US20090084391A1

US20090084391A1 - Standardized Mobile Hookah

Info

Publication number: US20090084391A1
Application number: US11/864,997
Authority: US
Inventors: Trent Krupp
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-09-29
Filing date: 2007-09-29
Publication date: 2009-04-02

Abstract

A smoking pipe of Middle Eastern/South Asian mechanical design, which is used to smoke tobacco and other substances while utilizing liquid, such as water, for purifying the smoke, made novel by the use of a coupler that allows the smoking pipe to be compatible with a multitude of standard, consumer bottle types, such as soda bottles or liquor bottles, as the liquid reservoir, which increases the versatility and transportability of the smoking apparatus.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The tobacco pipe of Middle Eastern and South Asian origin, known as a “hookah,” is differentiated from other smoking pipes by its use of water as a means to cool and purify the smoke. Kline U.S. Pat. No. 4,116,204 describes the “hookah” style pipe as one consisting of a stem and bowl situated in respect to a liquid receptacle, such that smoke from a burning substance may be drawn from the bowl through the stem and into a liquid when the user inhales through a mouthpiece. The smoke is purified and cooled by the liquid, making the smoke more amenable to the user. The Kline Patent accurately described hookahs as being inherently bulky and non-transportable due to the use of a liquid receptacle.
As with the Kline Patent, the object of this patent is a hookah-style pipe with the advantage of water cooled smoke in a configuration that allows for the ease of transport.
Where the Kline Patent seeks to ameliorate the transport issue through the use of a collapsible liquid reservoir, the unique art addressed in this patent is the smoking apparatus' ability to utilize widely available consumer liquid receptacles, such that the user may easily transport the smoking apparatus without a reservoir and then acquire, at their destination, a suitable liquid receptacle that will interface with the smoking apparatus as the liquid reservoir.
The advantage, as described, is accomplished through the use of an adjustable coupler, affixed to the smoking apparatus, which may accommodate many different mouth diameters and styles present on consumer liquid receptacles, such as liquor bottles or soda bottles. This allows the user to easily find a suitable liquid receptacle and attach it to the smoking apparatus as a reservoir resulting in a functional water pipe.
The object of this patent is described as a hookah-style water tobacco pipe consisting of a pipe described as having a head that interfaces with a bowl, to hold the substance to be smoked, at one end, a coupler attached to the head opposite the bowl that may be used with different diameters and threading styles of bottle mouths, and a separate opening on the side of the head used to attach a mouthpiece.
Attached to the head of the apparatus, and running the length of the apparatus, is a tubular structure with two openings; one that terminates at the top of the head, where the bowl is attached, and another opening directly opposite, at the bottom end of the apparatus. A separate side opening in the head is used to accommodate a mouthpiece with an opposing terminus at the base of the head, such that when a liquid receptacle is attached to the coupler, one terminus of the side opening is enclosed within the assembly.
The coupler (either built into or affixed to the head of the apparatus) when threaded on or otherwise affixed to the mouth of a receptacle containing liquid, forms a airtight seal such that when a vacuum is applied to the mouthpiece attached to the apparatus, a decrease in air-pressure within the receptacle causes airflow to be drawn from the bowl at the top of the head, through the tubular structure, down into and through the liquid and out through the mouthpiece situated at the side of the head.
The “coupler”, as defined in this patent, is an adjustable interface attached to the smoking apparatus, which allows the user to use the apparatus with more than one bottle mouth diameter, style or specification. The coupler may accomplish this through three different methods, which are considered to be the unique art of this patent: 1) The coupler may be interchangeable. The user may select a coupler, which possesses compatible female threading specifications as the receiving male mouth of a consumer liquid receptacle, attach it to the apparatus and then thread the apparatus to the bottle mouth forming a seal. 2) The coupler may be made of an adjustable material, such as plastic or rubber that may flex around and seal with more than one bottle mouth diameter. 3) The coupler may be tapered, such that it may fit inside and seal with more than one bottle mouth diameter. Any or all of these three coupler styles may be utilized by the pipe so that the user may utilize more than one consumer liquid receptacle (such as liquor bottles or soda bottles) as the reservoir for the smoking apparatus.
The ability for the smoking apparatus through a coupler to use more than one widely available, standard liquid receptacle is central to the unique art claimed within this patent, which is otherwise functionally typical of hookah-style water pipes, such as the one described in the Kline Patent. This provides the ability for the user to easily transport the smoking apparatus without the need to carry the liquid receptacle, thus adding utility to the design not found in the prior art of water-filtered smoking pipes.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is the profile of the smoking apparatus while in its disassembled state.

FIG. 2 is the assembled smoking apparatus, which is the state in which it is operable by the user.

FIG. 3 is a cut-away of the assembled smoking apparatus attached to a liquid receptacle, without a bowl or mouthpiece attached.

