Abstract:
A fireworks safety lighter includes a housing, an energy source such as a battery to selectively power an ignition source in communication with an ignition area. The ignition source may include a motor which turns a spark wheel in contact with a flint or a filament heater. A fuse guide directs an inserted fuse of a firework into the ignition area. Sparks from the flint or heat from the filament heater ignite the fuse in the ignition area.

Description:
[0001]     The present invention relates generally to lighters and, in particular, to a fireworks lighter which is safe to use.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Setting off fireworks accompanies many celebrations throughout the year, especially Independence Day and New Years. Firecrackers and other fireworks commonly include a fuse and a casing which houses the charge. The firework is set on the ground and the fuse is lit with a lighter, matches or a punk. Each of these methods of lighting the fuse is inherently dangerous. Sparks emitted from the fuse may bum the user. Lighters and matches present an open flame which may ignite other combustibles or bum the user, and the lighter and matches remain hot immediately after use. A punk, although safer than a lighter and matches, is always burning and may bum the user or inadvertently ignite other fireworks. Additionally, it is often difficult to locate the fuse in the dark.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     A fireworks safety lighter is provided which includes a battery-powered ignition source in a handheld unit. The fireworks safety lighter is configured with a funnel-shaped fuse guide at the end of the lighter which guides the end of the fuse of a firework to the ignition source. An ignition area, chamber or point retains the initial sparks from the fuse and helps protect the user lighting the firework. The fuse guide and end cap is clear or translucent to permit the user to see into the ignition area to observe the lighting of the fuse and which emits light for the user to see the firework and fuse.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0004]      FIG. 1  is a top plan view of an embodiment of the fireworks safety lighter of the present invention.  
         [0005]      FIG. 2  is a rear perspective view of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0006]      FIG. 3  is a front perspective view of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0007]      FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of  FIG. 3 .  
         [0008]      FIG. 5  is a sectional view of  FIG. 1  along line  5 - 5 .  
         [0009]      FIG. 6  is a partial sectional view of  FIG. 1  along line  6 - 6 .  
         [0010]      FIG. 7  is a sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0011]     Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , a fireworks safety lighter of the present invention is generally indicated by reference numeral  10 . The fireworks safety lighter  10  includes a housing  12 , a front end cap  14  and a rear end cap  16 . Housing  12  may be assembled from two halves  18  and  20 , which are snapped together and held with a fastener  22 .  
         [0012]     Front end cap  14  includes a fuse guide  24  and a built-in spare flint retainer  26 . Front end cap  14  is releasably secured to the housing  12  with a twist lock. A momentary spring switch  28  may be pressed to operate an internal motor (discussed hereinbelow). A flint release  30  may be rotated to release and replace a flint (discussed hereinbelow).  
         [0013]     Referring to  FIGS. 4-6 , the housing  12  accommodates four batteries  32  such as AA or AAA, which may be connected in series. Batteries  32  are secured within housing  12  by rear end cap  16  which is press-fit into the end of the housing  12 . A conductive plate  34  is secured to the inside of the rear end cap  16  to provide electrical contact between adjacent batteries  32 . Spring clips  36  and  38  are made of a conductive material such as copper and help hold the batteries  32  together and in contact with the conductive plate  34  when the rear end cap  16  is in place.  
         [0014]     Spring clip  38  is electrically connected to lead  40  of a DC motor  42  mounted in housing  12  and lead  41  of lamp  43 . Lead  44  of motor  42  and lead  45  of lamp  43  are electrically connected to a spring clip  46  of the contact switch  28 . Spring clip  46  makes contact with contact plate  48  to complete the electrical circuit to activate motor  42  and illuminate lamp  43  when button  50  is pressed. Lamp  43  may be an incandescent lamp or an LED. Contact switch  28  may be arranged to provide a two position switch with the first position to illuminate the lamp  43 , and the second position to power the lamp  43  and the motor  42 .  
