Patent Publication Number: US-2009217933-A1

Title: Self-lighting smoking tool

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The present invention relates to a smoking tool, more particularly to a self-lighting smoking tool, which is a portable smoking tool, incorporating with a lighter such that the user is able to operate the self-lighting smoking tool anytime for smoking purpose without looking for the lighter. 
     2. Description of Related Arts 
     A pipe is a common tool for tobacco smoking typically consists of a small chamber for the combustion of the tobacco. Generally, the pipe is commonly made of briar, corncob, meerschaum, and clay. People who wants to smoking usually use lighter to lit the tobacco inside the pipe. However, no matter which type of smoking tool is, the smokers must carry a lighter or other lighting tool in order to light the tobacco. Accordingly, the tobacco is stopped burning after a period of time. Therefore, the smoker must re-burn the tobacco by the lighter. The smokers usually have the experience of borrowing other people&#39;s lighter to light the tobacco. In the other hand, it is not easy for people to light the tobacco in outdoor especially in a windy condition. Furthermore, there are still several drawbacks of the conventional smoking tool. 
     First, the ventilation system of some pipe is not good. Once, the aggressive smokers smoked too quickly, the excess moisture and the heat accumulated in the pipe. Therefore, the temperature of the pipe gradually goes up and become uncomfortable hot. It is extremely dangerous because the unmoral high temperature not only may ruin the pipe, but also make his/her hand burned. 
     Second, cleaning the pipe after smoking is a big issue for maximize and extend the life span of the pipe. Some people use a pipe tool to clean out the ash and unburned tobacco. However, in some small pipe or long channel pipe, even using a pipe tool, it is still hard for people to clean the ash and the last bits out. Once, the unburned tobacco and the ash doesn&#39;t come out during last clean, the flavor of the cigarette or the tobacco dramatically ruined by the residue element. Moreover, burning the combination of residue and overheated material in pipe may produce some unpredicted poison such that the user may inhale to their lungs, which is harmful to the user&#39;s health. Finally, the smokers usually require a tool for adjusting, packing and emptying the tobacco inside the pipe, and a regular supply of pipe cleaners. The volume of the pipe and the tool for cleaning pipe are usually bulky, and hard for people to carry them on hand. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     A main object of the present invention is to provide a self-lighting smoking tool, wherein the self-lighting smoking tool is portable such that the user is able to always carry a self-lighting smoking tool with him for smoking purpose. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a self-lighting smoking tool, wherein the self-lighting smoking tool increases the model&#39;s portability so as to lessen inconvenient owing to not able to carry it on my own. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a self-lighting smoking tool, wherein the self-lighting smoking tool provides a piezoelectric-type lighter such that the user is able to lighten the smoking tool in outdoor windy condition. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a self-lighting smoking tool, wherein each of the ventilating slots is adapted not only for releasing excessive heat from the lighter when the flame is generated to the treatment chamber but also for enabling ambient air entering into the treatment chamber when smoke is inhaled at the inhaling end of the inhaler tube. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a self-lighting smoking tool, wherein the ventilating slots to maintain continuity of enough fresh air supplies. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a self-lighting smoking tool, wherein the ventilating slots provide a good air circulation system to ensure ambient air entering into the treatment chamber for enhancing the burning of the smoking element therein for spontaneous combustion. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a self-lighting smoking tool, wherein the inhaler tube comprises a bottom filtering net mounted therein as a bottom wall of the treatment chamber for preventing the smoking element falling to the flame production of the lighter. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a self-lighting smoking tool, wherein the upper and lower filtering nets are provided at two detachable tubes respectively for easy-cleaning purpose. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a self-lighting smoking tool, wherein the lighter housing provides a well-insulated area for the smoker to hold so as to prevent the high temperature smoking tool from burning his/her hand. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a self-smoking tool, wherein the self-lighting smoking tool has its own lighter such that all those troubles to find a lighter while using a smoking tool are now history. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a self-smoking tool, wherein the upper and the lower filtering net provide a way to circulate the air and ashes prevent from plugging the channel with the ashes. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a self-smoking tool, wherein the lighter of the self-smoking tool can be replaced by all regular kinds of lighters so as to ensure the self-smoking tool is highly acceptable on market demand. 
     Accordingly, in order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a lighter, comprising a portable inhaler tube and a lighter detachably coupling thereto. 
     The portable inhaler tube has an inhaling end, an opposed lighter-adapter end, and a treatment chamber for receiving a smoking element therein. 
     The lighter comprises a flame producing portion detachably coupling with the lighter-adapter end of the inhaler tube, wherein the lighter is adapted for controllably producing a flame at the flame producing portion towards the treatment chamber to bum the smoking element therein, such that once a smoke is generated, the smoke is inhaled at the inhaling end of the inhaler tube; 
     These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a self-lighting smoking tool according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a sectional view of the self-lighting smoking tool according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3A  is a partial sectional view of a self-lighting smoking tool according to the above preferred embodiment, illustrating the lighter producing a flame at the flame producing portion towards the treatment chamber. 
         FIG. 3B  is a partial sectional view of a self-lighting smoking tool according to the above preferred embodiment, illustrating the smoke being inhaled at the inhaling end of the inhaler tube. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2  of the drawings, a self-lighting smoking tool according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, wherein the self-lighting smoking tool comprises a portable inhaler tube  10  and a lighter  20  detachably coupling with the inhaler tube  10 . 
     The inhaler tube  10 , which has an elongated tubular structure, has an inhaling end  11 , an opposed lighter-adapter end  12  coaxially aligned with the inhaling end  11 , and a treatment chamber  13  for receiving a smoking element, such as tobacco, therein. 
