BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a cigar ventilation implement, and in particular to a cigar ventilation implement that includes both (i) a punch for forming an opening in a binder or wrapper at an end of the cigar, and (ii) an elongated piercing member such as a needle or spike for additionally forming an axial passage having a selectable depth. The punch enables removal of the binder or wrapper from an area coextensive with the end of the cigar in order to prepare the cigar for smoking, while the elongated piercing member enables the smoker to modify the passage of smoke through the cigar according to the user's preference in order to enhance the smoking experience.

2. Description of Related Art

Cigars are generally cylindrical rolls of tobacco characterized by cut, dried and fermented tobacco leaves encased in a binder and/or wrapper of relatively thicker leaves. Conventional cigars are typically formed with an open end, which is the end that is exposed to a flame in order to light the cigar, and a closed end. In order to prepare the cigar for smoking, the closed end must be cut, punched, or pierced to allow smoke-carrying air to be drawn from the lit open end through the main body of the cigar, the smoke-carrying air exiting the cigar into the smoker's mouth through the cut, punched or pierced end.

The most common method of ventilating a cigar in order to prepare it for smoking is to use a cutting implement, such as a guillotine-like cutter, to slice off the closed end of the cigar. However, slicing off the closed end can leave bits of loose tobacco that may end up in the smoker's mouth, and is a relatively wasteful way to achieve ventilation. In addition, cigar cutting implements are typically relatively large and require a degree of skill or dexterity to achieve an optimal cut that may be beyond that of the occasional smoker, the elderly, or disabled users. A bad cut cannot be reversed, and can ruin an expensive cigar.

Another known method of ventilating a cigar is to use a needle or spike to pierce the closed end of the cigar and form an axial passage. Such cigar-piercing spike or needle devices have a number of advantages over cigar cutters, including the relatively small size of the needle or spike, which allows it to fit on a keyring or otherwise to be easily carried, and the ability of the needle or spike to penetrate the cigar to a controllable depth, which can ameliorate the effects of a smaller diameter passage. In addition, use of a needle or spike to pierce the closed end of the cigar is less wasteful than cutting, and solves the problem of loose tobacco leaves. However, this alternative has the disadvantage, for true cigar aficionados, that the relatively small diameter of the passage for smoke prevents smoke from passing through the full cross-section of the cigar, which can result in a duller flavor and a less satisfying experience. The best cigars have specially selected leaves that differ along the length and/or diameter of the cigar, and cannot be fully experienced if the passage of smoke is limited to the diameter of a needle or spike.

Yet another known method of ventilating a cigar is to use a cylindrical cigar punch to removes a circular piece of the end wrapper and provide a relatively large diameter opening in the cigar end, thereby permitting a relatively large volume of smoke to pass through the entire cross-section of the cigar, while at the same time presenting. Unlike a cutter or piercing device, however, the cylindrical punch does not provide a way for the user to control the depth of the opening and thereby customize the smoking experience by controlling the passage of smoke through the cigar.

To overcome the above-described shortcomings of conventional cigar ventilating implements, the inventors of the improved cigar ventilation implement described herein have devised a way to combine a punch and a needle or spike-type piercing tool, in a single implement that does not require enhanced skills or dexterity to manipulate and that can easily be carried by the user. The improved cigar ventilation implement thus has advantages of both the punch and the piercing tool, including the formation of a relatively large-diameter opening to enable the full cross-section of the cigar to be enjoyed, and the provision of an axial passage having a controllable depth. Furthermore, the invention has additional advantages of providing for retraction into the device of both the punch and piercing implement to ensure safety, as well as an especially simple and easy-to-assemble construction in comparison with conventional cutters.

By way of background, U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,674 shows an example of a prior art plunger-actuated needle or spike-type cigar-piercing ventilating implement that includes a flange for providing leverage when operating the plunger in a manner similar to a medical syringe. The plunger-actuated ventilating implement operates in a manner similar to that of the invention, but without an additional extendable punch. Other examples of cigar piercing devices that utilize a needle or spike but that do not include an additional punch are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,734,620 and 4,733,674, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0183743, German Patent Publication No. DE 202018002142, and Korean Publication No. 1999-099403.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,852,808 is of interest because it includes both a fixed punch and a retractable needle. Because the punch is not extendable and retractable, the ventilating implement requires an additional screw-on cover to ensure that the cutting blade on the punch is not exposed when not in use. A similar arrangement of a piercing device with a cutting blade and a spike-like structure extendable into the cutting blade for pushing a cut plug out of the punch is disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2011/0146696.

