US3376874A

US3376874A - Adjustable cigarette filters

Info

Publication number: US3376874A
Application number: US459194A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kim Yunil; Kim Namsik; Kim Yongsik; Kim Jeonsik
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1965-04-12
Filing date: 1965-05-27
Publication date: 1968-04-09
Anticipated expiration: 1985-04-09

Description

April 1968 YUNlL KIM ETAL 3,376,874

ADJUSTABLE CIGARETTE FILTERS Filed May 27, 1965 -1. 'IIIII'IIIIIII an "I", II'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 1111')! Fla 4. wmr m NAMSIK KIM YONGSIK KIM BY JEONSIK KIM ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 7 7 Claims. (Cl. 131-207) The present invention relates to cigarette filters, and more particularly to such filters having means for adjusting the degree of filtering in several steps or increments.

It is one object of the present invention to provide cigarette filters which effectively prevent some or most of the harmful constituents of cigarette smoke, as for example nicotine and tars, from reaching the mouth of the smoker.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an adjustable cigarette filter of simple and economical construction accommodating conveniently disposable filter elements of readily available material.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an adjustable filter with simple means for providing various degrees of filtration during smoking.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an adjustable cigarette filter, wherein members are provided which have respective narrow and wide slots in registering relationship. The relative positioning of these members selects an appropriate number of narrow slots to coincide with a wide slot of the other member so that respective smaller and larger amounts of smoke are allowed to pass therethroug With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent in the following detailed description, the present invention will be clearly understood in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an end view of a preferred embodiment of the adjustable cigarette filter, according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded, perspective view showing the structural elements of the cigarette filter disclosed in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical, axial section of the assembled cigarette filter with a cigarette inserted therein; and

FIG. 4 is an elevation of the cigarette with the filter attached thereto.

Referring now to the drawing, a preferred embodiment of the cigarette filter designed in accordance with the present invention comprises two mouthpiece members 1 and 2 which can be connected together by conventional means, e.g., by respective protruding and receding interlocking portions 16 (FIG. 3). The member 1 is the mouthpiece proper which the smoker takes into his mouth, while a cigarette 13 is insertable in the member 2, as disclosed in FIGS. 3 and 4. The mouthpiece member 1 is hollow and of general cylindrical shape for lodging therein an elongated, generally cylindrical filter or sponge member 11. A similar disc-shaped filter or sponge 12 is inserted into a corresponding recess of the member 2.

As can be seen best from the exploded view of FIG. 2, the mouthpiece portion 1 has a bottom plate 3 disposed adjacent the member 2; the bottom plate 3 is equipped with radial slots 4, which slots 4 are preferably arranged in two diametrically opposite groups. As a matter of example, four slots 4 are shown in each group. Adjacent each group of slots 4, a stop pin 5 protrudes from the bottom plate 3 in forward direction and a substantially centrally disposed connecting bolt 6 projects likewise in for-' ward direction.

The member 2 has a preferably integral partition wall 7 which, upon assembly of the two members 1 and 2 en- 3,376,874 Patented Apr. 9, 1968 gages the bottom plate 3 of the member 1. The partition wall 7 has two arcuate slots or openings 8, each covering an area corresponding roughly to the total area of one group of slots 4 of the bottom plate 3. The partition wall 7, furthermore, has a central bore 9 adapted to receive the connecting bolt 6 of the member 1. A securing ring 10 can be pushed over the forwardly protruding end of bolt 6 after the members 1 and 2 have been assembled. The stop pins 5 protrude into the arcuate slots 8, as can be determined from FIGS. 1 and 3.

It will be understood that the mouthpiece members 1 and 2 are preferably made of a suitable, e.g., readily disposable material, as for example, plastic. As for the filter or sponge members 11 and 12, they can be made from synthetic sponge, cellulose fibers, or any other conventionally known smoke-filtering substance. These filters are readily replaceable in an obvious manner.

A cigarette 13, as well as the mouthpiece portions 1 and 2 are covered with an outer paper 14 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. A line of perforations 15 is applied to the paper 14, coinciding with the connecting line 16 between the members 1 and 2. As can be seen from FIG. 4, an index mark 17 is printed or otherwise applied to the outer paper 14 on one side of the perforation line 15, while indicia 18 (e.g.,

numerals

1, 2, 3, 4) are printed on the other side of the perforation line 15.

In use, when the cigarette is lighted, reduced pressure conditions are being created in the mouthpiece chambers lodging the filter elements 11 and 12. Smoke will flow first from the cigarette 13 through the filter 12 at a relative slow speed, so that some portions of the nicotine and.

tars in the smoke will be removed therefrom for retention in the sponge 12. Simultaneously, the latter acts as a seal to prevent tobacco dust or similar material from reaching the smokers mouth. p

The smoke then passes through the arcuate slots 8 of the member 2 and through one or more of the respectively registering radial slots 4 of the member 1. At'this point, the speed of the smoke increases due to the reduced flow area, whereby the fine grains of nicotine remaining in the smoke will tend tocohere during the constricted flow of smoke past the aforementioned apertures or slots and through the second filter or sponge 11. Herein, the fine grains of nicotine will collect so that a favorably filtered smoke reaches the smokers mouth, at the rear end of the mouthpiece portion 1, as viewed in the drawing. The passage of the smoke through the filter members 11 and 12 and across the restricted slot passages will efficiently cool the smoke, so as to promote further retention of the nicotine grains, particularly in the second filter member 11.

