PIPE

Abstract

An edible smoking apparatus for smoking a tobacco product. The apparatus can be a pipe, bat, bong, or hookah. The pipe can include a removable straw that attaches to the bottom of the pipe to convert the pipe into an edible lollipop. The smoking apparatus can be made from separate parts or from one mould. The edible material can coat a non-edible smoking apparatus.

Description

This application claims the benefit of design application Ser. No. 29/306,561, titled “Pipe,” filed Apr. 10, 2008, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of this invention relate to a device for smoking tobacco. More particularly, embodiments of this invention relate to an edible smoking pipe.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The earliest record of people smoking tobacco dates back to 3000 BC. Tobacco can take many forms including dried, cured, and natural forms for being rolled into a cigarette, being smoked in a pipe, or other creative ways as discussed below. Tobacco can also be chewed, dipped, or sniffed.

The most common way to smoke tobacco products is by using cigarettes. However, commercial cigarettes contain additives that can be harmful. For example, saccharides are a common ingredient in commercial cigarettes that, when smoked, are converted into formaldehyde—a carcinogen that is used in the preservation of human remains.

Using natural tobacco is cleaner. Natural tobacco can be smoked by: (1) buying cigars and replacing the commercial tobacco with a natural product; (2) using rolling papers; (3) creating a smoking device from household items; or (4) using a pipe.

Cigars have the advantage of being disposable, inexpensive, and sold everywhere. However, removing the original product, replacing it with a new product, and resealing the cigar can be time consuming.

Rolling papers have the advantage of being disposable, inexpensive, and common; however, the paper alters the original product and the process of rolling the paper to form a cigarette can be time consuming and difficult to prepare, depending upon the user's abilities.

Household items can be used to smoke tobacco products. For example, a gravity bong is a device composed mainly of a plastic bottle. The bottom of the bottle is removed and the bottle is placed in a bucket filled with water. A cone containing the tobacco product is inserted on top, and the tobacco is lit. Once the chamber fills with smoke, the cone is removed and the bottle is lowered into a bucket to force the smoke through the top opening. This device is time consuming, messy, and cumbersome.

Food, such as apples or potatoes, can also be modified for smoking tobacco products. To make an apple pipe, the user cores out the apple. The user punctures the other end with a hollow tube to create a path of air flow. The user places aluminum foil on top of the hollowed out core and places the tobacco product on top. These pipes have the drawback, however, of being perishable.

Pipes are reusable, portable, they allow the purity of the product to be maintained, and are easy to use. Pipes can be made, for example, of blown glass, wood, ceramic, or stone materials. The disadvantage of these pipes, though, is that they are expensive and can be difficult to find.

What is needed is a portable smoking device that is easy to obtain, inexpensive, disposable, and edible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The disadvantages associated with the prior art are overcome by embodiments of the present invention directed to a device, for example a pipe, composed of an edible material that also functions as a smoking device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The teachings of the present invention can be readily understood by considering the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a perspective view of an edible pipe according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a perspective view of an edible pipe having a carburetor according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a perspective view of an edible bubbler according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an edible bong according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an edible hookah according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an edible bat according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

Although the following detailed description contains many specific details for the purposes of illustration, anyone of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that many variations and alterations to the following details are within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments of the invention described below are set forth without any loss of generality to, and without imposing limitations upon, the claimed invention.

An embodiment of the invention is an edible pipe for smoking tobacco. FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of the pipe having a mouthpiece 100 that depicts, with dashes, the smoking channel 110, which is connected to the bowl 120. The pipe is used by placing a tobacco product in the bowl 120. The bowl 120 can form a lip 140.

To operate the pipe, a user lights the tobacco product and places his mouth on the mouthpiece 100. The smoke travels from the bowl 120 to the mouthpiece 100.

FIG. 2 illustrates another embodiment of the pipe. The pipe has a smoking channel 110 with a mouthpiece 100 on one end, and an aperture, commonly known as a carburetor 230, at the opposite end, which the user can plug to control the flow of air. A user lights the tobacco product and places his mouth on the mouthpiece 100 while keeping the carburetor 230 closed with a finger. The user then removes his finger from the carburetor 230 to allow air to mix with the smoke and move through the smoking channel 110 and finally through the mouthpiece 100 into the user's mouth.

A straw 250 can be used to clean the smoking channel 110 or as a stick to transform the pipe into a lollipop.

The shape of the pipe can take many forms. The pipe embodied in FIG. 1 has a short and straight smoking channel 110, which has the advantage of making the pipe small enough to fit in a pocket. Alternatively, the smoking channel can be elongated, have a varying diameter, and can even be curved for an aesthetically pleasing appearance.

