Patent Publication Number: US-2019183169-A1

Title: System and apparatus that facilitates smoking tabacco products

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/869,812, filed Sep. 29, 2015, entitled “SYSTEM AND APPARATUS THAT FACILITATES SMOKING TOBACCO PRODUCTS,” which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/063,809, filed Oct. 14, 2014, entitled “SYSTEM AND APPARATUS THAT FACILITATES SMOKING TOBACCO PRODUCTS”, wherein the entire contents of each of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The subject disclosure generally relates to the smoking of tobacco products, and more specifically to a pipe comprising an integrated heating unit. 
     BACKGROUND 
     By way of background concerning conventional smoking devices, several undesirable limitations of such devices are noted. Conventional pipes, for example, lack a heating unit for burning tobacco. As a result, pipe users are required to carry a separate incendiary device (e.g., lighter, matches, etc.), which can be easily lost and requires the use of two hands. Using two hands is particularly undesirable when smoking outdoors where incendiary devices are susceptible to the weather. In windy and/or rainy conditions, for example, smokers often require help from fellow smokers to shield their incendiary devices from the elements. 
     Alternatively, electronic cigarettes can be used, which do not require a separate incendiary device. An electronic cigarette, which is also known as a personal vaporizer (PV) or electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS), is a battery-powered vaporizer which simulates tobacco smoking by producing an aerosol that resembles smoke. Electronic cigarettes generally use a heating element known as an atomizer to vaporize a liquid solution known as e-liquid. Many users, however, prefer burning shredded tobacco rather than vaporizing a synthetic liquid. Structurally, electronic cigarettes are designed to vaporize liquid internally though, which makes direct pyrolysis of a non-liquid impossible. 
     Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an apparatus and methodology which overcomes these limitations. To this end, it should be noted that the above-described deficiencies are merely intended to provide an overview of some of the problems of conventional systems, and are not intended to be exhaustive. Other problems with the state of the art and corresponding benefits of some of the various non-limiting embodiments may become further apparent upon review of the following detailed description. 
     SUMMARY 
     A simplified summary is provided herein to help enable a basic or general understanding of various aspects of exemplary, non-limiting embodiments that follow in the more detailed description and the accompanying drawings. This summary is not intended, however, as an extensive or exhaustive overview. Instead, the sole purpose of this summary is to present some concepts related to some exemplary non-limiting embodiments in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description of the various embodiments that follow. 
     In accordance with one or more embodiments and corresponding disclosure, various non-limiting aspects are described in connection with facilitating the smoking of tobacco products. In one such aspect, a smoking pipe is provided, which includes a stem and a bowl. Within such embodiment, the stem includes a smoke chamber extending from a first end of the stem to a mouthpiece on a second end of the stem. The bowl is coupled to the first end of the stem and comprises a heating surface coupled to a power source lead. Here, the smoke chamber is configured to provide an airway through the stem from the mouthpiece to an area proximate to the heating surface. 
     In another aspect, a method is provided, which includes forming a pipe comprising a stem and a bowl in which the pipe includes a smoke chamber extending from the bowl on a first end of the stem to a mouthpiece on a second end of the stem. The method further includes inserting a heating surface into the bowl. For this embodiment, the heating surface is coupled to a power source lead, and the smoke chamber is configured to provide an airway through the stem from the mouthpiece to an area proximate to the heating surface. 
     In a further aspect, a smoking apparatus is provided. The smoking apparatus includes a bowl insert comprising a plurality of holes and a power source lead configured to receive power from an external power source. The smoking apparatus further includes a heating surface electrically coupled to the power source lead and placed on a lower portion of the bowl insert proximate to the plurality of holes. 