         [0015]     A spark wheel coupler  52  and an abrading or spark wheel  60  are secured to the shaft  54  of motor  42 . Spark wheel coupler  52  and spark wheel  60  extend through an aperture  56  in a spark shield and flint guide  58 . Lamp  43  extends through an aperture  59  in the spark shield and flint guide  58 .  
         [0016]     A flint  62  fits within a groove  64  in the spark shield and flint guide  58  and is biased against the spark wheel  60  by a spring  66 . The flint  62  may be released by rotating the flint release  30  which engages and lifts spring  66  away from the flint  62 . Additional flints  68  may be stored within the front end cap  14  in the spare flint container  26 .  
         [0017]     Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , when the momentary switch  28  is operated by pressing button  50 , spring clip  46  is forced into electrical contact with contact plate  48 . The electrical circuit is closed with the series batteries  32  and the motor  42  in parallel with the lamp  43 . As the motor shaft  54  turns the spark wheel  60  and coupler  52 , sparks from the flint  62  are directed into the spark or ignition area  70  beside the aperture  56  in the spark shield and flint guide plate  58 . The lamp  43  illuminates the end cap  14  to provide light for the user in addition to the sparks from the flint  62 .  
         [0018]     When a fuse  72  of a firework  74  is placed in the fuse guide  24  the stream of sparks from the flint  62  which are directed into the ignition area  70  ignites the fuse  72 . The sparks are fully contained within the ignition area  70  to protect the user. When the button  50  is released, the circuit is opened, the motor  42  stops turning and the lamp  43  is turned off.  
         [0019]     As the flint  62  is worn down the spring  66  continues to apply a bias to the flint  62  to maintain a constant pressure against the spark wheel  60  and provide a consistent spark for the life of the flint  62 . Once the flint  62  is consumed, the front end cap  14  may be removed and the flint release  30  rotated to lift the spring  66  and release any remaining portion of flint  62 . Another flint  68  may be inserted into the groove  64  in the spark shield and flint guide plate  58 . The flint release  30  may then be released to re-apply the spring bias to the newly installed flint  68 .  
         [0020]     The housing  12  may be constructed of an injection molded plastic or other suitable material. Front end cap  14  may be constructed of a clear or translucent plastic material to allow the user to see when the fuse is lit and to allow light from the sparks and optionally the lamp  43  to escape and thus use the fireworks safety lighter  10  as a flashlight to provide lighting for the user to locate the fuse. The spark shield and flint guide plate  58  may be made of metal or other heat tolerant material such as a high temperature plastic.  
         [0021]     Referring to  FIG. 7 , another embodiment of the present invention is generally indicated by reference number  100 . Reference numerals used previously are reused to indicate elements that are the same as previously disclosed.  
         [0022]     Fireworks safety lighter  100  includes a housing  12 , a front end cap  102 , and a rear end cap  16 . Front end cap  102  includes a fuse guide aperture  104  and is releasably secured to housing  12  with a twist lock. When the momentary switch  28  is operated by pressing button  50 , spring clip  46  is forced into electrical contact with contact plate  48 . The electrical circuit is closed with batteries  24  and a filament heater  106  and optionally a lamp  43 . Filament heater  106  may be separated from the end of the fuse guide  104  by a screen  108  to protect the filaments of the heater  106 . A fuse  72  of a firework  74  may be inserted into the fuse guide  104  until it is in contact with the filament heater  106 , with the screen  108 , or extends through the filament heater to stop  110 . The heat from filament heater  106  will ignite the fuse almost instantly. The end caps  102  may be made of a clear plastic material so that the user may instantly see when the fuse is ignited. Additionally, the clear end cap  102  allows light from the glow of the filament to provide illumination for the user to locate the firework and fuse in addition to the light from lamp  43 .  
         [0023]     Over time, debris may accumulate on the screen  108  from the by-products of ignition of the fuses. End cap  102  may be removed to access screen  108  for cleaning or replacement. The filament heater  106  may also be replaceable.  
         [0024]     It is to be understood that while certain now preferred forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims.