WO2002011567A1

WO2002011567A1 - Water pipe

Info

Publication number: WO2002011567A1
Application number: PCT/AU2000/000927
Authority: WO
Inventors: David James Underwood
Original assignee: David James Underwood
Priority date: 2000-08-04
Filing date: 2000-08-04
Publication date: 2002-02-14

Abstract

A water pipe (10) has a generally S-shaped internal passage for smoke passing from a burner, in which combustible material such as tobacco is burnt, which burner is located at the top (20) of a tube (28), through the tube (28), and through water (30) located in a lower section (16, 38) of the pipe (10), into which lower section (16, 38) the tube (28) extends. The general S-shape, with its two bends (36, 34), facilitates the condensation, on internal surfaces of the passage, of water vapour which may accompany the smoke, and which is thought to have an adverse effect upon the health of a smoker. An additional condensation means in the form of a dam (32) may be located in the passage, at or near the second bend (34), and extend half-way across the passage. A second dam (24) may be provided at or near the first bend (36) in the passage, to prevent water (30) from passing the first bend (36).

Description

WATER PIPE

This invention relates to apparatus for smoking tobacco or similar substances, such apparatus including pipes, particularly pipes which utilise a liquid filter medium such as water.

US-A-5,476,110 to Baig et al contains a useful summary of the prior art in the water pipe field, in which a United States patent granted in 1868 is mentioned.

In water pipes, smoke from burning tobacco or the like is inhaled through water, which cools and filters the smoke. However, using conventional water pipes, a smoker will inhale an amount of water vapour which is produced in the pipe, which may have an adverse effect on the smoker's health.

Existing water pipes suffer from other disadvantages. If one is broken, it is necessary to replace the entire pipe. Also, the shape and orientation of conventional water pipes means that it is possible for a smoker to be burned when lighting a pipe.

Recent developments in water pipe design do not appear to have targeted such problems. For example, the aforementioned US-A-5,476,110 is directed to a complicated internal arrangement of the water chamber inside a pipe.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved apparatus for smokers.

The invention provides smoking apparatus adapted to utilise a liquid filter medium, characterised in that said apparatus includes means for condensing at least part of the vapour of said liquid, which vapour may be produced by, and accompany the smoke produced and filtered by, use of the said apparatus.

An embodiment of the invention, which may be preferred, will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a water pipe according to the present invention; and

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the water pipe of Fig. 1.

The water pipe 10 of Figs. 1 and 2 has a generally S-shaped hollow body, which may be formed from any suitable material or combination of materials.

As particularly illustrated in Fig. 1 , a preferred water pipe 10 is formed from pieces of conduit, more preferably conduit of plastics material such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) which is routinely used in the manufacture of water pipes and the like. One common brand of such PVC conduit is VINIDEX (Registered Trade Mark).

The pipe 10 preferably consists of a first section 12 of conduit, a second piece 14 of conduit, and a third piece 16 of conduit, a first elbow 34 and a second elbow 36, and an end cap 38. Sections 12, 14, 16 are fitted into elbows 34, 36 to form the aforementioned S-shape. As shown in Fig. 2, the elbows 34, 36 are generally right-angle tubular members, into which sections 12, 14, 16 may be fitted. That results in an S-shape in which, when section 12 is generally horizontal, sections 14 and 16 are parallel and generally vertical. The open end of section 16 is closed by a cap 38.

With the PVC conduit elements such as the straight sections 12, 14, 16, the elbows 34, 36 and the cap 38, the water pipe 10 may be assembled by press- fitting the sections 12, 14, 16 into the reduced-diameter portions of elbows 34, 36 and cap 38. Those reduced-diameter portions may be seen in Fig. 2. Of course, other mechanisms may be used to join elements together to form a water pipe 10. Screw fittings or bayonet fittings may be used, or to enhance the frictional engagement of a press-fit, a circumferential rib or groove may be located on the inner surface of an elbow 34, 36, and/or on the external surface of a section 12, 14, 16. It may be desirable to make the entire water pipe 10, or merely portions of it, able to be disassembled for transportation. For example, the connection between section 12 and elbow 34 could be such that section 14 and elbow 34 could be rotated about 180°relative to section 12, thus forming a U-shape which may be easier to transport.

