Flavor inhalation pipe

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9700691-B2
Application number	US-201213592430-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 23, 2012
Priority date	Feb 24, 2010
Publication date	Jul 11, 2017
Grant date	Jul 11, 2017

Abstract

A flavor inhalation pipe includes a hollow cylindrical pipe body ( 10 ), a tobacco cartridge ( 12 ) accommodated, as a flavor generation cartridge, in the pipe body ( 10 ), a mouthpiece ( 30 ) coupled to the tobacco cartridge ( 12 ) and projecting from the pipe body ( 10 ), and a coupling device ( 40 ) coupling the pipe body ( 10 ) and the mouthpiece ( 30 ) to each other. The coupling device ( 40 ) has a coupling position in which the mouthpiece ( 30 ) is pressed against the pipe body ( 10 ) with a predetermined urging force to elastically coupled the two, and a release position which is assumed after the mouthpiece ( 30 ) in the coupling position is pushed into the pipe body ( 10 ) and then rotated and in which the coupling of the mouthpiece ( 30 ) to the pipe body ( 10 ) is released.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A flavor inhalation pipe comprising:
a tubular pipe body having an open distal end and an open proximal end;
a flavor generation cartridge removably accommodated in said pipe body and including a tube provided with end pieces fitted into opposite ends of the tube and in the form of hollow sleeves, the tube being filled therein with a flavor generation material from which flavor is volatilized, said flavor generation cartridge allowing air to flow from the distal end to the proximal end of said pipe body;
a hollow mouthpiece detachably coupled to an end portion of the tube located at the proximal end of said pipe body, said mouthpiece having a projecting portion projecting from the proximal end of said pipe body and a distal end portion located inside said pipe body;
a cap having an open end and configured to detachably cover the projecting portion of said mouthpiece;
an engaging device configured to engage said cap and said mouthpiece with each other in a circumferential direction of said cap when said cap is capped over said mouthpiece; and
a coupling device detachably coupling the proximal end of said pipe body and the distal end portion of said mouthpiece to each other, said coupling device having a coupling position in which said pipe body and said mouthpiece are coupled to each other with said mouthpiece elastically pressed with a predetermined urging force against said pipe body in a push-out direction such that the distal end portion of said mouthpiece is pushed out of the proximal end of said pipe body, and a release position which is assumed after said mouthpiece is pushed into said pipe body via the cap against the urging force with the cap and the mouthpiece engaged with each other by the engaging device and then rotated via the cap relative to said pipe body and in which the distal end portion of said mouthpiece can be pulled off together with said flavor generation cartridge from said pipe when the cap is detached.

2. The flavor inhalation pipe according to claim 1 , wherein said engaging device includes a plurality of ribs protruding from an inner surface of said cap and configured to hold an end of said mouthpiece.

3. The flavor inhalation pipe according to claim 2 , wherein said pipe body and said cap bear, on outer peripheral surfaces thereof, respective divided portions of a continuous pattern, and when said cap is capped over said mouthpiece with the end of said mouthpiece held by the ribs, the respective divided portions of the pattern on said pipe body and said cap are circumferentially positioned with respect to each other to form the continuous pattern.

4. The flavor inhalation pipe according to claim 1 , wherein said coupling device includes
a flange formed on an outer peripheral surface of said mouthpiece,
a circumferential groove formed in an inner peripheral surface of the proximal end of said pipe body and opening in the push-out direction at the proximal end, the circumferential groove providing, on the inner peripheral surface of said pipe body, a stepped surface facing the proximal end of said pipe body,
an elastic member held between the flange and the stepped surface and configured to generate the urging force,
a guide groove formed in the inner peripheral surface of said pipe body and opening in the stepped surface, the guide groove having an axial section extending from the stepped surface in an axial direction of said pipe body, and a circumferential section extending from an end of the axial section in a circumferential direction of said pipe body, and
an engaging lug formed on an outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion of said mouthpiece, wherein, when the engaging lug is located in the circumferential section of the guide groove and the urging force is exerted on said mouthpiece, the engaging lug comes into contact with a groove wall of the circumferential section of the guide groove to determine the coupling position.

5. The flavor inhalation pipe according to claim 4 , wherein the elastic member is an elastic ring surrounding the outer peripheral surface of said mouthpiece.

6. The flavor inhalation pipe according to claim 5 , wherein the elastic ring is an O ring.

7. The flavor inhalation pipe according to claim 4 , wherein the flange has an outer diameter slightly smaller than an inner diameter of the circumferential groove of said pipe body, and when said coupling device is in the coupling position, the flange partly enters the circumferential groove.

8. The flavor inhalation pipe according to claim 4 , wherein said coupling device further includes a recessed lug rest formed in the groove wall of the circumferential section of the guide groove and configured to receive the engaging lug when said coupling device in the coupling position, the lug rest restricting the engaging lug not only in the push-out direction but also in the circumferential direction of said pipe body.

9. The flavor inhalation pipe according to claim 4 , further comprising:
a cap having an open end and configured to detachably cover the projecting portion of said mouthpiece; and
an engaging device configured to engage said cap and said mouthpiece with each other in a circumferential direction of said cap as well as in a push-in direction of said mouthpiece when said cap is capped over said mouthpiece.

10. The flavor inhalation pipe according to claim 9 , wherein, when said cap is capped over the projecting portion of said mouthpiece, said cap and the elastic member cooperatively hold the flange therebetween.

11. The flavor inhalation pipe according to claim 1 , wherein the flavor generation material includes a tobacco material.

Assignees

• Watanabe Tomoichi
• Ishii Shinji
• Japan Tobacco Inc

Inventors

• Watanabe Tomoichi
• Ishii Shinji

Classifications

• A61M15/06 Primary

  Inhaling appliances shaped like cigars, cigarettes or pipes · CPC title

• A24F47/002

  Human Necessities · mapped topic

• A61M15/08

  Inhaling devices inserted into the nose · CPC title

• A61M15/0023

  retractable · CPC title

• A24F40/42 Primary

  Cartridges or containers for inhalable precursors · CPC title