Abstract:
A lantern includes a burner, a valve unit connected to the burner and configured to control a fuel flow toward the burner, an ignition unit configured to ignite the burner, and a housing. The valve unit includes a valve regulator and a control knob, and the ignition unit includes an ignition switch. The housing holds the control knob and the ignition switch at an offset angle.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/785,274 filed on Mar. 24, 2006, which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The invention is directed to a lantern, particular to a lantern having a simpler structure for easier assembly and maintenance.  
         [0004]     2. Related Art  
         [0005]     Lanterns that use compressed-gas fuel have been available for several decades. To operate this type of lantern, a user connects the lantern to a source of compressed gas, such as a tank containing liquid propane (LP), butane, natural gas or the like, or mixtures of flammable gases. The user then opens a valve using a control knob, which allows the fuel to flow through a burner assembly and lights the gas with a match or the like. Nowadays, many of these lanterns are lit by electronic ignitors, such piezoelectric ignitors, which may be actuated by turning the control knob. Lanterns equipped with electronic ignitors are significantly more convenient than match-lit lanterns. However, implementation of electric ignitors requires the lantern structure to be more complicated and hence assembly, maintenance and repair become much more difficult. Accordingly, there is a need for a gas powered lantern that has an improved structural arrangement for easier assembly, maintenance and repair.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The invention meets the foregoing needs and allows for an improved ignitor and valve regulator structure, which results in easier assembly, maintenance and repair, reduced manufacturing time and costs and other advantages apparent from the discussion herein.  
         [0007]     Accordingly, in one aspect of the invention, a lantern includes a burner, a valve unit connected to the burner and configured to control a fuel flow toward the burner, wherein the valve unit including a valve regulator and a control knob, an ignition unit configured to ignite the burner and include an ignition switch, and a housing configured to hold said control knob and said ignition switch at an offset angle.  
         [0008]     The housing may include a first housing element configured to hold the ignition unit structurally separated from the valve unit; and a second housing element assembled together with the first housing to hold said valve regulator therebetween.  
         [0009]     According to another aspect of the invention, a lantern includes means for burning fuel, means for controlling a fuel flow toward the burning means, means for igniting the burning means and means for holding the controlling means and the igniting means at an offset angle.  
         [0010]     The controlling means may include means for rotating about a first axis, and the igniting means may include means for moving along a second axis. The first and second axes may form an acute angle.  
         [0011]     Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the invention may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Moreover, it is to be understood that both the foregoing summary of the invention and the following detailed description are exemplary and intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the invention as claimed. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]     The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the detailed description serve to explain the principles of the invention. No attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in more detail than may be necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention and the various ways in which it may be practiced. In the drawings:  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  shows an exemplarily lantern constructed according to the principles of the invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  shows an exploded view of the lantern of  FIG. 1  constructed according to the principles of the invention and showing further exemplary details of the construction therein;  
         [0015]      FIGS. 3, 4  and  5  show exploded views of the lantern of  FIG. 1  with specific detail of a valve regulator and left and right housings;  
         [0016]      FIG. 6  shows an exemplary construction of the valve regulator of  FIGS. 3, 4  and  5  constructed according to the principles of the invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 7  shows a break-away view of the valve regulator of  FIG. 6  constructed to the principles of the invention; and  
         [0018]      FIGS. 8 and 9  show exploded views of the valve regulator of  FIG. 7 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0019]     The embodiments of the invention and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments and examples that are described and/or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. It should be noted that the features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and features of one embodiment may be employed with other embodiments as the skilled artisan would recognize, even if not explicitly stated herein. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques may be omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments of the invention. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the invention may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, the examples and embodiments herein should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the appended claims and applicable law. Moreover, it is noted that like reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.  
         [0020]      FIG. 1  shows an exemplary lantern  100  constructed according to the principles of the invention. As shown therein, the lantern  100  may include a housing  101 , control knob  106 , ignitor button  108 , ignitor  110 , shield  112 , top shield  114 , globe  210  and other internal and external components. The housing  101  may be configured to contain and protect the internal components. Also, the housing  101  may form a base supporting the upper structure (i.e., shield  112 , top shield  114 , globe  210  and the like) of the lantern  100 . In an embodiment, the housing  101  may be an assembly of two or more housing components. For example,  FIG. 1  shows a left housing  102  and right housing  104  assembled together to form the housing  101 . The housing  101  may have a portion extended outwardly to accommodate the control knob  106 .  FIG. 1  particularly shows the control knob  106  centrally located between the left and right housings  102  and  104 . The control knob  106  may be provided to control a fuel flow from a fuel source (not shown) to the lantern  100 . For example, the fuel flow may be increased by rotating the control knob  106  in the clockwise direction A. As mentioned before, the fuel source may be a tank containing LP, butane, natural gas or the like, or mixtures of flammable gases.  
