An Improved Apparatus or Device to be Used for Cleaning the Interior of Tobacco Pipes.
Year: 1888

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Apparatus or Device to be Used for Cleaning the
Interior of Tobacco Pipes.
I FRANK SHEARME of Colchester in the County of Essex Lieutenant and Riding
Master of the 12th Royal Lancers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The object of this invention is to provide a cheap and convenient apparatus or device
to be used for cleaning the interior of tobacco pipes by the expansive action of the
gases generated by the ignition of a charge of combustible material in the bowl of the
pipe, the top of which is closed by means of a stopper so as to prevent the gases
escaping otherwise than through the stem of the pipe and thus the whole expansive
force of the gases generated is used to expel any deposit that may have accumulated
therein.
.
The invention consists of a stopper, adapted to fit into the top of the bowl of a pipe,
provided at its lower end with a plate of metal or other suitable substance roughened
to form a striking surface, and a priming or charge of any combustible material
which is placed in the bowl of the pipe, and ignited by the friction of the striking
surface on the stopper, which when inserted is turned round or screwed in.
And in order that my invention may be more fully understood and carried into
practice, I will now proceed to describe the same with reference to the accompanying
drawings in which similar letters indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.
Fig. 1 is a partly sectional elevation of a pipe fitted with the improved apparatus
or device for cleaning;
Fig. 2 is an elevation of the stopper ; and
Fig. 3 is a view shewing one form of the striking plate when manufactured
of metal.
The stopper is preferably made of cork, but it may be made of any material
possessing the elasticity necessary to ensure its tightly fitting into the top of bowl of
the pipe. The lower end H of the stopper is conical in shape so that it may better
take the configuration of the interior of the bowl of the pipe and the upper end J

page_text: preferably cylindrical with a rectangular projecting piece K. at the top, like
the head of a screw driver, to assist the " purchase" or grip," when the stopper is
being screwed in.
The striking plate D is made of metal or other suitable substance and is roughened
in any convenient way. It is preferably circular in shape and may be made with two
projecting fangs F F which can be bent at right angles to the plane of the plate and
inserted into the conical end of the stopper C as shown in Fig. 2.
The edge G of the striking plate D is bevelled off so that it will more closely grip
the end of the stopper C and protect the same from the action of the heat produced
by the ignition of the charge.
The priming or charge A is made of any suitable preparation such as chlorate of
potash and charcoal, or similar combustible material, and is made tapering so that the
priming may be placed with its larger end downwards when the bottom of the bowl of
the pipe is larger than usual. Each end is tipped with phosphorus or other igniting
material E E Fig. 1.
The conical circumference of the priming is grooved or fluted in the direction of
its length as at B B Fig. 1 to allow for the escape of the gases generated near the
striking surface D of the stopper C and also to allow for a little grinding off when the
stopper is screwed in.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-
The priming or charge A is inserted into the bowl of the pipe. The stopper C is
then pressed into the bowl and turned round or screwed therein; the striking plate D
is thus rubbed against the phosphorus or other igniting material E causing the
combustion thereof. The gases generated in the immediate neighbourhood of D and E
finding no other outlet pass down the grooves B.B. . . . made in the priming A and
along the stem of the pipe.
$
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
(1) An improved Apparatus or device for cleaning the interior of tobacco pipes
consisting of a stopper adapted to fit into the top of the bowl of a pipe, provided
with a plate of metal or other suitable substance with a roughened striking surface D
substantially as and for the purpose herein before set forth and illustrated in the
Drawings.
(2) A grooved and tapered reversible priming or charge A of any combustible
material tipped at each end with phosphorus or other igniting material to be placed in
the bowl of a pipe and there ignited, substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore
set forth and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
1000