WO2013041571A1

WO2013041571A1 - Device for housing, extinguishing and storing a cigarette

Info

Publication number: WO2013041571A1
Application number: PCT/EP2012/068447
Authority: WO
Inventors: Michael SAFFAR
Original assignee: Anjea
Priority date: 2011-09-22
Filing date: 2012-09-19
Publication date: 2013-03-28
Also published as: FR2976158A1; FR2980336A1

Abstract

The present invention concerns a device comprising a first compartment (P1) capable of housing a cigarette, comprising a mobile part (2) and a fixed part (1), and means (10) of opening said mobile part (2) in order to allow said cigarette to be inserted through a first opening in said first compartment (P1). The first compartment (P1) further comprises, on the mobile part (2), a blade (8A), in a position where it is capable of automatically cutting off the end of a cigarette when said mobile part (2) is closed, in particular when said end is incandescent.

Description

DEVICE FOR HOUSING, TURNING OFF AND STORING A CIGARETTE

The present invention relates to a device comprising a housing adapted to contain a cigarette and to automatically stop its combustion and comprising means for cutting off its incandescent end, storing and evacuating the ashes resulting from cutting.

The device according to the invention is adaptable to a lighter or a case that can contain a lighter and therefore comprises means for cutting net and automatically the incandescent end of said cigarette when closing the compartment in which it is inserted still lit.

It should be noted now that "cigarette" means any disposable object consisting of a small cylinder (usually less than 10 cm in length and 10 mm in diameter) of chopped and processed tobacco leaves, which is lit so to burn and thus to inhale the smoke.

A well-known problem of the smoking population concerns situations in which it is required to quickly extinguish an incompletely consumed cigarette. These common situations can be caused by different causes: returning to work, entering a place where smoking is forbidden ... etc.

Today, faced with this type of situation, most smokers throw their cigarettes, even very incompletely consumed. These incompletely smoked cigarettes are both a source of economic loss for the smoker and a source of pollution, especially of significant visual pollution when, in the absence of an ashtray, these cigarettes are thrown on the ground, but also pollution of the air. environment and groundwater. To overcome the aforementioned drawbacks, some smokers take the time to extinguish their cigarette by crushing it against a hard surface, typically on the floor, before storing what remains of the cigarette in a pack of cigarettes or a box provided for this purpose, such as a portable ashtray. This practice is, however, tedious and uncomfortable, and the cigarette thus extinguished by crushing the incandescent end has a cut of this end unclear, unsightly and can be difficult to re-ignite. Above all, the fact of smashing a cigarette in this way can cause the particles of cold coal to enter the cigarette from combustion, said cold coal particles having a high harmfulness and causing increased irritation when the smoke produced by the reactivated cigarette starts to be inhaled again. In addition, portable ashtrays have various defects, such as the fact of generating additional space or to present a risk of accidental opening for example.

WO 2007/005488 A2 is in this respect an illustration of the state of the art describing a device for temporarily storing a cigarette and having a blade that can be adapted to make a clean cut of the end of the cigarette.

However, the device described in WO 2007/005488 A2 is bulky and is not designed to safely cause the automatic extinction of a burning cigarette placed directly inside.

This device, like all known comparable devices, also does not include means for performing the cutting of the end of the cigarette automatically, or means for temporarily storing the ash resulting from the end of combustion of the cigarette. cigarette and / or its cup, in order to avoid any pollution and any evacuation of said ash to the outside in an inappropriate place.

The object of the present invention is to provide a device at least partially overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks. As such, the device according to the invention is first configured so that when a lit cigarette, having an incandescent end consuming, is introduced into a first compartment of the device, the closure of said compartment causes the extinction of the cigarette because of the sudden lack of oxygen. But in addition, the device according to the invention comprises means for automatically cutting, when closing said compartment, said incandescent end of the cigarette introduced. For this purpose, the invention relates to a device comprising a first compartment adapted to house a cigarette, comprising a movable part and a fixed part, and means for opening said movable part to form a first opening of said first compartment and therein allow insertion of said cigarette. According to the invention, the first compartment further comprises on the mobile part a blade, at a level adapted for, when closing said movable part, automatically cutting the end of a cigarette which would be introduced into the first compartment, especially when said end is incandescent. Advantageously, the first compartment may further include a bottom comprising a sliding wall adapted to form a second opening at said bottom of the first compartment, so that the sliding wall, in a closed position, forms a receptacle capable of holding ashes and any residue from a cigarette that would be introduced into the first compartment, and said sliding wall, in an open position, allows the evacuation of the ashes and any residue from said cigarette to the outside of the first compartment by a second opening .

