ELECTRIC HEATING FOR HOOKAH
Electric heat for generating smoke from tobacco or the like in a hookah type smoking pipe. Electric heat is obtained from an electrically powered heating element which may be placed proximate the tobacco. The heating element may be contained within a housing which in turn may be placed above the smoking chamber of the hookah. The housing may have adjustably damped holes disposed to pass air over the heating element. Electrical circuitry serving the heating element may comprise a step down transformer and a voltage adjusting switch. The heating element may be integral with the hookah, may take the form of a separate component which is mountable over the smoking chamber of the hookah, or may comprise a free standing assembly which may be placed to stand adjacent to the hookah.
This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 12/393,286 filed Feb. 26, 2009, and claims the benefit of priority thereto.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to water pipes for smoking combusted materials, of the type known as hookahs, and more particularly to an electric heating source for hookah type smoking pipes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONHookah water pipes have long been used in smoking using combusted materials such as tobacco. As traditionally practiced, a hookah provides a water receptacle having an inlet conduit and at least one and often several outlet conduits. Smoke enters the water receptacle through the inlet conduit and is distributed to individual smokers through the outlet conduits, which are typically connected to hoses. Smoke is generated in a bowl in which a combustible substance such as tobacco is placed. A heat source is placed over the tobacco. In traditional practice, ignited charcoal may be used as the heat source.
Heating the tobacco generates smoke, which is drawn into the water receptacle through a supply conduit. The supply conduit is arranged to terminate below the level of the water within the water receptacle to assure filtration of raw smoke obtained from the bowl. The act of breathing air from the head space of the water receptacle induces partial vacuum in the head space, which in turn draws in smoke from the bowl through the supply conduit.
This arrangement requires that a fuel such as charcoal be provided and suitably ignited. This heat source must be maintained during smoking so that the combustible material is suitably roasted. It is possible for products of combustion, such as volatile gasses and ash to be conducted into the water receptacle along with smoke which intentionally generated by heating the tobacco or other combustible material.
It is difficult at best to regulate the output of a combustion based heat source. Also, smoke and other products of combustion may be objectionable within a closed room or building.
Use of electric heating sources has been proposed. There remain issues of control of heat output and limitation of potentially hazardous voltages in an electric heating source for a hookah style water pipe.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention replaces combustion of fuel as the heat source in a hookah type water pipe in favor of electric heat. The electric power source and optional controller for the electric heater may take any one of several forms. In one form, the power source may be removably placed in the bowl or otherwise suspended from or supported on the hookah. A second form is to make the electric power source integral with the bowl or other part of the hookah. A third form is to provide the electric power source as a free standing assembly which is separate from the hookah, although operably disposed to heat a combustible such as tobacco and to conduct smoke from the heated combustible to the water receptacle of the hookah.
The electric supply may be controlled such that the wattage consumed is variable. Optionally, a thermostatic control may be provided to control wattage and heat output. In another option, a manual variable switch may be used to control wattage and heat output.
The heating element may comprise an exposed resistive element, or may comprise a covered resistive element, such as a light bulb.
Another heating control is regulation of air flowing past the heat source to tobacco or the like which is to be smoked. Regardless of the nature of the power supply and its controller, the electric heater may have a damper to control air flow through holes formed in the top of the heater and holes formed in the side of the heater.
It is an object of the invention to eliminate burning a fuel in a hookah as a heat source for roasting a combustible material such as tobacco.
Another object of the invention is to utilize electrical power at inherently safe voltages.
A further object of the invention is to control the amount of heat which is produced by an electric heater.
Still another object of the invention is to regulate air flow through the heater.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof by apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable, and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
Various objects, features, and attendant advantages of the present invention will become more fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:
In conventional hookahs, heat is generated by placing charcoal (not shown) above or within the smoking chamber 14. The charcoal may be contained in a partially open cage (not shown) which is placed on the tobacco 16 or otherwise in heat exchange relation thereto. The charcoal is ignited. Heat from the burning charcoal is exposed to the tobacco 16. The tobacco 16 is partially combusted, thereby generating smoke. As employed herein, the term “heat exchange relation” will be understood to define any location in which an electric heater may expose a combustible substance to enough heat that the combustible substance partially combusts, thereby generating smoke (for example, in direct contact with, separated by a barrier, above, or below the combustible substance).
