WO2022003738A1

WO2022003738A1 - Multi-purpose spacer for smokers multi-purpose spacer for smokers

Info

Publication number: WO2022003738A1
Application number: PCT/IT2021/050112
Authority: WO
Inventors: Paolo PIOSELLI
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2020-06-30
Filing date: 2021-04-14
Publication date: 2022-01-06
Anticipated expiration: 2022-12-30
Also published as: IT202000003685U1

Abstract

This spacer device has the particularity of comprising a substantially cylindrical structure having a gripping bottom and a retaining end of cigarettes, in order to be able to pick up and swing a generic cigarette without making a contagion contact between the smoker's fingers and the area cigarette filter, intended to be brought to the mouth.

Description

TITLE:

MULTI-PURPOSE SPACER FOR SMOKERS

DESCRIPTION:

The present invention relates to a device for manual brandishing of cigarettes.

As is known, many people make frequent use of cigarettes, with difficulty in decreasing or interrupting this routine exercise due to more or less marked physiological or psychological dependence on the burnt components (tabagism).

Unfortunately, the possibility of observing strict hygiene habits during the manifestation of epidemics and pandemics, rigors that include first of all a particular attention not to bring your hands, subject to coming into contact with numerous and differentiated surfaces throughout the day, with the mouth or other orifices in which mucous tissues are found, or rather typically subject to the absorption of pathogens, as well as representing the entrance doors of these unwanted agents (viruses, bacteria, etc.) within the body system.

The set of gestures and actions that typically accompany the act of smoking a cigarette, however, include more than one moment in which a possible infection can occur, or a passage of pathogens from the fingers of the hand to the lips and mouth.

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SUBSTITUTE SHEETS (RULE 26) This evidence, together with the aforementioned difficulty in renouncing one's habit or vice, exposes smokers to an increased risk of contracting diseases, a risk that becomes extremely important in the event of a pandemic, such as that of the notorious Covid19. If in fact the health authorities can suggest, or even impose, the use of protective devices such as filter masks and protective gloves, nothing can be done in the state of the art to reduce or eliminate the risks of contagion for habitual smokers.

Both the act of taking the cigarette from the package, where the presumably contaminated fingers come into contact with the very end of the cigarette, intended to be kept in the mouth, and the subsequent puffs of smoke, therefore constitute the event within which it goes to insert the innovation of the present invention.

The object of the present invention is therefore to define a device that allows to avoid direct contact between the smoker's fingers and the individual cigarettes.

Another purpose is to define a device as above, which allows you to perform the usual movements of the smoker without interfering with the comfort of the action.

Another object is to define a device as above, which fits the generalities of cigarette diameters currently on the market.

Another purpose is to define a device as above, which can perform

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SUBSTITUTE SHEETS (RULE 26) its innovative functions even when the package is opened, or when the cigarettes are compact and difficult to extract from each other. Another purpose is to define a device as above, which can be made with low environmental impact materials.

Another object is to define a device as above which can be easily stored in the pack of cigarettes.

These and other objects will appear as achieved by reading the following detailed description, illustrating a multifunctional spacer for smokers.

The invention is illustrated purely by way of non limiting example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the invention, in a hollow end version for picking up the cigarette from the packet and with a knurled edge, associated with a generic cigarette S expressed in a thin line.

Fig. 2 shows a detail of the gripping end of the device according to the present invention, in a cavity version, associated with a plug.

Fig. 3 shows a detail of the gripping end of the device according to the present invention, in a version equipped with gripping needles. Also with reference to the aforementioned figures, the device

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SUBSTITUTE SHEETS (RULE 26) according to the present invention has a structure 1, by way of example of a cylindrical shape, comprises a gripping bottom 2 and a retaining end 3.

The bottom 2 has an internal cavity 2a whose diameter is larger than the largest diameter of the standard cigarettes on the market.

The end 3 includes one or more rings 3a, 3b for comfortable retention of the cigarette while smoking.

