US1952735A - Smoke treating means - Google Patents

Description

March 27, 1934. i y H MP 1,952,735

SMOKE TREATING MEANS Filed Feb. 24, 1953 INVENTOR.

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4 ATTORN Y Patented Mar. 27, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE '1 Claims.

This invention relates to means for treating tobacco smoke, and more particularly to means for mentholating such smoke.

Mentholated cigarettes, now extensively used,

are open to the objection that a portion of the menthol therein is burned and a large portion of the beneficial and pleasant properties of the menthol are thus lost. Additionally, the smoker is deprived of his own particular brand of tobacco. .In order'to overcomethese objections, it has heretofore been proposed to provide a holder adapted to receive the end of a cigar or cigarette to be smoked, the holder having an annular chamber in the rear thereof for receiving menthol crystals, peppermint, etc. Numerous holes are-provided in the walls of the chamber to permit, smoke to be drawn through the bed of crystals. This holder has proven unsatisfactory since it is .expensive to manufacture and the capacity of the chamber is restricted by the convenient size of the holder, thus making it extremely difiicult to fill the same with the desired crystals and decreasing the duration of beneficial use. Furthermore, the dimensions of the holder must not only closely conform to the various sizes of articles to be smoked, but requires a specially made secondary holder with which its dimensions must conform exactly.

In order to overcome the above objections, it

has also been heretofore proposed to provide a round pellet comprising menthol crystals imbedded in an inert binder, the pellet or pellets being positioned in an enlarged chamber formed in the smoke passage of a specially designed holder or retained in the smoke passage by means of a metallic holder. These pellets are subject to the objection that only a small portion of the expensive menthol crystals are available to treat the smoke with the result that the pellets must be of unusually large size to be eifective and quickly lose their strength. The first cigarette to be smoked is thus strongly mentholated while the second one smoked is not sufliciently treated. If larger pellets are used to avoid this, the smoke is too strongly mentholated when first used.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide smoke treating means which will overcome the above difiiculties and objections. Other objects and advantages will appear more fully hereinafter in the detail description of the invention which is to be read in connection with the attached drawing illustrating two embodiments of the invention, and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating one embodiment; and 1 Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating another embodiment of the invention.

Referring to Fig. 1, the novel smoke treating means comprises a holder for a cigarette 3, or a cigar, which is constituted by a tapered portion 4, and a mouthpiece 5. Preferably, portion 4 is formed of paper or other fibrous material while mouthpiece 5 is formed of rubber, amber, etc.

Positioned within the tapered portion of the holder is a casing, container or capsule constituted by two telescoping members 6 and 7, the smaller diameter member 7 being positioned adjacent the mouthpiece 5 but preferably at a small distance therefrom. The opposite ends of casing 6,

7 are provided with openings 8 which are substantially in alignment, and within the casing is a smoke treating substance, such as menthol crystals 9. The casing is preferably formed of gelatin and, if desired, the telescoping parts thereof may be dipped in a solution of 50% menthol and 50% alcohol.

Prior to inserting the casing in the tapered portion of the holder, the former is preferably moistened and, when moved to a position such that the interior diameter of the tapered portion 30 4 is equal to the exterior diameter of the larger portion 6' of said casing, pressure may be applied to the outer surface of portion 4 in the plane of the casing whereby the latter is caused to adhere to the inner tapered wall and be retained in position. If desired, the casing may be positioned in the taperedportion 4 at a short'distance from the outer end of mouthpiece 5. Any liquid nico=- tine will thus be absorbed by the fibrous walls of the tapered portion 4 and will not flow into the mouthpiece. I

When smoke is drawn from the cigarette, it passes through the forward opening 8 through the bed of crystals, through the rear opening in the casing and through the smoke passage in the mouthpiece, whereby said smoke is mentholated without burning of the menthol. Moreover, the user is enabled to employ his own favorite brand of tobacco, the taste for which he has acquired by habit. The casing is readily filled with menthol crystals and the two pieces of said casing may be easily telescoped to form a container, the crystals being somewhat larger than the openings in the ends of the casing. The latter should not be entirely filled with crystals since, as the smoke passes over the crystals, nicotine therefrom will adhere to them and, when the crystals become sufllciently coated, it is only necessary to shake the holder slightly to rearrange the crystals therein so that the next smoke will be mentholated to substantially the same strength as the first, and it has been found, in actual use, that substantially the same strength is maintained. When the desired treatment of smoke is 5 no longer obtained, a small rod may be forced through the mouth end of the holder to dislodge the adhering casing from tapered portion 4, and

a new casing can be quickly inserted therein or,

if desired, the tapered paper portion may be discarded with the used casing.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 2, the telescopic gelatin casing 10 is provided at its opposite ends with small protuberances 11, the latter being adapted to fit in the bore of the smoke passage provided in the holder, such as a pipe for example. It will be noted that no enlargement of the diameter of the bore is required although the enlarged portion of the latter may have to be lengthened. The protuberances 11 maintain the openings in alignment with the smoke passages in the mouthpiece and bowl of the pipe or cigarette holder. This arrangement, however, does not prevent the passage of liquid nicotine into the mouthpiece.

While two embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described in the accompanying drawing, it is to be expressely understood that the drawing is forv purpose of illustration only and is not designed as a definition of the limits of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims for this purpose.

' What is claimed is:

1. A cigarette holder having a bore therethrough, a telescopic gelatin casing having aligned openings-in the opposite ends thereof and positioned in the bore, and loose menthol crystals i said casing.

2. A cigarette holder having a bore, a portion of said bore being tapered, a gelatin casing having openings in the ends thereof positioned in the tapered portion of the bore, said casing having adhesive engagement with the walls of the bore, and menthol crystals in said casing.

3. A smoke treating capsule comprising a telescopic gelatin casing having openings in the op posite ends thereof, said casing being impregnated with menthol, and menthol crystals in said casing.

4. A smoke treating capsule for. tobacco comprising a gelatin capsule having openings in the opposite ends thereof, and loose menthol crystals in said casing partially filling the latter.

5. A holder for tobacco having a bore therethrough, a gelatin capsule adapted to be positioned in the bore at a substantial distance from the tobacco, and menthol crystals in said capsule, the latter having smoke passages in the walls thereof and being partly filled with said crystals.

6. A holder for tobacco having a stem with a bore therethrough. a container adapted to be positioned in said holder and to have substantially permanent engagement with the walls thereof when the same is subjected to the heat of the smoke drawn through said stem, said container having openings in the walls thereof for the passage of smoke therethrough, and menthol crystals in said container for treating the smoke.

7. A holder for tobacco having a bore therethrough for the passage of smoke, a capsule posi- ARNOLD THOMPSON.

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