     The lighter  20  comprises a flame producing portion  21  detachably coupling with the lighter-adapter end  12  of the inhaler tube, wherein the lighter  20  is adapted for controllably producing a flame at the flame producing portion  21  towards the treatment chamber  13  to burn the smoking element therein, as shown in  FIG. 3A . 
     Once a smoke is generated, the smoke is inhaled at the inhaling end  11  the inhaler tube  10  as shown in  FIG. 3B . An important point of this invention is that the self-lighting smoking tool used light iron as its material and is extremely portable such that the user is able to always carry a self-lighting smoking tool with him for smoking purpose. Because of its portability, it totally solved the problems of not being able to carry it on my own. Finally, with it you wouldn&#39;t see the smokers borrow the fire to light the cigarette on the street. 
     The inhaler tube  10  further contains a plurality of ventilating slots  14  spacedly formed at a surrounding wall at a position closed to the lighter-adapter end  12 , wherein each of the ventilating slots  14  is a through slot not only for releasing excessive heat from the lighter  20  when the flame is generated to the treatment chamber  13  but also for enabling ambient air entering into the treatment chamber  13  when smoke is inhaled at the inhaling end  11  of the inhaler tube  10 . Moreover, the ventilating slots  14  provide a good air circulation system to produce spontaneous combustion, to maintain continuity of enough fresh air supplies, and to ensure that there is a free flow of air inside the self-lighting smoking tool. 
     According to the preferred embodiment, the inhaler tube  10  has an elongated structure that the inhaling end  11  is coaxially aligned with the lighter-adapter end  12 . The inhaler tube  10  comprises a bottom filtering net  15  mounted therein as a bottom wall of the treatment chamber  13  for preventing the smoking element falling to the flame producing portion  21  of the lighter  20 . In the other hand, the inhaler tube  10  further comprises an upper filtering net  16  mounted therein as an upper wall of the treatment chamber  13  for retaining the smoking element between the upper and bottom filtering nets  15 ,  16 . Moreover, the upper and lower filtering nets  15 ,  16  further provide a way to circulate the air and ashes prevent from plugging the channel with the ashes. 
     It is worth to mention that the smoking element can be formed in a tablet or capsule configuration that the smoking element is enclosed by an enclosing net to dispose in the treatment chamber  13 . Therefore, the upper and lower filtering nets  15 ,  16  can be omitted. 
     The inhaler tube  10  comprises a tubular inhaling guider  17  defining the inhaling end  11  and the treatment chamber  13  thereat, and a tubular lighter guider  18  which is defining the lighter-adapter end  12  thereat and is detachably and coaxially coupling with the inhaling guider  17  end-to-end. 
     The ventilating slots  14  are spacedly formed at the surrounding wall of the lighter guider  18  at a position that the ventilating slots  14  are located below the bottom filtering net  15 . The upper and bottom filtering nets  16 ,  15  are formed at the inhaling guider  17  and the lighter guider  18  respectively. It is worth to mention that the upper and lower filtering nets  15 ,  16  are detached for easily cleaning when the inhaling guider  17  and the lighter guider  18  are detached from each other. 
     The inhaler tube  10  has an inner threaded portion  19  provided at the lighter-adapter end  12 , wherein the lighter  20  has an outer threaded portion  22  provided at the flame producing portion  21  to detachably engage the inner thread portion  19  of the inhaler tube  10  so as to coaxially couple the lighter  20  with the inhaler tube  10  in a detachably attaching manner. 
     According to the preferred embodiment, the lighter  20  is a piezoelectric-type lighter comprising an elongated lighter casing  23  and a flame nozzle  24  extended to a top end of the lighter casing  23  to define the flame producing portion  21  of the lighter  20 , wherein when the top end of the lighter casing  23  is detachably coupled with the lighter-adapter end  12  of the inhaler tube  10 , the lighter  20  is controllably actuated to produce a torch flame towards the treatment chamber  13  of the inhaler tube  17 . Accordingly, an actuation button  25  is slidably mounted at the lighter casing  23  such that when the actuation button  25  is pressed downwardly, the piezoelectric unit (not shown) is depressed to produce the flame at the flame nozzle  24 . It is worth to mention that when the flame is produced at the flame nozzle  24 , the lighter guider  18  forms a windshield for preventing the flame being blown off. 
     The difference between adopting the regular lighter and a piezoelectric-type lighter is that lighting a piezoelectric-type lighter is not restricted by outdoor or bad weather such that the user is able to lighten the smoking tool in outdoor windy condition. Accordingly, the lighter casing  23  provides a well-insulated area for people to hold so as to prevent the high temperature smoking tool from burning his/her hand. 
     It is worth to mention that inhaler tube  10  is adapted to incorporate with the conventional lighter, such as disposable lighter, by detachably coupling the lighter-adapter end  12  of the inhaler tube  10  to the conventional lighter. Preferably, the self-lighting smoking tool has its own lighter  20  such that all those troubles to find a lighter while using a smoking tool are now history. Practically, the lighter  20  of the self-smoking tool can be replaced by all regular kinds of lighters so as to ensure the self-smoking tool is highly acceptable on market demand. In addition, the self-lighting smoking tool has a pen size for carrying. 
     According to the preferred embodiment, a self-lighting smoking tool further comprises a detachable mouthpiece  30  detachably coupling with the inhaling end  11  of the inhaler tube  10  for inhaling the smoke thereat. 
     One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting. 
     It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. The embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.