Abstract:
A windproof ashtray. A hollow, aerodynamically configured ashtray structure is provided with a plurality of generally upstanding, circumferentially spaced cigarette-receiving bores, some of which protect a burning cigarette inserted therein from extinguishment while holding it securely against the wind and others of which hold the cigarette securely but which extinguish it. The bores which hold but extinguish cigarettes inserted therein terminate at the oxygen-blocking inside bottom wall of the tray whereas the bores which do not extinguish cigarettes inserted therein terminate in a metal insert member that spaces the burning tip of the cigarette away from any oxygen-blocking surface.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates, generally, to ashtray constructions of the type intended for use out of doors, and more specifically relates to outdoor-use ashtrays having means for either extinguishing or sustaining the burning of the cigarette while it is held by the tray against windblown movement. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Ashtrays are commonly employed to collect ashes from cigars and cigarettes. The most common forms of ashtrays are mere trays which serve as receptacles for ashes deposited therein; they include no means for holding a cigarette if the wind is blowing and are thus not suitable for outdoor use. 
     Outdoor smoking is to be encouraged vis a vis indoor smoking since secondary smoke indoors is likely to be concentrated and harmful to non-smokers present in the same enclosed area as the smoker whereas the great outdoors dissipates at least to some extent the dangerous compounds found in primary and secondary cigarette smoke. 
     Ashtrays that are currently available, however, are not suitable for outdoor use because cigarettes and their ashes are very light in weight and are easily lifted and scattered by the wind. 
     A need therefore exists for a cigarette ash tray that would encourage outdoor smoking. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention encourages outdoor as distinguished from indoor smoking because it enables the smoker to deposit a cigarette into an ashtray even in winds up to forty (40) miles per hour. 
     It also enables smokers to extinguish their cigarette if desired. 
     Moreover, it accomodates a plurality of cigarettes at one time and provides a plurality of holding means, some of which hold the cigarette and maintain its burning state and others of which hold the cigarette but which extinguish its fire. 
     The novel tray is aerodynamically designed so that it can remain in one place even in high winds. It has a circular planform and an elliptical elevational form. 
     In a preferred commercial embodiment, the novel tray is provided in two equal-sized parts, an upper half and a lower half. The lower half is primarily a base means; the bores which accomodate cigarettes positioned therein are formed in the top half of the structure. 
     The bores are generally upstanding but tilted from the vertical, away from the center of the tray, to make it easier for a smoker to place a cigarette therein. A cigarette to be held against the wind is placed in a bore, burning tip first; a bore marked &#34;wind proof&#34; indicates a bore that will hold the cigarette and keep it burning, whereas a bore marked &#34;out&#34; will hold the cigarette but extinguish it. 
     The bottom portion of the tray is imperforate whereas the upper portion, in addition to having the bore means formed therein, also has a central aperture formed therein to admit sufficient oxygen into the confines of the tray to ensure continued burning of those cigarettes positioned in the &#34;wind proof&#34; bores. 
     A dome-like structure is formed in the center of the lower half of the hollow ashtray to inhibit ashes within the tray from exiting the central aperture formed in the upper half of the tray. The dome-like structure is preferably integral with the bottom portion of the tray structure and the apex of the dome is spaced below the plane of the central aperture formed in the top half but the entire dome-like protrusion is concentric with said tray top member central aperture. 
     The &#34;out&#34; bores terminate at the bottom of the tray and a cigarette placed, burning end first, into an &#34;out&#34; bore will be extinguished when the tip is inserted thereinto. It is not necessary to crush the tip of the cigarette into said bottom wall, however, as the fire will go out even if the burning tip never contacts the bottom wall. 
     The &#34;out&#34; bores are positioned near the periphery of the tray so that the length of the &#34;out&#34; bores is only about one and one-half inches (11/2&#34;). 
     The &#34;windproof&#34; bores, however, are provided with a metal insert that has a first end secured to the upper periphery of its associated bore, a medial cylindrical portion which serves as a bore lining, and a base portion which is spaced upwardly of the bottom of the tray and which supports the burning tip of a cigarette without extinguishing it. 
