Patent Publication Number: US-2023150753-A1

Title: Container used to transport and protect consumable cylindrical items

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This nonprovisional utility patent application is a continuation of the provisional patent application 63/280,002 and is claiming the priority filing date of Nov. 16, 1921 set by this provisional patent application. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The disclosed invention relates generally to a substantially airtight case for transporting and protecting cylindrical consumables such as cigarettes, joints, pre-rolls, etc. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a case including a large latching closure for ease of use, sealing construction and removable insert used for holding cylindrical consumables. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Products with a paper or leaf wrapping containing processed leaf and other substances such as tobacco and/or  cannabis  go by many names, i.e., cigarettes, joints, blunts, etc. Products that consist of a paper wrapping around  cannabis  are commonly referred to as “joints”. Products with a leaf wrapping, usually hemp or tobacco, are commonly referred to as “blunts”. These products may be machine rolled or hand rolled usually using paper or whole-leaf tobacco. Regardless of the composition and wrapping, these cylindrical consumables are similar in that they have an elongated substantially cylindrical rod shape that is not designed to withstand significant bending or contact with water and other liquids. This makes transporting those products very difficult. They can also be very potent which can be unpleasant to nearby people. The current devices in the field of this invention tend to be difficult to open and are made of moderate materials. They also tend provide minimal protection for the contents inside, aside from the protection of being in the device itself. The most common device used to protect joints are “doob tubes” U.S. Pat. No. D953885. Other devices lack dedicated spaces for each individual consumable allowing them to move around in the devices i.e., Raw Cone Caddy as seen on their website rawhentic.com or the Oneonta as seen on amazon.com. Some devices do offer protection from liquid through a gasket seal or comparable method such as Paq case U.S. patent Ser. No. 10/414,553. Other devices while not designed specifically for the protection of cylindrical consumables offer protection with reinforced wall designs U.S. Pat. No. 9,637,294B2. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention claimed here solves the problems brought forth in the background section. This new invention has reinforced walls made of a strong plastic material. It has a large latch that is easily opened by most people, a gasket seal surrounding the inside perimeter of the case, and a removable insert with conical inner chambers that reduce the amount of movement the contents of the invention can go through. The insert being removable gives the added benefit of becoming a stand for the consumables while on a flat surface. Removing the insert also allows the second portion of this invention to become a portable work station to construct the users desired cylindrical consumable. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1 A : Exploded view of the invention showing all of the main components: the container lid, removable insert, container center piece, container base, outer latch, and inner latch. 
         FIG.  1 B : Perspective view of the invention. The invention is open with the removable insert placed in its dedicated spot. Pointed out in this figure are the same components as in  FIG.  1 A  with the addition of the gasket. 
         FIG.  1 C : Perspective view of the invention. The invention is opened with the removable insert beside it. 
         FIG.  1 D : Perspective view of the invention. The invention is closed and the latch is activated. 
         FIG.  2   : View of the bottom piece of the invention pointing out the raised wall, lines of plastic used to keep the removable insert in place and the line of plastic used to be ultrasonically welded to the center piece. 
         FIG.  3   : View of the container center piece. 
         FIG.  4 A : Angled view of the container lid pointing out the lip used to catch the outer latch. 
         FIG.  4    B: Side profile of the container lid. This view points out the: male ends and their angle, the lip, and the live of plastic used to apply pressure to the gasket. 
         FIG.  5   : View of the inner latch pointing out the sets of holes needed to connect the latch to the container center piece and the outer latch. 
         FIG.  6   : View of the outer latch pointing out the holes needed to connect to the inner latch. 
         FIG.  7 A : View of the removable insert. This view shows four chambers and the tabs on the top of the removable insert. 
         FIG.  7    B: View of the removable insert drawn to show the tapered conical design of the chambers. 
         FIG.  8   : View of the gasket when stretched to fit into the dedicated channel on the container center piece. 
     
    
    
