Abstract:
A lighter clip for use with a cigarette pack is inexpensively manufactured from a material such as injection-molded plastic. A generally three-sided clip is sized and shaped to fit across the width and depth of the pack, and contains an arcuate portion, suitable for holding a lighter, on one end. The clip is manufactured from a resilient material, and shaped in a manner that causes it to be lightly biased against the pack, thereby holding the clip in position. The two longer clip arms are sized to have a large enough surface area to be suitable for promotional use, and the clip arms and ends are shaped to securely grip the cigarette pack.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to smoking accessories, and more particularly to a clip for holding together a cigarette lighter and a pack of cigarettes. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Cigarettes are generally sold in packages of twenty, or larger cartons containing a number of such packages. Cigarette packs have been standardized at a small number of sizes corresponding to standard product lengths. To accommodate various length cigarettes, the packs have different heights, but the width and depth are essentially the same for all sizes. 
     Some type of heat source must be used to light the cigarette, and the best sources are easily portable. Pocket lighters or matches are the most common portable forms for lighting cigarettes. Other, less portable devices, such as electric lighters in automobiles, are also common. 
     The disposable butane lighter is widely used. Different models are available, with a height of approximately three inches and a generally oval or rectangular cross-section. These lighters are very inexpensive, so that losing one causes no financial hardship to the smoker. 
     However, losing a lighter causes an extreme convenience hardship to the smoker. It becomes necessary to borrow a lighter or other heat source from someone else. Because these articles are so easily misplaced, it is not an uncommon sight to see several smokers at the same time trying to find someone with a lighter. 
     Numerous attempts have been made in the past to provide acceptable devices for attaching lighters to cigarette packs. Invariably, these devices have not faired well in the marketplace, generally because of expense or convenience issues. For example, U.S. Pat. No. D261,775 teaches a lighter clip which grips a typical disposable lighter, and has a flexible clip for insertion into a protective sleeve over a cigarette pack. Although this clip grips the lighter securely, it suffers from the problem that the lighter and clip can too easily become detached from the cigarette pack. Numerous designs shown and described in the prior art suffer from this problem, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,584, which teaches a similar device which clips to the underside of the pack. 
     Another approach is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,729, which teaches the use of a five-sided rectangular box having a divider near one end. A smaller compartment defined in the box is used for holding a lighter, while the larger compartment is sized to accept a cigarette pack. Such devices have not become widely used in the marketplace, presumably for reasons of cost. Another class of devices generally includes the cigarette lighter as an integral part of the clip design, as shown by U.S. Pat. No. D260,689. Such devices have presumably not become popular for reasons of cost and complexity, and are not usable with the ubiquitous disposable lighter. 
     It would be desirable to provide an improved lighter clip for cigarette packs which overcomes the limitations of the prior art. It would further be desirable for such a product to be inexpensive, and convenient to use. It would also be desirable for such a product to be capable of containing advertising so as to be suitable for use as a promotional product. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, a lighter clip for use with a cigarette pack is inexpensively manufactured from a material such as injection-molded plastic. A generally three-sided clip is sized and shaped to fit across the width and depth of the pack, and contains an arcuate portion, suitable for holding a lighter, on one end. The clip is manufactured from a resilient material, and shaped in a manner which causes it to be lightly biased against the pack, thereby holding the clip in position. The two longer clip arms are sized to have a large enough surface area to be suitable for promotional use, and the clip arms and ends are shaped to securely grip the cigarette pack. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lighter clip in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a top view of the lighter clip of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a first alternative embodiment for the lighter clip of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second alternative embodiment of the lighter clip of FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the first embodiment containing a cigarette pack and a lighter in phantom. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The lighter clip of the present invention provides an extremely clean and simple design which is highly functional and very inexpensive to manufacture. In this industry, a truly inexpensive product could be considered practically synonymous with one that is free to the consumer. The present design can be manufactured so inexpensively that it can be given away. 
     This capability of being given free to the consumer enables the preferred clip design to be useful as a promotional product. The preferred design includes at least two surfaces which are capable of, and suitable for, carrying advertising such as logos, brand names, and the like. This means that this clip cannot only be given free to the consumer for purposes of convenience, but then has an extended life as an ongoing advertising item. 
     Referring to FIG. 1, a lighter clip  10  is shown in perspective view. Clip  10  has a first arm  12  and a second arm  14  connected by a bridge  16 . First arm  12  has a tip  18 , and second arm  14  has a tip  20 . A curved holder portion  22  is connected to, and formed integral with, bridge  16 . Holder  22  has a tip  24  on its free end. 