It is also clear that a water pipe 10 may be moulded or fabricated in one piece. It has also been felt to be desirable to fabricate a water pipe 10 from a clear material such as an acrylic. Both alternatives are more expensive than a water pipe made from PVC conduit, although it has been possible to assembler a clear acrylic pipe from acrylic tubing which has been cut and glued to form the pipe. It has been found that a water pipe 10 such as that illustrated in Fig. 1 may be rendered attractive to potential users by applying a coating such as PLASTI- COAT (Trade Mark), which is an acrylic lacquer with material suspended in it, which imparts an appearance to the water pipe 10 rather like an anodised finish. The PLASTI-COAT lacquer may be applied by spraying it from a spray can. The water pipe 10 is preferably initially treated with a plastics primer, and also preferably, a clear coat of a suitable material is applied. This clear coat may assist in preventing the printing on a sticker or the like from smudging. Such a problem may occur when a sticker or label is printed onto a clear sheet using a printer associated with a personal computer. Such stickers or labels may include a registered trade mark such as BENT BILLYS, and it would not be satisfactory for the printed trade mark to smudge.

Open end 18 of section 12 is, in use, the mouthpiece of the water pipe 10. Preferably, as shown, the end 18 of section 12 has a cut-off portion to make the end 18 fit a user's mouth somewhat better than an end with a 90° termination. As shown in broken lines in Fig. 2, the pipe 10 may be smoked through a tube 42, which extends from a cap 44 which may be like cap 38 and which is adapted to removably locate over end 18 of section 12. That enables the water pipe 10 to be smoked somewhat less publicly than when mouthpiece 18 is used.

Fig. 1 features such as supports or legs 48, which are optional, and top 20 of tube 28, together with the interior features of water pipe 10, will be described in detail in relation to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 shows a sectional view of the water pipe 10 of Fig. 1. Burning tube 28 is shown located in connected section 16 and elbow 36. Tube 28 is preferably located through an aperture in the upper surface of elbow 36, with more preferably a seal 40 between the tube 28 and elbow 36. Top portion 20 of tube 28 is located beyond the upper portion of elbow 36. Burning of combustible material such as tobacco may take place in, or in the vicinity of, top 20.

Tube 28 extends within section 16 to a location near the end thereof which may be closed off by cap 38. An amount of water 30 is also shown, occupying, in use, part of the interior of hollow conduit section 16. As discussed hereinbefore, the pipe 10 may be easily assembled and disassembled to allow water to be introduced into and removed from the pipe 10. With the water pipe 10 in the "in use" position of Fig. 2, the water 30 occupies part of the interior of section 16, and tube 28 extends into the water 30.

To use the water pipe 10, combustible material such as tobacco or the like is preferably firstly placed in a burner (not shown), which is adapted to be located on or near top 20. More preferably, the burner is an inverted, hollow, frusto- conical element, with a larger aperture at the inverted upper end and a smaller aperture at the inverted lower end. More preferably, the burner is formed from a metal such as brass. The burner is then placed in and/or on top 20, and the tobacco is lit. With the preferred inverted frusto-conical burner, the pointed end is located in the tube 28 at top 20, so that the burner rests on top 20 with part thereof above and part thereof below the upper part of top 20.

The lighting process may be aided by the user placing his or her mouth on or over the mouthpiece 18 and inhaling. Inhaling at mouthpiece 18 draws smoke from the combusting material in the burner located on top 20, through tube 28 so that it bubbles up through the water 30, which passage through the water 30 filters the smoke before it passes through the interiors of elbow 36, section 12, elbow 34, and section 14, to the user.

It is known that although the water in a conventional water pipe filters the smoke of the combusting material, water vapour is also produced, which is mixed in the stream of smoke inhaled by the user. This is an unwarranted side-effect of water filtration, as it is not believed to have an adverse effect upon a smoker's health to inhale a lot of water vapour; that may be because the vapour carries with it substances such as tar, produced by the combustion process involving the tobacco or the like used in the pipe 10.

It is contended that the S-shape of water pipe 10 contributes to the condensation of at least some of such water vapour, which may accompany smoke drawn through water 30 and inhaled by a smoker. It is believed that as the smoke and water vapour travels through the interior of pipe 10, following the S-shape of the pipe 10, at least some of the water vapour may condense upon contact with the interior surface(s) of the pipe 10.

To assist in such condensation, a "dam" or the like 32 may optionally be provided on the second bend, that is, within elbow 34, through which the smoke and water vapour must pass. As illustrated, the dam 32 is a wedge-shaped piece of material which extends, preferably approximately half-way across the interior, and thus has a shape, when viewed along the axis of section 12 or section 14, approximately of a semi-circle.

