prior art.
According to the prior art, pipes typically include a bowl attached to a stem portion. A bore extends through the stem and connects to the bottom of the bowl. The stem extends from the bowl and a bore extends through the stem. In the case of a water pipe, at some point downstream of combustion, smoke and/or vapor is delivered through an air passage at least a portion of which serves as a reservoir containing a cooling medium typically a liquid such as water. The interior of the bowl forms a combustion chamber into which a combustible or vaporizable material is placed and then heated. Smoke and/or vapor is drawn by the user through the bore, the smoke and/or vapor releasing into the air passage, rising upwardly through the cooling medium and the air passage to be inhaled by the user at a mouthpiece or other accommodation for inhalation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,872,872 to Kahler discloses a water pipe having a first tube configured to retain fluid and a second tube, one end of which is inserted into the first tube and the other end extends outwardly from the first tube and is adapted to receive a reversible smoking bowl. The smoking bowl is connected to the second tube and is adapted to retain smoking tobacco. The reversible bowl is provided with two independent smoking compartments of different sizes, both smoking compartments having the same diameter such that they each fit over the open end of the second elongated tube. An orifice, connecting the first and second smoking compartments, is provided to enable the smoke to pass into the second tube, through the fluid, and out through the first tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,499 to McFadden discloses a water pipe or bong having a water chamber for cleaning the smoke of ash and for cooling the smoke located above an ash and contaminant trap. Smoke tubes from the trap to the water chamber end at different levels in the water. The bowl is heat insulated by refractory material from the rest of the pipe which is made of Plexiglas.
At its website, Gray Labs describes a glass water pipe that includes a diffuser disc that is located within the reservoir portion of the air passage below the water line. The diffuser has a honeycomb configuration that is designed breakup the flow of air containing smoke and/or vapor as it is diffused into the cooling medium producing smaller air bubbles that are thought to cool more rapidly. See http://www.gray.com/product/44mm-grav-labs-flare-base-water-pipe-with-honey-comb-disc/.
Historically pipes have been fashioned of materials that are rigid by nature. The prior art also includes pipes made of glass, various metals, ceramic materials and stone. All of these pipes have a single common feature, their relative frailty. Pipes including water pipes are known to break when subjected to forces that exceed their mechanical strength characteristics.
Advantage may be found in providing a water pipe that includes parts formed of an elastic material that is readily deformable while having the capability of returning substantially to the pipe's original shape and configuration. Therefore an object of the present invention is to provide a water pipe having a pipe body that includes a water pipe body formed of an elastic material so that it may be folded, bent, crushed and generally deformed while retaining the capability of returning to its original shape configuration.
Advantage may also then be found in providing a water pipe that includes a stem that is readily separable from the body section and a bowl that is readily separable from the stem in order to facilitate cleaning of the water pipe. Therefore another object of the present invention is to provide a water pipe that includes a stem that is readily separable from the body section and a bowl that is readily separable from the stem to facilitate cleaning of the water pipe parts. Advantage may also then be found in providing a water pipe including a body section, a stem and a bowl that are each formed of materials that may be cleaned by immersion in a liquid that acts as a mild solvent or cleaning solution that readily removes built up residue from surfaces of the pipe components. A further object of the present invention then is to provide a water pipe wherein the body section, the stem and the bowl are each formed of a material that may be cleaned by immersion in a liquid that acts as a mild solvent or cleaning solution.
