Apparatus for filling and packing pre-formed conical cigarette wrappers

Abstract

A one-at-a-time cigarette forming device, including a hollow truncated conical wrapper holder having a top end and a bottom end and a conically shaped hollow interior tapering from the top end to the bottom end. The top and bottom ends are open. An elongate plunger or tamper shaft having a tamper head on a lower end and sized to insert fully into the wrapper holder's hollow interior is coupled to a cap and stored inside the wrapper holder when not in use.

What is claimed as invention is: 
     
         1 . Apparatus to form cigarettes manually, comprising:
 at least one hollow truncated conical wrapper holder having a top end and a bottom end and a conically shaped hollow interior tapering from said top end to said bottom end, and an opening disposed in each of said top end and said bottom end;   an elongate tamper shaft having a tamper head on a lower end and sized to insert fully into said hollow interior of said at least one conical wrapper holder; and   a cap coupled to a top end of said elongate tamper shaft.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said cap includes a male neck portion, and said top end of said wrapper holder includes a female recess that accommodates and mates with said male neck portion. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein said male neck is threaded and said female recess is threaded with complementary threads to mate with said male neck. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein said female recess and said male neck are sized for a press fit connection. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein said cap includes a throughhole for attachment to a chain or string. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein said tamper shaft extends downwardly from said male neck portion. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said wrapper holder includes a longitudinally-oriented viewing window. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further including a case for holding a plurality of wrapper holders and at least one of said cap and one of said tamper shaft. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein said case comprises a caddy for removable placement of a plurality of said wrapper holders in a generally vertical orientation. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein said caddy includes a lid, the removal of which exposes the top ends of said plurality of wrapper holders. 
     
     
         11 . A method of manually forming a cigarette, comprising the steps of:
 (a) providing a one-at-a-time cigarette forming apparatus having at least one hollow truncated conical wrapper holder having a top end and a bottom end and a conically shaped hollow interior tapering from said top end to said bottom end, and an opening disposed in each of said top end and said bottom end; an elongate tamper shaft having a tamper head on a lower end and sized to insert fully into said hollow interior of said at least one conical wrapper holder; and a cap coupled to a top end of said elongate tamper shaft;   (b) removing the cap and tamper shaft from the wrapper holder;   (c) placing a pre-formed conical cigarette wrapper inside the conical wrapper holder such that the closed bottom end of the wrapper is inserted through the opening at the bottom end of the wrapper holder;   (d) placing a quantity of smoking product in the open upper end of the conical cigarette wrapper so as to partially fill the wrapper;   (e) inserting the tamper head into the upper end of the wrapper;   (f) tamping the smoking material to pack it within the wrapper;   (g) repeating steps (d) through (f) until a desired level of fill and compaction is achieved;   (h) removing the packed cigarette wrapper from the wrapper holder; and   (i) twisting the upper end of the cigarette to make a closure to contain the smoking material and maintain the compaction.