Patent Publication Number: US-2023146400-A1

Title: Fresh / clean smoking system

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/276,167, filed Nov. 5, 2021, titled Fresh/Clean Smoking System and benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/280,762, filed Nov. 18, 2021, titled Fresh/Clean Smoking System, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The device relates to a smoking system used to smoke tobacco or other substances such as marijuana or cannabis that are burned in a pipe bowl, more specifically, the smoking system includes a replaceable bowl that has a filter and a screen and the bowl can be pre-filled with the smoking substance. 
     a) Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to the field of smoking devices for igniting and smoking substances. 
     As people smoke substances in a bowl, the bowl becomes dirty with by-products of burning the substance such as tar and resins generated by combustion of the substance. This leads to non-desirable and unwanted flavors being present when using a bowl that has had multiple uses and has a build-up of the by-products. While it is possible to clean a bowl, such is a time consuming and messy process. Moreover, a completely clean or fresh bowl is very difficult if not impossible to achieve for a bowl that has been used. 
     a) b) Description of the Related Art 
     It is well known to provide bowl assemblies for smoking substances that have a screen, filter medium, and an area for the substance to be smoked. U.S. Pat. No. 2,162,077 discloses a tobacco cartridge that has a removable bowl cup that has a threads that mate with threads on a stem portion of a pipe. The cup includes a charge of tobacco surrounded by paper and an air space surrounds the charge of tobacco. The charge of tobacco rests upon a filter of non-burning material. The filter is held by a body portion with perforations where the body portion is downstream of the filter in a direction of flow of the pipe. The fact that the filter is disposed directly downstream of the charge requires that the filter be of a non-burning material results in possible unhealthy materials being inhaled into a user&#39;s lungs in addition to the substance of the charge being smoked. 
     Egea et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,491,771 discloses a pipe tobacco packet. Egea has an inner bowl of aluminum foil that is disposed inside an outer bowl. The inner bowl has a bottom wall that is a screen and the inner bowl can hold tobacco therein. An outer bowl surrounds the inner bowl and has a solid bottom wall. A filter is disposed between the outer and inner bowl at the bottom and extends up the walls of the bowls. The upper area of the outer bowl in an area free of the filter has apertures that open to an air space between the pipe bowl and the outer bowl. This construction results in the filter being directly next to the tobacco and the filter being directly adjacent the lit tobacco. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a smoking system which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices and methods of this general type and which can be implemented to provide a clean smoking experience. 
     With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided an assembly for smoking that includes a bowl that has a circumferential wall with a base wall. The base wall has an aperture formed therein. A filter is disposed on the base wall and covers the aperture. A screen is disposed in the bowl. The screen has an areal surface spaced apart from the filter to define an air gap between the areal surface and the filter. 
     It is accordingly a further feature of the invention, that the areal surface has legs extending therefrom. The legs has feet to rest against the filter and set the air gap. 
     In accordance with an added feature of the invention, a smoking material is disposed in the bowl on the screen. 
     In accordance with an additional feature of the invention the seal seals the entire bowl. 
     In accordance with yet an additional feature of the invention, the circumferential wall has a draft angle. 
     In accordance with yet another added feature of the invention, the circumferential wall applies a radially inward pressure against the legs to secure the screen in the bowl. 
     In accordance with still another added feature of the invention, there is a pipe portion with a pipe bowl. The bowl is disposed in the pipe bowl. 
     Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as fresh/clean smoking system, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims. 