     Arms  12  and  14  are sized so that the width of a cigarette pack just fits along their length between a flat portion  26  of the bridge and the nearest portion of the tips  18 ,  20 . For a standard pack having a width of approximately 2¼ inches, arms  12 ,  14  preferably have approximately the same length along the flat portion. Arms  12 , 14  have a length such that the edge of the cigarette pack away from bridge  16  is held by the tips as they project towards each other. Tip  20  provides a slight resistance to the cigarette pack being slid out of the arms, while the more curved first arm tip  18  provides greater resistance to removal of the pack. 
     The bridge  16  spaces arms  12 ,  14  a distance apart approximately equal to the depth of a standard cigarette pack, approximately ⅞ inch. As can be seen more clearly from the top view of FIG. 2, arms  12 ,  14  are not perfectly parallel. Instead, they are slightly farther apart where they connect to bridge  16  than at the ends adjacent tips  18 ,  20 . In the preferred embodiment, the inner surfaces of arms  12 ,  14  are approximately ⅞ inch apart and adjacent the bridge  16 , and approximately {fraction (13/16)} inch apart adjacent the tips  18 ,  20  with no cigarette pack inserted. At their closest approach, tips  18 ,  20  are preferably approximately ⅝ inch apart with no pack inserted. These dimensions are preferably adjusted slightly as needed to accommodate different sizes, as not all cigarette packs have exactly the same dimensions. 
     Clip  10  is preferably formed from an injected molded plastic, such as glass-filled plastic, polyethylene or polypropylene having an appropriate density. The physical properties of the material to be used will depend upon, and will influence, the thicknesses of various parts of the clip  10 . The values may be easily selected by those of ordinary skill in the art to achieve a stiffness or flexibility of the clip  10  which is desired. Variation of material or thickness may necessitate variations in the preferred measurements set forth above in order to provide an appropriate gripping force for arms  18 ,  20  against the cigarette pack. The stiffness of arms  12 ,  14  is also influenced by the thickness of the plastic used in clip  10  at the corners where arms  12 ,  14  join the bridge  16 . As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, arcuate cutouts  28  are provided to provide more flexibility for this design. If more stiffness is desired, meaning that tips  18 ,  20  and the ends of arms  12 ,  14  adjacent tips  18 ,  20 , respectively, grip harder against the cigarette pack, the size of arcuate cutouts  28  may be diminished or eliminated. 
     Holder portion  22  is used to grip a typical disposable lighter. It is curved in an approximately oval shape to fit snugly against lighters having that cross-section. Lighters having other cross-sections, such as approximately rectangular, will often fit in holder  22 . If desired, the shape of holder  22  can be altered to specifically conform with lighters having a different cross-section. Tip  24  provides a resistance to the removal of the lighter from holder  22 . 
     The resistance provided by the holder to removal of the lighter is primarily determined by the thickness of the walls of holder  22 . This thickness should be selected so that the lighter can easily be snapped into place and removed when desired, but will not come out accidentally during normal transportation of the assembly of cigarette pack, clip, and lighter. 
     It will be appreciated that when a cigarette pack is held by clip  10 , two primary surfaces remain which are visibly exposed. These are outer surfaces  30 ,  32  of arms  12 ,  14 , respectively. Clip  10  is preferably constructed so that surfaces  30 ,  32  have a height of approximately ½ inch to 1 inch, with approximately ¾ inch being a generally satisfactory value. This size results in a surface on either size of the clip which is approximately ¾ inch by 2½ inches in area, a substantial area of flat surface suitable for advertising or display of other promotional materials. 
     FIG. 5 shows clip  10  containing a cigarette pack  34  and a lighter  36  in phantom. As shown in FIG. 5, it will be seen that arms  12 ,  14  cover a substantial portion of two faces of a cigarette pack  34 , providing prime promotional opportunities for those interested in advertising their products to smokers. For example, surfaces  30 ,  32  can be marked to contain any logos or inscriptions that may be of interest to smokers. Local and national businesses can promote their products and services. 
     Variations in design details from the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 may be used if desired. For example, the embodiment of FIG. 3 illustrates a clip  10  in which arms  12  and  14  both have small tips  38  on the ends. This design allows the cigarette pack to be more easily inserted into and removed from clip  10 , but lessens slightly the gripping capacity of clip  10 . Instead, if a greater capacity for gripping the cigarette package is desired, two arcuate tips such as tip  18  of FIG. 1 can be used instead of the one shown in that embodiment. 
     Referring to FIG. 4, a variation is shown in which arm  14  has a small tip  40 , while arm  12  has a tip  42  which is a completed ring. This provides a central opening  44  which is preferably a few sixteenths of an inch in diameter. Opening  44  is suitable for allowing clip  10  to be attached to a key chain or similar device, allowing the clip and its contents to be easily kept track of. 
