Abstract:
The safety lighter includes contact wheels requiring rotation to rotate a spark wheel for generating a spark and, hence, a flame in the lighter. An extension, preferably part of the windscreen, includes a top wall overlying the majority of the circumferences of the contact wheels. Only a small portion of the contact wheel surfaces are therefore exposed for engagement by a user&#39;s thumb, thus increasing the strength and dexterity required to actuate the lighter and inhibiting actuation of the lighter by children.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a safety lighter having features offering resistance to ready use of the lighter. The invention particularly relates to a child-resistant safety lighter.  
         [0002]     Conventional lighters include a housing having a reservoir containing a fuel under pressure. A valve normally closes off a fuel outlet and is movable between valve-closed and valve-open positions by a pivoted lever. The lever typically has a thumbpress at one end and valve-engaging element at an opposite end whereby pivoting movement of the lever moves the valve from the valve-closed position to the valve-open position to release fuel into a flame region of the lighter. A conventional lighter also includes a flint engageable by a strike wheel to produce a spark upon rotation of the strike wheel. The spark ignites the fuel to produce a flame. The strike wheel is typically rotated by engaging an individual&#39;s thumb against the strike wheel per se or one or more contact wheels associated with the strike wheel to produce sparks and, hence, the flame once the lever has been depressed to release the fuel. Lighters such as these are well known. Their dangers, e.g., inadvertent or accidental ignition, and particularly by children, are likewise well known. For example, a child may run the contact wheels or strike wheel along a floor, surface or a rug while maintaining the lever depressed in an effort to ignite the lighter, whereas otherwise the child would not have sufficient strength to actuate the lighter by rotating the strike wheel or contact wheels.  
         [0003]     Attention has been directed to various mechanisms to prevent inadvertent actuation of the lighter. For example, mechanisms have been proposed and constructed preventing pivoting movement of the lever by incorporating a locking mechanism that physically blocks the downward movement of the thumbpress unless a safety catch is first actuated to unlock the lighter. Other safety mechanisms have included guard bands spaced from the contact wheels and having a greater diameter than the contact wheels such that only an adult&#39;s thumb would have sufficient mass to project between the guard band surfaces to engage and rotate the contact wheels and hence actuate the lighter. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,882,186; 5,769,098 or 5,483,978. However, many of these proposed safety devices require additional parts and assembly steps which adversely increase the cost of the lighter.  
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a safety lighter which incorporates as part of a safety guard an extension which overlies a majority of the surface of the contact wheels. Consequently, less than one-half of the contact wheel surface on the thumbpress side of the lighter is exposed for lighter actuation. The surfaces of the contact wheels exposed for engagement by a user&#39;s thumb and necessary to rotate the contact wheels are thus severely limited. The exposed surfaces of the contact wheels for engagement by the user&#39;s thumb are even more limited then by the extension alone by the thumbpress and the need to simultaneously rotate the contact/strike wheels and depress the lever. The extension may comprise an extended portion of the lighter, e.g., a portion extending upwardly from the lighter body or housing or its top wall, or a continuation of the support arms for the contact and striker wheels, or a separate part added to the lighter, or preferably an extension of the windscreen. In the preferred embodiment, the top wall of the windscreen is angled upwardly toward the middle of the head of the lighter to intersect a plane passing through the rotational axis of the contact wheels and strike wheel and the elongated flint extending from the lighter housing. With the thumbpress limiting the exposed area of the contact wheels along their lower sides and the margin of the windscreen overlying the contact wheels on their upper sides, approximately only one-third of the circumferential surfaces of the contact wheels are available for engagement and rotation by the individual&#39;s thumb.  
         [0005]     In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, there is provided 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 the housing, a lever pivotally disposed between the support arms and having a thumbpress at one end and a valve-operating element at an opposite end for moving the valve between the valve-closed position and the valve-open position in response to pivoting the lever by pressing on the thumbpress, a strike wheel and a pair of contact wheels carried by the arms for rotational movement by a user about an axis, a flint carried by the 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 the axis and portions of the contact wheel surfaces on the opposite thumbpress side of the axis to expose less than one-half of the contact wheel surfaces on the thumbpress side of the lever for engagement by the user&#39;s thumb.  
         [0006]     In a further preferred embodiment according to the present invention, there is provided 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 the housing, a lever pivotally disposed between the support arms and having a thumbpress at one end and a valve-operating element at an opposite end for moving the valve between the valve-closed position and the valve-open position in response to pivoting the lever by pressing on the thumbpress, a strike wheel and a pair of contact wheels carried by the arms for rotational movement by a user about an axis, a flint carried by the 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 a windscreen partially enveloping the flame region and having an opening in a top wall thereof for receiving and exposing the flame, the top wall extending from the windscreen past the axis of rotation of the contact and strike wheels to overlie a majority of the surfaces of the contact wheels and expose less than one-half of the contact wheel surfaces on the thumbpress side of the lever for engagement by the user&#39;s thumb.  