Smoke is drawn through a smoke supply conduit 18 disposed to conduct gasses and smoke from the smoking chamber 14 to the liquid chamber 12. Smoke is discharged into the liquid chamber by partial vacuum induced when a person (not shown) using the hookah 10 inhales through a smoking conduit 20 disposed to conduct cooled gasses and smoke from the smoking chamber 12 to the person smoking using the hookah 10. A hookah such as the hookah 10 may have more than one smoking conduit 20, including for example the smoking conduit 22. This enables the hookah 10 to be used for smoking simultaneously by more than one person. The smoking conduits 20, 22 may comprise flexible hoses.
It will be seen in
The smoking conduits 20, 22, the conduit 28 serving the air valve 26, and the smoke supply conduit 18 pass through a gasket 30 which is arranged to close the top of the liquid chamber 12 and to pass the smoke supply conduit 17, the conduit 28, and each one of the smoking conduits 20, 22 from the liquid chamber 12 to the exterior thereof while sealing the smoking chamber 12 against loss of smoke residing therein.
In a traditional hookah such as the hookah 10, a plate 32 projects or radiates outwardly from the smoke supply conduit 18 between the smoking chamber 14 and the gasket 30. Also in a traditional hookah such as the hookah 10, the tobacco 16 is contained in a bowl 34, which bowl 34 may serve as the lower portion of the smoking chamber 14. The upper portion of the smoking chamber 14 may have a covering member (not shown), may comprise the previously mentioned cage for containing burning charcoal, or may be open to the atmosphere.
It should be noted at this point that orientational terms such as upper and lower refer to the orientations depicted in the referenced drawing figures. In turn, the drawing figures depict their subject matter in orientations of normal use, such as supported on a horizontal tabletop or desktop. Therefore, orientational terms must be understood to provide semantic basis for purposes of description, and do not limit the invention or its component parts in any particular way.
To further characterize conventional configuration of traditional combustion based hookahs, when the hookah type water pipe 100 is in an operable position resting on a generally horizontal supporting environmental surface, as shown in
An electric heater 36 may be disposed in heat exchange relation to the smoking chamber 14. The electric heater 36 may comprise an electric supply circuit (not shown in its entirety, but seen in the view of
The electric supply circuit may be disposed to obtain electrical power at a first voltage and to supply electrical power to the resistive heating element 40 at a second reduced voltage, as will be further explained hereinafter.
The electric heater 36 may comprise a support element which holds the heating element 40 at a predetermined constant orientation relative to the smoking chamber 14 when the user is smoking, and a mounting element disposed to mount the support element and the heating element 40 to the smoking chamber 14. The mounting element may enable manual removal of the support element and the heating element 40 from the smoking chamber.
In
The smoking chamber 214 provides a place to hold a combustible substance such as tobacco 16. An electric heating element 240 is held to the upper wall of the smoking chamber 214 such that heat radiated therefrom impinges upon the tobacco 16. The side wall of the smoking chamber 214 may have openings 246 for passage of air into the smoking chamber 214.
The hookah type water pipe 200 may comprise a base comprising an electrical chamber 248 for containing a voltage adjuster such as a step down transformer 250 and a plug and cord assembly 252 which is connected to the transformer 250 and which projects from the electrical chamber 248 so as to reach a standard 120 volt electrical receptacle (not shown) of a building (not shown). The circuitry which connects the plug and cord assembly 252 to the electric heating element 240, not shown in its entirety, thereby supplies electrical power to the electrical heating element 240 at reduced power from the 120 volt source. The circuitry may include a switch 254.
