ODOR REDUCING ASHTRAY

Abstract

There is provided an ashtray including an ashtray body having upper and lower housings defining an ashtray enclosure. The ashtray body is sized and configured to be disposable within a cup holder. An extinguisher is connected to the upper housing, and includes an extinguisher wall and a cigarette contact surface which collectively define a recess sized to receive at least a portion of the cigarette. A cigarette holder is connected to the upper housing and includes an engagement wall which defines an opening in fluid communication with the ashtray enclosure. The cigarette engagement wall is sized to be frictionally engageable with the cigarette to substantially block the cigarette opening.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

(Not Applicable)

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

(Not Applicable)

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to an ashtray, and more specifically to an ashtray configured to mitigate odor associated with smoke-emitting tobacco products and to facilitate the extinguishing and disposal of cigarettes in a manner which may reduce the number of burning cigarettes thrown from the windows of vehicles.

2. Description of the Related Art

Cigarettes and other smoke-emitting tobacco products are consumed by a large population on a regular basis. Cigarettes are typically consumed by burning the tobacco contained therein. A burning cigarette produces smoke and ash, which emits an undesirable odor. If a user decides to smoke a cigarette in a home, the ash produced by the cigarette may fall onto the carpet or furniture. The falling ash may additionally create a fire hazard, as well as produce a long-term odor in the carpet or furniture.

Consequently, smokers commonly use ashtrays to combat the undesirable safety and odorous effects produced by the falling ash. Ashtrays are typically constructed of a fire-resistant material and are configured to collect the ash produced by a burning cigarette. A smoker deposits the ash into the ashtray as he smokes. Oftentimes, a smoker will rest his cigarette on the ashtray when not using the cigarette, thereby allowing the smoke to enter the surrounding air. Ash gathers in the ashtray as the user smokes the cigarette. The ash may be routinely emptied from the ashtray to reduce the odor produced by the ash. However, the undesirable odor produced by the ash may linger as the ash remains in the ashtray. Furthermore, smoke from the cigarette resting on the ashtray creates additional odor. A considerable amount of time and effort may be required to clean and remove the odor from the surroundings. In the meantime, the odor may seep into nearby furniture, carpet, or clothing.

These problems may be magnified if a cigarette is consumed in a small, confined environment, such as a vehicle, because the odor and smoke may be concentrated. Furthermore, there may be limited, or no space to dispose of the ash and resulting cigarette butt. In the case of vehicles, a small ashtray is typically included in the interior of the vehicle. The ashtray may only have enough space for ash produced by a few cigarettes. In addition, the ashtray may be located in a very hard to reach, tucked away location that is difficult to access when driving. Even if the ashtray can be reached, it may be difficult to clean out. Therefore, ash may remain in the ashtray for long periods to produce the undesirable odor.

Therefore, many smokers hold cigarettes by a slightly open window to allow some, but not all of the smoke to exit the vehicle. The air passing through the cracked window may also blow ash throughout the vehicle. As such, ash may undesirably fall on the vehicle upholstery and transfer the odor to the upholstery. In addition, the cracked window may allow cold/hot air, water, snow, or ice to undesirably enter the vehicle.

In addition, there may be little or no space within the vehicle to extinguish the cigarette. As noted above, the ashtray may be very small or hard to reach, and throwing the cigarette out the window creates dangerous fire hazards. For instance, a lit cigarette thrown from a vehicle may quickly and easily cause a wildfire. Even if the cigarette can be extinguished in the ashtray, the resultant cigarette butt produces an unwanted odor that tends to linger within the vehicle.

As is apparent from the foregoing, there exists a need in the art for an odor reducing ashtray, and particularly one which is well suited for use within the interior of a vehicle. The present invention addresses this particular need, as will be discussed in more detail below.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ashtray for use with a cup holder and a cigarette. The ashtray includes a body having an upper housing and a lower housing. The upper housing is connected to the lower housing to define an ashtray enclosure. The body is sized and configured to be engageable with the cup holder. The ashtray also includes an extinguisher connected to the upper housing. The extinguisher includes a recess which is collectively defined by an extinguisher wall and a cigarette contact surface connected to the extinguisher wall. The extinguisher recess is sized to receive at least a portion of the cigarette. The ashtray further includes a cigarette holder connected to the upper housing. The cigarette holder includes a tubular engagement wall defining a cigarette opening which communicates with the ashtray enclosure. The engagement wall is sized to be circumferentially engageable with the cigarette such that the cigarette, when advanced into the cigarette opening, substantially obstructs or blocks the same.