     More specifically, the base plate of each &#34;wind proof&#34; insert has the form of a sector representing about one-sixth or one-seventh of a circle. A sector being a geometrical figure bounded by two radii and the included arc of a circle, said base plate is therefore understood to be wedge-shaped. This small support surface allows oxygen to reach the five-sixths or six-sevenths of the burning tip not in contact with said base plate, thereby assuring that the fire will not be extinguished. 
     The base plate member is spaced sufficiently downward of the bore&#39;s opening, however, to ensure that about one inch (1&#34;) of the cigarette will be inside the tray so that the cigarette cannot be blown away by the wind. 
     It is therefore clear that the primary object of this invention is to encourage outdoor smoking as distinguished from indoor smoking by providing an ashtray having utility in windy environments. 
     A more specific object is to provide an ashtray that has means for holding a cigarette against wind displacement while allowing the cigarette to remain lit. 
     Another specific object is to provide an ashtray of the foregoing type but which, if in accord with the intentions of the tray&#39;s user, can extinguish the cigarette in addition to holding it. 
     The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts that will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the novel ashtray in its assembled configuration; 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the novel tray; 
     FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view thereof; 
     FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the assembled tray; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the lower half of the tray; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the upper half of the tray in an inverted position to better depict structural details; and 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a metallic insert of the type employed in the bores of the novel tray that are denoted &#34;wind proof.&#34; 
     Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to FIG. 1, the reference numeral 10 indicates the inventive tray as a whole. 
     It has a top half 12 and a bottom half 14 that are press fit together at a parting line 16. The tray 10 can thus be disassembled easily for cleaning by simply manually separating the two half portions 12, 14 from one another. 
     The bores marked &#34;wind proof&#34; are collectively designated 18 and the bores marked &#34;out&#34; are collectively designated 20. 
     The number and spacing of the bores 18 and 20 is entirely arbitrary, but in the illustrative embodiment of the invention depicted in the drawings, the &#34;wind proof&#34; bores 18 are equidistantly and circumferentially spaced and are four (4) in number whereas the &#34;out&#34; bores 20 are diametrically opposed to one another and are two (2) in number. 
     It will be observed that the &#34;out&#34; bores 20 are further from the center of tray 10 vis a vis the &#34;wind proof&#34; bores 18; due to the elliptical shape of tray 10 in side elavation, this means that a cigarette placed in an &#34;out&#34; bore 20 has but a short distance to traverse interiorly of tray 10 before its tip abuts the inside bottom wall of lower half 14 of tray 10. However, the tip need not contact the bottom wall for the fire to be extinguished and each &#34;out&#34; bore 20 is specifically dimensioned to hold the burning tip of the cigarette in spaced relation to said bottom wall. 
     An opening 22 is formed centrally of top half member 12 and radial grooves 24 communicate therewith so that a cigarette 26 may be cradled in a groove 24 with its burning tip 28 suspended over an edge of opening 22; this allows tray 10 to be used as a conventional tray indoors or outdoors when the wind is not blowing. 
     A dome-like protrusion 30 formed integral with bottom half member 14 is also visible in FIG. 1. Dome 30 provides a surface against which cigarettes may be extinguished independently of &#34;out&#34; bores 20 and by its proximity to opening 22 it further reduces the chances that the wind will disturb ashes within the hollow interior of tray 10. 
     FIG. 2 shows that dome 30 and opening 22 are concentrically disposed with respect to one another and thus share a common, imaginary vertical axis of symmetry denoted 32 (FIG. 4). 
     Dome 30 is hollow and thus a dome-shaped recess 34 is formed in bottom half member 14 as depicted in FIG. 3. 
     Circumferentially and equidistantly spaced leg members 36 serve to support tray 10 on a level support surface, not shown. 
