GB2356797A

GB2356797A - A grinding device

Info

Publication number: GB2356797A
Application number: GB0001809A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Brett Andrew Horrigan
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-09-08
Filing date: 2000-01-26
Publication date: 2001-06-06
Also published as: GB0001809D0; GB9921213D0

Abstract

A hand holdable grinding device (1) comprises a housing (2) having a chamber (3) therein adapted to contain dried plant material to be ground and a grating disc (10) within the chamber, and a cylindrical grinding member (4) with a metal grip plate (14) on its base for bearing on any material in the chamber. Dried plant material is placed in the chamber on top of the grating disc and the grinding member is placed partially within the chamber. The grinding member is rotated relative to the housing and is pushed in a downward direction towards the grating disc causing the material in the chamber between the grip plate and the grating disc to be simultaneously compressed against and rotated relative to the grating disc thereby grating the material. The grinding member may be adapted to hold a cigarette lighter.

Description

2356797 A GRINDING DEVICE The present invention relates to a device for

grinding material and, more particularly, for grinding dried plant material which can be smoked, such as herbal tobacco which can be prepared by drying the juice of certain plants.

A person can make his own cigarette by placing dried plant material to be smoked on a piece of paper and rolling the paper around it. The dried plant material needs to be sufficiently ground so that the paper can be easily rolled around it and so that it burns in the required manner.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for grinding plant material to be smoked.

According to the present invention there is provided a hand holdable grinding device comprising a housing having a chamber therein adapted to contain material to be ground and grating means within the chamber, and a substantially cylindrical grinding member having gripping means for bearing on the material in the chamber whereby relative rotation of the grinding member and the housing and relative movement of the grinding member and the grating means towards each other causes the material in the chamber between the gripping means and the grating means to be simultaneously compressed against and rotated relative to the grating means to thereby grate the material.

It may be desirable for there to be an interference fit between the housing and the grinding member. The interference fit may be caused by having resilient material between the housing and the grinding member. The resilient material may desirably be an annular ring of rubber encircling the substantially cylindrical grinding member.

It may be desirable for the housing to have a screw thread on one of its surfaces and the grinding member to have a second screw thread adapted to threadably engage the first screw thread whereby relative rotation of the grinding member and the housing with the screw threads engaged in a 2 grinding direction causes the material in the chamber between the gripping means and the grating means to be simultaneously compressed against and rotated relative to the grating means to thereby grate the material.

It may be convenient for the gripping means to form at least part of a base of the grinding member. The gripping means may be resiliently mounted substantially within the grinding member. The gripping means may comprise a spring connected to the inside of the substantially cylindrical grinding member and a grip plate attached to the spring in order that the grip plate is adapted to make resilient contact with the material. The grip plate may comprise hardened rubber so that the grip plate is adapted to grip the material.

The housing may conveniently comprise a substantially cylindrical member. The housing may have a hollow frusto-cone below the grating means, the frusto-cone having an aperture at the tapered distal end to facilitate the collection of grated material. The grating means may comprise a grating disc.

Such a device will be suitable for grinding material for smoking in a cigarette.

The substantially cylindrical grinding member may be adapted to hold a cigarette lighter so that a lighter may be carried with the grinding device. The substantially cylindrical grinding member may be adapted to hold the cigarette lighter in an interference fit. The substantially cylindrical grinding member may have a catch for preventing a cigarette lighter inserted therein from falling out.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a grinding device according to a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of a grating plate for the grinding device; Figure 3 is a plan view of a grinding member of the grinding device with a cigarette lighter inserted therein; 3 Figure 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a modified grinding member; Figure 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a grinding device according to a second embodiment of the invention; Figure 6 is a plan view of a grating plate for the grinding device of Figure 5; Figure 7 is a longitudinal cross-section view of a grinding member of the grinding device of Figure 5 with a cigarette lighter inserted therein; Figure 8 and 9 are details of a catch mechanism for holding the inserted cigarette lighter in place; Figures 10 and 11 are longitudinal cross-sectional views of a modified grinding member; Figure 12 is a plan view of a modified grating plate; Figure 13 is a transverse cross-sectional view on the line 13-13 of a housing of the grinding device shown in Figure 5 modified to receive the grating plate shown in Figure 12; and Figure 14 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view on the line 14-14 of the housing shown in Figure 13 with the modified grating plate installed.