Advantageously, the device may then comprise means for holding said sliding wall in the closed position or means for holding said sliding wall in the open position.

According to one embodiment, the fixed part may further comprise a blade guide adapted to receive and guide said blade.

Advantageously, the fixed part may also be provided with a counterblade configured to cooperate with said blade so as to shear the end of a cigarette, especially when said end is incandescent. Said counterblade may in particular be molded into the mass of the material of said fixed part.

Advantageously, the fixed portion and / or the movable portion have inner walls that may have protuberances configured to form a guide and to hold a cigarette in place.

Advantageously, the movable portion is pivotally mounted relative to the fixed portion about a longitudinal axis belonging to said fixed portion.

Advantageously, the movable portion is alternately pivotally mounted relative to the fixed portion about a transverse axis substantially orthogonal to said fixed portion, said transverse axis being located near the bottom of said first compartment.

Advantageously, the device further comprises means for holding the mobile part in the closed position.

Said holding means in the closed position of the mobile part may be formed on the one hand by at least one closure hook and at least one housing adapted to receive said closing hook and in that the opening means are formed at least one pusher configured to allow the release of said closing hook of said housing, said closing hook and said housing being respectively located on the movable part and on the fixed part, or, conversely, said closing hook and said housing being respectively located on the fixed part and on the moving part.

The blade can be metal and the rest of the plastic device.

Furthermore, the device may furthermore comprise means for clipping said first compartment onto a lighter or a case capable of receiving a lighter.

Advantageously, the device may also comprise a second compartment integral with the first compartment and forming the fixed part of said device, said second compartment being also able to receive a lighter via a suitable opening for inserting said lighter into said second compartment.

Said second compartment may be provided with a flexible element configured to allow the adaptation of different forms of lighter to said second compartment. Advantageously, said second compartment also has a hole configured to allow evacuation of the air contained in said second compartment during the insertion of a lighter by the adapted opening.

Advantageously, the device may further comprise an additional compartment separate from the first and second compartments, said additional compartment comprising means for being clipped onto the first compartment or the second compartment and a hatch having means for opening and closing to open and closing said additional compartment, and said additional compartment being adapted to receive one or more cigarettes or any residue from said cigarette or cigarettes for temporary storage.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the description which follows, in particular of a preferred embodiment of the invention, given by way of example and with reference to the appended drawings, which represent:

FIG. 1: a three-dimensional representation of a preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention; FIG. 2 is a bottom view, in three dimensions, of the preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention;

• Figure 3: a second embodiment of the device according to the invention.

The device shown in Figure 1 comprises a first compartment PI defined by the movable portion 2, the fixed portion 1A and the bottom 5, and configured so that it is possible to accommodate a cigarette. The fixed part 1A and / or the movable part 2 may comprise fixing hooks 13 for connecting said movable part 2 to said fixed part 1A. A first feature of this device lies in the fact that when a user places in the first compartment PI intended for this purpose a cigarette still in full combustion, it is automatically extinguished due to the closure of said first compartment PI due to the Sudden lack of oxygen.

The device according to the invention can, as shown in Figure 1, comprise a part 1B integral with the fixed part 1A and forming a second compartment P2 configured so that it is possible to accommodate a lighter. Alternatively, the fixed portion 1A participating in delimiting the first compartment PI may be provided with fixing means for attaching, for example by clipping, to a lighter or a case adapted to receive a lighter, said lighter or said case being in this case distinct from the first compartment PI and not being particularly molded in the mass with the fixed part 1A.

The movable portion 2 of the first compartment PI is pivotable relative to the fixed part 1A so as to pass from a closed position to an open position in which the first compartment PI has a first opening through which it is possible to introduce a cigarette lit or not, and reciprocally from the open position to the closed position. In the illustration of Figure 1, the X axis around which the movable portion 2 can rotate is a longitudinal axis belonging to the fixed part 1A. It would be perfectly possible also to provide, alternatively, a pivoting of the movable portion 2 about a transverse axis, orthogonal to the longitudinal axis X, and located near the bottom 5.

The embodiment of the device according to the invention presented in FIG. 1 furthermore comprises opening means 10 and means for holding in the closed position 11, 12 of the mobile part 2. The means for holding in the closed position comprise, in the embodiment of Figure 1, closing hooks 11 located on the fixed part 1A and able to cooperate with housing 12 located in the movable part 2. In the closed position of the movable part 2, the closing hooks 11 are introduced into the housings 11 and prevent the opening of the movable part 2. The closing hooks 11 have a flexibility adapted so that by pressing on the pusher 10 inducing a pressure applied on said closing hooks 11, they are moved so as to release the movable part 2 and to allow the opening of said movable part 2 and thus the opening of the first compartment Pl.