     The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1 A  is a perspective view of an inner bowl assembly; 
         FIG.  1 B  is a top view of the inner bowl assembly; 
         FIG.  1 C  is a side view of the inner bowl assembly; 
         FIG.  1 D  is a bottom view of the inner bowl assembly; 
         FIG.  1 E  is a section view of the inner bowl assembly taken at section A-A in  FIG.  1 C ; 
         FIG.  2 A  is a plan view of a screen blank; 
         FIG.  2 B  is a bottom view of the screen after tabs have been bent; 
         FIG.  2 C  is a side view of the screen after tabs have been bent; 
         FIG.  3 A  is a bottom view of a filter; 
         FIG.  3 B  is a side view of the filter; 
         FIG.  4 A  is a top view of an inner bowl; 
         FIG.  4 B  is a side view of the inner bowl; 
         FIG.  4 C  is a bottom view of the inner bowl; 
         FIG.  5 A  is a top view of a pipe portion; 
         FIG.  5 B  is a side view of the pipe portion; 
         FIG.  5 C  is an end view of the pipe portion; 
         FIG.  5 D  is a section view of the pipe portion taken at section B-B in  FIG.  5 A ; 
         FIG.  5 E  is a section view of the pipe portion taken at section C-C in  FIG.  5 B ; 
         FIG.  6 A  is a top view of a pipe portion with the inner bowl assembly inserted in the pipe portion; 
         FIG.  6 B  is a section view taken at section D-D in  FIG.  6 A ; 
         FIG.  7    is an exploded view of the inner bowl assembly and the pipe portion; and 
         FIG.  8    is a view of the inner bowl and the pipe portion. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     As shown in  FIGS.  1 A- 1 E  The system  1  includes an inner bowl assembly  11  that can be pre-filled with the desired smoking substance T. The inner bowl assembly  11  includes a bowl  12 , a screen  16 , a filter  15  and may include the smoking substance T. The inner bowl assembly  11  can be completed wrapped and sealed in a freshness seal  18 , which may be a shrink-wrap type seal. This ensures the freshness of the smoking substance T when such is provided in the assembly  11 . It is possible for the inner bowl assembly  11  to be provided without the smoking substance T so that a user can fill and smoke as desired. This provides a user an option for a clean bowl that the user can use with a desired smoking substance and replace at their own discretion. In such instance, the seal  18  is also omitted as there is no product to maintain freshness of. 
     The system  1  can include a pipe or pipe portion  17  with a pipe bowl  17   b  that has a rim  17   r.  The inner bowl  12  is disposed in the pipe bowl  17   b.  Furthermore, the pipe bowl  17   b  can have a substantially straight inner wall in a depth direction thereof and the wall defines a pipe bowl inside diameter  17 ID. 
     The filter  15  is disposed at the base  12   b  of the bowl  12  and covers the aperture  14 . The filter material may be made of carbon material and possibly biodegradable. As will be seen from the following description the screen  16  is disposed in the bowl  12  with an areal surface  16   a  spaced apart from the filter  15  so that an air space  20  is provided between the smoking substance and the filter  15 . Thus, the air space  20  is upstream of the filter  15  in an air/smoke flow direction of the bowl  12 . 
     To this end the screen  16  may be formed from a blank  16   b  of stainless steel, brass, copper or other suitable metal and as is shown in  FIG.  2 A . The blank  16   b  may have tabs  16   t  extending from a circumferential edge of the areal surface  16   a  of the blank  16   b.    FIGS.  2 B and  2 C  show that the tabs  16   t  have been bent at the circumferential edge of the blank  16   b  to be substantially orthogonal to main screen surface of the screen  16  and define legs  16   l . A distal end portion of the tab  16   t  can be bent inwards so as to be substantially parallel to the areal surface  16   a  of the screen  16  and respectively define respective feet  16   f  that rest on the filter  15  when the screen  16  is disposed in the inner bowl. The legs  16   l  with the feet consequently define a height h of the air space  20  between the areal surface  16   a  and the filter  15 . The filter  15  and the screen construction set an effective depth  12   td  of a loading volume  19  for the smoking substance T. The effective depth is preferably about one third of the depth  12   d  of the inner bowl  12 . This relationship ensures that the smoking substance T is expended before the lower amount (last to burn) of the smoking substance T accumulates resins and tar of the already burned substance T, which can adversely affect the flavor/taste of the smoking substance T. 