When adjusting the cigarette filter, the smoker turns one of the mouthpiece members with respect to the other, whereby the outer paper14 is broken along the perforation line 15. By selectively positioning the mouthpiece members 1 and 2 with respect to each other by a relative rotary movement, one, two, three or all four slots 4 of a group can be aligned with the respective arcuate slots 8. Evidently, the passage of the smoke is narrower with only one registering passage, while it is wider when more or all slots are aligned. The stop pins 5 extending through the arcuate slots limit the rotation of the members 1 and 2, so that further turning beyond the completely opened position is prevented. The indicia 18 indicates to the smoker the number of arcuate slots which are aligned or rather the degree of filtration performed. This will be most pronounced in theposition 4 when only one arcuate radial slot 4 registers with the arcuate slots 8, and least efiicient when all four radial slots communicate with the arcuate slots 8 in the position 1. Thus, the filtering effect decreases with higher indicia numbers 18, that is, a smaller number of operative slots 4.

While we have disclosed one embodiment of the present invention, it is to be understood that this embodiment is given by example only and not in a limiting sense, the scope of the present invention being determined by the objects and the claims.

We claim:

1. An adjustable cigarette filter for removing impurities, such as nicotine from smoke of a cigarette inserted in the filter, comprising mouthpiece means defining a fluid flow passage for the flow of said smoke therethrough,

transversely extending wall means dividing said passage into first and second longitudinally disposed communicating chambers and including means permitting an increase and decrease, respectively, in the flow velocity of said smoke, when passing from one chamber to the other,

filter means in at least one of said chambers, and

adjustable restricting means in said wall means for selectively and manually adjusting the cross-section of said passage, whereby various degrees of said fiow velocity can be adjusted for a control filtration of said smoke.

2. The adjustable cigarette filter, as set forth in claim 1, in which said mouthpiece means includes a first and a second hollow member in contiguous arrangement,

said wall means comprising a first plate forming part of said first member and a second plate forming part of said second member,

said second plate engaging said first plate in the assembled position of said filter and turnably mounted relative to each other about the same axis,

each of said plates having radial slots to be in and out of alignment, respectively, upon relative rotation of said members, to constitute said restricting means.

3. The adjustable cigarette filter, as set forth in claim 2, wherein said radial slots in one of said plates are of greater width than that in the other of 'said plates, whereby the passage through said plates is controlled by relative rotation of said plates. 4. The adjustable cigarette filter, as set forth in claim 3, wherein said plate having the narrower slots has at least one pin extending perpendicularly toward said plate having the wider slot, said pin being received in said wider slot and acting as abutment means for said pin during relative rotation of said plates. 5. The adjustable cigarette filter, as set forth in claim 2, which includes envelope means surrounding said members, said envelope means having a perforation, and in which said envelope means is broken along said perforation when the filter is first used. 6. The adjustable cigarette filter, as set forth in claim 5, which includes index means on said envelope means on at least one side of said perforation for indicating the number of said slots of one of said plates in registration with the slot of the other of said plates and, thence, the actual degree of flow velocity to which the filter is adjusted.

7. The adjustable cigarette filter, as set forth in claim 1, in which said filter means comprises respective cylindrical filter elements in said chambers.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,124,130 7/1938 Van Deventer 131-198 2,843,133 7/1958. Barbara 131207 2,954,035 9/1960 Saffir 13110.3

LUCIE H. LAUDENSLAGER, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. AN ADJUSTABLE CIGARETTE FILTER FOR REMOVING IMPURITIES, SUCH AS NICOTINE FROM SMOKE OF A CIGARETTE INSERTED IN THE FILTER, COMPRISING MOUTHPIECE MEANS DEFINING A FLUID FLOW PASSAGE FOR THE FLOW OF SAID SMOKE THERETHROUGH, TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING WALL MEANS DIVIDING SAID PASSAGE INTO FIRST AND SECOND LONGITUDINALLY DISPOSED COMMUNICATING CHAMBERS AND INCLUDING MEANS PERMITTING AN INCREASE AND DECREASE, RESPECTIVELY, IN THE FLOW VELOCITY OF SAID SMOKE, WHEN PASSING FROM ONE CHAMBER TO THE OTHER, FILTER MEANS IN AT LEAST ONE OF SAID CHAMBERS, AND ADJUSTABLE RESTRICTING MEANS IN SAID WALL MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY AND MANUALLY ADJUSTING THE CROSS-SECTION OF SAID PASSAGE, WHEREBY VARIOUS DEGREES OF SAID FLOW VELOCITY CAN BE ADJUSTED FOR A CONTROL FILTRATION OF SAID SMOKE.