US3463166A - Smokers' smoke treatment attachment - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 26, 1969 BENNETT ET AL 3,463,166

SMOKERS SMOKE TREATMENT ATTACHMENT Filed Aug. 31. 1967 FIG. 2

INVENTORS AAEEL AA/azA/r B JON/V M BENNETT United States Patent US. Cl. 131178 Hnt. Cl. A24f 3/02 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for selectively filtering and treating smoke for use with a smoking device such as a cigarette holder or a pipe includes a tubular member having one end adapted to be connected to a mouthpiece and an opposite end adapted to be connected to either a cigarette or a pipe. The tubular device includes a fixed barrel portion having a plurality of cavities which may be filled with various smoke treatment devices such as filters, menthol additives, medicinal elements and the like and an opposite rotatable end with a bore which may be selectively aligned with at least one and in some instances two of the individual cavities in order to provide a variation of smoke treatment. In the preferred arrangement the rotatable part is journaled for rotation about a central axis on the fixed part and it carries an eccentric bore or selection passage which is shifted between alignment with bores leading to one or more of the treatment chambers so that the smoke may be selectively passed through one or more of such chambers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 450,938, filed Apr. 26, 1965, for Cigarette Holders by the present inventors and now abandoned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates in general to smoking devices and in particular to a new and useful independent attachment for use either with a pipe or a cigarette and having means for selectively varying the path of smoke travel from the source to the mouth through a selected one of a plurality of treatment chambers or through two of such chambers simultaneously.

At the present time devices are known for holding cigarettes which permit connection between the mouth of the user and the cigarette for the direct passage of smoke to ones mouth or the passage of some air along with the smoke. Still other devices provide for the passage of the smoke solely through a single filtering device or alterna tively for admixing mentholated air to smoke as it travels from the cigarette to the persons mouth. Still other devices are known which are incorporated in the barrel of a pipe and which require mounting directly on the member containing the bowl of the pipe and which permit a selective alignment of only a single treatment chamber with the smoke fiow passage. A disadvantage of both the cigarette devices and the pipe devices is that they can be used only with cigarettes or with pipes and are not constructed so that they may be used with either one, and a further disadvantage is that they do not permit a selection of more than a single treatment chamber for the use of two chambers at the same time in order to provide for a variation of treatment of the smoke for the user in accordance with his particular taste and requirements.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a device which includes a tubular member having a fixed end with an extension which may be easily fitted into the mouth pieces of standard manufacture. This fixed end includes a plurality of treatment chambers which may be selectively filled with a desired treatment substance, for example menthol, charcoal filter, medicine, etc. The opposite end contains a rotatable barrel member which is journaled on the fixed end and which may be rotated in order to selectively align an eccentric bore or selection passage therethrough with one or more of the treatment chambers in the fixed end. The arrangement is such that one or even two treatment chambers may be aligned at one time with the eccentric bore. The opposite end of the eccentric bore is connected to a centrally located bore which is adapted to be fitted either directly to a bowl section of a pipe or to receive a cigarette. This rotatable end advantageously is made so that it may be used either with a pipe or with a cigarette, and for this purpose in some instances an adapter member to change the interior end diameter is provided.

The inventive device makes it possible to use a tobacco smoke treatment member with either a pipe or a cigarette and permits the selective alignment of the various treatment chambers with the smoke passages in accordance with the desires of the smoker. The treatment chambers may be filled with any desired substance and are fashioned so that they will receive substantially cylindrical capsules which may comprise filters, menthol, or other treatment members or even may be left open so that air may pass therethrough from the exterior of the device or the smoke may pass without any treatment.

Accordingly it is an object of the invention to provide a smoking device which may be used with either a cigarette or a pipe and which permits selective connection between these smoke producing means and the mouth of the user to one or more treatment chambers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a smoking device which may be manufactured independently of the cigarette holder or a pipe and which includes readily accessible chambers which may be selectively filled with one or more treatment substances and with means for indicating which of the chambers is aligned with the smoking passages so that variations of smoke treatment may be easily obtained by the smoker.

For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its use, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a smoking device constructed in accordance with the invention used in association with a cigarette;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the device incorporated with a pipe;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged axial sectional view of the device indicated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a section taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a section taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 4 of another embodiment of the invention with the selection passage oriented to communicate with two treatment chambers at one time.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawings in particular, the invention embodied therein as indicated in FIG. 1 comprises a smoking device generally designated 10 'having a first tubular end or body portion 12 which is connected to a mouthpiece 14 and a second tubular end or holder 16 rotatable relative to the body portion 12 and which is connected to a cigarette 18, said body portion 12 being hereinafter referred to as the fixed tubular end 12. The rotatable tubular end 16 includes an index 20 which may be aligned with a selected indication 22 on the fixed end for connecting the mouthpiece to the cigarette 18 through a selected one of a plurality of treatment chambers or even two of such chambers at the same time.

The device 10 is indicated in FIG. 2 as being oriented with the same type of mouthpiece 14 at its fixed end 12 and is connected at its rotatable end 16 to a pipe 24. The rotatable end is adjusted to the desired smoke treatment indication before connection to the pipe. However, in some instances an additional coupling member may be interposed between the pipe 24 and the device 10 to permit relative rotation therebetween after the pipe is connected. The pipe 24 includes a cylindrical extension 24a at the end of its stem which is of a size comparable to the diameter of cigarette 18 and fits tightly within the bore of the rotatable tubular part 16. In those instances where the end of the pipe stem 24a is of a different size than a cigarette, an adapter (not shown) may be provided to permit tight connection of the stem end 2 to the rotatable end 16 of the smoking device 10.