In the device according to the invention, the first compartment PI also comprises a blade 8 A fixed on the movable part 2. The blade 8 A is positioned and configured so that at the closing of the first compartment PI, after having housed a cigarette, said blade 8A automatically cuts the end of said cigarette. For optimum use, particularly when said cigarette is placed in the first compartment PI while it is in full combustion, the positioning of the cigarette by the user must be appropriate, so that the incandescent end of the cigarette is cut by the blade 8 A when closing the first compartment.

Preferably, the fixed portion 1A may further be provided with a blade guide member 6 adapted to receive and guide the blade 8A during the closing of the first compartment P 1.

In a complementary manner, the fixed part 1A can be provided with a counterblade 8B, located just upstream of the blade 8A, configured to cooperate with said blade 8A in order to shear cut the end of the cigarette.

Automatic cutting of the incandescent end of the cigarette thus eliminates all or part of the cold coal particles that would have been introduced into the cigarette if it had been crushed to extinguish it.

According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the inner surfaces of the first compartment PI comprise protuberances 7, substantially in the form of arcs, intended and configured to guide and hold the cigarette in place in the first compartment P1.

Finally, at the bottom 5, opening means 3 are provided to allow the ash and residues cut by the blade 8 A to be evacuated by a second opening of the first compartment P1. According to the embodiment of FIG. these opening means consist of a sliding hatch 3, as shown in FIG. 2. Optionally, as is presented in all the figures, when the device according to the invention comprises a second compartment P2, the latter may comprise a flexible element 4 configured to allow the adaptation of different forms of lighter to said second compartment P2.

FIG. 2 illustrates, like FIG. 1, a preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention.

In the representation of Figure 2, a cigarette C is visible in the first compartment PI and a lighter B is positioned in the second compartment P2.

The sliding door 3 is in the open position, which forms a second opening of the first compartment PI through which ash or residues of the parts cut by the blade 8A can be removed when the first opening of the first compartment P1 is closed.

The sliding door 3 is slidable until closing the second opening. In this closed position, the hatch 3 forms a receptacle adapted to receive and retain inside the first compartment PI any ash or any residue of the parts cut by the blade 8A when closing the first opening of the first compartment Pl .

Specific means may be provided for respectively maintaining in the closed position and for keeping said sliding hatch 3 in the open position. These specific means may comprise one or more holes or housings fitted on the sliding hatch 3 or the bottom 5 and one or more pins or other protuberance respectively arranged on the bottom 5 or the sliding door 3 and configured to cooperate to maintain said sliding door 3 in the desired open or closed position.

FIG. 3 presents a second embodiment of the device according to the invention

This second embodiment differs from that illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 by the type of opening means 30 provided for the removal of ashes and residues cut by the blade 8A by a second opening of the first compartment P1. this second embodiment, the device according to the invention is provided with a lower flap 30 pivotally mounted relative to the fixed part 1A around the transverse axis X and forming, in the continuity of the movable part 2, a sub -part of the latter located on the side of the bottom 5. Said bottom 5 is, in this second embodiment, fixed. To keep the lower hatch 30 in closed position and to release its opening, specific means 100, 110, 120 are provided. It may be respectively a closing hook 110, a corresponding housing 120 and a pusher 100, similar or identical to the corresponding means for holding the closed position 11, 12 and the opening 10 of the part mobile 2.

Furthermore, according to a particular embodiment, the present device may comprise a separate additional compartment comprising means for being clipped onto the first or the second compartment, forming an extension of the device. Said extension has a movable door for opening and closing and is adapted to receive a plurality of extinct cigarettes or butts. This extension allows the temporary storage of a plurality of cigarettes extinguished or butts, especially in the absence of ashtray or trash near the smoker. Of course, the present invention is not limited to the examples and embodiments described and shown, but it is capable of numerous variants accessible to those skilled in the art.

In particular, the choice of materials is free. It can thus be envisaged a metal blade integrated in a device consisting essentially of molded plastic, or metal, or wood. The blade can also be plastic for example. Similarly, the counterblade may preferably be made of the same material as the first compartment, and may for example be molded in the mass of the same material as the fixed part of the first compartment, but may also be metal. In summary, the device according to the present invention relates in particular to a case-type device having two compartments: a first compartment provided for housing a cigarette and a second compartment provided for housing a lighter. The first compartment is configured to, when it is closed after having introduced a cigarette having an incandescent end, cause the automatic extinction of the incandescent part of the cigarette, cut net, automatically, said end, collect and allow the timely evacuation of ashes from said cigarette.