The upper housing may be pivotally connected to the lower housing to provide access into the ashtray enclosure. The ashtray may include a pivot member connected to the upper and lower housings to enable such pivotal movement.

The body may be sized and configured to be disposable within the cup holder. In this regard, the ashtray may also include a weighted base ring to provide additional mass to the ashtray. The weighted base ring may be connected to the lower housing.

The ashtray may reduce the odor associated with smoking a cigarette or other tobacco products. The ashtray may also provide a safe and easy to use ashtray for a vehicle. The ashtray may easily interface with a cup holder located within the interior of the vehicle. While the cigarette is burning, but not being used by the smoker, the cigarette may be disposed within the cigarette opening, with the burning end located within the ashtray enclosure. As such, smoke and ash produced by the cigarette may be contained within the ashtray enclosure. The user may easily extinguish the cigarette by inserting the cigarette into the extinguisher, and optionally pressing the burning end of the cigarette against the contact surface of the extinguisher. When extinguished, the user may dispose the cigarette within the cigarette opening where the cigarette engagement wall engages with the cigarette to substantially obstruct the cigarette opening. In this manner, the odor produced by the smoke, ash, and cigarette butts may be substantially contained within the ashtray enclosure.

The present invention is best understood by reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of an ashtray constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the ashtray shown in FIG. 1, farther depicting an upper housing of the ashtray as being pivotally separated from a lower housing thereof;

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the ashtray as disposed within a vehicular cup holder, further depicting a cigarette as disposed within a cigarette holder of the ashtray; and

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the ashtray illustrated in FIG. 3, further depicting a cigarette as inserted into an extinguisher of the ashtray to extinguish the cigarette.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the present invention only, and not for purposes of limiting the same, FIGS. 1-4 depict an ashtray 10 constructed in accordance with the present invention. According to various aspects of the present invention, the ashtray 10 is configured to reduce the odor and smoke associated with smoking a cigarette 40. As used herein, a cigarette 40 refers to a self-contained smoke emitting tobacco product, including but not limited to, cigarettes and cigars. The ashtray 10 reduces the odor by substantially containing the cigarette butts and ash produced by the cigarette 40 within a defined, enclosed area, as will be described in more detail below. In addition, the burning end of the cigarette 40 may be substantially contained within the ashtray 10 to significantly reduce the amount of smoke emitted into the adjacent surroundings.

The ashtray 10 includes a body 12 having an upper housing 14 and a lower housing 18. In the embodiment depicted in the Figures, the upper housing 14 has a generally semi-spherical, dome shaped configuration defining an upper axis 16. In this manner, the upper housing 14 has an outer diameter that decreases as it advances toward upper axis 16 and away from the lower housing 18. Although the upper housing 14 depicted in FIGS. 1-4 is semi-spherical in shape, other shapes and configurations may also be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The lower housing 18 illustrated in FIGS. 1-4 defines a lower axis 20. The lower housing 18 includes a collar 19 connected to a base 21. The lower housing 18 is configured to collect cigarette butts and ash produced by a burning cigarette 40, as described in more detail below.

The upper and lower housings 14, 18 are connected to each other in a manner collectively defining an ashtray enclosure 28. The ashtray enclosure 28 refers to the space or interior chamber within the body 12. The upper and lower housings 14, 18 are preferably disengageable to enable access into the ashtray enclosure 28 to remove accumulated cigarette butts and ash.

As best depicted in FIGS. 1-2, in one particular embodiment of the ashtray 10, the upper housing 14 is pivotally connected to the lower housing 18. To this end, the ashtray 10 includes a pivot member 22 connected to and extending between the upper housing 14 and the lower housing 18 to enable pivotal movement therebetween. The upper and lower housings 14, 18 pivot between a closed configuration (illustrated in FIG. 1) and an open configuration (illustrated in FIG. 2). In the closed configuration, the upper and lower housings 14, 18 releasably engage each other to form a substantially fluid tight seal. In this manner, the upper housing 14 may include a seal 25 that engages the collar 19 to fluidly seal the interface between the upper and lower housings 14, 18 when in the closed configuration. In the open position, the upper and lower housings 14, 18 are disengaged to allow access to the ashtray enclosure 28. It may be desirable to position the upper and lower housings 14, 18 in the open configuration to remove cigarette butts and ash from within the enclosure 28.