     Other embodiments and various non-limiting examples, scenarios and implementations are described in more detail below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Various non-limiting embodiments are further described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective illustration of an exemplary pipe apparatus in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification; 
         FIG. 2  is a partially disassembled view of the pipe apparatus shown in  FIG. 1  which illustrates various exemplary components; 
         FIG. 3A  is a top view of an exemplary pipe apparatus prior to activation in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification; 
         FIG. 3B  is a top view of an exemplary pipe apparatus while activated in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of an exemplary heat-producing circuitry in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification; 
         FIG. 5A  is a cross sectional view of an exemplary pipe apparatus prior to activation in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification; 
         FIG. 5B  is a cross sectional view of an exemplary pipe apparatus while activated in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification; 
         FIG. 6  is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps for utilizing a pipe apparatus according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 7A  illustrates an exemplary rechargeable pipe apparatus in accordance with a first embodiment; 
         FIG. 7B  illustrates an exemplary rechargeable pipe apparatus in accordance with a second embodiment; 
         FIG. 8  illustrates an exemplary detachable stem in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification; 
         FIG. 9  is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps for building a pipe apparatus according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 10A  is a first schematic illustrating an exemplary creation of a pipe apparatus from two cross sectional halves according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 10B  is a second schematic illustrating an exemplary creation of a pipe apparatus from two cross sectional halves according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 11A  is a schematic illustrating a side view of an exemplary bowl insert according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 11B  is a schematic illustrating a top view of an exemplary bowl insert prior to activation according to an embodiment; and 
         FIG. 11C  is a schematic illustrating an exemplary bowl insert while activated according to an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Overview 
     As discussed in the background, because conventional tobacco pipes lack a heating unit, such pipes require smokers to carry a separate incendiary device (e.g., lighter, matches, etc.), which can be easily lost and requires the use of two hands. The various embodiments disclosed herein are directed towards a pipe comprising an integrated heating unit to facilitate smoking tobacco products. In an exemplary embodiment, a pipe is configured to include a bowl insert, wherein the bottom of the insert includes a heating surface coupled to an internal power source. The pipe is further configured to include a button which operates as a switch, wherein a circuit between the heating surface and power source is closed upon pressing the button. Moreover, within such embodiment, the button is configured to facilitate transitioning the heating surface between a “heated” and “unheated” state. Thus, unlike conventional pipes which require the use of two hands (i.e., one hand to hold the pipe and another hand to light the pipe), the button feature disclosed herein desirably enables smokers to light a pipe with the same hand used to hold the pipe. Such a feature is particularly desirable in windy/rainy conditions where the user may want to use their free hand to shield the bowl of the pipe. 
     Exemplary Pipe Embodiments 
     Referring first to  FIGS. 1-2 , perspective illustrations of an exemplary pipe apparatus and corresponding components are provided in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure. As illustrated, pipe  100  comprises a stem portion  110 , a bowl portion  120 , a bowl insert portion  130 , and a power source  140 . Within such embodiment, bowl  120  further comprises button  122 , power source housing  124 , and cap  126 , as shown, wherein power source housing  124  and cap  126  are configured to house power source  140  within pipe  100  during operation. In a particular aspect of the disclosure, to facilitate integrating a heating unit into pipe  100 , power source  140  is coupled to bowl insert  130  via internal circuitry so as to heat a bottom portion of bowl insert  130  upon pressing button  122 . For instance, as indicated above, button  122  may be configured to operate as a switch, wherein such heat is generated by completing a circuit between a bottom portion of bowl insert  130  and power source  140  upon pressing button  122 . During an exemplary operation of pipe  100 , it is thus contemplated that tobacco shreds making contact with a bottom portion of bowl insert  130  will begin to burn upon pressing button  122 . Then, by contemporaneously applying a drawing force at mouthpiece  112 , the generated smoke will travel through stem  110  via holes  132  of bowl insert  130 . Once a desired amount of smoke has been drawn, a user may then stop the heating process by releasing button  122  so as to break the circuit between bowl insert  130  and power source  140 . 
     Referring, next to  FIGS. 3A-3B , an exemplary transition of pipe  100  from an “unheated” state to a “heated” state is provided. In particular,  FIG. 3A  illustrates an exemplary top view of pipe  100  prior to activation, whereas  FIG. 3B  illustrates an exemplary top view of pipe  100  while activated. For this embodiment, the bottom portion of bowl insert  130  comprises a star-shaped heating surface  134 , as shown. In  FIG. 3A , because button  122  is at rest, heating surface  134  is not activated. In  FIG. 3B , however, because button  122  is now pressed, heating surface  134  begins to generate heat, which is represented here by the darkening of heating surface  134 . 