In one embodiment, the pipe can be a Sherlock pipe, which has a curved smoking channel. Starting at the mouthpiece, the smoking channel curves downward and then curves back up to form the bowl. The curving results in a “U” shape with a tail on the end for the mouthpiece.

In another embodiment, the pipe can be a churchwarden pipe, which has a long and curved smoking channel. The smoking channel is formed with a decreasing diameter that is smallest at the mouthpiece end.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of a bubbler. The bowl 120 is conical shaped. By adding a rounded bottom 370 to the pipe, it becomes known as a bubbler. The rounded bottom 370 is in communication with the bowl 120. Water is added to the rounded bottom 370. When a user inhales, it draws smoke through the bowl 120 into the water 380, thereby cooling the smoke before it travels through the smoking channel 110 and through the mouthpiece 100.

Because the bubbler is filled with water, which dissolves the edible bubbler, the user should discard the water shortly after use.

A screen 360 made of metal or glass can be affixed to the top of the bowl 120 to prevent pieces of tobacco product from dropping down into the smoking channel 110 where it can become lodged, preventing the flow of air, or travel through the smoking channel 110 to be inhaled by the user. The bowl 120 is formed with a raised lip 140 to allow a screen 160 to fit securely between the lip 140 and the bowl 120. The lip 140 also serves as a guide for placing the tobacco directly into the bowl 120 if a screen 160 is unnecessary.

Example for Making an Edible Pipe

The pipe is composed of an edible material having 59.6% sugar, 36.15% glucose syrup, 2.95% water, 0.3% flavoring, and 1% lactic acid. The pipe is made by dissolving the sugar, syrup, and water together at 30 to 35° C., stirring frequently to form a solution. The solution is then heated to 150° C., which causes the solution to boil. This step takes place in a vacuum with pressure of 0.02 MPa. The sugar is heated to between 146-154° C., which causes most of the water in the solution to evaporate and leaves a thick syrup. Next, the lactic acid and flavoring is mixed into the solution. Once these ingredients are equally distributed, the solution is poured into a cast-iron mould. The mould is placed in a cooling channel where the temperature drops to between 18 and 25° C. with 45% humidity. During the de-moulding stage, the temperature is raised to between 35 and 45° C. The pipe is now formed and can be removed from the mould after 30 minutes. The pipe can be stored at between 20 and 28° C. in a location where the humidity is less than 45%.

Because the sugar is heated to between 146 and 154° C., it reaches the hard crack stage. Once sugar reaches the hard crack stage, it can withstand high temperatures, including being exposed to flames, without burning. Thus, when a user lights the tobacco product inside the pipe, the surrounding material does not burn. Instead, the sugar melts slightly if exposed directly to the flame.

In another embodiment, the parts of the pipe can be formed separately. For example, the pipe could be composed of a mouthpiece, a smoking channel, and an end piece containing a bowl. These parts could be formed using separate moulds. The parts could be assembled by melting the sugar to fuse the parts together, using water to melt the sugar, an edible adhesive, or some other method known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art. Alternatively, the parts could be removably or permanently coupled. For example, one part could be composed of internal threads and the other part could be composed of external threads, so that the parts screw together to form a seal. Many examples of coupling means would be readily apparent to one of skill in the art in light of the specification.

In one embodiment, the edible pipe can be composed of an edible substance coated onto a non-edible substance. For example, the non-edible substance could be glass, stone, ceramic, wood, or plastic. If the non-edible substance can withstand between 146-154° C., the non-edible substance could be placed in a mould and the sugar solution could be poured into the mould. This would work with certain kinds of glass. Alternatively, for less heat-resistant substances such as wood, the sugar solution could be cooled and then used to coat the pipe. The pipe could be dipped into the solution by hand or through an automated process. Alternatively, a sugar shell could be formed and the non-edible part could then be placed inside the shell and sealed.

In yet another embodiment, a candy tip could be attached to a non-edible pipe.

In another embodiment, the pipe could be composed of edible parts and non-edible parts. For example, the bowl could be made of glass or metal, while the rest of the pipe is composed of an edible substance.

The various features described above can be present in any combination, and need not all be present in any given embodiment.

The pipe flavoring includes, but is not limited to, watermelon, lemon, black currant, milk, grape, green apple, peach, strawberry, blueberry, and mint. The pipe can also be flavored banana, cherry, mango, apricot, plum, etc. Because some of the pipe material evaporates during the smoking process, the pipe flavor can also affect the tobacco smoke flavor. Thus, when a user smokes the pipe, the taste of the candy itself mixes with the flavored smoke to create a unique flavor on the user's lips and tongue.

The different flavors result in a pipe with a varying appearance. For example, some flavors can be so translucent that the smoke can be seen traveling through the smoking channel 110. But for black currant and milk, on the other hand, the inside of the pipe is not visible at all.

