US3277898A - Cigarette snuffer - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 11, 1966 w. NYC 3,277,898

CIGARETTE SNUFFER Filed July 16. 1964 INVENTOR. (J1 AD/M/P A/YO' Z ZZ /r dhi United States Patent "ice 3,277,898 CIGARETTE SNUFFER Wladimir Nye, 3125 U St, Sacramento, Calif. Filed July 16, 1964, Ser. No. 383,093 9 Claims. (Cl. 131-237) My invention relates primarily to means useful to cigarette smokers for receiving their smoked cigarettes and snuffing them out and disposing of them in an ashtray.

It is an object of the invention to provide a particularly effective mechanism for snuffing out a burning cigarette and for depositing it in an ashtray when the cigarette has been extinguished.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cigarette snuffer effective to prevent further combustion of a cigarette received by it.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cigarette snutfer which automatically makes itself available for a successive cigarette after one has been extinguished.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cigarette snuffer which is easily and simple to manufacture, which is inexpensive, and which requires little or no maintenance or upkeep.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a cigarette snuffer which is attractive in appearance and can be utilized in any scheme of decoration.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved cigarette snuffer.

Other objects together with the foregoing are attained in the embodiments of the invention described in the accompanying description and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of one form of cigarette snuifer pursuant to the invention with a cigarette in receiving position therein, portions of the figure being broken away to reduce its size;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of a portion of the structure shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 but without the ashtray structure and showing the cigarette receptacle in discharging position;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation of a modified form of cigarette snuffer in cigarette receiving position and with the base eliminated;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevation similar to FIGURE 4 showing the cigarette receptacle in inverted or discharging position, a portion of the figure being broken away to reduce its size; and

FIGURE 6 is an end elevation of the structure shown in FIGURE 4, a part of the cigarette receptacle being broken away to show the construction in cross section on a vertical central plane.

In one form of the device, the cigarette snuffer comprises a firm base 6 suitably hollowed out to provide a bowl 7 to serve as a cigarette ashtray. Upstanding from a convenient point on the base 6 is an upright 8 conveniently fabricated of stiff metal and formed to provide at its upper end a horizontally extending pivot pin 9. Iournalled on the pivot pin is a cigarette receptacle generally designated lll. The receptacle includes a reinforcing fin 12 of stiff metal apertured to revolve on the pivot pin 9 in the fashion of a journal. The fin is enlarged to pro vide a counterweight 14. The cigarette receptacle also includes a conical receiver 16 made of a sheet of thermostatic or bimetallic material wrapped into the approximately conical shape shown but with the ends or elements of the conical sheet not connected. This either leaves an intervening gap or provides an overlap. That is to say, the unconnected ends or elements of the conical sheet 16 can be arranged either to provide a rather wide intervening triangular-shaped gap, as appears most clearly in FIG- 3,277,893 Patented Oct. 11, 1966 URE 1, or the sheet can be made sufiiciently long, in a direction parallel to the base, so that when the sheet is formed into its conical shape the ends are disposed in an overlapping arrangement with little, if any, gap. As will be recognized, either of these arrangements permits of relative movement betweeen the two ends so that the cone is free to contract and expand in response to temperature, and thus perform its desired function as will be explained in detail below. The weight of the cigarette receiver 16 and of the fin 12 does not quite equal the weight of the counterweight I4. Under normal, unloaded circumstances the parts assume a position as shown in FIGURE 1 with the counterweight 14 lowermost and with the open end 17 of the receiver uppermost.

In use, when a cigarette is positioned with its lighted end in the receptacle 11 by being passed through the open upper end 17 of the receiver 16, the heat from the burning end of the lighted cigarette is immediately effective upon the conical receiver and causes it to contract with respect to the supporting fin 12. The cigarette end is thus firmly gripped and enclosed by the receiver 16. When the user releases the other end of the cigarette, the combined weight of the cigarette and the receptacle then considerably overbalances the counterweight 14 and the receiver structure is moved into inverted position as shown in FIGURE 3.

In inverted position, the cigarette remains suspended or dependent from the receiver 16 just over the bowl 7. During this time, the snuffing effect of the gripping cone is manifested. The temperature of the cigarette end drops because there is no more combustion due to heat absorption by the metal and deprivation of air. The conical receiver 16 then re-expands as it also drops toward room temperature. When the receiver has sufficiently expanded, its grip on the cigarette is relaxed and the extinguished cigarette then falls into the bowl 7. As soon as the cigarette is released from the conical receiver 16, the counterweight 14 is again effective and the receiver is inverted to its initial position with its open end uppermost.