     An exemplary heat-producing circuitry for pipe  100  is now discussed with reference to  FIG. 4 . As illustrated, such circuitry may comprise connecting power source  140  to heating surface  134  via switch  128 , wherein switch  128  is controlled by button  122 . Moreover, for this particular embodiment, it is contemplated that a circuit between power source  140  and heating surface  134  is closed via switch  128  upon pressing button  122 . By closing this circuit, current circulates between power source  140  and heating surface  134 , wherein current into and out of heating surface  134  travels via switch leads  129  and power source leads  135 , as shown. 
     It is contemplated that the aforementioned circulation of current can be utilized to generate heat on heating surface  134 , as desired. Since particular heat-related specifications may be desired, however, it is noted that material used for heating surface  134  may be selected according to those desired specifications. For instance, because it may be desirable that the selected material heat and cool quickly, substances exhibiting such thermal properties may be selected (e.g., aluminum, tungsten, and/or any of various other elements/alloys known in the art). To this end, in a particular embodiment, it is contemplated that heating surface  134  may be configured to operate similar to filaments of a cautery pen device commonly used for surgical procedures. Indeed, filaments of a cautery pen operate as heating elements, wherein it is desirable for such filaments to heat and cool quickly, as desired. Here, because it would be similarly desirable to heat and cool heating surface  134  quickly, it is contemplated that heating surface  134  may be designed utilizing similar materials and according to similar electrical configurations (e.g., using alkaline batteries for power source  140 ). Although cautery pens are well known, several cautery pen designs are hereby incorporated by reference to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,563,570 and 5,688,265 in their entirety. Furthermore, although heating surface  134  may be configured to include aspects similar to filaments of a cautery pen device, one of ordinary skill will appreciate that heating surface  134  may be implemented in any of various ways known in the art including, but not limited to, metallic heating elements (e.g., resistance wire, etched foil, etc.), ceramic heating elements (e.g., molybdenum disilicide, positive temperature coefficient ceramic elements, etc.), and/or composite heating elements (e.g., tubular heating elements, screen-printed elements, etc.). 
     Referring next to  FIGS. 5A-5B , cross sectional views of an exemplary pipe apparatus prior to and during activation are respectively provided in accordance with a disclosed embodiment. For purposes of illustrative clarity, various components were omitted from  FIGS. 5A-5B  including, for example, power source  140  and the aforementioned circuitry connecting power source  140 , button  122 , and heating surface  134 . Although not shown, it should nevertheless be appreciated that inclusion of such components is indeed contemplated for this particular example as well as various other embodiments disclosed herein. 
     For this embodiment, pipe  100  comprises smoke chamber  150 , which extends from a bottom portion of bowl insert  130  through stem  110 , wherein smoke chamber  150  includes an area encircling holes  132 , as shown. To facilitate proper air flow during use, it is contemplated that smoke chamber  150  may further encompass an area just above button  122 . Indeed, within such embodiment, an air gap surrounding a perimeter of button  122  and proximate to bowl  120  may be closed upon pressing button  122 , as shown. During use, tobacco placed within bowl insert  130  will thus begin to burn contemporaneously with the closing of this air gap. Moreover, it is contemplated that smoke will fill smoke chamber  150  via holes  122  upon activation of heating surface  134  as the user simultaneously presses button  122  and applies a drawing force via mouthpiece  112 . Once a desired amount of smoke has been drawn into smoke chamber  150 , the user may then release button  122 , which simultaneously deactivates heating surface  134  and again creates an air gap around button  122 . By reintroducing this air gap, smoke within smoke chamber  150  can then be cleared by the user with a smaller drawing force. 
     Referring next to  FIG. 6 , a flowchart is provided illustrating exemplary steps for utilizing a pipe apparatus according to an embodiment. As illustrated, process  200  begins at act  210  with the user confirming that the pipe  100  has adequate power. In one embodiment, such confirmation may comprise simply pressing button  122  and seeing whether heating surface  134  lights up. In other embodiments, however, a power indicator light may be incorporated into pipe  100 , wherein the power indicator light may be configured to indicate whether power source  140  has adequate power. 