     Various provisions may be made for enhancing the surface friction between the inner surfaces of arms  12 ,  14  and the cigarette pack. Several of these are shown in FIG.  3 . Bridge flat  26  already provides an increased surface contact area between bridge  16  and a side panel of the cigarette pack. Bridge flat  26  may be textured with grooves  46 , or other texture patterns, to increase its surface roughness. This will increase the resistance of the clip to movement of the cigarette pack in a roughly up and down direction as shown in FIG.  3 . 
     Various texturizing may also be performed to the inner surfaces of arm  12 ,  14 . One such texturizing technique is to provide one or more ridges  48  on the inner surfaces of arms  12 ,  14  that are parallel with the length of the arms. These ridges will oppose movement of the pack in the same up down direction as provided by texturizing  46 . 
     In general, the tips on the end of arms  12 ,  14  provide the primary resistance to the pack being removed from the clip in a lateral direction, perpendicular to the plane of bridge flat  26 . However, particularly on the ends half of arms  12 ,  14  adjacent the tips, cross-hatching or other texturizing techniques can be applied to provide some additional resistance to removal of the pack. Because the stiffness of the clip  10  can be adjusted by changing the material used to make it, and the thickness of its various portions, generally surface texturing is not the primary means for providing resistance to a lateral removal of the cigarette pack from the clip  10 . 
     In addition to texturizing, layers of tacky material can be applied by adhesive to the inner surfaces of arms  12 ,  14 , or molded into the arms themselves when the clip is made. Textured surfaces or a layer of tacky material can also be added to the inner surface of holder portion  22  to prevent vertical movement of the lighter with respect to the clip. Because the lighter has rigid sides, holder portion  22  can be sized to grip the lighter more tightly than arms  12 , 14  can grip the soft sided cigarette pack. This will decrease the likelihood that the lighter will slide within the holder  22 . If greater resistance to sliding is required, however, texture or other techniques can be used to prevent slippage. 
     Numerous methods can be used for applying advertising or other promotional material to arm outer surfaces  30 ,  32 . Additional objects can be attached with any kind of adhesive or fastener. Logos or other information and brand names can be inscribed directly into the surface, or paint or other pigments can be applied directly to these surfaces. The basic color of the clip can be any desired color, selected during molding, and chosen to complement the advertising to be used. In some instances, it may be possible to directly mold promotional items into the surface at the time the clip is molded. Embossing and debossing techniques can be used to provide interesting features. These and similar techniques will be understood by, and easily implemented by, those skilled in the art. 
     The design described herein has several advantages over designs previously available in the art. One important advantage is that the design is one which is easily fabricated with inexpensive injection molding equipment, so that the per item actual fabrication cost of the clip is extremely low. Due to its extremely low cost, it can be given away to customers as a free promotional item. 
     In addition, the various details of the design allow the clip to reliably grip a cigarette pack, yet simultaneously allow the cigarette pack to be easily inserted and removed when desired. Arms  12 ,  14  are angled slightly toward each other at the tips, so that insertion of a cigarette pack places these arms under tension. They will thus therefore be providing a light compressive force against the cigarette pack, particularly at the side opposite bridge  16 , at all times. The selection of appropriate tips at the end of arms  12 ,  14  greatly enhances the gripping ability of the clip. Because there is significant surface area, under tension, between the clip and the cigarette pack, it is reliably held in place within the clip against both vertical and lateral movement forces. 
     In addition, the present design provides an improved technique for gripping the lighter. In a preferred design, the lighter is inserted through an opening at the end of the oval shape, as seen in the view of FIG. 2, as opposed to through a relatively flatter side. This allows the flexibility of the holder  22  to more easily both grip the lighter securely, and yet not provide difficulties when it is desired to have the lighter removed. Because of a longer arm, the opening for the lighter can change by a larger amount without applying a large strain to the opposite end of holder  22 , which is the primary bending location when the lighter is inserted and removed. 
     Variations for the arm tips are also possible. Several have been described, but others that accomplish the same function may be suitable. Any tip design must accomplish two primary goals: insertion of the cigarette pack must be easy, while removal preferably only occurs intentionally. While arms  12 ,  14  press lightly against the cigarette pack to retain it in position, extreme pressure will crumple the pack. The tips, rounding the comers of the cigarette pack, translate lateral movement of the pack into a spreading force on the arms. Any type of curved or sloped inner surface on the tips may be used for this function. 
     Preferably, all comers and edges are molded to be slightly rounded. This prevents the clip from becoming snagged on clothing and other similar materials. 
     While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.