Voltage reduced from that of conventional 120 volts may be derived not only by use of the transformer 250. For example, a hookah such as the hookah 200 may comprise instead a conventional battery charger (not shown) which in addition to rectifying household AC power to DC power, also reduces the voltage. Reduced voltage may be obtained by incorporating a voltage divider (not shown) into the circuitry, by introducing resistors (not shown) into the circuitry, or in any other suitable way.
Referring momentarily to
Turning now to
Referring now to
The heater 636 may be similar to the heater 36 of
A heater such as the heaters 636 and 736 may have air passage openings formed on both side walls such as the side walls 753 and 755 and also on the top walls such as the top walls 643 and 655 if desired.
A heater 836 may comprise an upper member 860 and a lower member 862 which slidably interfit. The lower member 862 may have a side wall 864 and a depending skirt 844. The depending skirt may be dimensioned and configured to cooperate with the bowl or smoking chamber of an associated hookah, such as the hookah 10 of
The upper member 860 may comprise a top wall 843 to which is mounted a heating element 840. A side wall 868 may be dimensioned and configured to fit closely to the side wall 864 of the lower member 862. The side walls may have dimensions and surfaces arranged such that friction between the outer surface 870 of the side wall 868 and the inner surface 872 of the side wall 864 will resist spontaneous or unintended movement therebetween, while still enabling manual force to reposition the upper member 860 and the lower member 864 as desired. Such adjustment, indicated by an arrow B in
The ceramic heater 936 may be similar to the one manufactured by Hotwatt, Inc., and constructed in like fashion. The ceramic heater 936 may comprise a ceramic body 901, terminated at both ends by the ceramic end seals 904. The ceramic heater 936 may encase a resistance wire element 902, packed within a heating element 903, such as magnesium oxide, that effectively converts the electricity received through the wire element 902 into heat. Either end seal 904 of the ceramic heater 936 may be terminated with flexible insulated lead wires 905. The flexible insulated lead wires 905 may lead into a voltage adjuster, similar to the voltage adjuster shown in
While the ceramic heater may utilize a simple plug and cord assembly to be plugged directly into a traditional 120 volt outlet, the voltage adjuster will provide means for a user to vary and control the heat output of the ceramic heater 936 at the user's impulse. The circuitry of the ceramic heater 936 and voltage adjuster may include any of the features of the circuitry described with respect to the previously presented drawings and figures and their respective subject matter. It should be appreciated that the ceramic heater 936 may be used in conjunction with the selectively variable damper arrangement, such as the arrangement shown in
The present invention is susceptible to modifications and variations which may be introduced thereto without departing from the inventive concepts. For example, although the invention has been described as obtaining electrical power using cord and plug assemblies such as the cord and plug assembly 252, it would be possible to provide electrical storage devices such as an electrochemical cell, a battery of such cells, a capacitor, a super capacitor, an electric double layer capacitor, or any combination of these devices.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the present invention is not to be limited to the disclosed arrangements, but is intended to cover various arrangements which are included within the spirit and scope of the broadest possible interpretation of the appended claims so as to encompass all modifications and equivalent arrangements which are possible.
Claims
1. A hookah type water pipe having an electrical heat source for generating smoke, comprising:
- a hookah comprising a liquid chamber, a smoking chamber for receiving a combustible substance and generating smoke by subjecting the combustible substance to heat, a smoke supply conduit disposed to conduct gasses from the smoking chamber to the liquid chamber, at least one smoking conduit disposed to conduct cooled gasses from the smoking chamber to a person smoking using the hookah type water pipe; and
- an electric heater disposed in heat exchange relation to the smoking chamber, comprising an electric supply circuit and an electrical resistive heating element connected to the electric supply circuit, wherein the electric supply circuit is disposed to obtain electrical power at a first voltage and to supply electrical power to the resistive heating element at a second reduced voltage.
2. The hookah type water pipe of claim 1, wherein the electric heater is integral with the smoking chamber.
3. The hookah type water pipe of claim 1, wherein the electric heater comprises a support element disposed to hold the heating element at a predetermined constant orientation relative to the smoking chamber, and a mounting element disposed to mount the support element and the heating element to the smoking chamber and to enable manual removal of the support element and the heating element from the smoking chamber.