The bottom 2 can be equipped with knurling 4 in the annular area of the edge, useful to facilitate the operation of taking the first cigarette of a package, which often appears pressed together with the others, therefore retained by friction. A variant of the bottom 2 provides for the presence of a gripping needle 5, useful for lifting the first cigarette described above by means of a mild perforation.

Above the end 3 there is a protruding fin 6, able to be grasped with the fingertips to remove the device from the package when stored. The device is in fact made of a cylindrical structure 1 in order to be placed in a package or cigarette case.

On one side of structure 1 there is a handhold 7 for pocket or to be hooked on the side of the pack of cigarettes.

The present described so far found therefore offers the possibility of picking up and brandishing a generic cigarette without making a contagion contact between the fingers and the filter area of the

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SUBSTITUTE SHEETS (RULE 26) cigarettes, intended to be brought to the mouth. Its essential structuring allows its realization by molding with two shells, also by adopting biodegradable plastic compounds.

The bottom 2 is decorated (D) in order to emulate the appearance of a cigarette so as to facilitate its correct orientation at a glance, further reducing the risk of accidental contact.

To completely avoid any possibility of contact between the fingers and the filter of the cigarettes, a cap 8 is provided to cover the end area of the bottom 2.

The cap 8 allows to handle the structure 1 avoiding the risk of contact between the fingers of the smoker, potentially infected, and the filter area of the cigarettes during the operation of removal from the package.

The cap 8 and / or the bottom 2 itself can be made with conductive plastic compounds (for example loaded with carbon-black) or coated with conductive paints, in order to be able to use the device according to the present invention as a display nib. capacitive of smartphones or tablets. When intended for this purpose, the cap 8 or the bottom 2 must have a conformation studied for this purpose, or

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SUBSTITUTE SHEETS (RULE 26) equipped with convexity 9 such as to guarantee a precise point of contact with the display.

This function could prove particularly appreciated in all those circumstances, for example in a medical environment, where it is necessary to wear protective gloves.

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Claims

CLAIMS:

Claim 1: Spacer device characterized in that it comprises a substantially cylindrical structure (1) having a gripping bottom (2) and a retaining end (3) for cigarettes.

Claim 2: Device as per claim above, in which the bottom (2) has an internal cavity (2a) whose diameter is larger than the largest diameter among the standard ones detectable among cigarettes on the market.

Claim 3: Device according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the end (3) comprises one or more rings (3a, 3b) for the comfortable retention of the cigarette while smoking.

Claim 4: Device according to one or more of the preceding claims, in which the bottom (2) is provided with knurling (4) in the annular edge area, useful to facilitate the operation of taking the first cigarette of a pack, which often it appears pressed together with the others, therefore retained by friction.

Claim 5: Device according to one or more of claims 1 to 3, wherein the bottom

(2) is equipped with a gripping needle (5), useful for lifting the first cigarette of the packet by gentle perforation.

Claim 6: Device according to one or more of the preceding claims, in which above the end

(3) there is a protruding fin (6), capable of being grasped with the

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SUBSTITUTE SHEETS (RULE 26) fingertips to grasp and remove the device from the package when stored.

Claim 7: Device according to one or more of the preceding claims, in which on one side of the cylindrical structure (1) there is a handhold (7) for a pocket useful to be hooked and carried with it.

Claim 8: Device according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein a cap (8) is placed to cover the bottom end area (2), in order to completely avoid any possibility of contact between the fingers and the filter of the cigarettes.

Claim 9: Device according to one or more of the preceding claims, in which the appropriately shaped stopper (8) convexly and / or the bottom (2) are made of conductive plastic compounds, in order to be able to use the device of the present invention as a steering nib on capacitive displays of smartphones or tablets.

Claim 10: Device according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the cap (8) and / or the bottom (2) are coated with paints with high electrical conductivity, in order to be able to use the device according to the present invention as a government nib on capacitive displays of smartphones or tablets.

Claim 11: Device according to one or more of the preceding claims, wherein the cap (8) and / or the bottom (2) have a convexity such as to guarantee a precise contact point when used on a capacitive

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SUBSTITUTE SHEETS (RULE 26) display.

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