AU2008267765A1 - Improved apparatus and method for the extinguishing and storage of used cigarette butts - Google Patents

Description

WO 2009/000033 PCT/AU2008/000922 1 IMPROVED APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR THE EXTINGUISHING AND STORAGE OF USED CIGARETTE BUTTS FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for the extinguishing and storage of used cigarette butts and, in particular, to a two part cigarette pack apparatus that is adapted to hold cigarettes in one part and to extinguish and store used cigarette butts within respective compartments in another part. Although the background, objects and preferred embodiments of the invention will be hereinafter described with reference to an apparatus and method for the extinguishing and storage of used cigarette butts, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto but has wider application. For example, the two part pack apparatus may be used for extinguishing and storage of cigars. It is to be understood that the terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description only and should not be regarded as limiting. For instance, the terms "comprising" or "comprises" are to be understood as meaning "including", unless otherwise stated. Also, the term "pack" is to be understood as including small or large cigarette holding packages of the flip top or wallet design.

WO 2009/000033 PCT/AU2008/000922 2 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Careless disposal of used cigarette butts is a significant contributor to urban pollution, particularly on footpaths outside office buildings where smokers may congregate. Used cigarette butts often find their way into stormwater drains and ultimately into the waterways where they can do considerable harm to marine fauna and flora. Even well meaning smokers may find it hard to thoughtfully dispose of their cigarette butts if they do not have easy access to a bin. Of those smokers who do dispose of their cigarette butts thoughtfully into a nearby bin, the bin itself may not be suited to enabling the butt to be extinguished, normally by rubbing the burning tip against an inert surface, before the butt is released into the bin. Failure to properly extinguish the burning tip of the butt may cause any ignitable contents of the bin to catch fire and the bin to release smoke and possibly flames to the outside. At present, the most likely way that a thoughtful smoker without easy access to a bin will dispose of a cigarette butt, at least temporarily, is to extinguish the burning tip against any nearby surface and then reintroduce the butt into the cigarette pack from which the butt originated. This is not an ideal option for the smoker as the lingering odour of the just extinguished butt will surround the smoker when the cigarette pack is returned to his or her pocket or bag.

WO 2009/000033 PCT/AU2008/000922 3 None of the aforementioned prior art methods of extinguishing and storage of used cigarette butts safely and conveniently deal with the problems associated with the burning tip, the lingering odour of a just extinguished butt and the careless disposal of the butt. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It-is a primary object to the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for the extinguishing and storage of a used cigarette butt that do not require a smoker to have access to an inert surface for rubbing, and so extinguishing, the burning tip thereagainst, and that do not require a smoker to have access to a bin for the immediate disposal of the just extinguished butt Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for the extinguishing and storage of used cigarette butts that can be in the form of a two part cigarette pack, one part adapted to hold cigarettes and another part containing respective compartments for extinguishing and storage of used butts. It is yet another object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate the disadvantages and shortcomings of the aforementioned prior art, or at least provide a useful alternative.

WO 2009/000033 PCT/AU2008/000922 4 It has been found by the present inventor that these and other objects of the invention may be achieved in general by providing an apparatus for extinguishing and storage of used cigarette butts, the apparatus comprising means for individually storing the butts in a first part of the apparatus, the first part being joined to a second part of the apparatus for holding cigarettes, the first part including a plurality of compartments for said storing. It is preferred that each compartment contains a fire extinguishing substance for extinguishing the burning tip of a butt upon insertion into the compartment. It is also preferred that a thin sheet covers each opening to the storage compartments. In a further preferred form, score lines are formed at locations of the sheet that correspond to the openings, and a score line is pierced when a used cigarette butt is pushed with sufficient force against it. Preferably, the fire extinguishing substance is also a smoke and odour suppressant. In a preferred form, the fire extinguishing substance is a gel, and the gel may have a glycerin base.

WO 2009/000033 PCT/AU2008/000922 5 The gel may be comprised of propylene glycol, Polysorbate 20, TEA 99, Carbopol 980, preservatives and purified water. The apparatus preferably has a flip top cover for covering the compartments. There has been thus outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and put into practical effect, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which the disclosure is based, may be readily utilized as the basis for designing other apparatus and processes for carrying out the objects of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the broad outline of the invention described above be regarded as including such equivalent constructions in so far as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. SUMMARY OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the accompanying drawings.

WO 2009/000033 PCT/AU2008/000922 6 Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a cigarette pack apparatus for holding cigarettes and for extinguishing and storage of used cigarette butts according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig.2 is a similar view to Fig. 1 but showing the two parts of the apparatus opened. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a cigarette pack apparatus according to another embodiment of the invention in which only one part of the apparatus has been opened. Fig. 4 is a sectional front view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a sectional side view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a sectional front view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is a sectional side view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a cigarette pack apparatus for holding cigarettes and for extinguishing and storage of used cigarette butts according to yet another embodiment of the invention.