In FIG. 1, the bowl 2 is attached to the head 5 of the pipe, where the top of the head 4 is made of rubber or plastic such that it may fit tightly into the bottom opening of the bowl 3. The tubular structure 10 has one terminus at the top of the head 5, where the bowl 2 is situated and another terminus opposite the head 5. The side opening of the head of the pipe 16 may be connected to a mouth piece 14 by adjoining the end of the mouthpiece 15 to the side opening 16. The side opening 16 terminus 17 is within the head structure 5, such that the side opening 16 does not puncture the tubular structure 10. The coupler 8 may be attached to the head structure 5 by affixing the top of the coupler 7 onto end of the head structure 6 or may be built-in to the head structure 5 as a single piece. The coupler 8, affixed to the head structure 5, may be fitted upon different threading types and diameters of the bottle mouth 11. Before attaching the pipe structure, consisting of sections 4, 5, 8 and 10, to the liquid receptacle 12, the liquid receptacle should be approximately half filled with liquid, typically water, via the bottle opening 11.
In FIG. 2. the smoking apparatus is assembled and may be used by placing a smokeable substance into the bowl 2 at the top of the bowl 1, and by placing on the bowl an appropriate cover, such as perforated aluminum foil, and a heat source, such as ignited coal or an electric heater. The user may then apply a vacuum (such as by inhaling) to the mouthpiece 14 which decreases air-pressure within the sealed assembly via the head structure 5, drawing airflow from the burning smokeable substance in the bowl 2, down through the tubular structure 10, through the liquid 13 contained with in the liquid receptacle 12. The air then exits the sealed system through the mouthpiece 14 connected to the head structure 5 via the side opening 16.
In FIG. 3 the smoking apparatus is cut-away, showing tubular structure 10 running the length of the pipe, with one terminus at the head 5 of the pipe and a second terminus within the liquid receptacle 12. The side opening 16 is shown without a mouthpiece 14 and with a terminus 17 within the head 5. When assembled and a vacuum is applied to the mouthpiece 14, the airflow within the assembly travels from the top of the head 4, down through the tubular structure 10, into the liquid receptacle 12, up to the side opening terminus 17 within the head 5, and out through the side opening 16 exiting at the mouthpiece 14 to the user applying the vacuum.
Important to the novelty of this patent is the coupler 8 which may be either built into the head structure 5 or may be interchangeable to accommodate many different threading types and bottle mouth diameters. The user may have several different couplers that fits this smoking pipe such that they may adapt the smoking pipe via the coupler 8 to many different types of liquid receptacle mouths 11 (FIG. 1); or the coupler 8 may be made of a flexible material (typically rubber or plastic), which allows for the coupler to be compatible with a variety of bottle mouth diameters and types.
The smoking apparatus head 5 and tubular structure 10 may be made of any number of materials, favoring non-corrosive materials such as titanium, anodized aluminum or stainless steel. The bowl interface 4 at the head of the apparatus 5 should be made of a flexible material, such as rubber or plastic, so that it may fit tightly into the opening on the bowl 3. The coupler 8 may be made of less expensive, adjustable materials, such as plastic or rubber, or may be made of the same material as the head 5 and tubular structure 10. It is assumed that the mouthpiece and bowl, which may be attached to the apparatus, are widely available smoking pipe accessories. The liquid receptacle used as the reservoir may be any liquid receptacle, whether glass, acrylic, ceramic, metal or plastic, that has a bottle top within the specifications compatible with the coupler 8 or couplers used in conjunction with the smoking apparatus. Typical bottles that may be used as a reservoir with the apparatus, include: vases, liquor bottles, soda bottles, or water bottles.

Claims

1. An apparatus for smoking tobacco and other substances that can be smoked comprising of: (1) a tubular structure running the length of the apparatus and a head at the end of the apparatus that interfaces with a bowl to accommodate the smokeable substance, an alternate hole in the head of the apparatus that is to accommodate a mouthpiece and a coupler attached to the apparatus, (2) wherein the coupler may seal upon more than one standard of consumer liquid receptacle through the use of an adjustable material (such as plastic or rubber) that may flex over different sizes of bottle mouth diameters, (3) wherein once the apparatus, with the coupler, is affixed to the liquid receptacle, a closed system is created that results in the user's ability to apply a vacuum (such as by inhaling) to the mouthpiece, draw airflow from outside the system, through the burning substance placed and ignited within the bowl, down through the tubular structure, through the liquid within the receptacle, and up back through the head to the user applying the vacuum at the mouthpiece.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the apparatus may accommodate more than one coupler, such that the user may interchange different couplers that accommodate and seal upon different bottle mouth diameters and threading styles. Each coupler connects to the head of the apparatus and the opposing end may thread onto a liquid receptacle, such that the apparatus may seal with the receiving diameter or threading style of the mouth on the liquid receptacle, resulting in a functional water pipe.

3. The pipe of claim 1 in which one end of the head, with or without a coupler, interfaces with the liquid receptacle such that a grade of inner female threads may seal upon differing male threading styles or diameters of more than one type of liquid receptacles.

4. The pipe of claim 1 in which the coupler is tapered such that it may fit inside the mouth of a liquid receptacle and create a seal with more than one diameter of bottle mouth.