     Once the power level has been confirmed, process  200  proceeds to act  220  where a tobacco product is inserted into bowl insert  130 . Button  122  is then pressed at act  230 , which provides power to heating surface  134  and closes the air gap surrounding button  122 . Here, as heating surface  134  begins to heat, tobacco placed within bowl insert  130  begins to burn contemporaneously with the closing of the air gap. As button  122  is pressed, the user then applies a drawing force from mouthpiece  112  at act  240 , which begins to fill smoke chamber  150  with smoke via holes  122 . Once a desired amount of smoke has been drawn into smoke chamber  150 , the user may then release button  122  at act  250 , which simultaneously deactivates heating surface  134  and again creates an air gap around button  122 . As previously stated, by reintroducing this air gap, smoke within smoke chamber  150  can then be cleared by the user with a smaller drawing force. 
     In another aspect of the disclosure, it is contemplated that power source  140  may be rechargeable. For instance, as illustrated in  FIGS. 7A-7B , exemplary rechargeable configurations are illustrated in accordance with two respective embodiments. In  FIG. 7A , for example, pipe  100  includes charge receptacle  121  at a front portion of bowl  120 , as shown. Within such embodiment, charge receptacle  121  may be configured to receive a universal serial bus (USB) cable, wherein power source  140  is recharged via a USB charging port when the USB cable is connected to an external power source (e.g., a wall outlet, a car&#39;s electrical system, etc.). 
     Similarly, rather than configuring pipe  100  to include a receptacle, pipe  100  may be configured to include charge plug  123 , as illustrated in  FIG. 7B . In a particular embodiment, charge plug  123  is a USB plug, wherein power source  140  is recharged by inserting charge plug  123  into a USB receptacle coupled to an external power source (e.g., a wall outlet, a car&#39;s electrical system, etc.). 
     Here, although USB-based configurations for recharging power source  140  have been discussed, it should be appreciated that any of various non-USB configurations may be utilized. Power adapters configured to recharge mobile phones, for instance, wherein any of various non-USB power adapter configurations known in the art are contemplated (e.g., solar chargers, motion chargers, etc.). 
     In yet another aspect of the disclosure, because pipe users may want to share their pipe with other users, implementing a replaceable stem design may be desired in which the same bowl can be used with multiple stems. In  FIG. 8 , for instance, an exemplary detachable stem configuration is provided in accordance with an aspect of the subject specification. For this particular embodiment, stem  110  and bowl  120  respectively comprise stem attachment component  115  and bowl attachment component  125 , as shown. Moreover, it is contemplated that stem attachment component  115  and bowl attachment component  125  are each configured to attach and detach from each other, wherein any of various attachment mechanisms may implemented. For instance, a magnetic mechanism may be utilized, wherein stem attachment component  115  and bowl attachment component  125  have opposite magnetic polarizations. Here, to avoid magnetic repulsion when interchanging stems, it may be desirable to uniformly polarize all stem attachment components according to a first polarization and all bowl attachment components according to a second polarization opposite to the first polarization. 
     Various other stem attachment mechanisms are also contemplated. For instance, stem attachment component  115  and bowl attachment component  125  may be configured to mate with each other. A screw thread configuration may be implemented, for example, wherein stem attachment component  115  is a hollow male thread, whereas bowl attachment component  125  is a female thread. In another example, rather than threads, stem attachment component  115  and bowl attachment component  125  may be configured to attach and detach via a snap-fit mechanism. 
     Exemplary Pipe Generation Embodiments 
     Referring next to  FIG. 9 , a flowchart is provided illustrating exemplary steps for building a pipe apparatus according to an embodiment. As illustrated, process  300  begins at act  310  with dimensions ascertained for the pipe. To this end, it should be appreciated that parameters for any of a plurality of dimensions may be ascertained (e.g., length of stem  110 , depth of bowl  120 , etc.). Once the dimensions of the pipe have been ascertained, process  300  proceeds to act  320  where the desired power configuration is determined. In one embodiment, if a replaceable battery design is desired, such configuration may include allocating space for power source housing  124 , for instance. Alternatively, if a rechargeable design is desired, such configuration may include determining whether to include charge receptacle  121  or charge plug  123 . 
