US3091243A - Self-extinguishing cigarette - Google Patents

Description

May 28, 1963 R Q GU|DA 3,091,243

SELF-EXTINGUISHING CIGARETTE Filed Jan. 11, 1961 Fla INVENTOR.

FRANK G. GUIDA KW DMM m United States Patent 3,091,243 SELF-EXTINGUISHING CIGARETTE Frank C. Guida, 144 Harryel St., Pittsfield, Mass. Filed Jan. 11, 1961, Ser. No. 82,108 1 Claim. (Cl. 1314) This invention relates generally to cigarettes and more particularly to a cigarette which is equipped with a device which extinguishes the flame at a pre-determined point on the body of the cigarette.

It has been known that lit cigarettes or cigars carelessly discarded or left in an ash tray are one of the major reasons for accidental fires in the home and other areas causing tragedies that could be avoided. An additional problem concerned with cigarettes and cigars is the disposing of the same after they are finished or the preservation of an unfinished cigarette.

The invention herein disclosed has as its principal object the provision of an improved useful and inexpensive cigarette or cigar containing a fire extinguishing apparatus or device.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cigarette or cigar which can be extinguished with the hand without burning the hand and which can then be placed in the pocket of a user without ashes becoming strewn all over the pocket.

A further object of this invention is to provide a cigarette or cigar which can be easily and cleanly extinguished so that it can be used later.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a cigarette or cigar which will give the user the benefit of having smoke enter his mouth which is cooler than is usual in cigarettes or cigars.

This invention is described here in terms of a cigarette, however, the inventive concept can be applied to cigars as well.

A self-extinguishing cigarette embodying the invention and the manner of using the same is described herein with references to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a self-extinguishing cigarette constructed in accordance with the teaching of this invention with the cylindrical extinguishing device shown in full lines in one position and in phantom in another position longitudinally of the cigarette;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the cylindrical extinguishing device shown on the cigarette in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end view of an alternate form of an extinguishing device;

FIG. 4 is a side view of a partially used cigarette, the flame of which has been extinguished by an alternate form of extinguishing device shown thereon; and

FIG. 5 is a side view of a cigarette utilizing this invention to have its flame extinguished by a user so that the cigarette can be used later.

It is noted that the invention herein is described in terms of a cigarette for purposes of illustration only and the invention may readily be adapted by one skilled in the art to a cigar or other device of that type. In FIG. 1 a cigarette constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention is shown. The cigarette consists of a portion which is normal to cigarettes and is indicated in the figure generally by the numeral 10. Cigarette portion is a cylindrical hollow formed of paper commonly used for this purpose covering the surface of a solid cylinder formed of smoking tobacco. This construction is common and is the construction utilized today in the majority of cigarettes constructed without additional paper filters. A hollow aluminum foil tubing 11 is shown about a portion of the periphery of the cigarette. The internal diameter of tube 11 is such that the tube snugly embraces the portion of cigarette 10 about which it is placed and ice allows the tube 11, which has a longitudinal dimension a fraction of the longitudinal dimension of cigarette 10, to be able to slide upon the cigarette longitudinally. In FIG. 1 tube 11 is shown in heavy lines at one end of cigarette 19, whereas a tube indicated by the numeral 12 is shown in phantom at another portion of the cigarette. In FIG. 2 an end view of tube 11 is shown and in FIG. 3 an end view of an alternate form of tube is shown wherein the foil or metallic portion indicated in FIG. 3 by thenumeral 13 is surrounded by acork portion 14 so that the user can usecork portion 14 between his or her lips when the cigarette is being smoked.

The invention provides the use of the hollow aluminum foil tubing and/ or the like at the outside diameter of the cigarette with or without a cork covering. The extruded tubing is able to slide upon the cigarette or cigar at any desired length of cigarette or cigar, thus choking the lit end of the cigarette or cigar when the aluminum foiling is slid over the fire and/ or when the fire reaches the sleeving the same will apply, thereby extinguishing the lit cigarette or cigar automatically thus initiating a safety system.

This system also provides a neatly reusable cigarette or cigar .for conservative purposes after being butted. As is shown in FIG. 5 the tubing therein which has been placed about cigarette 10 is indicated by thenumeral 15. The tubing has been crimped at oneend 15 about the flame end portion of cigarette 10. In the crimping action the heat of the fire will not aifect the fingers of the user and the flame will be readily extinguished and if there are any ashes on the end of the cigarette they will be enclosed within crimpedtubing 15. Thus it is provided that the user of this invention can in a neat manner extinguish the flame of a cigarette and place the cigarette in his pocket in a safe manner so that it can be used later.

The sleeving used herein will not melt and will maintain form stability at all temperatures to which the aluminum will be subjected. The sleeving is not toxic when heat is applied. This tubing, which performs a function of extinguishing a flame, is flame-resistant itself and will not burn.

An alternate form of the invention is shown in FIG. 4 wherein a plastic hollow extrudedtubing 16 is used at one end of the cigarette 10. Theplastic tubing 16 is encapsulated in an aluminum foil on the inside diameter and on the outside diameter. This extruded tubing whose diameter may be reduced longitudinally to a predetermined size upon the application of heat from the lit end of the cigarette is fabricated from an irradiated, thermally stabilized, flame-resistant, modified polyolefin compound. An example of such a compound is manufactured by the Raychern Corporation of California and sold under the trade name Thermofit tubing. The tubing in its expanded form is applied to the cigarette and later when the flame heats the tubing the tubing contracts to the condition shown in FIG. 4 wherein the reduced diameter portion 16' is shown causing a choking effect upon the light of the cigarette thereby extinguishing the same.

With each of the embodiments disclosed herein the smoke reaching the lips of the user is cooler than the smoke reaching the lips of the user without the use of the external extinguishing tubings disclosed herein. The reason 4501 this is that each of the tubings disclosed herein has as a secondary efiect the ability to carry the heat from the smoke and into the surrounding atmosphere in a superior manner than does the paper covering the tobacco alone. The tubing disclosed herein in each instance has the ability .to conduct the heat in such a manner that a greater amount of the heat from the smoke is given off to the atmosphere than would normally be the 'case. This results from the fact that each of the tubings has a coeflicient of heat conductance greater than the coefiicient of heat conductance of the air which is essentially a substance which resists the conductance of heat. a

Thus, among others, the several objects in the inven tion,.as specifically aforenoted, are achieved. Obviously, numerous changes in construction and rearrangement of parts might be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the claim.

I claim:

A sel-feextinguishing cigarette comprising a cylindrical roll of smoking tobacco, a cylindrical paper covering for said tobacco, a hollow tube formed of a polyolefin compound which has been expanded, said tube being slidably disposed about the periphery of said paper and snugly encompassing the same, said tube being enclosed by aluminum foil on the inside and outside surfaces thereof, whereby upon a burning portion of said cylindrical roll encountering said expanded tube said expanded tube will contract about the burning portion and extinguish said burning portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Knapp Apr. 20, 1926 Levy Jan. 4, 1938 Levey May 23, 1939 Strauch Sept; 5, 1939 Williams Mar. 5, 1940 Seney June 24, 1941 Atterbury Ian. 2, 1951 Lattof Jan. 19, 1954 Statia July 17, 1956 Gore Dec. 23, 1958 Redford Jan. 20, 1959 Lehv Dec. 20, 1960 Parlour Apr. 11, 1961, Hultkrans Jan. 16, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Aug. 14, 1931 Germany May 3, 1932 Great Britain Dec. 10, 1958

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