US3066682A - Combination pipe tamper and reamer - Google Patents

Description

D c- 4, 1 62 s. B. HOAG, JR, ETAL 3,

COMBINATION PIPE TAMPER AND REAMER Filed Sept. 28, 1959 B H INVENJORS SELh Y/V 04 6, R. Q1/0053}: H. KANDE/P United States Patent ()1 3,066,682 COMBINATION PIPE TAMPER AND REAMER Selwyn Barton Hoag, In, 1219 Speer Blvd, and Rudolf H. Kander, 1005 Acoma St, both of Denver, Colo. Filed Sept. 28, 1959, Ser. No. 842,851 3 Claims. (El. 131-243) This invention relates broadly to smokers accessories and, more specifically, to a combination pipe tamper and reamer.

Pipe smokers, after filling the bowls of their pipes with fresh tobacco, find it necessary to tamp r pack it down therein to reduce the possibility of tobacco particles falling out and also to prevent the pipes from drawing too freely which makes the inhaled smoke hot in addition to causing difficulties in connection with keeping the tobacco lit. This operation, of course, is a simple one and is most easily performed with one of the fingers prior to the time the tobacco is lit, except perhaps, in the case of a pipe with a small bowl or one that is heavily caked to the extent that the finger cannot be inserted therein. Once the pipe has been lit, however, tamping the hot tobacco in the bowl is a most uncomfortable procedure if performed with the finger; yet, it must be done to keep the hot ashes from falling out onto clothing and to compress the humid layer of ashes in the top of the bowl so that combustion of the remaining tobacco may continue. As a result many pipe smokers attempt to protect their fingers from the hot tobacco by using a folder of safety matches as a tamper which, of course, is a very dangerous practice.

Another problem faced by pipe smokers is that of keeping the bowl scraped substantially clean of the socalled cake that forms therein after repeated use. This cake is generally considered undesirable, especially after it has built up to an appreciable thickness, because it can cause the pipe bowl to crack or check due to uneven expansion When heated. In addition, a thick cake fills up a considerable portion of the bowl preventing its being filled to capacity with tobacco. Furthermore, a good grade of pipe, whether of wood or ceramic material, is naturally somewhat porous permitting it to breathe through the Walls of the bowl; however, a heavy cake in the bowl is substantially impervious and interferes with this desirable breathing action.

In any event, most pipe smokers prefer or keep the bowl scraped free of any appreciable cake. There are, of course, a number of specially-designed tools available in the smokers accessory line for this very purpose. Because of the fact, however, that a reamer is used relatively infrequently, it is usually not carried on the smokers person and hence is not available when needed. Secondly, the majority of tools for this purpose are somewhat bulky and quite uuhandy to carry around in the pocket or, if this is done, they usually wear holes in the pocket and become lost.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved smokers accessory in the form of a combination pipe tamper and reamer.

A second object of the invention is to provide a smokers article of the type aforementioned which is extremely small, compact and includes no projections that can wear or tear the pockets.

Another objective is the provision of a pipe tamper having a thermal barrier located therein adapted to protect the user against the high temperatures existing inside the pipe bowl.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a reamer having novel ribbed inner and outer surfaces the latter of which is adapted to scrape the cake from the inside of a pipe bowl when rotated therein.

3,06%,b82 Patented Dec. 4, 1962 An additional objective of the invention is the provision of a pipe tamper formed from a heat-resistance material able to withstand burning tobacco temperatures within a pipe bowl of in excess of 1000 F.

Further objects of the invention of the class described are to provide a combination pipe tamper and reamer that is extremely inexpensive, easy to use, versatile, decorative in appearance, simple to manufacture, and one that is adaptable for use with many different sizes, types and styles of pipe bowls.

Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed out specifically hereinafter in connection with the description of the drawing that follows, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation showing the combination pipe tamper and reamer of the present invention in place on the smokers finger and positioned within a pipe bowl tarnping the tobacco down therein;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the device to an enlarged scale;

FIGURE 3 is a diametrical section to the same scale as FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a transverse section taken along line 44 of FIGURE 3 showing the fluted or ribbed interior and exterior surfaces thereof, the latter performing the reaming function;

FIGURE 5 is a diametrical section similar to FIGURE 3 except that a removable thermal barrier has been shown positioned in spaced relation to the bottom of the device; and,

FIGURE 6 is a diametrical section similar to FIGURE 5 with the exception that a permanent plastic thermal barrier has been shown in the base of the tool replacing the removable one.

Referring now ot the drawing for a detailed description of the invention, and in particular to FIGURES 1-3 thereof, it will be seen that the combination pipe tamper and reamer, which has been identified broadly by numeral 10, is generally cup-shaped and includes a hollow frusto-conical body 12 closed at the lower end thereof by a base or bottom 14. In the particular form shown, an annular rib or rim I6 is provided along the upper edge to eliminate any chance of injuring the finger when inserted therein. The body, base and rib are integrallyformed from a metal such as aluminum or some heatresistant plastic of a type adapted to withstand temperatures substantially in excess of 1000 F. which is ordinarily considered to be the ignition temperature of tobacco within a pipe bowl.