     At act  330 , pipe  100  is then formed based on the dimensions ascertained at act  310  and the power configuration determined at act  320 . For instance, as illustrated in  FIGS. 10A-10B , pipe  100  may be formed by first creating cross sectional halves,  102  and  104 , of pipe  100 . In a particular embodiment, an injection molding method is utilized to create a mold for each of pipe half  102  and pipe half  104  having the desired dimensions and power configuration. Once formed, pipe half  102  can be attached to pipe half  104  to form pipe  100  which includes a smoke chamber  150  extending from the bowl  120  on a first end of the stem  110  to a mouthpiece  112  on a second end of the stem  110 . If desired, the forming at act  330  may further comprise forming a first portion of the stem  110  to be separable from a second portion of the stem  110  to form the detachable stem embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 8 . 
     Once pipe  100  has been formed, heating surface  134  is then inserted into bowl  120 , at act  340 . As illustrated in  FIGS. 10A-10B , heating surface  134  may be coupled to bowl insert  130 , wherein act  340  comprises inserting bowl insert  130  together with heating surface  134  into bowl  120 . Process  300  then concludes at act  350  with heating surface  134  coupled to a power source lead. Here, such coupling may further comprise coupling button  122  to the power source lead, wherein button  122  is configured to facilitate transitioning heating surface  134  between a heated state and an unheated state. Within such embodiment, the forming at act  330  may thus further comprise extending the smoke chamber  150  to an air gap surrounding a perimeter of button  122 , wherein button  122  is configured to seal the air gap while in a pressed state. Also, if a rechargeable design is desired, the coupling at act  350  may further comprise coupling a rechargeable power source to the power source lead, wherein the rechargeable power source may be configured to charge via a USB connection, for instance. 
     Exemplary Bowl Insert Embodiments 
     Referring next to  FIGS. 11A-11C , various schematics are provided illustrating an exemplary bowl insert according to an embodiment. In  FIG. 11A , for instance, a side view of an exemplary bowl insert is provided, whereas  FIG. 11B  is a top view of the bowl insert prior to activation, and  FIG. 11C  is a top view of the bowl insert while activated. As illustrated, bowl insert  130  comprises a plurality of holes  132  and a power source lead  135 , wherein the power source lead  135  is configured to receive power from an external power source (e.g., power source  140 ). Heating surface  134  is then placed on a lower portion of bowl insert  130  proximate to the plurality of holes  132 , wherein heating surface  134  is electrically coupled to power source lead  135 . As previously stated, since particular heat-related specifications may be desired, material used for heating surface  134  may be selected according to those desired specifications. For instance, because it may be desirable that the selected material heat and cool quickly, substances exhibiting such thermal properties may be selected (e.g., aluminum, tungsten, and/or any of various other elements/alloys known in the art). Particular shapes are also contemplated for heating surface  134 , such as the star-shaped configuration shown in  FIGS. 11A-11C . Other shapes may include concentric circles, a solid circle, etc. 
     The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. For the avoidance of doubt, the subject matter disclosed herein is not limited by such examples. In addition, any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs, nor is it meant to preclude equivalent exemplary structures and techniques known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes,” “has,” “contains,” and other similar words are used in either the detailed description or the claims, for the avoidance of doubt, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as an open transition word without precluding any additional or other elements. 
     The aforementioned systems have been described with respect to interaction between several components. It can be appreciated that such systems and components can include those components or specified sub-components, some of the specified components or sub-components, and/or additional components, and according to various permutations and combinations of the foregoing. Sub-components can also be implemented as components coupled to other components rather than included within parent components (hierarchical). Additionally, it is noted that one or more components may be combined into a single component providing aggregate functionality or divided into several separate sub-components, and any one or more middle layers may be provided to couple to such sub-components in order to provide integrated functionality. Any components described herein may also interact with one or more other components not specifically described herein but generally known by those of skill in the art. 
     In view of the exemplary systems described supra, methodologies that may be implemented in accordance with the disclosed subject matter can be appreciated with reference to the various figures. While for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methodologies are described as a series of steps, it is to be understood and appreciated that the disclosed subject matter is not limited by the order of the steps, as some steps may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other steps from what is described herein. Moreover, not all disclosed steps may be required to implement the methodologies described hereinafter. 
     While the various embodiments have been described in connection with the exemplary embodiments of the various figures, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments may be used or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiment for performing the same function without deviating there from. Therefore, the present invention should not be limited to any single embodiment.