In other embodiments, the upper and lower housings 14, 18 may be connected to each other using other connection means. For instance, in one embodiment, the upper and lower housings 14, 18 may be threaded to enable a threaded engagement therebetween. In this manner, the upper housing 14 may be rotated into threaded engagement with the lower housing 18. In another embodiment, the upper and lower housings 14, 18 may be sized and configured to facilitate a frictional interference fit engagement therebetween.

Given that the ashtray body 12 is used in connection with a lit cigarette 40, it is desirable to construct the body 12 out of a fire resistant material. Therefore, the upper and lower housings 14, 18 may be formed out of metal, plastic, or other fire-resistant materials known by those skilled in the art. In one particular implementation, the upper and lower housings 14, 18 have a thickness “T” of 0.1 inches. However, it is understood that the thickness T of the ashtray body 12 may vary, depending on the material used to form the body 12.

Although the size and configuration of the ashtray 10 may vary, various embodiments of the ashtray 10 are sized and configured to interface with a cup holder 45, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. The cup holder 45 may include a recess which is configured to hold a drink or beverage. Cup holders 45 are commonly found in the interior of a vehicle. One or more cup holders 45 may be disposed between the driver's seat and the passenger's seat. The cup holder 45 may also extend from the dashboard or be disposed in a rear portion of the vehicle. Cup holders 45 may also be found in other structures, such as foldable chairs, floatable lounge chairs for water recreation, and conventional furniture such as sofas and recliners. The foregoing list is exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the scope of a cup holder 45.

Referring now to FIGS. 3-4, the cup holder 45 includes an inner wall 44 defined by a cup holder body 42. The inner wall 44 has an inner diameter “D” which circumscribes the ashtray 10 when the ashtray 10 is disposed within the cup holder 45. In one embodiment, the ashtray body 12 is small enough to be disposed within the cup holder 45 without abutting the inner wall 44. In another embodiment, the ashtray body 12 is disposed in abutting contact with the inner wall 44 when the ashtray 10 is placed within the cup holder 45. In this manner, the abutting contact creates a more secure, frictional engagement between the ashtray 10 and the cup holder 45. In other embodiments, the ashtray body 12 may interface with the cup holder 45 to allow portions of the ashtray 10 to extend outside of the cup holder 45. In other words, it is not necessary to confine the ashtray 10 within the cup holder 45.

One embodiment of the ashtray 10 includes an extinguisher 30 for extinguishing a cigarette 40. The extinguisher 30 includes a recess 36 which defines an axis 34 and is collectively defined by a wall 32 and a distal contact surface 38. The contact surface 38 is disposed at and defines the closed end of the recess 36, and is substantially orthogonal to the axis 34. The extinguisher 30 may be sized and configured to engage the cigarette 40 in a manner depriving the burning end of the cigarette 40 of air/oxygen to extinguish the cigarette 40 when the cigarette 40 is inserted in to the extinguisher 30. In other words, the insertion of the cigarette 40 into the recess 36 may reduce the volume of air/oxygen in the recess 36 to extinguish the cigarette 40 in one to five seconds. In this manner, the cigarette 40 need not necessarily be pushed or crushed against the contact surface 38 to extinguish the same, thus reducing the amount of ash. The recess 36 is sized to allow easy insertion of the cigarette 40 therein. In one particular embodiment, the wall 32 has an inner diameter of approximately 0.4 inches; however, other sizes may be used to accommodate cigarettes 40 having larger diameters. In another embodiment, the recess 36 may be of sufficient diameter to accommodate several different tobacco products (e.g., cigars, cigarettes, etc.). As a result, tobacco products of smaller relative diameter may not sufficiently plug the recess 36 as needed to extinguish the same through a deprivation of air/oxygen. In this instance, a user may still extinguish such tobacco products by inserting the burning end portion into the recess 36 and pressing the burning end against the contact surface 38, as illustrated in FIG. 4.

According to various aspects of the present invention, the extinguisher 30 is integrally formed with the ashtray body 12. As depicted in FIGS. 1-4, the extinguisher 30 is integrally formed with the upper housing 14. It is understood that cigarette ash may accumulate within the recess 36 as cigarettes 40 are extinguished therein. Therefore, in order to dispose of the ash, the ashtray body 12 may be removed from the cup holder 45 to empty the ash within the recess 36 into a waste receptacle.