Referring to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings, the grinding device 1 comprises a substantially cylindrical housing 2, forming a chamber 3 therein, and a substantially cylindrical grinding member 4, the cylindrical grinding member 4 fitting partially within the chamber 3. The dimensions of the grinding member and the first chamber are such that there is an interference fit between the housing and the partially inserted grinding member.

The housing 2 has a hollow frusto-cone 5 integrally attached to its base, the frusto-cone having a distal open tapered end 6 so that it forms a funnel. Just above where the frusto-cone 5 meets the cylindrical housing 2, recesses 7 are provided in an inside surface 8 of the housing 2. These recesses 7 receive corresponding nibs 9 (see Fig. 2) on the circumference of a metal grating disc 10 inserted into the housing 2 and prevent the inserted 4 grating disc from being able to rotate relative to the housing. The grating disc has grating edges 11 for material to be grated upon and holes 12 for the grated material to pass through the disc 10.

The cylindrical grinding member 4 also has a chamber 13 formed therein and a metal grip plate 14 is attached to a base 15 of the grinding member. The grip plate 14 has a lower face 16 roughened by a plurality of protrusions 17, the plate being held in a similar way to how the grating disc is Ineld tO the housing. The grinding mernber 4 also has a pair of opposing stubs 18 protruding from an inside surface 19 of the chamber 13. The stubs are adapted to resiliently hold a cigarette lighter 20 inserted into the grinding member 4 (see Fig. 3) in an interference fit. The opposite end of the cylindrical grinding member 4 to the base 15 has an outwardly protruding annular flange 21.

In use, dried plant material, such as pieces of herbal tobacco, is placed in the chamber 3 of the housing 2 of the grinding device 1 on top of the grating disc 10. The cylindrical grinding member 4 is placed partially inside the housing chamber 3 with the flange 21 being outside the housing 2. The grinding member 4 is rotated relative to the housing 2 and is pushed towards the grating disc 10 of the housing in a downward direction as indicated by arrow 22 (see Fig. 1). This movement causes the grip plate 14 to make contact with the pieces of herbal tobacco. The rotation and downward movement of the grinding member 4 causes the grip plate 14 to grip and force the pieces of tobacco against the grating edges 11 of the stationary grating disc 10, thus grinding them. The ground pieces fall through the holes 12 in the grating disc 10 and out through the open tapered end 6 of the frusto- cone where they are collected. The ground pieces can then be used by a person to make his own cigarettes. The grinding member 4 is pushed into the housing 2 until the annular flange 21 comes into contact with the top of the housing preventing the grip plate 14 from coming into contact with the grating disc 10.

To grind more tobacco, the cylindrical grinding member 4 is rotated relative to the housing 2 and is pulled out of the housing 2 so that further pieces of tobacco can be placed in the housing chamber 3 and the sequence set out above is repeated.

In a preferred embodiment, the cylindrical grinding member 4 is approximately 75 mm long and with an outside diameter of about 20 mm (excluding the flange 21 which is slightly larger). The cylindrical housing 2 is approximately 60 mm long and is ol a slightly larger diameter. The tapere A U open end 6 of the frusto-cone 5 at the base of the housing has a smaller diameter of about 5 mm. These dimensions make the grinding device 1 a convenient size to be placed in a pocket of an item of clothing.

In a modification to the first embodiment, the cylindrical grinding member 23 (see Fig. 4) has an annular rubber ring 24 which encircles, and is preferably attached to, the grinding member 23, the ring 24 forming an interference fit between the grinding member 23 and the housing 2.