     A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As shown in  FIG.  1 A- 8   , this invention is made of seven main parts: a gasket  21 , a container lid  1 , a container base  4 , a container center piece  3 , a removable insert  2 , an inner latch  6 , and an outer latch  5 . The container can be made out of any material that won&#39;t absorb or be deteriorated by water and can withstand reasonable stress. The chosen material for this description is ABS plastic. The container base as shown in  FIG.  2    has a tall wall  7  surrounding its inside perimeter. This space will be used to house the removable insert  2  and the cylindrical consumables. Two lines of plastic coming from both the left and right sides  8  of the container base, stopping just at the middle are there to keep the insert from moving while in container. Running along the outer edge of the container base  4 , surrounding the tall wall portion  7  of the container base is a small line of plastic  9 . This will be used to fuse the container base to the container center piece by method of ultrasonic welding. The container center piece as shown in  FIG.  3    has a small channel  10  running along the inner perimeter of the top side. This channel will be used to hold the gasket seal  21  once it is pressed into place. The container center piece has multiple female ends  11  on one side and a protruding portion  12  on the opposite side. Both the female ends and the protruding portion have a hole running through them parallel to the container center piece. The container lid shown in  FIG.  4 A- 4 B  has a small line of plastic  13  running along its inside perimeter. This line of plastic will be used to compress the gasket  21  when the container lid is closed and the latch locks the lid in place. The container lid also has multiple male ends  14  on one side forming a 90-degree angle and a thin protruding lip  15  on the opposite side. The lip is there to catch the outer latch  5  in order to keep the lid closed and pressure on the gasket, shown in  FIG.  1 D . The male ends  14  have holes through them running parallel to the container lid. The container lid and the container center piece are connected by placing the male ends  14  into the female ends  11  and sliding a rod through the holes. The rod must be long enough to be fully through the holes without protruding from either end. The inner latch shown in  FIG.  5    is the smaller of the two latches used in the construction of this device. It is in the shape of an elongated “U” with the open center just large enough for it to fit around the bottom of the protruding portion  12  of the container center piece. The inner latch has two sets of holes running parallel to each other. One set  16  above the other  17 . To connect the inner latch to the rest of the container, line up the inner latch with the protruding portion  12  of the container center piece  3  so that the latch covers the sides and the bottom of the protruding portion. See  FIG.  1 B- 1 D  They are connected by sliding a rod through the top hole  16  of the inner latch and the hole  22  of the protruding portion. The rod should be long enough to go through the holes but not protrude from either end. The outer latch  FIG.  6    has a similar shape to the inner latch, but it has one hole  18  and is large enough to cover the inner latch as seen in  FIG.  1 B- 1 D . The outer latch  5  is connected to the rest of the invention by lining up the outer latch  5  over the inner latch  6  with the round side of the hole  18  facing the rest of the invention. A rod is then slid through the hole in the outer latch  18  and the empty hole of the inner latch  17 . The rod must be long enough to go through the holes without protruding on either end. A gasket as seen in  FIG.  8    made of extruded material and of adequate size can then be placed in the channel  10  of the container center piece  3  by running a finger over the gasket allowing it to slide into place. The removable insert shown in  FIG.  7 A  has a rectangular shape with rounded corners on the bottom matching up with the curve of the tall wall  7  of the container base  4 . It has multiple chambers  19  that are wide at the top and taper down stopping at the bottom of the insert as shown in  FIG.  7 B . The top of the insert  2  in the center are small tabs  20  that aid users in pulling the insert out of the container. To place the insert into the container, line up the curved corners of the insert and the container and slide the insert into place. If done correctly the removable insert will fit stationary between the tall wall  7  and the lines of plastic  8  on the container base as shown in  FIG.  1 B- 1 C . 
     This invention solves the movement during transport issue by holding the cylindrical consumables in a removable insert  2  with conical chambers  19 . The design of the chambers  FIG.  7 B  reduces the amount of movement due to the bottom of each chamber being small enough to snuggly hold a standard filter tip in place. The chamber then slightly increases in diameter until it reaches to top of the insert. The insert  2  as a whole is removable in order to allow the container to become a tray to aid in the construction of cylindrical consumables as shown in  FIG.  1 B- 1 C . The consumables are further protected by housing them in a robust case with a gasket seal  FIG.  1 A- 1 D . The gasket  21  greatly reduces the odor leakage from the consumables in the container when closed. The gasket  21  also stops water and debris from entering the container once it is closed  FIG.  1 D . The container itself protects the items inside due to the material used and the sturdy reinforced wall design. The container is easily opened and closed using the attached large latch  5  and  6 . The container is opened by pulling the bottom of the inner latch  6  away from the container and lifting the lid  1 . The container is closed by shutting the lid  1 , placing the outer latch  5  on the lip of the lid  15 , and pushing the inner latch  6  towards the container. The container is used for aiding in the creation of cylindrical consumables and for the safe transport of those consumables. The empty container is unlocked by pulling outward on the inner latch  6 . The container can then be opened by lifting the lid  1 , revealing the removable insert  2  as shown in  FIG.  1 B . The insert  2  would then be taken out of the container by pulling on the tab  20 . The insert  2  and the container would then be placed on a flat surface as shown in  FIG.  1 C . The empty container can then be used as a rolling station to craft the users chosen cylindrical consumable. As each consumable is made, it can be placed in the insert as it holds each one unaided on a flat surface. Once the user has used the desired number of chambers  19 , the insert  2  can be placed back into the container where it was previously found. The container can then be closed by lowering the lid  1 , aligning the outer latch  5  with the lid  1 , then pushing the inner latch  6  toward the container. This provides enough compression on the gasket seal  21  to render the container substantially airtight.