Abstract:
A vaporizer bowl having an integral internal grinding mechanism has a plurality of internal stainless steel prongs and is split in hemispherical halves. In use, a substance used to create a desired vapor is placed within the bowl. The prongs grind/cut the substance as the halves of the bowl are turned in opposing directions. Such action ensures that the substance is completely consumed, allowing for less waste or the use of less material.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present invention was first described in and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/680,434, filed Aug. 7, 2012, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a grinding mechanism in two (2) components configured to be in fluid communication with a vaporizer, the grinding mechanism able to grind smokable substances into finer particles. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Many people utilize an herbal vaporizer for the purposes of smoking herbal or tobacco products. The use of a vaporizer eliminates the production of irritating toxins normally associated with the smoking process in that there is no actual smoke being inhaled. An herbal vaporizer accomplishes this by heating the material to a specific temperature, which releases the desired active ingredients from the material, but without heating it to combustion. However, one (1) disadvantage of such units is that a quantity of the contained product will not be consumed due to its orientation and configuration inside of the unit. This material is then typically wasted and must be discarded thus wasting money. Any attempt at manual mixing exposes the product to rapidly changing temperatures as well as the user to possible burns. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which various products inside of vaporizer herbal vaporizers can be completely consumed in order to address the problems as described above. 
     Prior art in this field consists of grinder and mixing apparatuses used to grind and mix smoking substances before the substance is smoked. No art exists that provides the benefit of concurrently smoking a substance and grinding/mixing the substance within one (1) device. If prior art vaporizer bowels grants a user access to the substance held within at all, the configuration of these prior art force a user to employ burdensome and dangerous methods to grind/mix substances during smoking such substances. Other vaporizer bowel constructions prevent such mixing/grinding all-together. It is an objective of this invention to provide a means to smoke substances via a vaporizing method and to have the ability to grind/mix the substance held within. It is a further objective of this invention to achieve this in a safe and cost-effective manner by merely rotating the device with a user&#39;s hand. It is a further objective of this invention to provide a means to support the substance held within in an elevated posture to as to facilitate convectional flow through the substance. It is a further objective of this invention to employ these methods to fully and completely consume the substance being smoked so as to reduce waste and save costs to the user. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The device comprises a combination grinder and vaporizer bowl configured together to enable a user to grind a smoking substance without having to separately grind the substance prior to use. The device is provided with upper and lower compartments, each having hemispherical shapes. Each compartment is joined together by a lip disposed about a perimeter edge of each compartment. Extending from a top surface of the upper compartment is an exhaust tube that is specifically configured to facilitate attachment of various smoking accessories to enable a user to inhale volatiles emitted from smoldering substances held within Protruding from a lower surface of the lower compartment are a plurality of support legs to facilitate an up-right and elevated posture for the device. Disposed about a perimeter surface of each compartment are grips to enable a user to grasp each compartment and rotate each compartment independently. This feature is important to allow a user to grind the substance held within the device. 
     An interior of the device is provided with a screen to support substances in an elevated position with respect to a bottom inner surface of the lower compartment and facilitate conventional currents to pass through the substance. Each compartment is further provided with prongs protruding from an inner surface of each compartment. These prongs enable grinding and mixing of the substance held within when the compartments are rotated. Each prong is strategically positioned to obviate interference with each other when the compartments are rotated. 
     During use of the device, a user frequently rotates each compartment to allow for thorough mixing of the entire substance contained within. Such action ensures that the substance is completely consumed, allowing for less waste or the use of less material. The specific arrangement of the prongs ensures complete grinding and consumption. The use of the device provides for the vaporization of herbal products in a manner which is not only easy and effective, but quick and safe as well. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The advantages and features of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following more detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are identified with like symbols, and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an elevation view of a combination grinder and vaporizer bowl  10 , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of a lower component  30  of a combination grinder and vaporizer bowl  10 , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a bottom view of an upper component  20  of a combination grinder and vaporizer bowl  10 , according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and, 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the combination grinder and vaporizer bowl  10  taken along section line A-A (see  FIG. 1 ), according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTIVE KEY 
     
         
         
           
               10  combination grinder and vaporizer bowl 
               20  upper component 
               21   a  exhaust adapter 
               21   b  connector 
               22  upper grip 
               23  upper rim 
               24  exhaust aperture 
               25  substance 
               30  lower component 
               31  support legs 
               32  lower grip 
               33  lower rim 
               34   a  screen 
               34   b  screen shelf 
               35  prong aperture 
               36  lower opening 
               41   a  upper prongs 
               41   b  lower prongs 
               100  hot air 
               105  vapor 
           
         
       