However, the ring may instead be attached to the inside of the housing.

In a second embodiment illustrated in Figures 5 to 9, the grinding device 30 has a substantially cylindrical grinding member 31 which partially and freely fits into a chamber 32 of a substantially cylindrical housing 33. The housing has a grating disc 34 which is similar to that described in the f irst embodiment except that it has U-shaped holes 35 (see Fig. 6) and the housing has a f rusto-cone 36 like in the first embodiment.

The housing 33 has an internal surface on which there is an internal screw thread 37. This is adapted to engage an external screw thread 38 on an outside surface of the cylindrical grinding member 31.

The cylindrical grinding member 31 has a transverse integral plate 39 dividing the cylinder into two parts. A grip plate 40 is connected to the underside of the integral plate 39 by a compression spring 41. The grip plate is positioned so that its lower face is slightly below the base of the grinding member 31 and the grip plate 40 is of a slightly smaller diameter than 6 the inside diameter of the cylindrical grinding member 31. The grip plate is made from hardened rubber.

The part of the grinding member 31 above the integral plate 39 has a moulded tapered chamber 42 shaped to match a sloped side 43 of a lower part of a cigarette lighter 44, such as a Clipper ITI lighter, which is shown inserted into the grinding member 31 in Figure 7. A moulded plastic catch mechanism 45 is attached to near the top of the outer surface of the cylindrical grinding member 31 and is adapted for preventing the inserted cigarette lighter 44 from falling out of the grinding device. The catch mechanism 45 comprises an L-shaped member 46 which has a hinged connection 47 at one end of the grinding member 31 and is adapted to be rotated about the hinged connection 47 from its open position shown in Figure to snap shut in its closed position shown in Figure 7. As the L-shaped member 46 is rotated, its bottom corner 48 (see Figs. 8 and 9), adjacent the grinding member 31 in both the open or closed position and next to the hinged connection 47, makes contact with and is forced past the grinding member 31 hence causing the snapping action. When the inserted cigarette lighter 44 is required to be removed, the L-shaped member 46 is rotated in the opposite direction until it snaps into its open position shown in Figure 5.

In use, dried plant material, such as pieces of herbal tobacco, is placed in the housing chamber 32 on top of the grating disc 10. The cylindrical grinding member 31 is placed partially inside the chamber 32 so that the grinding member's external screw thread 38 is engaged by the housing's internal screw thread 37. The grinding member 31 is rotated relative to the housing 33 so that the former is partially retracted into the latter. Thus, the grinding member, as well as rotating, moves in a downward direction relative to the housing as indicated by arrow 49 (see Fig. 5). This movement also causes the grip plate 40 to rotate in the same direction and move in a downward direction. The grip plate 40 makes contact with the pieces of herbal tobacco which causes the spring 41 to compress.

7 As the rotation continues, the spring 41 reaches a point where it cannot be compressed any further. The maximum compression of the spring 41 will bring the lower face of the grip plate 40 to be above the base of the cylindrical grinding member 31. The amount of compression of the spring 41 is related to the size/hardness of the pieces of tobacco being compressed.

Upon further rotation of the grinding member 31, the rotating and downwardly moving grip plate 40 grips and force the pieces of tobacco against the grating edges of the stationary grating disc 34, thus grinding them. The spring 41 is needed to reduce the possibility of a hard or large piece of tobacco from jamming the device 30. The ground pieces fall through the holes 35 in the grating disc 34 and out through the open tapered end of the frusto-cone 36 where they are collected. The ground pieces can then be used by a person to make his own cigarettes.

To grind more tobacco, the cylindrical grinding member 31 is rotated relative to the housing 33 until the screw threads 37,38 disengage and is pulled out of the housing 33 so that further pieces of tobacco can be placed in the housing chamber 32 and the sequence set out above is repeated.