In the embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2, with the water pipe formed from PVC conduit, the most practical manner of providing as dam 32 is to fabricate the dam 32, cut a v-shaped portion out of the 90° bend of the elbow 34, insert the dam 32, and glue or heat-seal the dam 32 and elbow 34 together. Of course, any suitable method may be used to form the dam 32, including moulding it with the elbow 34 or the pipe 10.

It should also be understood that the dam 32 could be of any size or shape, and may be located anywhere within the pipe 10. There may also be more than one such dam 32.

A different type of dam 24 may also be located in the interior of water pipe 10. Dam 24 is, as illustrated in Fig. 2, effectively an extension of a wall of elbow 36. Preferably, it extends about one-third of the way across the interior of elbow 36, from, in use, the base thereof. It is intended to prevent water 30 from leaving the interior of section 16 and entering the interior of section 12. It could for that reason be located anywhere which would accomplish that task, for example at a location on the base of the interior of section 12.

It has been found that the water pipe 10 illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 is quite stable when rested on a flat surface, particularly when water 30 is in section 16 of the pipe 10. The pipe 10 may be rested on a table, bench or the like, with the edge of the table, bench or the like being located around the 90° bend of elbow 36, and with section 16 hanging down over the edge. However, in the event that the pipe is not stable enough for some users, legs or supports 48 may be provided, one on either side of, in use, the base of elbow 34. Such legs or supports would stabilise the pipe 10 on such a flat surface.

Although the smoke produced in water pipe 10 is filtered by the water 30, it may also be desirable to fit another filter within the hollow body of water pipe 10. By way of an example only, a filter formed form tissue, cotton wool or any other suitable material may be removably located in portion 14, preferably near the top end 34 thereof, and more preferably adapted to be friction-fitted within portion 14. One possible version of such a filter may take a form something like a larger-diameter version of a tampon, event to the extent of having a string attached so that the filter could be easily removed form the interior of portion 14.

It can be seen that this invention provides an improved water pipe. It is able, by virtue of the bends in its interior, to increase the condensation of water vapour carried in the smoke, thus reducing the inhalation of water vapour, and tar. It is able to be located on a surface, because of its inherent balance, whether it is being used or not. As a result, the pipe of this invention is almost spill proof. If a part of the pipe is broken, only that part need be replaced, and not the entire pipe. However, in the illustrated embodiment, the pipe 10 is virtually unbreakable. Furthermore, the design of the pipe is such that it is difficult if not impossible for a smoker to burn himself or herself when lighting the pipe or smoking it.

The claims form part of the disclosure of this specification.

Claims

1. Smoking apparatus adapted to utilise a liquid filter medium, characterised in that said apparatus includes means for condensing at least part of the vapour of said liquid, which vapour may be produced by, and accompany the smoke produced and filtered by, use of the said apparatus.

2. Smoking apparatus according to claim 1 , characterised in that said means is a passage for said smoke and any said vapour, said passage being structured to facilitate the said condensing of said at least part of said vapour.

3. Smoking apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterised in that said passage is structured such that there is at least one bend therein.

4. Smoking apparatus according to claim 3, characterised in that said apparatus has a general S-shaped, and in that said passage has a general S- shape, with two bends therein.

5. Smoking apparatus according to claim 4, characterised in that each of said two bends is approximately a right angle.

6. Smoking apparatus according to any preceding claim, characterised in that additional means for condensing water vapour is provided.

7. Smoking apparatus according to any preceding claim, characterised in that said additional means is a dam located in said passage.

8. Smoking apparatus according to claim 7, characterised in that said dam is located at or near said bend, or one of said bends.

9. Smoking apparatus according to claim 8, characterised in that said dam extends part-way across said passage.

10. Smoking apparatus according to claim 9, characterised in that said dam extends approximately half-way across said passage.

11. Smoking apparatus according to any preceding claim, characterised in that said liquid is water.

12. Smoking apparatus according to any preceding claim, characterised in that said apparatus includes stabilising means to ensure that said apparatus is able to be securely located on a surface.

13. Smoking apparatus according to claim 12, characterised in that said stabilising means are legs.

14. Smoking apparatus according to any preceding claim, characterised in that said apparatus is capable of being disassembled such that if one part is broken or becomes inoperable, only that part needs to be replaced.

15. Smoking apparatus according to any preceding claim, characterised by an additional filter means located in said passage.

16. Smoking apparatus according to claim 15, characterised in that said filter means is in the form of a large tampon-type element.

17. Smoking apparatus according to any preceding claim, characterised in that said apparatus is a water pipe.