In other embodiments, the extinguisher 30 may be removably connected to the ashtray body 12. This may be desirable to facilitate quick and easy disposal of the ash from within the recess 36. In this regard, the extinguisher 30 may be easily removed from the ashtray body 12 to dispose the ash within the waste receptacle.

According to other aspects of the present invention, the ashtray 10 further includes a cigarette holder 46 connected to the ashtray body 12. As illustrated in the Figures, the cigarette holder 46 is connected to the upper housing 14. The cigarette holder 46 includes an engagement wall 48 defining a cigarette opening 50 which extends along an axis 54 in fluid communication with the ashtray enclosure 28. The engagement wall 48 is sized and configured to be frictionally engageable with the cigarette 40 to substantially obstruct or block the opening 50 when the cigarette 40 is disposed within the opening 50. The engagement wall 48 extends into the ashtray enclosure 28 and terminates at an inner end 51. When the ashtray 10 is properly disposed within the cup holder 45, the inner end 51 is disposed below the apex 24 of the upper housing 14, which causes smoke emitted from the cigarette 40 disposed within the cigarette holder 46 to gather in the upper housing 14 toward the apex 24. In this manner, the distal end of the opening 50 may be below the emitted smoke to mitigate the escape of smoke from the ashtray enclosure 28.

The embodiment of the cigarette holder 46 illustrated in the Figures circumferentially engages with the cigarette 40. In other words, the engagement wall 48 frictionally engages with the outer periphery of a portion of the cigarette 40 inserted therein, as shown in FIG. 3. An interference fit engagement between the cigarette 40 and the cigarette holder 46 maintains the cigarette 40 within the cigarette holder 46 until it is pressed through by the user into the enclosure 28.

As shown in FIG. 3, a cigarette 40 is disposed within the opening 50 to substantially contain the smoke and ash emitted by the cigarette 40 within the ashtray enclosure 28. More specifically, the burning end of the cigarette 40 is inserted into the opening 50 to substantially contain the emitted smoke within the ashtray enclosure 28. When the cigarette 40 is disposed within the opening 50, such opening 50 is substantially blocked to contain the smoke and odor associated with the burning cigarette 40 within the ashtray enclosure 28. Therefore, the amount of smoke and odor emitted into the surrounding area is greatly reduced.

When the user decides to extinguish the cigarette 40, the process may be completed as described in detail above. Once extinguished, the resulting cigarette butt may be inserted into the opening 50 to substantially seal the opening 50 to contain the smoke and odor within the ashtray enclosure 28. The cigarette butt may remain within the opening 50 until the user decides to light another cigarette 40. At that time, the user may push the cigarette butt through the opening 50 and into the ashtray enclosure 28 to create space for the newly lit cigarette 40. Therefore, after repeated use, multiple cigarette butts may be disposed within the ashtray enclosure 28.

According to one embodiment, the extinguisher 30 and cigarette holder 46 extend from a minor recess 26 formed within the ashtray upper housing 14. It is understood that ash may inadvertently fall from the cigarette 40 as the user attempts to advance the cigarette 40 into the extinguisher 30 or the cigarette holder 46. Therefore, the cigarette ash may collect in the minor recess 26, rather than falling into the adjacent surroundings.

The ashtray 10 may include structural attributes designed to maintain the ashtray 10 within the cup holder 45. In one embodiment, the ashtray 10 includes a weighted base ring 52 connected to the ashtray body 12 to provide more mass to the body 12. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the base ring 52 includes several weight elements 56 such as sand or pellets for providing additional weight and mass to the ashtray 10. Additional weight and mass may be desirable to maintain the ashtray 10 within the cup holder 45 when the user removes the cigarette 40 from the cigarette opening 50. As described above, a frictional engagement is typically created between the cigarette 40 and the cigarette holder 46 when the cigarette 40 is disposed therein. Therefore, if the ashtray 10 does not include enough mass, the user may pull the ashtray 10 out of the cup holder 45 when the user attempts to remove the cigarette 40 from the cigarette opening 50 without removing the ashtray 10 from the cup holder 45. In another embodiment, the ashtray 10 may include a flexible ring (not shown) disposed about the ashtray body 12 for engaging with the inner wall 44 when the ashtray 10 is disposed within the cup holder 45. The ring may frictionally engage with the inner wall 44 to resist removal of the ashtray 10 from the cup holder 45.