An advantage of this device lies in the fact that it allows the storage and temporary storage of a cigarette incompletely consumed when circumstances compel the smoker to extinguish his cigarette, under optimal conditions. Another advantage of the device lies in the removal of the visual environmental pollution generated by the jet of cigarettes and butts on the floor.

Claims

1. Device comprising a first adapted compartment (PI) for housing a cigarette, comprising a movable part (2) and a fixed part (1), and opening means (10) of said movable part (2) to form a first opening of said first compartment (PI) and allowing the insertion of said cigarette, characterized in that the first compartment (PI) further comprises on the movable part (2) a blade (8A) at a level suitable for when closing said movable portion (2), automatically cutting the end of a cigarette that would be introduced into the first compartment (PI), especially when said end is incandescent.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the first compartment (PI) further comprises a bottom (5) comprising a sliding wall (3) adapted to form a second opening at said bottom (5) of the first compartment ( PI), so that the sliding wall (3), in a closed position, forms a receptacle adapted to retain ash and any residue from a cigarette which would be introduced into the first compartment (PI), and said sliding wall ( 3), in an open position, allows the evacuation of the ashes and any residue from said cigarette to the outside of the first compartment (PI) by a second opening.

3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that it comprises means for holding said sliding wall (3) in the closed position.

4. Device according to one of claims 1 or 3, characterized in that it comprises means for holding said sliding wall (3) in the open position.

5. Device according to one of claims 1 or 4, characterized in that the fixed part (1) comprises a blade guide (6) adapted to receive and guide said blade (8A).

6. Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the fixed part (1) comprises a counter-blade (8B) configured to cooperate with said blade (8 A) so as to cut the end by shearing of a cigarette, especially when said end is incandescent.

7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that said counterblade (8B) is molded in the mass of the material of said fixed part (1).

8. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fixed part (1) and / or the movable part (2) comprise inner walls having protuberances (7, 13) configured to form a guide and to maintain in place a cigarette.

9. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the movable part (2) is pivotally mounted relative to the fixed part (1) about a longitudinal axis (X) belonging to said fixed part (1). .

10. Device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the movable part (2) is pivotally mounted relative to the fixed part (1) about a transverse axis substantially orthogonal to said fixed part (1) , said transverse axis being located near the bottom (5) of said first compartment (PI).

11. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises means for holding in the closed position (11,12) of the movable part (2).

12. Device according to claim 11, characterized in that said holding means in the closed position of the movable part are formed on the one hand by at least one closure hook (11) and at least one housing (12) adapted to receive said closing hook (11) and in that the opening means are formed of at least one pusher (10) configured to allow the release of said closing hook (11) from said housing (12), said closing hook and said housing being respectively located on the movable part (2) and on the fixed part (1), or, conversely, said closing hook (11) and said housing (12) being situated respectively on the fixed part (1) and on the moving part (2).

13. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said blade (8A) is metal and the rest of the plastic device.

14. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises means for clipping said first compartment (PI) on a lighter or a case adapted to receive a lighter.

15. Device according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that it comprises a second compartment (P2) integral with the first compartment (PI) and forming the fixed part (1) of said device, said second compartment (P2) being further adapted to receive a lighter via a suitable opening for inserting said lighter into said second compartment (P2).

16. Device according to claim 15, characterized in that said second compartment (P2) further comprises a flexible element (4) configured to allow the adaptation of different forms of lighter said second compartment (P2).

17. Device according to one of claims 15 or 16, said second compartment further having a hole configured to allow the evacuation of the air contained in said second compartment (P2) during the insertion of a lighter by the 'adapted opening.

18. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that it further comprises an additional compartment separate from the first compartment (PI), said additional compartment comprising means for being clipped on the first compartment (PI) and a hatch having means for opening and closing to open and close said additional compartment, and said additional compartment being adapted to receive one or more cigarettes or any residue from said cigarette or cigarettes, for temporary storage.

19. Device according to any one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that it further comprises an additional compartment separate from the first and second compartments (P1, P2), said additional compartment comprising means for being clipped on the first compartment (PI) or the second compartment (P2) and a hatch having opening and closing means for opening and closing said additional compartment, and said additional compartment being adapted to receive one or more cigarettes or any residue from said or said cigarettes, for temporary storage.