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The best mode for carrying out the invention is presented in terms of its preferred embodiment, herein depicted within  FIGS. 1 through 4 . However, the invention is not limited to the described embodiment and a person skilled in the art will appreciate that many other embodiments of the invention are possible without deviating from the basic concept of the invention, and that any such work around will also fall under scope of this invention. It is envisioned that other styles and configurations of the present invention can be easily incorporated into the teachings of the present invention, and only one particular configuration shall be shown and described for purposes of clarity and disclosure and not by way of limitation of scope. 
     The terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced items. 
     The present invention describes a combination grinder and vaporizer bowl (herein described as the “apparatus”)  10 , which provides a means for grinding a substance  25  such as an organic product without having to separately grind the substance  25  prior to use in a vaporizer such as a volcano-style vaporizer. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , an environmental view of the apparatus  10 , according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, is disclosed. The apparatus  10  comprises an upper component  20  and a lower component  30 . Both components  20 ,  30  comprise generally hemispherical-shaped vessels. The components  20 ,  30  are envisioned to be manufactured from a durable and insulating plastic material. The upper component  20  and lower component  30  portions are joined by respective connecting upper rim  23  and lower rim  33  portions (see  FIGS. 2 and 3 ). The diameter of the upper rim  23  is large enough to snugly encompass the diameter of the lower rim  33 . As such, the upper component  20  is removably attachable to the lower component  30 . 
     The upper component  20  comprises a hollow tubular exhaust adapter  21   a  which protrudes upwardly being designed to facilitate attachment of accessories of the existing vaporizer such as a bag or hose via a tubular connector portion  21   b  being press-fit or otherwise permanently attached to an upper end portion. The lower component  30  comprises a plurality of integrally-molded support legs  31  along its bottom surface. The support legs  31  enable the apparatus  10  to stand on any surface as well as enabling the apparatus  10  to be properly positioned within the vaporizer. The upper component  20  and the lower component  30  both comprise grips  22 ,  32  that enable each component  20 ,  30  to be manually held and operated. The grips  22 ,  32  completely encircle the components  20 ,  30  in a parallel manner, thereby allowing a user to grasp and turn said grips  22 ,  32  in opposing directions to grind the substance  25  deposited within (see  FIG. 4 ). 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , an upper view of the lower component  30  and a lower view of the upper component  20 , respectively, according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, are disclosed. The lower component  30  comprises a removable screen  34  located horizontally within the lower compartment  30  spanning an inner space thereof, and resting upon a perimeter screen shelf  34   b , positioned above a circular lower opening  36  being positioned between the support legs  31 . The screen  34  supports an organic substance  25  placed into the apparatus  10 , thereby positioning the substance  10  so as to allow hot air  100  from the vaporizer to flow through the lower opening  36  and vaporize oils within the substance  25  to produce a desired vapor  105 . 
     The upper component  20  comprises an exhaust adapter  21   b  centrally located at an apex of the upper compartment  20  having an internal exhaust aperture  24  that enables the generated vapors created within the components  20 ,  30  to exit the exhaust adapter portion  21   a  of the apparatus  10 . The upper component  20  and the lower component  30  comprise respective upper prongs  41   a  and lower prongs  41   b . The prongs  41   a ,  41   b  comprise sharp edge portions to grind the substance  25  to provide more complete consumption thereof (see  FIG. 4 ). 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , a sectional view of the apparatus  10  taken along section line A-A (see  FIG. 1 ), according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, is disclosed. The prongs  41   a ,  41   b  comprise rigid appendages being embedded or otherwise rigidly fastened to inner upper and inner lower surfaces of the upper  20  and lower  30  compartments, respectively. The prongs  41   a ,  41   b  comprise sharp edge portions. The prongs  41   a ,  41   b  are envisioned to have rectangular cross-sections, or another sharp-edged shape, and be made of a rigid and durable material, such as stainless steel. The upper prongs  41   a  and lower prongs  41   b  are arranged in corresponding circular patterns so as to not interfere with each other when the components  20 ,  30  are rotated; however, said prongs  41   a ,  41   b  provide minimal clearance therebetween when halves  20 ,  30  are joined so as to grind/cut the substance  25  from a large particle size to a smaller particle size. The lower prongs  41   b  are envisioned to be inserted through correspondingly sized and positioned prong apertures  35  formed in the screen  34 . The grinding of the substance  25  takes place by rotating the upper component  20  and the lower component  30  in opposing directions by utilizing the upper grip  22  and lower grip  32  portions. 
     It is envisioned that other styles and configurations of the present invention can be easily incorporated into the teachings of the present invention, and only one particular configuration shall be shown and described for purposes of clarity and disclosure and not by way of limitation of scope. 
     The preferred embodiment of the present invention can be utilized by the common user in a simple and effortless manner with little or no training. After initial purchase or acquisition of the apparatus  10 , it would be installed as indicated in  FIG. 1 . 
     The method of utilizing the apparatus  10  may be achieved by performing the following steps: procuring a model of the apparatus  10  that is of a corresponding size and configuration to fit within a particular existing vaporizer model; placing the screen  34  into the lower component  30 ; placing a quantity of the substance  25 , such as an herbal and/or organic product, onto the screen  34 ; attaching the upper component  20  onto the lower component  30 ; grinding the substance  25  by rotating the upper compartment  20  and lower compartment  30  in opposing directions using the grips  22 ,  32 ; installing the apparatus  10  into the vaporizer; attaching any desired vaporizer accessories such as an exhaust bag onto the exhaust connector  21   b ; activating the vaporizer in a normal manner; allowing hot air  100  from the vaporizer to flow up into the lower component  30  and through the substance  25 , causing the now treated vapors  105  to flow upward out of the upper component portion  20  of the device  10 ; and, saving time and effort preparing a vaporizer without having to grind the substance portion  25  in a separate grinding process while using the present invention  10 . 
     The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention and method of use to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, and to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is understood that various omissions or substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstance may suggest or render expedient, but is intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims of the present invention.