Compact smoking apparatus and manufacture thereof

• US 20020088469A1
• Filed: 01/10/2002
• Published: 07/11/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bryan Rennecamp
• Original Assignee: Bryan Rennecamp
• Inventors: Rennecamp, Bryan
• Granted Patent: US 6,736,143 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 131/330
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 1/00 Tobacco pipes
• CPC Class Codes: A24F 23/00 Cases for tobacco, snuff, or chewing tobacco

Abstract

A compact wooden smoking apparatus wherein the body of the apparatus has a constant peripheral contour in cross sections taken in any plane generally parallel to the body top and body bottom. A wooden blank for use in the manufacture of a plurality of compact wooden smoking apparatuses, the wooden blank having a constant peripheral contour in cross sections taken in any plane generally perpendicular to its longitudinal axis. A method for manufacturing a compact wooden smoking apparatus involving milling an elongate piece of wood into an elongate wooden blank imparting a constant peripheral contour in cross sections taken in any plane generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the piece of wood, and cutting lateral sections from the wooden blank to produce a plurality of smoking apparatus body sections.

Claims

1. A compact wooden smoking apparatus comprising:

a smoking apparatus body having a body top, a body bottom, and body external side walls;

wherein the body has a constant peripheral contour in cross sections taken in any plane generally parallel to the body top and body bottom;

a smoking material receptacle in the body having a smoking material receptacle opening at the body top; and

a lid for the smoking material receptacle, the lid having a lid top, a lid bottom, a lid width, lid depth, and lid external walls;

wherein the lid has a constant peripheral contour in cross sections taken in any plane generally parallel to the lid top and lid bottom.

2. The compact wooden smoking apparatus of claim 1 wherein the constant peripheral contour of the lid corresponds to the constant peripheral contour of the body, such that when the lid bottom is applied to the body top, the lid and body are alignable as the compact smoking apparatus, which apparatus has a constant peripheral contour in cross sections taken in any plane generally parallel to the lid top and body bottom.

3. The compact wooden smoking apparatus of claim 2 wherein the lid is pivotably attached to the body.

4. The compact wooden smoking apparatus of claim 3 wherein the lid is attached to the body by means of a metal fastener.

5. The compact wooden smoking apparatus of claim 4 wherein the metal fastener is a pan head washer type screw.

6. The compact wooden smoking apparatus of claim 2 wherein the lid and body each have wood grain which runs in the same direction when the lid is applied to the body.

7. The compact wooden smoking apparatus of claim 2 wherein the lid and body are manufactured from a single piece of wood.

8. The compact wooden smoking apparatus of claim 7 wherein the lid and body are manufactured from adjacent segments of the single piece of wood such that the lid has a wood grain which matches a wood grain of the body.

9. The compact wooden smoking apparatus of claim 1 comprising:

a pipe receptacle in the body having a pipe receptacle opening at the body top;

wherein the lid is pivotably attached to the smoking apparatus body; and

wherein the pipe receptacle opening is a distance from the smoking material receptacle opening, which distance is greater than the lid depth to thereby provide unobstructed access to the smoking material receptacle opening and pipe receptacle opening simultaneously upon rotation of the lid to an open position.

10. The compact wooden smoking apparatus of claim 9 wherein:

the smoking apparatus side walls have a generally arcuate contour having a contour radius dimension;

the smoking material receptacle opening has an arcuate section at a point closest to a center point of the smoking apparatus body, and has a smoking material receptacle radius dimension corresponding to said arcuate section; and

the contour radius dimension is greater than the smoking material receptacle radius dimension.

11. The compact wooden smoking apparatus of claim 1 comprising a replacement lid section extending upwardly from the smoking apparatus body bottom, the replacement lid section having a constant peripheral contour in cross sections generally parallel to its top and bottom, which constant peripheral contour corresponds to the constant peripheral contour of the body, such that when the replacement lid is attached to the body, the lid and body are alignable such that the compact smoking apparatus including body and replacement lid section has a constant peripheral contour in cross sections from the body top through the replacement lid.

12. The compact wooden smoking apparatus of claim 2 comprising a contour having a uniform depth and uniform width formed by the removal of wood and extending from the top of the lid to the bottom of the body bottom.

13. The compact wooden smoking apparatus of claim 12 wherein the contour has a generally arcuate shape.

17. The wooden blank of claim 16 wherein body sections and lid sections are disposed alternatively along the wooden blank such that each of at least a plurality of said body sections are adjacent to lid sections.

18. The wooden blank of claim 16 wherein the wooden blank comprises a contour of uniform depth and uniform width extending from the first end to the second end.

19. The wooden blank of claim 18 wherein the contour has a generally arcuate shape.

14. A compact wooden smoking apparatus comprising:

a smoking apparatus body having a body top, a body bottom, and body external side walls;

wherein the body has a constant peripheral contour in cross sections taken in any plane generally parallel to the top and bottom of the body;

a smoking material receptacle in the body having a smoking material receptacle opening at the body top; and

a lid for the smoking material receptacle, the lid being pivotably attached to the body top.

15. A wooden blank for use in the manufacture of a plurality of compact wooden smoking apparatuses, the wooden blank comprising:

an elongate piece of milled wood comprising;

a first end;

a second end remote from the first end;

a longitudinal axis extending from the first end to the second end;

a plurality of smoking apparatus body sections disposed between the first end and the second end; and

a constant peripheral contour in cross sections taken in any plane generally perpendicular to said longitudinal axis.

16. A wooden blank for use in the manufacture of a plurality of compact wooden smoking apparatuses, the wooden blank comprising:

an elongate piece of milled wood comprising;

a first end;

a second end remote from the first end;

a longitudinal axis extending from the first end to the second end;

a constant peripheral contour in cross sections taken in any plane generally perpendicular to said longitudinal axis;

a plurality of smoking apparatus body sections of a first length disposed between the first end and the second end; and

a plurality of smoking apparatus lid sections of a second length disposed between the first end and the second end;

wherein said second length is shorter than said first length.

20. A method for manufacturing a compact wooden smoking apparatus comprising:

milling an elongate piece of wood into an elongate wooden blank imparting a constant peripheral contour in cross sections taken in any plane generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the piece of wood;

cutting lateral sections of a first length from the wooden blank to produce a plurality of smoking apparatus body sections; and

boring a smoking material receptacle into each of said plurality of smoking apparatus body sections.

21. The method of claim 20 comprising fastening a lid to each of said plurality of smoking apparatus sections to provide a smoking material receptacle closure for each of said plurality smoking apparatus body sections.

22. The method of claim 20 comprising:

cutting lateral sections of a second length from the elongate wooden blank to produce a plurality of smoking apparatus lids as smoking material receptacle closures, one such closure for each of said plurality of smoking apparatus body sections;

wherein said second length is shorter than said first length.

23. The method of claim 22 comprising:

fastening each of said plurality of smoking apparatus lids to each of said plurality of smoking apparatus body sections.

24. The method of claim 23 comprising fastening each of said plurality of smoking apparatus lids with a pan head washer type screw to each of said plurality of smoking apparatus body sections.

25. The method of claim 21 comprising fastening a reinforcing plate to said lid.

26. The method of claim 22 comprising fastening a reinforcing plate to each of said smoking apparatus lids.

27. The method of claim 20 wherein the contour has a generally arcuate shape.

28. The method of claim 22 wherein the contour has a generally arcuate shape.