US2530340A - Humidor - Google Patents

Description

S. M. SAGER Nov. 14, 1950 HUMIDOR Filed July 8, 1946 I fJYZ EHTUP j0L0/VONM SAGE/P Patented Nov. 14, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HUMIDOR Solomon M. Sager, Chicago, 111.

Application July 8, 1946, Serial No. 682,094

1 This invention relates to a humidor and more particularly to a humidor containing variegated moisture-liberating material, the appearance of which affords a visual indication as to the moistened condition of the material.

In accordance with my present invention, I provide a tubular container including a transparent envelope or window, through which the colored moisture-liberating material is visible. The wall of the envelope, or window, is perforated to permit liberation of moisture into the space to be humidified, such as the interior of a tobacco pouch, or the like. In order to moisten the moisture-liberating material, it is merely necessary to immerse the humidor in Water and allow it to stand until the color change of the material indicates that it has been saturated with moisture. The moisture is then given off through the openings in the envelope or window to maintain the surrounding air in a relatively humid condition.

It is, therefore, an important object of this invention to provide a humidor containing material adapted to give off moisture as required and to provide a colored material that indicates when the material is in a moist or a dry condition It is a further important object of this invention to provide a humidor of improved and novel construction that can be used in tobacco pouches and the like and that will give off moisture vapor to maintain the desired relative humidity without, however, allowing liquid water to escape into the contents of the pouch, or the like.

Other and further important objects of this invention will be apparent from the disclosures in the specification and the accompanying drawings.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a tobacco pouch, showing a wall thereof broken away to indicate the positioning therein of a humidor embodying the principles of my invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional View of the humidor, with parts in elevation.

Figure 3 is a further enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line Ill-HI of Figure 2.

The reference numeral I indicates a tobacco pouch of any conventional type for containing tobacco, indicated at H. A humidor, indicated by the reference numeral I2, is illustrated in its position within the pouch l0 surrounded by the tobacco I I.

The humidor 12 comprises an outer casing lZa which may be made up of a metal cylinder closed 1 Claim. (Cl. 29924) 2 at its ends by means of disks l3 and l3a. Said enclosure disks [3 and l3a, may be press-fitted or otherwise secured in the open ends of the tubular body portion [2a.

Before closing the ends of the casing l2a, an open-ended cylindrical tube l4, preferably of transparent plastic material, is loosely fitted within the casing I211. and the casing then closed by the disks [3 and [3a. Said tube I4 is filled with moisture-liberating material, preferably in granular form, such as the material 15, and the wall of said tube is provided with a plurality of small openings 16, some of which at least register with a larger, elongated opening I! formed in the casing lZa.

The material I5 is preferably a clay, such as fullers earth, having a capacity for absorbing a proportionately large volume of water and of liberatingsaid water as moisture vapor under conditions of relatively low humidity. The material I5 is also preferably colored so that its dry or moisture-saturated condition can be readily ascertained by visual inspection.

Where fullers earth is used as the moistureliberating material, a fullers earth of around 16 to mesh, free of loose dust particles, is preferred. The granules of fullers earth may be dyed in any suitable manner, as by agitating the fullers earth in a bath of the dye dissolved in water or alcohol. Fullers earth has the property of adsorbing the dye from its solution. After the fullers earth has been thoroughly mixed with the dye solution, the earth is washed and screened over a 40-mesh screen. It is then either air or oven dried, but should not be dried too fast or heated too hot so as to destroy the dye.

In addition to the dye, a wetting agent may be added to the fullers earth, or ther moistureliberatingmaterial, to assist in wetting the earth and saturating it more quickly with water. A wetting agent such as a sulfated or sulfonated high molecular weight alcohol, as for instance Duponol, or the like, is satisfactory. Amounts of around 1% of wetting agent by weight of the earth, or less, has been found sufiicient.

Before using the humidor, it is immersed in water to allow the granular material l5 to become saturated. The water seeps into the interior of the tube l4 through the openings l6 and also through the loose joints provided around the ends of the tube l4 and the corresponding ends of the casing [2a. The color of the granular material 15 darkens considerably as water is absorbed, thereby indicating when uniform saturation of the granular material with water has been reached.

In use, water vapor is given oiT through the openings I 6, as well as through the narrow clearance spaces, as indicated by the reference numeral l8 (Figure 3) to pass out through the elongated opening I! in the outer casing l I. The size and number of the openings [6 and the extent of the clearance space I8 are so regulated as to permit the liberation of moisture vapor at the desired rate. Since the granular material l strongly binds the liquid water to itself, there is no danger of liquid water exuding through the openings IE to wet the surrounding material, such as the tobacco, unduly.

When the color of the granular material l5 indicates that it is again dry, it can be remoistened as described above and replaced in the tobacco pounch or other receptacle.

While the drawings and the de cription illustrate and describe a cylindrical shaped humidor, it is to be understood that the tubular form may be of any selected cross-sectional shape such as rectangular, triangular or hexagonal. Any-other apertured shape of outer casing may be selected to suit requirements for enclosing 'a correspondingly shaped transparent and apertured inner material carrying envelope or container.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles 4 of this invention, and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A humidor comprising a cylindrical shell having an elongated opening and closed ends, an open-ended transparent tube fitted in said shell and having moisture-liberating openings coinciding with said elongated opening and moistureliberating material contained within said shell, said moisture-liberating material consisting essentially of granular clay capable of liberating absorbed moisture, a wetting agent and a dye capable of undergoing a color change as the moisture content of the clay decreases.

SOLOMON M. SAGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Ayers, Jr. Dec. '7, 1943

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