Patent ID: 6926518
Filing Date: 2005-08-09
Classification: F23Q

Abstract:
1. A safety lighter comprising: a housing defining a reservoir for containing fuel; a valve movable between a closed position preventing release of fuel from the reservoir and an open position enabling release of fuel from the reservoir into a flame region of the lighter; a pair of support arms carried by said housing; a lever pivotally disposed between said support arms and having a thumbpress at one end and a valve-operating element at an opposite end for moving said valve between the valve-closed position and the valve-open position in response to pivoting said lever by pressing on the thumbpress; a strike wheel and a pair of contact wheels carried by said arms for rotational movement by a user about an axis; a flint carried by said housing for generating a spark upon rotation of the strike wheel relative to the flint and igniting fuel released upon opening the valve to produce a flame in the flame region; and means overlying surfaces of the contact wheels on the flame region side of said axis and portions of the contact wheel surfaces on the opposite thumbpress side of said axis to expose less than one-half of the contact wheel surfaces on the thumbpress side of the lever for engagement by the user's thumb.