Advantage may also then be found in providing a water pipe including a diffuser ring that is may be inserted or removed from the air passage at a selectable depth to serve either to hold one or more ice cubes at a selected depth within the body section to cool smoke and/or vapor as they pass through the tube. Alternately, the diffuser ring may be submerged within the cooling medium held in the reservoir portion of the air passage to function as a diffuser to make air bubbles smaller as they emerge and rise in the tube through the cooling medium to cool smoke and/or vapor as they pass through the tube. Therefore another object of the present invention is to provide a water pipe that includes a diffuser ring that may be inserted or removed from the air passage by the user, the diffuser ring being capable of being set at a depth that is selectable by the user.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a water pipe that includes a body section defining an air passage a lower portion of which is adaptable to serve as a reservoir for holding a cooling liquid, the body section formed of a highly elastic polymer that is heat resistant and which may be subjected to cleaning with boiling water, detergents, isopropyl alcohol and even mild solvents without degradation of the material. Similarly, the present invention is directed to a water pipe that includes a stem formed of a highly elastic polymer that is heat resistant and which may be subjected to cleaning with boiling water, detergents, isopropyl alcohol and even mild solvents without degradation of the material. In the preferred embodiment, the water pipe also includes a bowl that is readily insertable into or separable from the stem, the bowl formed of a material that is heat and flame resistant and which may be subjected to cleaning with boiling water, detergents, isopropyl alcohol and even mild solvents without degradation of the material.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, silicone is employed to fashion the body and the removable stem of the water pipe, as silicone is a material characterized by suitable levels of thermal stability, elasticity and chemical resistance. Also in the preferred embodiment of the invention, a food grade stainless steel is used to form the bowl of the pipe, as food grade stainless steel is characterized by suitable levels of flame and heat resistance and chemical stability.
The elasticity and resilience of silicone employed in the manufacture of the body and stem distinguishes the water pipe of the present invention over historically used and know water pipes. The water pipe of the present invention is foldable, bendable and generally deformable, so that it can be used safely without fear of breakage or injury. Furthermore, the pipe will easily return to its original shape, absent any appreciable wear or fatigue to the material, thereby enabling the water pipe to be stored in a smaller space than required by water pipes formed from rigid materials. An added advantage of the choice of silicone as a forming material permits the mouthpiece of the tubular body to be formed as a “comfort” mouthpiece which is shaped and, due to the pliability of silicone material, conforms to and fits comfortably about a user's mouth when in use.
The bowl may be formed of any refractory material including for example stainless steel, brass, titanium, glass or ceramic and includes a flange around its uppermost edge. The bowl is formed including one or more draft apertures formed in the lower segment of the bowl. The flange of the bowl is configured to fit snugly within a groove formed near the uppermost edge in the stem of the water pipe. An elastic lip is formed just above a groove near the uppermost edge in the bowl receiving portion of the pipe body. To insert the bowl, the uppermost edge of the bowl receiving portion is stretched about the flange of the bowl. The bowl is inserted into the bowl receiving portion of the stem until the flange seats within a groove. The bead closes snugly against the flange of the bowl forming an airtight seal between the pipe body and the bowl.
Inasmuch as the water pipe of the present invention includes a removable bowl and a pipe body each formed of a material that is resistant to boiling water, detergents, isopropyl alcohol and even mild solvents without degradation of the material, the water pipe may be readily cleaned when required.
Stem 25 is shown including trunk portion 26 in fluid communication with and extending from tapered bowl receiving portion 27. A plurality of air vents 28 are formed about the periphery of trunk portion 26. Referring to
In
Alternately stem 25 may be positioned in stem receiving aperture 16 with stem seal band 18 positioned above stem seal detent 34 as shown in
The foregoing description of the illustrated embodiments has been presented for purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form or to exemplary embodiment(s) and implementation(s) disclosed. Modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art. Process steps described might be interchangeable with other steps in order to achieve the same result. At least one preferred embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and a best mode of practical application, thereby to enable others skilled in the art to understand the invention and the various modifications that are suited to the particular use or implementation contemplated. The scope of the invention is defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents. Reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather means “one or more.” No claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. Sec. 112, sixth paragraph unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for . . . ”
This application is a continuation-in-part and claims the priority of an application entitled Smoking Pipe filed Oct. 7, 2015, Ser. No. 14/877,138.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 14877138 | Oct 2015 | US |
| Child | 15257718 | US |