         [0021]     According to an embodiment, the ignitor button  108  may be separated from the control knob  106 . For example,  FIG. 1  shows the ignitor button  108  arranged at the left housing  102  to be off-set from the axis of rotation of the control knob  106 . This “off-set” arrangement may simplify the assembly, maintenance and repair of the lantern  100  by avoiding having too many components centrally located. Also, the “off-set” arrangement may allow the left housing structure  102  to better accommodate the ignitor button  108  and its associated structure. The ignitor button  108  when operated may cause a piezoelectric material to be mechanically manipulated to generate electricity. In particular, the electricity generated from the piezoelectric material by operation of the ignitor button  108  may cause a spark to be produced at the end of the ignitor  110  in proximity of a burner discussed below.  
         [0022]     The lantern  100  also may include a shield  112  made up of, for example, a metallic material to protect the user from the heat generated from the lantern  100  operation. The shield  112  may be formed with any number of materials, but a metallic material may be more suitable for the elevated temperatures that accompany the use of the lantern  100 . Additionally, a top shield  114  may be arranged above and on top of the shield  112  to protect the user from the heat and/or flames generated from the operation of the lantern  100 .  
         [0023]      FIG. 2  shows an exploded view of the lantern  100  shown in  FIG. 1  constructed according to the principles of the invention with further exemplary details of the construction therein. In particular,  FIG. 2  shows the arrangement of a valve regulator  202  that may be held between the left and right housings  102  and  104  to be fixedly located inside the housing  101 . Extending from a top of the valve regulator  202  is an extension  204  that may threadingly engage with the valve regulator  202 . At the top of the extension  204  may be arranged a burner  206 . The burner  206  may include a plurality of orifices that allow fuel, such as the LP to be emitted therefrom. The LP may then be mixed with air and/or oxygen and when ignited to burn on or about the burner  206  to produce light. Further shown in  FIG. 2  is a globe clip  208 . The globe clip  208  may hold a globe  210  and may form an elastic and/or resilient connection between the globe  210  and the rest of the lantern  100 . In particular the globe clip  208  may be arranged on or about the burner  206  or the extension  204 . Additionally a spark production portion  212  may be arranged at the very end of the ignitor  110 .  
         [0024]      FIGS. 3, 4 , and  5  show exploded views of the lantern  100  shown in  FIG. 1  with specific detail of the valve regulator  202  and left and right housings  102  and  104 . An ignitor holding structure  302  may be arranged in one of the left or right housings  102  and  104 , such as the left housing  102  shown in  FIG. 3 . As can be shown in  FIG. 3  the ignitor button structure  108  and the ignitor holding structure  302  may be structurally separated from the control knob  106  and the valve regulator  202 . Since the ignition components and value control components are structurally separated, the assembly, maintenance and repair of the lantern  100  become much easier. Further shown in  FIG. 3 , the valve regulator  202  rotates about an axis B while the ignitor button  108  operates along an axis C. The axes B and C may not be parallel and may form an acute angle (e.g., about 5 degree to about 30 degree) in one or two dimensions. This arrangement may provide a structural configuration that is easier to grip, actuate and operate the lantern  100  with both hands. Moreover, it may also provide a more compact structural arrangement.  
         [0025]     Additionally as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , a knob connection  304  may be coupled between the control knob  106  and the valve regulator  202  for transmitting rotation of the knob  106  to the internal structure of the valve regulator  202  and to control the valve regulating action. The valve regulator  202  may include a stop  306 . The stop  306  may be an extension portion extending from the valve regulator  202  that limits or stops the rotational movement of the control knob  106 . For example, when the user rotates the control knob  106  in the clockwise direction A, the stop  306  may engage with a portion on the control knob  106  thus ceasing the rotational movement of the control knob  106  with respect to the valve regulator  202 . This stop  306  may prevent the valve regulator  202  from having any sort of damage caused by over-rotation.  
         [0026]     As further shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the valve regulator  202  may include a threaded portion  308  thereabove to establish a threaded pipe connection to, for example, the extension  204  shown in  FIG. 2 . Additionally, the threaded portion  308  may include an outlet  310  mounted therein and thereabove. The outlet  310  may be the orifice from which the fuel, such as LP, may be output from the valve regulator  202  in conjunction with an operation of the control knob  106  that controls the operation of the knob connection  304  to the valve regulator  202 .  
