Smoking Article Warning Device

Abstract

A user engageable device disposed within the tobacco burning path of a smoking article's ember at a pre-selected point. The device may include a visual and / or audible and / or olfactory warning component which alerts the user in response to a proximate ember that the ember has reached a predetermined point. The device is preferably in the form of a translatable sleeve frictionally engageable around the smoking article, but can also may be engaged upon or impregnated into a wrapper of the article's cylinder. Alternatively, the sleeve type device may be disposed within the wrapper or provided in the form of selectively placed integrated or stick-on patches.

Description

[0001]This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 12 / 861,210 filed Aug. 23, 2010, which is a Continuation-in-Part to application Ser. No. 11 / 308,444 filed on Mar. 25, 2006 and are incorporated in their entirety by this reference. This disclosed device relates in general to devices for warning a smoker of a smoking article (as defined below) that the article's tobacco ember has reached a pre-selected point on the article's tobacco cylinder, e.g. in close proximity to a filter of the article. More particularly, the disclosed device provides the user a translatabley positionable warning or measuring component which is user-positionable to a pre-selected point between the distal end of the smoking article which burns and the proximal end which may have a filter.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Smoking of tobacco and herbs and other plant material has been popular for centuries. Conventionally, a cigarette is formed of compacted tobacco held in a cylindrical s...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]Further, in another mode, the device provides the user with the ability to designate and mark a predetermined point on the smoking article at which they would like to cease smoking. A user who wishes to discontinue smoking could use this feature to smoke only sequentially smaller portions of a cigarette at a given time during a cessation period. This allows the user to translate the device to shorter burn segments over a duration of time, allowing the user to slowly reduce the amount of nicotine consumed. Further, the user is able to pick the amount of cigarette to smoke at any sitting and set their own goal. Using this sequentially shortening smoking of the cigarettes dictated by the positioning of the device by the user, the user thus avoids or minimizes unpleasant nicotine withdrawal symptoms while further avoiding the financial cost and unpleasant physical side effects of smoking cessation medications.

[0039]A particularly preferred object of this invention is the provision of a device having a body which is non-toxic which will prevent fires due to the embers of smoking articles.

Problems solved by technology

Tobacco is known to be extremely addictive as is the nicotine component thereof.

The burning ember if allowed to advance too close to the proximal end of the smoking article, can burn the user's fingers or can ignite the non-tobacco filter material and produce a distasteful and possibly hazardous smoke which can be drawn into the mouth and lungs of a user.

Still further, such a burning ember can fall from the cigarette and cause a dangerous fire or fatal injuries.

Besides this health risk from smoking the filter, allowing the smoking article to burn too close to the filter or proximal end is an extreme fire danger.

Smokers who fall asleep or become distracted are in danger of starting a fire, especially if the reason for the smoking article having advanced so far toward the proximal end is that they are asleep or have set the smoking article down and forgotten it.

In such a common scenario, the ember can easily dislodge from the cigarette and start a fire which can seriously or fatally injure the smoker.

However, Sprinkel does not provide any means to provide a visible indicator on a combustible sidewall of a cigar or cigarette since it employs markers deposited on a permanent sidewall.

Further, Sprinkel does not allow the user to adjust the position of the visual indicator to various positions between the distal and proximal end but instead simply provides fixed indicators on the noncombustible sidewall.

Images