     The bowl  12  has a circumferential wall portion  12   c  with a flange  13 . The flange  13  has an underside at an upper edge of the bowl  12 . The bowl  12  has a base  12   b  at a bottom of the cup portion  12   c  with an aperture  14  formed therein. The circumferential wall  12   c  may have a taper with a draft or taper angle α. The importance of this construction is discussed below. 
     The taper or the circumferential wall  12   c  may have a dimensional relationship to the formed screen  16  so that the wall  12   c  provides a radially inward force onto the legs  16   l , which helps to hold the screen  16  in place with the feet  16   f  rested against the filter  15 . 
     Additionally, the circumferential wall  12   c  may be sized to cooperate with the pipe bowl inside diameter  17 ID. Particularly, it is possible that the circumferential wall has an outer diameter  12 OD at position shown in  FIG.  8    which is substantially the same as the inner diameter  17 ID. The position is at a distance D 1  from the base of the inner bowl  12  and is at a position nominally above the areal screen surface  16   a  with the screen feet  16   f  positioned against the filter  15 . The position of the matched diameters provides for a slight compression above the screen  16  to further hold the screen  16  in place once the inner bowl  12  is inserted into the pipe bowl  17   b.  The construction also further ensures a good sealing between the inner bowl  12  and the pipe bowl  17   b.    
     When inserted for use into a pipe portion  17 , the aperture  14  is fluidically connected to a passage  17   p  of the pipe portion  17  and an underside of the flange  13  rests upon the rim  17   r  when the inner bowl assembly  11  is inserted into the pipe bowl  17   b.  The flange  13  rests against the rim  17   r  to indicate that the inner bowl  12  is properly inserted into the pipe bowl  17   b  and can further ensure a good seal between the pipe bowl  17   b  and the inner bowl  12 . 
     The construction results in the air flow to the passage  17   p  occurring through the smoking substance T and the aperture  14  in the base of the inner bowl  12 . The bowl  12  may be formed from a thin sheet of metal that is approximately 25 millimeters in diameter and approximately 15 millimeters deep. 
     Alternatively, the screen  16  could be cup-shaped with a flange that rests upon the flange  13  of the bowl  12 , where the depth of the cup is less that the distance between a top of the filter  15  and the flange  13  in order to set the height h of the air space  20  and provide the loading volume  19  as disclosed herein. 
     As seen in  FIG.  3 A , the filter  15  is cylindrical and has planar end faces to seat in the base  12   b  of the bowl  12 . The surface area thereof is greater than the size of the aperture  14  so that the combusted smoke to be inhaled passes through the filter medium of the filter  15 . 
       FIGS.  4 A- 4 C  show the inner bowl  12  in the top and bottom views, the flange  13 , aperture  14 , and circumferential wall are shown. The side view shows the cup and flange diameters. 
       FIGS.  5 A- 6 C  show the pipe portion  17  with the pipe bowl  17   b.  The pipe bowl  17   b  is sized to receive inner bowl  12  and thus is sized with appropriate dimensions as disclosed to properly receive the inner bowl  12  and have the flange  13  rest against the rim  17   r  of the pipe bowl  17   b.  The pipe bowl  17   b  has a depth  17   bd  to the passage  17   p  that allows the passage to have the fluidic connection to the aperture  14  of the inner pipe bowl  12 . In other words, the depth  17   bd  is such that the passage opens into the bowl with at least a portion of the passage  17   p  below the inner bowl base wall  12   b  when installed in the pipe bowl  17   b.    
       FIGS.  6 A and  6 B  show the system  1  with the inner bowl assembly  11  disposed in the pipe bowl  17   b.  The freshness seal  18  has been removed and the flange  13  rests against the rim  17   r . The aperture  14  is in fluidic communication with the pipe passage  17   p  and the smoking substance T can be lit and burned when the user desires to smoke the smoking substance T.