Cigarette butt extinguishing and disposing apparatus

Abstract

A cigarette butt extinguishing and disposing apparatus including a cutting arrangement for receiving a cigarette butt from a slot to cut the cigarette butt into cut pieces while extinguishing fire and a container configured to collect the cut pieces. The cutting arrangement includes a pair of cutting rollers having peripheral faces engaging with each other, the peripheral faces each having a plurality of cutting edges. The cigarette butt extinguishing and disposing apparatus further includes a pressing arrangement for receiving and pressing the cut pieces. As a result, a cigarette is reliably extinguished.

1 . A cigarette butt extinguishing and disposing apparatus, comprising:
 cutting means for receiving a cigarette butt from a slot, and cutting the cigarette butt into cut pieces and extinguishing fire; and   a container for collecting the cut pieces.   
     
     
         2 . The cigarette butt extinguishing and disposing apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the cutting means is a pair of cutting rollers having peripheral faces engaging with each other, the peripheral faces each having a plurality of cutting edges. 
     
     
         3 . The cigarette butt extinguishing and disposing apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein the slot has an inclined surface for causing the cigarette butt to roll down toward the pair of cutting rollers. 
     
     
         4 . The cigarette butt extinguishing and disposing apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein the inclined surface is provided so as to cover an engagement portion formed by engagement between the pair of cutting rollers. 
     
     
         5 . The cigarette butt extinguishing and disposing apparatus according to  claim 1 , comprising pressing means for receiving and pressing the cut pieces. 
     
     
         6 . The cigarette butt extinguishing and disposing apparatus according to  claim 5 , wherein the pressing means presses the cut pieces to shield the cut pieces from air. 
     
     
         7 . The cigarette butt extinguishing and disposing apparatus according to  claim 5 , wherein the pressing means is a pressing roller having an elastically deformable peripheral face, the peripheral face being pressed to a counterpart member so as to be in face contact with the counterpart member. 
     
     
         8 . The cigarette butt extinguishing and disposing apparatus according to  claim 7 , wherein a portion of the peripheral face of the pressing roller in face contact with the counterpart member has a length in a circumferential direction that is a conveyance direction of the cut pieces, the length being larger than a length of the cut pieces. 
     
     
         9 . The cigarette butt extinguishing and disposing apparatus according to  claim 7 , comprising a brush having bristle ends in contact with the peripheral face of the pressing roller to brush away ashes adhering to the peripheral face of the pressing roller. 
     
     
         10 . The cigarette butt extinguishing and disposing apparatus according to  claim 7 , comprising:
 support means for supporting the pressing roller slidably in a direction distancing from the counterpart member; and   an elastic member configured to apply an elastic force to the pressing roller slidably supported by the support means in a direction approaching the counterpart member.   
     
     
         11 . The cigarette butt extinguishing and disposing apparatus according to  claim 5 , comprising guiding means for guiding the cut pieces from the cutting means to the pressing means. 
     
     
         12 . The cigarette butt extinguishing and disposing apparatus according to  claim 11 , wherein the guiding means is a funnel configured to receive the cut pieces falling from the cutting means and to cause the cut pieces to fall toward the pressing means. 
     
     
         13 . The cigarette butt extinguishing and disposing apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the cutting means cuts the cigarette butt so that the cut pieces generated from cigarette paper constituting the cigarette butt have a size of 100 mm 2  or less. 
     
     
         14 . The cigarette butt extinguishing and disposing apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the cutting means cuts the cigarette butt so that the cut pieces generated from the cigarette paper constituting the cigarette butt have a long side of 15 mm or less.