In a modification to the second embodiment, the grip plate 40 and spring 41 is replaced by a single integral resilient component which in Figures 10 and 11 shows the spring 41 being replaced by a section of moulded rubber which is integral to the hardened rubber grip plate 51, the latter being of a harder consistency. The moulded rubber section 50 encloses an air filled cavity 52 which acts as a cushion. In Figure 10, the moulded rubber section is shown in its neutral state. When the cylindrical grinding member is rotated, causing the grip plate 51 to make contact with pieces of herbal tobacco, the moulded rubber section 50 compresses as shown in Figure 11.

When the grinding member is rotated in the opposite direction, the moulded rubber section 50 returns to its neutral state.

In a modification to both embodiments, the grating disc 53 shown in Figures 12 to 14 has recesses 54 in its circumference for receiving respective protrusions 28 at the base of the housing.

The term Irusto-cone" is intended to cover any suitable member integrally attached to the base of the housing which acts as a funnel.

Whilst particular embodiments have been described, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, to grind the tobacco, the housing may be rotated relative to the grinding member or the housing and the grinding member may be rotated in opposite directions to each other. P^^iso, the housing may be pushed towards the grinding member or the housing and the grinding member may be pushed towards each other.

Any suitable material may be used to make various parts of the grinding device, for example, metal such as aluminium. The grating disc may be attached to the housing in any suitable manner to prevent the former rotating relative to the latter and will appropriately be made of metal but may be made of a hard plastic material. The grating disc may have any suitable arrangement of appropriately shaped holes and grating edges. Alternatively, the grating disc may be an integral part of the housing. The grip plate may form an integral part of the base of the grinding member. Any suitable means may be used for preventing an inserted cigarette lighter from failing out of the grinding device.

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Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A hand holdable grinding device comprising a housing having a chamber therein adapted to contain material to be ground and grating means within the chamber, and a substantially cylindrical grinding member having gripping means for bearing on the material in the chamber whereby relative rotation of the grinding member and the housing and relative movement of the grinding member and the grating means towards each other causes the material in the chamber between the gripping means and the grating means to be simultaneously compressed against and rotated relative to the grating means to thereby grate the material.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, including an interference fit between the housing and the grinding member.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the interference fit is caused by having resilient material between the housing and the grinding member.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the resilient material comprises an annular ring of rubber encircling the substantially cylindrical grinding member.

5. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the housing has a first screw thread on one of its surfaces and the grinding member has a second screw thread adapted to threadably engage the first screw thread whereby relative rotation of the grinding member and the housing with the screw threads engaged in a grinding direction causes the material in the chamber between the gripping means and the grating means to be simultaneously compressed against and rotated relative to the grating means to thereby grate the material.

6. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the gripping means forms at least part of a base of the grinding member.

7. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the gripping means is resiliently mounted.

8. A device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the gripping means is resiliently mounted substantially within the grinding member.

9. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the gripping means comprises a spring connected to the substantially cylindrical grinding member and a grip plate attached to the spring in order that the grip plate is adapted to make resilient contact with the material.

10. A device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the spring is connected to the inside of the substantially cylindrical grinding member.

11. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the gripping means comprises hardened rubber adapted to grip the material.

12. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the housing comprises a substantially cylindrical member.

13. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the housing has a hollow funnel means below the grating means, the funnel means having an aperture at a tapered distal end to facilitate the collection of grated material.

14. A device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the funnel means is substantially frusto-conical.

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15. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the grating means comprises a grating disc.

16. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the substantially cylindrical grinding member is adapted to hold a cigarette lighter.

17. A device as claimed in claim 16, wherein the substantially cylindrical grinding member is adapted to hold a cigarette lighter with an interference fit.

18. A device as claimed in claim 16 or 17, wherein the substantially cylindrical grinding member has a catch for preventing a cigarette lighter inserted therein from failing out.

19. A hand holdable grinding device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.