Because the main ingredient in the pipe is sugar, the pipe is easily cleaned. Any bits of tobacco product that become stuck to the pipe are removed when the pipe is washed with water because the water dissolves the sugar underneath. When the pipe has been washed so many times that it no longer functions as a pipe or when the user simply wants to eat the pipe, it can be consumed like a lollipop. A straw can be added so that the user's fingers can stay clean.

Products besides tobacco can be used in the pipe, for example, herbal blends. Herbal blends can be smoked for therapeutic reasons, such as to treat depression and anxiety.

They can also contain energizing ingredients. In addition, herbal blends can be used as a substitute to tobacco for people who are trying to quit smoking. For example, dried lettuce can be used as a tobacco replacement because it has a similar consistency to tobacco and no carcinogens. In addition, a user can burn incense in the form of a cone by placing incense inside the bowl or on top of a screen and plugging up the opening and carburetor. A user can burn incense in the form of a stick by placing the pipe with the carburetor touching a surface and placing the incense stick inside the smoking channel.

In one embodiment, the device for smoking tobacco can also be an edible bong. FIG. 4 illustrates on embodiment of an edible bong. The bong has a carburetor 230 and a removable stem 400 where the tobacco product fits. The bong operates by filling the bottom with water 380. Once the tobacco product is lit, a user puts his finger on the carburetor 230, his mouth on the mouthpiece 100, and sucks the smoke through the stem 400 and the water 380. The water 380 cools the smoke. Once the chamber 420 fills with smoke, the user removes his finger from the carburetor 230 and sucks the smoke through the mouthpiece 100.

As described above for embodiments of the pipe, the bong can be composed of edible and non-edible parts. The bong can also be assembled in separate pieces and fused together or combined from detachable parts.

In another embodiment, the tobacco smoking device can also be an edible hookah. FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of an edible hookah. The setup is similar to a bong, except that the removable stem 400 is placed on the top of the hookah and on a plate 520. The user can smoke the tobacco product by lighting the tobacco product placed in the stem 400. Air gets in between the stem 400 and the plate 520. The smoke travels through the water 380 and the user sucks the smoke through the hoses 510. The hoses 510 and the stem 400 are secured to the top with a gasket 500. Because this is an edible hookah, it is envisioned that the hoses 510 are composed of an edible substance such as liquorish.

As described above for embodiments of the pipe, the hookah can be composed of edible and non-edible parts. The hookah can also be assembled in separate pieces and fused together or combined from detachable parts.

In yet another embodiment, the tobacco smoking device can be a bat. FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of an edible bat. The tobacco is placed in a bowl 120. Once the tobacco is lit, the smoke moves along the bat and exits through the mouthpiece 100.

As described above for embodiments of the pipe, the bat can be composed of edible and non-edible parts.

Although the invention is described herein with reference to the preferred embodiment, one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that other applications may be substituted for those set forth herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the invention should only be limited by the Claims included below.

Claims

1. A smoking apparatus, comprising:

a pipe composed of an edible substance, said edible substance capable of supporting combustion of a smokeable material;

said pipe comprising a stem that defines a smoke channel that reaches from a proximal portion that is adapted to be drawn on by a user to a distal portion; and

a bowl defining an aperture on top of said pipe having a recess for receiving smokeable material, said bowl in communication with said distal portion of said smoke channel;

wherein a user draws smoke from said pipe by lighting said smokeable material and drawing smoke through said proximal portion.

2. The smoking apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

said bowl defining an aperture on said proximal end, wherein a user can control a flow of air that mixes with said smokeable material by placing a finger on said aperture to stop said flow and by removing said finger to allow said flow of air into said bowl.

3. The smoking apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a substantially round bottom attached to said pipe, said round bottom in communication with said bowl, said round bottom adapted to receive water.

4. The smoking apparatus of claim 1, wherein said bowl forms a lip.

5. The smoking apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a removable straw that is adapted to be inserted into said proximal portion of said stem.

6. The smoking apparatus of claim 1, said edible pipe having a flavor selected from the group consisting of watermelon, lemon, black currant, milk, grape, green apple, peach, strawberry, blueberry, mint, banana, cherry, mango, apricot, and plum.

7. The smoking apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a removable screen adapted to fit on top of said bowl.

8. The smoking apparatus of claim 1, wherein said screen is secured between said lip and said recess in said bowl.

9. The smoking apparatus of claim 1, wherein said edible pipe is composed of 59.6% sugar, 36.15% glucose syrup, 2.95% water, 0.3% flavoring, and 1% lactic acid.

10. The smoking apparatus of claim 1, wherein said edible pipe is composed of a non-edible substance coated with said edible substance.