It has been found by experience with the simple cone of FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 that after a time sticky tars and other adhesive materials from the burning cigarettes gather on the interior of the cone and may cause a cigarette to be retained in the FIGURE 3 position by adhesion instead of being released.

To obviate this, in the form shown in FIGURES 4, 5 and 6, there is a mechanism. In this instance, the base 26 is formed substantially as before and an upright 27 is mounted thereon and and extends thereover. At its upper end the upright is provided with a horizontally extending pivot pin 28. The cigarette receptacle 29 is provided with a counterweight 31, on the opposite side of the pivot pin as before, and the pivot pin 28 forms a journal for the receptacle substantially at the junction of the receptacle and the counterweight. The receptacle includes an outer casing 32 having a swelled, vase-like shape. The wide open end 33 converges toward a waist 34 only slightly larger than a cigarette. The waist is followed by a substantial enlargement 35.

Within the casing 32 there is disposed a bimetallic or thermostatic cone 36, as before, but, as can be seen by reference to FIGURES 4 and 5, without the supporting fin 12 of the FIGURES 1-3 form of device. As before, however, the cone 36 includes a slit along the side so that the ends either leave an intervening gap or provide an overlap in the fashion previously explained. This is held in place by a central fastening 37, The size and shape of the receiver are such that a cigarette will pass easily through the open end 33 and will also pass closely through the restricted waist 34 between the upper, flared portion and the bulbous enlargement 35. The enlarged .5 walls of the casing 32 are far enough away from the burning cigarette so that material deposits on the cool walls of the bulbous portion 35 where it is too far away to adhere to the cigarette.

The operation of the strucure is about as before, with the further improvement that a stop pin 38 is provided on the counterweight 31 in position to abut a stop lug 39 at the upper end of the upright 27, so that in inverted position, as shown in FIGURE 5, and in upright position, as shown in FIGURE 4, the cigarette receiver cannot occupy an exactly dead center position.

In use, a lighted cigarette is introduced and thermostatically gripped as shown in FIGURE 4. When manually released, the cigarette immediately overbalances and inverts the receptacle. The cigarette is retained by the cone until such time as the cigarette is out and its temperature lowered. The cone then expands and lets the cigarette drop into the ashtray 26. Following this, the receptacle, being again overbalanced by the counterweight, is restored to its nearly upright, initial position as shown in FIGURE 4.

What is claimed is:

1. A cigarette snutfer comprising a hollow cone of thermostatic metal adapted to receive a portion of a cigarette, said cone having a longitudinal split therein, the split being wider at the base of the cone than at the apex thereof, said cone contracting when heated by a cigarette and expanding when cooled.

2. The device of claim 1 further including an ashtray, and a pivot support secured to said ashtray, said cone being mounted on said pivot support for swinging movement about a substantially horizontal axis between a generally upright position and an inverted position.

3. The device of claim 2 further characterized by a counterweight attached to said cone for urging said cone toward said upright position.

4. A cigarette snuffer comprising the structure of claim 3, together with a bulbous receptacle having a closed end and an open end, said cone being located Within said 4 closed end of said receptacle with the base of said cone facing toward said open end to receive a cigarette inserted through said open end of said receptacle and into engagement with said cone.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein said open end of said receptacle is flared to facilitate the insertion of a cigarette therethrough.

6. The device of claim 4 wherein said counterweight is sufiicient to urge said receptacle and said cone when empty to an upright attitude but is insuflicient to urge said receptacle and said cone when loaded to said upright attitude.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein said pivot support is mounted above said ashtray in a location such that a hot cigarette held in said cone and depending over said ashtray is dropped into said ashtray when said cigarette is cold.

8. The device of claim 7 further characterized by stop means associated with said pivot support for limiting the extent of angular movement of said cone to approximately 9. The device of claim 8 wherein the axis of said cone substantially intersects said horizontal axis of angular movement of said cone.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 755,870 3/1904 Hayward. 1,583,738 5/1926 Oltra 131237 X 2,506,666 5/1950 Graham 131-240 2,558,320 6/1951 Statelles 131256 2,561,124 7/1951 Lacker 131240 FOREIGN PATENTS 470,321 8/1937 Great Britain.

SAMUEL KOREN, Primary Examiner.

J. S. REICH, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A CIGARETTE SNUFFER COMPRISING A HOLLOW CONE OF THERMOSTATIC METAL ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A PORTION OF CIGARETTE, SAID CONE HAVING A LONGITUDINAL SPLIT THEREIN, THE SPLIT BEING WIDER AT THE BASE OF THE CONE THAN AT THE APEX THEREOF, SAID CONE CONTRACTING WHEN HEATED BY A CIGARETTE AND EXPANDING WHEN COOLED.

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