         [0007]     In a further preferred embodiment according to the present invention, there is provided 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 support carried by the housing, a lever pivotally carried by the support and having a thumbpress at one end and a valve-operating element at an opposite end for moving the valve between the valve-closed position and the valve-open position in response to pivoting the lever by pressing on the thumbpress, a strike wheel and at least one contact wheel carried by the support for rotational movement by a user about an axis, a flint carried by the housing for generating a spark upon rotation of the strike wheel relative to the flint and igniting fuel released upon moving the valve to the valve-open position to produce a flame in the flame region and a windscreen partially enveloping the flame region and having an opening in a top wall thereof for receiving and exposing the flame, the top wall extending from the windscreen past the axis of rotation of the contact and strike wheels to overlie a majority of the surface of the contact wheel and expose less than one-half of the contact wheel surface on the thumbpress side of the lever for engagement by the user&#39;s thumb. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]      FIG. 1  is a fragmentary perspective view of the head of a safety lighter constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  is a side elevational view of the lighter on a reduced scale; and  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view illustrating the actuating mechanism and the safety aspects of the lighter hereof. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     With reference to  FIG. 3 , the safety lighter hereof is generally indicated  10  and includes a housing  12  defining a reservoir  14  for containing fuel  16 . The housing  12  includes a support  18  which closes the open upper end of housing  12 . As illustrated, the support  18  includes a valve  20  having a valve head  22  which is spring-loaded, by a spring not shown, into a valve-closed position, preventing release of fuel  16  in gas form from the reservoir  14  into a flame region  26 . The valve  20  also includes a tube  28  extending into the fuel  16  for supplying fuel in gaseous form through valve  20  and into the flame region in response to moving the valve head  22  against its spring bias into the valve-open position.  
         [0012]     The support  18  also includes a pair of upstanding support arms  29  along opposite sides of the support. The support arms straddle a pair of contact wheels  30  and a strike wheel  32  intermediate the contact wheels  30 . The contact wheels and strike wheel may be mounted on a single axle to which the three wheels are secured or the contact wheels may be secured to opposite sides of the strike wheel with axes projecting from opposite sides of the contact wheel for rotation in apertures, not shown, adjacent upper ends of the support arms  28 . An elongated flint  34  projects upwardly from support  18  under the bias of spring  36  to engage the underside surface of the strike wheel  32 . It will be appreciated that by rotation of the strike wheel (in a clockwise direction in  FIG. 3 ) by rotating the contact wheels  30 , the contact between the flint  34  and the strike wheel surface generates sparks directed into the flame region  26 .  
         [0013]     A valve-actuating lever  38  is pivotally mounted about an axis  39  on axles between and to the support arms  28 , the flint  34  extending through an opening in the middle of the lever  38 . The lever includes a thumbpress  40  at one end and a valve-engaging element  42  at an opposite end within a windscreen  44 . It will be appreciated that by pressing down on thumbpress  40  and pivoting lever  38 , element  42  raises the valve head  22  to enable release of fuel from reservoir  14  into the flame region. Upon release of the thumbpress  40 , the spring biasing the valve head  22  toward the closed position pivots the lever back to its normal position. The foregoing-described lighter is of conventional construction and operation. Thus, by applying an individual&#39;s thumb to the contact wheels and rotating the contact wheels, including the strike wheel while simultaneously depressing thumbpress  40 , the strike wheel generates sparks directed into the flame region  26  which ignite the fuel released into the flame region by opening valve  20 . Upon release of the thumbpress  40 , the valve head  22  is displaced by its spring toward the valve-closed position and the flame is extinguished for lack of fuel.  
         [0014]     In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, means are provided which overlie a majority of the surface of the contact wheels and expose less than one-half of the contact wheel surfaces on the thumbpress side of the actuation lever of the lighter for engagement by a user&#39;s thumb. Such means may include an extension of the lighter which extends upwardly from the lighter body or housing  12  or from the support arms  29  or support  18 , or from the windscreen  44  or is formed by a separate part secured to the lighter or any other means which reduces the exposure of the contact wheel surfaces as noted above. An extension of the windscreen, however, is a preferred means for accomplishing this objective as it facilitates production.  
         [0015]     While windscreens are typically provided to confine or envelop a flame region on the side of the contact wheels and striker remote from the thumbpress  40 , this preferred aspect of the present invention provides a windscreen particularly configured to provide a safety feature which inhibits or resists ready and convenient actuation of the lighter and hence forms a child-resistant lighter. Particularly, the windscreen  44  has side walls  46  ( FIG. 1 ) which have indents or recesses  48  for reception in corresponding recesses in the outer wall surfaces of the support arms  28 . The cooperating recesses maintain the windscreen on the lighter housing. The forward wall  50  of the windscreen  44  is arcuate and includes a slot for receiving a flame height adjustment tab  52 , the latter being a conventional feature on most lighters of this type. Significantly, the windscreen  44  includes an angled top wall  54  which angles rearwardly from the forward wall  50  to a location substantially overlying the contact wheels and strike wheel. The top wall  54  includes an opening  56  through which the flame projects.  
         [0016]     As best illustrated upon comparing  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the top wall  54  extends beyond a plane P passing through the rotational axis of the contact wheels and striker wheel, as well as the flint  34  and the axis of rotation  39  of lever  38 . Thus, at least one-half and preferably in excess of one-half of the contact wheel surfaces are hidden below or underlie the top wall and are unavailable for engagement by a user&#39;s thumb. Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the exposed portions of the contact wheel surfaces between the margin  58  of the top wall  54  which overlie the contact wheel surfaces and the thumbpress lever  40 , constitute approximately one-third of the circumference of the wheels. Consequently, approximately one-third of the contact wheel surfaces are exposed for engagement by the fleshy part of an individual&#39;s thumb. The ability to simultaneously rotate the contact wheels and depress the lever is thus severely limited. While a child&#39;s finger may be placed on the contact wheel surfaces exposed between the margin  58  of the top wall  54  and the thumbpress  40 , the child would have insufficient strength to simultaneously rotate the contact wheels and depress the thumbpress  40 . Moreover, it will be appreciated that the safety aspect of the present invention is provided preferably as part of a conventional windscreen. Consequently, additional parts and additional assembly of such additional parts is not required to gain the advantages of the safety aspects of the present safety lighter. It will, however, be appreciated that the extension may be provided by other parts of the lighter or as a part or parts added to the lighter to provide the foregoing described physical relationships.  
         [0017]     While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.