The body 12 is preferably tapered both inside and out and is sized to receive the first joint of the smokers finger as indicated by dotted lines in FIGURE 1 by numeral 18. If no thermal barrier, other than the base 14 of the device, is to be used inside thereof, the body 12 is preferably elongated and tapered such that the tip of the users finger is maintained in spaced relation to the bottom so that it will not become burned or blistered by reason of contact with the latter. The inside surface of the body is preferably roughened or ribbed as shown at 17 in order to grip the finger while the bottom is generally flat or substantially planar to provide for most efiicient tamping action. In general, the maximum outside diameter of the body is somewhat less than the diameter of the opening 20 into the bowl 212. of pipe 24. Of course, this fact is of little significance insofar as tamping the tobacco 26 down into the bowl is concerned as long as the lower end of the tamper is of a size to pass through the opening 20 into the bowl deeply enough to contact the tobacco; however, this becomes considerably more important to the reaming operation soon to be described in connection with FIGURES 3 and 4.

Now, in FIGURES 5 and 6, it will be seen that means comprising a thermal barrier, indicated in a general way by numeral 28, has been provided in the unit located on or adjacent to the bottom 14. The purpose of this thermal barrier is, of course, to insulate the tip of the users finger from the hot metal at the base of the tamper. Preferably, the so-called thermal barrier 28 should be formed from a thermal insulating material able to withstand temperatures of approximately 1000 F. or more and protect the users finger against burn injury at these temperatures for reasonable periods of time. It is generally recognized that burning pipe tobacco confined in a pipe bowl can attain temperatures considerably above this figure.

The first modified form of the invention is that which has been shown in FIGURE 5 and in which the thermal barrier comprises an insulating disk 30 formed from some material such as asbestos or the like. As shown, the diameter of disk 36 is somewhat greater than the internal diameter of the body 12 adjacent the bottom 14 so that it is deformed into a concave configuration and held frictionally inside the unit when forced into place therein. Note that disk 30 has been indicated as being located in spaced relation to the bottom 14 producing a dead air space 32. therebetween for additional insulation. While this is the preferred location of disk 3% within the body, it, of course, can also rest on the bottom if desired although the insulating properties thereof becomes somewhat lessened.

In FIGURE 6, on the other hand, a different type of thermal barrier 28a has been used and it will be seen to comprise a coating or layer 34 of some moldable heatresistant plastic that can be poured into the body in liquid form where it will harden and provide the necessary insulation. It will be apparent that the ribbed inside surface 17 of the body can also be coated at the same time and with the same substance although this is generally not required if the bottom is properly protected.

Finally, with reference to FIGURES 3 and 4 of the drawings, it will be seen that the outside of the body 12 is provided with a vertically-ribbed surface that has been indicated broadly by numeral 36 and which constitutes the reamer portion of the instant invention. The ribbed surface is formed by a series of alternating grooves 38 and lands 40. The grooves 38 are substantially of partcircular section in the particular form shown so that they define with the lands 40 sharp edges 42 along their line of intersection. These sharp edges are designed to scrape the cake (not shown) from the inside of the pipe bowl when the device is placed on the users finger, inserted into the bowl and rotated with a reaming-action against the internal surface of the latter. For this reason, the maximum outside diameter of the body 12, with the exception of rim 16, should preferably be somewhat less than the opening into the pipe bowl so that the reamer can be inserted substantially all the way into the bottom of the bowl.

Having thus described the several useful and novel features of the combination pipe tamper and reamer of the present invention, it will be seen that the many worthwhile objects for which it was designed have been achieved. While only a few specific embodiments of the invention have been illustrated in the accompanying drawings, we realize that certain changes and modifications therein may well occur to those skilled in the art within the broad teaching hereof; hence, it is our intention that the scope of protection afforded hereby shall be limited only insofar as said limitations are expressly set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. The combination tamping and reaming tool for use in pipe bowls which comprises, a generally cupshaped member formed from a heat-resistant material adapted to Withstand temperatures of not less than approximately 1000" B, said member including a hollow tapered body portion open at the large end thereof and closed at the small end to provide a bottom, at least the small end of said body portion being sized and shaped to pass into the open top of a pipe bowl, the large open end of said body portion being of a diameter to receive at least a portion of the first joint of a users finger, the outside of said body portion having a longitudinallyribbed surface, the inside surface of the body being provided with a plurality of alternating lands and grooves extending longitudinally therein and adapted to engage the users finger preventing relative rotation therebetween and the ribbed surface on the outside of the body comprising a plurality of lands and grooves extending substantially the full length thereof and arranged in alternating relation to one another, said lands forming lade-like projections adapted upon rotation against the inside of a pipe bowl to scrape any cake therefrom and a thermal barrier formed of a heat-resistant insulating material arranged and adapted to withstand and protect a users finger against burn injury at temperatures of at least approximately 1000" F. positioned inside the body portion adjacent the bottom thereof.

2. The tamping and reaming tool as set forth in claim 1 in which the grooves are substantially of part-circular section to define with the lands a sharp edge along the line of intersection therebetween.

3. The tamping and reaming tool as set forth in claim 1 in which the thermal barrier comprises a disk of insulating material of greater diameter than the minimum inside diameter of the body portion and less diameter than the open end thereof wedged in place adjacent the bottom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 279,524 Beaty June 19, 1883 635,369 Bowen Oct. 24, 1899 1,649,614 Redhefier et al. Nov. 15, 1927 2,611,953 Bruening Sept. 30, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 11,956 Great Britain 1889 22,230 Great Britain 1901 23,662 Great Britain 1911 349,806 Great Britain June 4, 1931

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