     Leg members 36 are very short as shown in FIG. 4. The aerodynamic profile of the novel tray is shown in FIG. 4 as well; this elliptical profile is presented to wind blowing in a substantially horizontal direction and thus the tray 10 is very stable even in high winds. 
     FIG. 4 also shows that a cigarette 26 in any bore 18 or 20 will be angled at about twenty degrees from a vertical axis. 
     FIG. 5 not only shows dome 30 more fully, but it also shows an annular shoulder 38 formed in the upper peripheral rim of tray bottom half member 14. 
     FIG. 6 shows the peripheral rim 40 of the upper half member 12 that is snugly received against annular shoulder 38 when tray 10 is assembled. 
     More importantly, however, FIG. 6 indicates how bores 18 and 20 are defined. 
     It is clear that the &#34;out&#34; bores 20 are defined by cylindrical members 42 and that the &#34;wind proof&#34; bores 18 are defined by insert members 44. 
     More specifically, cylinder members 42 are integral with top half member 12 and depend to the circular bore-entrance openings formed in said top half member 12. 
     Insert member 44, however, are separately formed for ease of manufacturing purposes since tray 10 and cylinder members 42 are preferably of fire-retarding high impact plastic construction, specifically, of Melamine (Trademark), whereas the insert members 44 are of metallic construction since they are designed to be in abutting contact with burning cigarette tips for extended periods of time. 
     The respective uppermost rims 46 of insert members 44 are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, it being understood that said rims 46 abuttingly engage the circular bore-entrance openings of the &#34;wind proof&#34; bores 18. Said rims 46 are outwardly turned flange members as those skilled in the mechanical arts will readily appreciate; the flanges prevent insert member 44 from simply falling through its associated opening 18 and provide an annular engaging surface between each rim 46 and hence each insert member 44 and its associated opening 18. 
     Mounting members 48 are formed from cylinder portion 50 of each insert member 44 and bent radially outwardly therefrom as depicted in FIGS. 6 and 7; the mounting members or radial arms 48 thus cooperate with rim or flange members 46 to compressively engage top member 12 which is positioned in sandwiched relation between a rim 46 and its associated radial arms 48. In this manner, insert members 44 are tightly secured to their respective operative positions. 
     Those skilled in the art of machine design could securely mount insert members 44 by other techniques, it being understood that the construction shown has been found to be economical but the invention is not limited to such preferred construction. 
     As one of many possible examples, an adhesive could obviate the need for the particular mounting means shown. 
     The integral formation of rim 46 and cylinder portion 50 of each insert member 44 is perhaps best understood in connection with FIG. 7. 
     It will also there be seen that a wedge-shaped base member or cigarette support plate 52 is bent at a ninety (90) degree angle relative to a leg portion 54 that depends to cylindrical portion 50. In the commercial embodiment of this invention, the distance between support plate 52 and the entrance to bore 18 is about one inch (1&#34;); accordingly, a cigarette inserted into a bore 18, burning tip first, will rest atop support wedge 52 and will have about one inch (1&#34;) of its length slideably received within bore 18, it being understood that bore 18 is imaginary but defined by the circular entrance thereto formed in top half member 12 and the space defined by insert member 44, of course. 
     Wedge or sector-shaped support plate 52 represents about one-sixth of a circle since it includes an arc or about sixty (60) degrees. Thus, a cigarette resting thereatop will still have five-sixths (5/6ths) of its burning tip exposed to the oxygen-containing air within tray 10 and will thus not be extinguished. 
     The exact size of plate 52 is not critical to this invention, although empirical studies could be undertaken by interested parties, in light of the disclosure made herein, to determine the maximum allowable size of the sector-shaped support plate 52 and the results of such studies would be within the teachings of this invention as made clear by the claims appended hereto. 
     This invention pioneers the art of windproof ashtrays since it contains the breakthrough disclosure of a means for holding a cigarette in a windy environment without extinguishing said cigarette, and includes a number of other novel features as well, as those skilled in the art will appreciate. 
     It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, and those made apparent from the foregoing description, are efficiently attained and since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matters contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 
     It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.