The device 10 is indicated in detail in FIGS. 3 to 6'. As shown, fixed end 12 is connected to the mouthpiece 14 via a tubular extension 28 which is of a size to be press-fitted within a tubular recess 30 of the mouthpiece 14. In this embodiment the tubular rotatable part 12 is comprised of a cap part 12a screw threaded onto a body part 12b and includes two large-sized cavities or axially elongated cylindrical chambers 36 and 38 which may be exposed at their inner ends by removing the screw cap part 12a from the body part 12b of the fixed end. When the screw part 12a is removed, various treatment substances such as filter elements or charcoal or menthol, for example, may be inserted into the treatment chambers 36 and 38. Each of these treatment chambers communicates through two separate smaller diameter passages 40 and 40a, 42 and 42a, respectively, to an eccentric bore or selection passage 44 in accordance with the orientation of the rotatable part 16. In addition to the two large-sized treatment passages 36 and 38, the fixed part 12 also includes smaller sized passages 46 and 48 which are continued through the whole length of the fixed part 12 and terminate adjacent the rotatable part 16 in the same manner as the passages 40 and 42. One of the passages 48 is connected through a small connecting duct 50 (FIG. 4) to the exterior of the device so that air may be brought in through this passage when desired. When this is to be done, the index is aligned with a certain numerical indication 22 which will also cause communicating alignment of an opening 52 in the exterior surface of the tubular end 16 with the duct 50 when air is to be brought in through the passage 48 to be mixed with the smoke whichis delivered through the mouthpiece 14 to the smokers mouth.

In accordance with the invention, the rotatable part 16 is mounted on the fixed part 12 of the smoking device 10 by means of a pin 51 which projects outwardly from the inner end of the rotatable part 16 and is journaled in the fixed part 12. The rotatable part 16 carries the selection passage 44 at an eccentric location permitting it to be aligned by rotation of the rotatable part selectively with one of the passages 40, 40a, 42, 42a, 46 or 48 or any two of such adjacent passages. In FIG. 4 the passage 44 is shown in dotted lines aligned with two passages, namely the passages 40 and 40a. When this is done, the treatment chamber 36 is connected through the bore 54 of the mouthpiece 14 to the smokers mouth so that smoke will be drawn in from the cigarette 18 to the selection passage 44 may also be aligned so that it opens chambers 40 and 36 in alignment therewith and into the persons mouth. The treatment chamber 36 may, for example, contain a filter 56 which is of a size to be fitted into the chamber 36 after the plug 12a is removed. The selection chamber 44 may also be aligned so that it opens chambers 40 and 46 to the selection chamber and the cigarette, for example, in which case there would be a partial pulling in of smoke which is unfiltered as well as smoke which is filtered or treated. When alignment with a portion of the chamber 48 is made, the slot 52 uncovers the passage 50 so that air may be drawn in during the smoking.

In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the smoking device 10' includes four-large- sized treatment chambers 36', 38, 46' and 48 and any one or two adjacent chamber may be aligned with a selection chamber 44' for connecting the mouthpiece bore 54 to the smoking apparatus such as the cigarette 18 or the pipe 24. For example, and as shown in FIG .7, the passage 44' shown in dotted lines is aligned with separate passages associated with the two treatment chambers 36 and 46'. The treatment chamber 36 may, for example, contain a filter, while the treatment chamber 46' may include a medicinal substance such as menthol. When these two chambers are thus aligned for the passage of smoke therethrough, the user will then have a filtering of the smoke and also a treatment by the application of menthol thereto.

The fixed part 12 carries a recess 60 containing a ball 62 which is biased by a spring 64 outwardly so that it is moved into a corresponding detent opening or recess 66 formed in the rotatable part 16. The ball will engage in a recess 66 whenever the indicia 20 is aligned with a numerical or other type indication showing that the desired smoke treatment chambers or chamber are oriented for the treatment of smoke as desired.

What is claimed is:

1. A smoke treatment attachment for selectively filtering and treating smoke for use with a mouthpiece in conjunction with a smoke producing device such as a cigarette, pipe and the like, the mouthpiece having a bore through which the smoke may be drawn through said attachment and into a persons mouth, comprising a tubular body portion adapted to be connected at its one end to the mouthpiece and having a plurality of circumferentially arranged and axially extending smoke treatment chambers having open opposite ends, a holder portion having one end provided with a selection passage therein and a receiving bore extending from said selection passage to the other end of said holder portion and which is adapted to be connected to a smoke-producing device, said tubular holder portion being rotatably supported on said body portion for rotation about an axis substantially parallel to the axis of said body, said selection passage being eccentrically located in respect to the axis of rotation of said holder portion, said holder portion being rotatable to selectively align said selection passage with at least one of said smoke treatment chambers to permit withdrawal of smoke from the smoke-producing device through said selection passage and the one of said smoke treatment chambers which is aligned with said selection passage to the mouthpiece, and wherein said selection passage is of a size to align with at least a portion of at least two adjacent smoke treating chambers.

5 6 2. A smoke treatment attachment according to claim 1 2,801,637 8/ 1957 Shensky 131--202 wherein said body portion includes at least four separate 2,951,486 9/1960 Walters 131198 angularly spaced chambers, and wherein said holder por- 3,270,751 9/ 1966 Tucker 131213 tion includes at least two relatively large-sized treatment chambers respectively aligned with relatively small-sized FOREIGN PATENTS communicating passages which have ends terminating ad- 5 776,316 6/1957 Great Britain jacent said holder.

References Cited JOSEPH S. REICH, Primary Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,124,130 7/1938 Van Deventer 131-498 10 2,189,684 2/1940 Sprinkel 131198 13 1-223

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