WO 2009/000033 PCT/AU2008/000922 7 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The apparatus 10 shown in Fig. 1 is in the form of a two part pack having a main body 12 with upper and lower flip top covers 14, 16 that, when closed, conceal opposed openings into the body 12 As shown in Fig. 2, upper flip top cover 14 pivotally opens upwardly to reveal cigarettes 18 held inside the body in a conventional manner. Lower flip top cover 16 pivotally opens downwardly to reveal means for individually storing used cigarette butts, in the form of storage compartments 20. Also shown in Figs. 4 and 5, each storage compartment 20, in this embodiment, contains a fire extinguishing substance 22 for extinguishing the burning tip of a butt upon insertion into the compartment 20. The substance 22 is located at the rear of each compartment. The fire extinguishing substance 22 may also be a smoke and odour suppressant, such as a gel with a glycerin base which, in this embodiment, may be comprised of propylene glycol, Polysorbate 20, TEA 99, Carbopol 980, preservatives and purified water. Any such substance must be non-flammable, and preferably perfumed. The fire extinguishing substance, when in the form of a gel, is injected into each compartment 20 of the apparatus 10. Upon completion of a cigarette, the used cigarette butt, which still has a burning tip, is pushed into the gel WO 2009/000033 PCT/AU2008/000922 8 contained in a compartment 20 so as to extinguish the butt and prevent smoke and odour escaping to the outside. The storage compartments 20 are cylindrical and are arranged in a honeycomb-like pattern to conserve space. A thin sheet 24 covers the openings to the storage compartments 20, and X-shaped score lines 26 are formed at locations of the sheet 24 that correspond to the openings. The score lines may be any shape, or may be substituted by any local weakening of the sheet. The sheet may be a thin foil. In order to insert a used cigarette butt into a storage compartment 20, a user pushes the butt against one of the X-shaped score lines 26 with sufficient force to pierce the sheet 24 along the score lines and to open a path for allowing the butt to be pushed far enough for the burning tip of the butt to contact the fire extinguishing substance 22. Once extinguished, the butt can be stored in its compartment and the lower flip top closed. The apparatus shown in Figs. 3, 6 and 7 differs from that of Fig. 2 in that the storage compartments 30 are arranged so that their openings face downwardly, rather than to the front of the pack as in the apparatus shown in Fig. 2. With this arrangement, there may be less space available for storage compartments. Features shown in Fig. 3 that are also shown in Fig. 2 are identified by like numerals.

WO 2009/000033 PCT/AU2008/000922 9 The apparatus shown in Fig. 8 is also in the form of a two part pack, but it has a pair of pack bodies 40, 42 that are pivotally joined by a fold or hinge 44. One pack body 40 holds cigarettes 46 in a conventional manner. The other pack body 42 includes storage compartments 48 for used cigarette butts. The storage compartments are accessible by opening upper and lower flip top covers 50, 52 and by piercing the weakened regions of a thin sheet 54. The apparatus of Fig. 8 is particularly suited to "slim" size cigarettes with longer filters than normal cigarettes. With this invention, an average smoker is more likely to dispose of the used cigarette butt in a thoughtful way, that is, by inserting it into a fire extinguishing substance containing compartment of the two part pack apparatus. If the apparatus 10 is in a readily accessible location, such as in a plastic holder inside a vehicle, then the opportunity to use, and the actual instances of use, will be greatly increased. It will be readily apparent from the above that there are various advantages of the present invention. The primary advantage is the provision of an apparatus for extinguishing and storage of used cigarette butts that can safely and conveniently deal with the problems associated with the burning tip, the lingering odour of a just extinguished butt and the careless disposal of the butt as occurs in the prior art.

WO 2009/000033 PCT/AU2008/000922 10 Other advantages are that the apparatus no longer requires a smoker to have access to an inert surface for rubbing, and so extinguishing, the burning tip thereagainst, and no longer requires a smoker to have access to a bin for the immediate disposal of the just extinguished butt Still further advantages of the present invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. It will also be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in details of design and construction of the embodiments of the apparatus and method for extinguishing and storage of used cigarette butts described above without departing from the scope or ambit of the present invention. The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or admission or any form of suggestion that that prior publication (or information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates before the filing date of this patent application.

Claims (6)

1. An apparatus for extinguishing and storage of used cigarette butts, the apparatus comprising means for individually storing the butts in a first part of the apparatus, the first part being joined to a second part of the apparatus for holding cigarettes, the first part including a plurality of compartments for said storing.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each compartment contains a fire extinguishing substance for extinguishing the burning tip of a butt upon insertion into the compartment.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein a thin sheet covers each opening to the storage compartments.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein score lines are formed at locations of the sheet that correspond to the openings, and a score line is pierced when a used cigarette butt is pushed with sufficient force against it.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the fire extinguishing substance is also a smoke and odour suppressant.

6. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the fire extinguishing substance is a gel, and the gel has a glycerin base.