The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein. Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.

Claims

1. An ashtray for use with a cup holder, the ashtray comprising:

a body having an upper housing and a lower housing which are releasably attachable to each other, the upper housing and the lower housing collectively defining an ashtray enclosure when attached to each other, with the body being sized and configured to be at least partially advanced into the cup holder;

an extinguisher connected to the upper housing, the extinguisher including an extinguisher wall and a contact surface connected to the extinguisher wall, the extinguisher wall and the contact surface collectively defining an extinguisher recess sized to receive at least a portion of a cigarette; and

a cigarette holder connected to the upper housing, the cigarette holder including an engagement wall defining an opening which fluidly communicates with the enclosure and is sized to receive at least a portion of a cigarette, the engagement wall being sized to be frictionally engageable with the cigarette to allow the cigarette to substantially block the opening when advanced therein.

2. The ashtray of claim 1 wherein the upper housing is pivotally connected to the lower housing.

3. The ashtray of claim 2 further including a pivot member connected to the upper housing and the lower housing to enable pivotal movement of the upper housing relative to the lower housing.

4. The ashtray of claim 1 further comprising a weighted base ring connected to the body.

5. The ashtray of claim 4 wherein the base ring is connected to the lower housing.

6. The ashtray of claim 1 wherein the body is fabricated from a fire resistant material.

7. The ashtray of claim 1 wherein the body is fabricated from a plastic material.

8. The ashtray of claim 1 wherein:

the upper housing defines an upper axis; and

the upper housing has an outer diameter that decreases as it advances toward upper axis and away from the lower housing.

9. The ashtray of claim 1 wherein the extinguisher recess has an inner diameter of approximately 0.4″.

10. The ashtray of claim 1 wherein the cigarette opening has an inner diameter of approximately 0.3″.

11. The ashtray of claim 1 wherein the extinguisher recess defines an extinguisher axis, and the contact surface is substantially orthogonal to the extinguisher axis.

12. The ashtray of claim 1 wherein the engagement wall of the cigarette holder is configured to be circumferentially engageable to a portion of the cigarette.

13. The ashtray of claim 1 wherein the ashtray body is sized and configured to be completely disposed within the cup holder.

14. An ashtray for use with a cup holder, the ashtray comprising:

an ashtray body having an upper housing and a lower housing which are releasably attachable to each other, the upper housing and the lower housing collectively defining an ashtray enclosure when attached to each other, with the body being sized and configured to be at least partially advanced into the cup holder; and

a cigarette holder connected to the upper housing, the cigarette holder including an engagement wall defining an opening which fluidly communicates with the enclosure and is sized to receive at least a portion of a cigarette, the engagement wall being sized to be frictionally engageable with the cigarette to allow the cigarette to substantially block the opening when advanced therein.

15. The ashtray of claim 14 further including an extinguisher connected to the ashtray upper housing, the extinguisher including an extinguisher wall and a cigarette contact surface connected to the extinguisher wall, the extinguisher being disposed about an extinguisher axis to define an extinguisher recess, the cigarette contact surface being disposable in contact with the cigarette to extinguish the cigarette.

16. The ashtray of claim 14 wherein the upper housing is pivotally connected to the lower housing.

17. The ashtray of claim 14 further comprising a weighted base ring connected to the body.

18. The ashtray of claim 14 wherein the ashtray body is fabricated from a fire resistant material.

19. The ashtray of claim 14 wherein the engagement wall of the cigarette holder is configured to be circumferentially engageable to a portion of the cigarette.

20. An ashtray, comprising:

an ashtray body having an upper housing and a lower housing which are releasably attachable to each other, the upper housing and the lower housing collectively defining an ashtray enclosure when attached to each other;

an extinguisher connected to the body, the extinguisher including an extinguisher wall and a contact surface connected to the extinguisher wall, the extinguisher wall and the contact surface collectively defining an extinguisher recess sized to receive at least a portion of a cigarette; and

a cigarette holder connected to the body, the cigarette holder including an engagement wall defining an opening which fluidly communicates with the enclosure and is sized to receive at least a portion of a cigarette, the engagement wall being sized to be frictionally engageable with the cigarette to allow the cigarette to substantially block the opening when advanced therein.