On the other hand, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0133705 discloses a cigar ventilator with fixed spike-like structure and a retractable cylindrical punch. However, the fixed spike-like structure at the center of the retractable cylindrical punch is used to eject the tobacco plug when the cylindrical punch is retracted, rather than serving as a retractable piercing device that is in addition to the retractable punch. U.S. Pat. No. 308,906, which issued in 1884, also shows a piercing device with a cutting blade and a punch that extends into the cutting blade for ejecting the cut plug.

Finally, by way of further background, U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,318 shows a cigar ventilating arrangement with a rotatable piecing device, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010/0000553 discloses a cigar cutter with a rotatable piercing device that is combined with a pen, U.S. Pat. No. 925,158 discloses a combined cigar cutter and perforator, U.S. Pat. No. 8,485,200 discloses a combined cigar punch, flashlight, and keyring, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,738,117 and 5,913,676 are representative of numerous prior patents and publications that disclose a combined cigar cutter and lighter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is accordingly an objective of the invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a cigar ventilating implement that enables a user to prepare an end of the cigar for smoking by either piercing or punching the end of the cigar, or both, and yet that has a simple and reliable construction, is easy-to-use, and can be safely, conveniently, and discretely transported by the user so as to be available for use any time the user wishes to enjoy a cigar.

It is a further objective of the invention to provide a cigar ventilating implement that provides the user with the option of punch-cutting the end of a cigar, piercing it, or a combination of punching and piercing according to the user's preference, in order to optimize cigar preparation for different types of cigar, with minimal risk of a cutting error that might ruin the cigar.

It is also an objective of the invention to provide a cigar ventilating implement that meets at least one of the above objectives and yet that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture or assemble.

These objectives are achieved, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, by a cigar ventilating implement that includes both a cylindrical punch and a piercing member such as a needle or spike, arranged coaxially and each extendable from an outer housing of the implement by gripping laterally extending flanges and pressing on an actuator in a manner similar to that used to operate a medical syringe. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the cylindrical punch is extendable to a predetermined distance when pushing the actuator over a first section of its total range, after which the piercing member may be extended by a further distance upon pushing the actuator over a second section of its total range. A coil spring is provided to ensure retraction of at least the piercing implement back into the cylindrical punch when pressure on the actuator is released, while retraction of the cylindrical punch into the outer housing may be achieved by pulling up on the actuator or pushing up on the punch, to enable safe transport and storage of the implement.

The objectives of the invention are also achieved, in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the invention, by a cigar ventilating equipment that includes both a cylindrical punch and a piercing member arranged coaxially and extendable from an outer housing as in the first preferred embodiment. However, in this embodiment, the laterally extending flanges are replaced by pins that extend through a guide slot in the actuator, as well as dual bias springs, to provide enhanced stability and reliability. The guide slot has first and second vertical sections connected by an angled or sloped section that requires the user to rotate both the plunger/actuator and a punch retaining member, to lock the punch in an extended position before extending the piercing member. In addition, the cigar ventilating implement of the second preferred embodiment may include a punch cleaning disc.

In the preferred embodiments, the cigar ventilating implement requires only four main parts to provide both the retractable punch and the retractable elongated member, although those skilled in the art will appreciate that details of the construction may be varied by, for example, constructing the four main parts of separate units, or adding separate additional parts such as bushings, washers, o-rings. As a result, the detailed description and drawings included herein should not be considered as limiting, variations or modifications of the illustrated embodiment being possible without departing from scope of the invention.

Although illustrated below as a stand-alone device or implement, the cigar ventilating implement of the invention may be combined with a lighter or any other object or device, including by way of example and not limitation, a conventional cigar cutter, a pocket or utility knife, a key ring, and/or a flashlight.

Finally, it is to be understood that, in the following description, the terms “vertical,” “horizontal,” “upper,” and “lower” are arbitrary designations to distinguish an axial direction of the implement, punch, and piercing member (the “vertical” direction, with the end from which the punch and piercing member are extended being the “lower” end), and a direction that is perpendicular to the implement, punch, and piercing member axes

