Patent ID: 7565908

Claim:
An apparatus for water-pipe smoking, comprising: a hollow base having a top side and including a surrounding wall that confines an accommodation space and that is formed with a radial access hole in spatial communication with said accommodation space; a top cover for covering said top side of said hollow base; a liquid container disposed in said accommodation space and including a container body confining a container chamber that has a lower chamber part adapted to be filled with a liquid body, and an upper chamber part above said lower chamber part, a smoke guide duct having a first duct portion extending out of said container chamber and a second duct portion extending into said lower chamber part of said container chamber, and a smoke passage in fluid communication with said upper chamber part of said container chamber and accessible via said access hole in said hollow base; a bowl unit disposed in said accommodation space, coupled to said first duct portion of said smoke guide duct, adapted for holding combustible smoking material therein, and allowing smoke that results from combustion of the smoking material in said bowl unit to flow into said smoke guide duct; and an electric heating unit mounted to said top cover, disposed close to said bowl unit when said top cover covers said top side of said hollow base, and operable so as to generate heat for causing the smoking material in said bowl unit to combust said top cover includes a top wall having an outer edge, an enclosing wall extending downwardly from said outer edge of said top wall, and a mounting wall connected to said enclosing wall and spaced apart from said top wall, said mounting wall being formed with a through hole to be aligned with said bowl unit; said electric heating unit including an electric heating element and a shroud for mounting said electric heating element therein, said shroud being mounted in said top cover and extending through said through hole in said mounting wall, said shroud extending into said bowl unit when said top cover covers said top side of said hollow base.