         [0027]      FIG. 6  shows an exemplary construction of a valve regulator such as the one shown in  FIG. 2  to  FIG. 5 . In particular,  FIG. 6  shows the outlet  310  of the valve regulator  202 . Moreover,  FIG. 6  also shows the knob connector  304  and the valve regulator stop  306  which operates similarly to the construction described in conjunction with  FIG. 3  to  FIG. 5 . Additionally,  FIG. 6  further shows an inlet  602 . As noted previously, the outlet  310  is arranged at the very top of valve regulator  202 . The outlet  310  allows the fuel to be emitted from the valve regulator  202 . The inlet  602 , on the other hand, provides an input for the fuel from a higher pressure fuel source to the valve regulator  202 . Accordingly, the fuel, such as LP, may be input to the inlet  602  and may be output, after being regulated and controlled, via the outlet  310 .  
         [0028]      FIG. 7  is a break away view of the valve regulator  202  constructed according to the principles of the invention. In particular,  FIG. 7  shows the inlet  602  arranged at the very bottom of the valve regulator  202 . For example, this may connect to a fuel source that is arranged therebelow. In particular, a fuel source may operate at a higher pressure. The fuel source may be applied to a connection portion  720  which is arranged in the input  602  of the valve regulator  202 . The high pressure fuel may then flow up through an orifice  722  arranged in the connection portion  720 . Thereafter, the fuel may then fill the valve chamber  702 . From there, a valve  706  is arranged in a left most portion of the valve chamber  702  as shown in  FIG. 7 .  
         [0029]     In particular, the valve  706  may include a valve opening  704  that may stop or allow fuel flow post the valve  706 . The valve opening  704  may be opened by movement of an actuating needle  708 . Accordingly, when the actuating needle  708  moves in the direction shown by arrow D, the valve opening  704  may opens allowing the fuel that is located in valve chamber  702  to flow through the valve  706  and into a diaphragm chamber  714 . The actuating needle  708  may be actuated via movement of a diaphragm  712  and an engagement surface  710 . Accordingly, when the diaphragm  712  moves left or right in the direction D based on the pressure in the diaphragm chamber  714 , the engagement surface  710  moves with the diaphragm  712  and accordingly so does the actuating needle  708 . Movement of those three structures opens and closes the valve opening  704 . When the valve opening  704  is open, the fuel in valve chamber  702  may flow through the valve  706  into diaphragm chamber  714  and flows up through output conduits  716  and  718  and out through the outlet  310 . Accordingly, the diaphragm  712  of this construction  712  may be able to be constructed such as there is no fluid flow-through in the diaphragm  712 . This may create a stronger construction in the valve regulator  202  that also may make the construction of the valve regulator  202  less expensive and further makes manufacturing easier.  
         [0030]      FIGS. 8 and 9  show exploded views of the valve regulator  202  construction of  FIG. 7 . As previously noted, the operation of the valve regulator  202  may be accomplished through a knob connector  304  which connects to a knob  106  not shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 . Accordingly, knob connector  304  may rotate a valve regulator actuator  810  shown at  FIGS. 8 and 9 . The valve regulator actuator  810  may rotate within an actuator holder  802 . The construction of the actuator holder  802  and the valve regulator actuator  810  may be such that rotation of the valve regulator actuator  810  with respect to the actuator holder  802  creates a movement in the direction of E shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 . This may be accomplished via raised surfaces on the actuator  810  and actuator holder  802 . The movement of the valve regulator actuator  810  in the direction E may tend to compress a first spring  804  and move a separator  806  and also further compress a second spring  808 . Accordingly, rotation of the valve knob  106  may rotate the knob connector  304  that rotates the actuator  810  which in conjunction with the actuator holder  802  moves in the direction E and thus compresses the springs  804  and  808  and includes a movement of a separator  806 . Valve diaphragm  712  may provide a greater force to the engagement surface  710  and a greater force against actuating needle  708  when the knob  106  and knob connector  304  are rotated to move the actuator  810 . Accordingly, the rotation of the knob  106  controls the flow and regulates the pressure of fuel that is output from outlet  310 . Moreover, the structure shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9  allows for a diaphragm  712  that does not allow fluid to flow there through. This makes construction of the diaphragm  712  easier and less expensive providing an improved product to the user thereof.  
         [0031]     While the invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications in the spirit and scope of the appended claims. These examples given above are merely illustrative and are not meant to be an exhaustive list of all possible designs, embodiments, applications or modifications of the invention.