4. The hookah type water pipe of claim 1, wherein the hookah is a free standing assembly and the electric heater is a second free standing assembly having a base, a rigid generally vertical post disposed to project upwardly from the base when the base is placed on a generally horizontal supporting environmental surface, and an electrical conductor which projects from the vertical post and extends to the heater so as to conduct electrical power to the heater and to enable the heater to be placed over the smoking chamber while the base of the heater rests on the generally horizontal supporting environmental surface beside the hookah.
5. The hookah type water pipe of claim 4, wherein the electrical conductor projects from the vertical post at a height about equal to that of the smoking chamber, whereby length of the electrical conductor is minimized while enabling operation when the hookah and the electric heater are placed on the same generally horizontal supporting environmental surface.
6. The hookah type water pipe of claim 1, wherein the electric supply circuit comprises a voltage adjuster.
7. The hookah type water pipe of claim 6, wherein the voltage adjuster comprises a step down transformer located within the base and a plug and cord assembly connected to the transformer, whereby electrical power at one hundred twenty volts may be obtained from an electrical receptacle, and electrical power at reduced voltage is supplied to the heating element.
8. The hookah type water pipe of claim 6, wherein the voltage adjuster comprises a dimming switch.
9. The hookah type water pipe of claim 1, further comprising a selectively variable damper arrangement disposed to regulate volume of air flow over the heating element.
10. The hookah type water pipe of claim 1, further comprising a heater position adjuster disposed to selectively vary proximity of the heating element from the floor of the smoking chamber.
11. The hookah type water pipe of claim 1, wherein the heating element comprises an incandescent light bulb.
12. The hookah type water pipe of claim 1, wherein,
- when the hookah type water pipe is in an operable position resting on a generally horizontal supporting environmental surface, the liquid chamber is the lowermost component and the smoking chamber is located above the liquid chamber in vertical registry therewith;
- the hookah type water pipe further comprises a gasket disposed to close the top of the liquid chamber and to pass the smoke supply conduit and each one of the at least one smoking conduit from the liquid chamber to the exterior thereof while sealing the smoking chamber against loss of smoke residing therein; and
- the liquid chamber, the gasket, the smoke supply conduit, and the smoking chamber are generally coaxial and disposed in vertical registry with one another, whereby the hookah type water pipe displays conventional configuration of traditional combustion based hookahs.
13. The hookah type smoking pipe of claim 12, further comprising a plate which further comprises a flange radiating outwardly between the smoking chamber and the gasket.
14. The hookah type smoking pipe of claim 1, wherein the smoking conduit comprises a flexible hose.
15. The hookah type smoking pipe of claim 1, wherein the heating element comprises a ceramic heater.
16. An electric heater for a hookah type smoking pipe having a smoking chamber for receiving a combustible substance and subjecting the combustible substance to heat to generate smoke for smoking, comprising:
- an electrical heating element and an electric supply circuit disposed to conduct electrical power to the electrical heating element;
- a heater housing disposed to partially envelop the electrical heating element, having a plurality of holes formed therein and disposed to communicate between the electrical heating element and the exterior of the heater housing, for passing air over the electrical heating element, and an adjustable damper arrangement disposed selectively to vary the area of the plurality of holes and to close the holes; and
- a heater support element for holding the heater housing in a predetermined position relative to the smoking chamber wherein heat generated by the electric resistive heating element can impinge upon the combustible substance which has been placed in the smoking chamber.
17. The electric heater of claim 16, wherein the housing has a top wall, and some of the holes are located on the top wall.
18. The electric heater of claim 16, wherein the housing has a side wall, and some of the holes are located on the side wall.
19. The electric heater of claim 18, wherein the housing has a top wall, and some of the holes are located on the top wall.
20. The electric heater of claim 16, wherein the electrical supply circuit comprises a voltage adjuster.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 29, 2009
Publication Date: Aug 26, 2010
Inventor: Edwar Bishara (Pasadena, CA)
Application Number: 12/431,955
International Classification: A24F 1/30 (20060101);