11. The smoking apparatus of claim 10, wherein the non-edible substance is a pipe made of a material selected from a group consisting of wood, stone, ceramic, plastic, and glass.

12. The smoking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the distal portion forms an end piece that is removably attached to said stem.

13. The smoking apparatus of claim 1, wherein the proximal portion of said stem forms a mouthpiece that is removably attached to said stem.

14. A smoking apparatus, comprising:

a pipe entirely composed of an edible substance having 59.6% sugar, 36.15% glucose syrup, 2.95% water, 0.3% flavoring, and 1% lactic acid, said edible substance capable of supporting combustion of a smokeable material;

said pipe comprising a stem that defines a smoke channel that reaches from a proximal portion that is adapted to be drawn on by a user to a distal portion; and

a bowl defining an aperture on top of said pipe having a substantially conical shaped recess for receiving smokeable material and a lip, said bowl in communication with said distal portion of said smoke channel;

wherein a user draws smoke from said pipe by lighting said smokeable material and drawing smoke through said proximal portion.

15. A method for making an edible smoking apparatus, the method comprising the steps of:

dissolving sugar, syrup, and water together to form a solution;

heating said solution to 150° C. in a vacuum at 0.02MPa of pressure, wherein said heating causes said solution to boil;

mixing lactic acid and flavoring into said solution;

pouring said solution into a cast-iron mould;

cooling said solution to a temperature between 18 and 22° C. in an environment having 45% humidity;

raising said temperature to between 35 and 45° C.; and

removing said smoking apparatus from said mold at least 30 minutes after raising said temperature to between 35 and 45°.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said flavoring is selected from the group consisting of watermelon, lemon, black currant, milk, grape, green apple, peach, strawberry, blueberry, mint, banana, cherry, mango, apricot, and plum.

17. A method of making a smoking apparatus comprising:

dissolving sugar, syrup, and water together to form a solution;

heating said solution to 150° C. in a vacuum at 0.02MPa of pressure, wherein said heating causes said solution to boil;

mixing lactic acid and flavoring into said solution;

dipping a non-edible smoking apparatus into said solution to coat said non-edible smoking apparatus in an edible substance;

cooling said solution to a temperature between 18 and 22° C. in an environment having 45% humidity; and

raising said temperature to between 35and 45° C.

18. A smoking apparatus, comprising:

a bat entirely composed of an edible substance, said edible substance capable of supporting combustion of a smokeable material;

said bat comprising a stem that defines a smoke channel that reaches from a proximal portion that is adapted to be drawn on by a user to a distal portion; and

a bowl defining an aperture on top of said pipe having a recess for receiving smokeable material, said bowl in communication with said distal portion of said smoke channel to allow a controlled flow of air to enter said bowl;

wherein a user draws smoke from said bat by lighting said smokeable material and drawing smoke through said proximal portion.

19. A smoking apparatus, comprising:

a bong entirely composed of edible substance, said edible substance capable of supporting combustion of a smokeable material;

said bong forming a substantially round bottom attached to a smoking channel forming an opening on top of said bong, said round bottom adapted to receive water;

said round bottom of said bong forming an aperture on a first end of said bong;

a stem removably attached to said aperture on said first end, said stem having a recess for receiving smokeable material;

said round bottom of said bong forming an aperture on a second end;

wherein a user draws smoke from said opening by placing a finger on said aperture formed on said second end and lighting said smokeable material contained in said removable stem.

20. A smoking apparatus, comprising:

a hookah composed of edible substance, said edible substance capable of supporting combustion of a smokeable material;

said hookah forming a substantially round bottom attached to a smoking channel forming an opening on top of said hookah, said round bottom adapted to receive water

a gasket removably attached to said opening;

at least one hose removably attached to said gasket;

a stem removably attached to said gasket, said stem having a recess adapted to receive a smokeable material;

a tray removably attached to said stem, said tray defining at least one aperture to allow air into said smoking channel;

wherein a user draws smoke from said hose by lighting said smokeable material, said smoke traveling from said stem through said water and out through said at least one hose.

21. An edible mouthpiece for a smoking apparatus, comprising:

a mouthpiece composed of an edible substance comprising sugar, glucose syrup, water, flavoring, and lactic acid;

a hookah capable of supporting combustion of a smokeable material, said hookah forming a substantially round bottom attached to a smoking channel forming an opening on top of said hookah, said round bottom adapted to receive water;

a gasket removably attached to said opening;

at least one hose having a front and a back, said front of said at least one hose removably attached to said mouthpiece, said back of said at least one hose removably attached to said gasket;

a stem removably attached to said gasket, said stem having a recess adapted to receive a smokeable material; and

a tray removably attached to said stem, said tray defining at least one aperture to allow air into said smoking channel.