Patent Publication Number: US-6659763-B2

Title: Safety lighter with restricted access to driver disk

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to the field of lighters and, particularly, to a driver disk assembly for making a lighter more difficult to operate. 
     2. Discussion of the Related Art 
     A child typically learns by watching and mimicking the actions of an adult. Children often witness parents and other adults operating conventional lighters, which result in the creation of flames. These flames can fascinate a child, giving the child the incentive to obtain the lighter and mimic the action of the adult so as to operate the lighter. There is a great danger associated with this effort because the child is unable to appreciate and respect the power of fire. As a result, it is desirable to try to prevent the ready actuation of conventional lighters by children. 
     An average child has a short attention span so that the actions it mimics can easily become dissociated with an intended outcome, causing the child to abandon interest in continuing its actions. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lighter design that hinders the ability of a child to activate the lighter, whereby the interest of the child in operating the lighter dissipates and the child moves on to other activities. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a lighter that does not significantly increase the production cost of the lighter. 
     It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a lighter that is more difficult for children to operate, but does not significantly hinder the ability of an adult to activate the lighter. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the present invention, the foregoing objects are obtained with a lighter having a housing that forms a fuel reservoir. The housing has a fuel outlet extending from the housing. A valve assembly controls the flow of fuel from witbin the reservoir to the fuel outlet. A flint is mounted on a support which is mounted on a top plate of the housing for lighting fuel released from the fuel reservoir. A flint actuator includes a spark disk to engage the flint and a driver disk fixedly connected to the spark dish The spark disk and the driver disk are rotatably connected to the housing. A third disk is rotatably connected to the housing and is disposed between the driver disk and the spark disk. The third disk has a diameter greater than the driver disk. The top plate is fixedly connected to the housing. The top plate is disposed between the driver disk and the housing. The top plate has a radially outwardly protruding portion between the housing and the driver disk. The radially outwardly protruding portion is aligned with the driver disk and extends radially outwardly a greater distance than the driver disk. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Still other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, wherein is shown and described only the preferred embodiment of the invention, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated for carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments, and its several details are capable of modifications in various respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawing and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive. 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the lighter of the invention with the driver disk covered by the lid; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the lighter with the driver disk exposed; 
     FIG. 3 is a side elevation view, partially broken away, of the lighter with the driver disk covered by the lid; 
     FIG. 4 is a side elevation view, partially broken away, of the lighter with the driver disk exposed; 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross sectional detail view from circle  5  of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross sectional detail view from circle  6  of FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view of the top portion of the lighter with the driver disk exposed and the lid removed; and 
     FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view of the top portion of the lighter with the driver disk exposed. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     Referring now to FIGS. 1-8, a lighter  10  in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. Lighter  10  includes a housing  12 , the interior of which forms a fuel reservoir. Housing  12  is preferably made of steel, but can be made of any sufficiently rigid non-combustible metal or similar material. As illustrated, housing  12  is preferably cylindrical and has a top plate  14  and a bottom plate  16  fastened to it, that are of a compatible material, for sealing in the fuel and to provide the housing with a planar surface on which to mount the various mechanisms so that the lighter can perform its intended functions. 
     As seen if FIGS. 2-6, housing  12  has a fuel outlet mechanism  18  extending outwardly from housing  12 . As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, outlet mechanism  18  includes a smaller diameter pipe  20  axially movably located within a stationary larger diameter pipe  22 . The larger pipe  22  is fixedly connected to plate  14 , such as by welding. Both pipes  20  and  22  extend from within the fuel reservoir, in a direction parallel to the long axis of housing  12 , through top plate  14 , to the exterior of housing  12 . 
     Pipe  20  has a hole  24  located near its bottom end (i.e., the end disposed within housing  12 ) for channeling fuel inside of housing  12  to the outside via exit opening  26  at the top end of pipe  20 . A coil spring  28  is fitted around smaller pipe  20 . Spring  28  is flanked between a step  30  in pipe  22  and a washer  32  that is fixedly mounted or otherwise fastened to the outside of smaller pipe  20 . Thus, spring  28  biases small pipe  20  in an upward direction, as indicated by arrow A in FIG. 6. A seal  34  or bushing, preferably of metal, is fixedly connected to an enlarged upper end of larger pipe  22 , preferably by welding. Inner pipe  20  axially slides within pipe  22 , and is guided axially by bushing  34 . An ‘O’ ring seal  36 , preferably of rubber or other similar material, fits around pipe  20  above washer  30 . When the lid  38  is in an open position, O-ring  36  is squeezed between bushing  34  and flange or washer  32 , thereby preventing fuel from escaping around seal  36 . 
     Lid  38  is pivotally connected to housing  12 . More specifically, lid  38  has an arm  40  fixed thereto that is rotatably mounted about a pivot pin  42 . Pin  42  is fixedly connected to a bifurcated post  44 , which is fixedly mounted on the upper surface of top plate  14 . A coil spring  46  (see FIG. 3) is depressed between plate  14  and a bottom surface  48  of arm  40  (see FIG.  8 ). Spring  46  maintains lid  38  in the open position of FIG. 2 or the closed position of FIG. 1, due to cam surfaces on the exterior of arm  40  at each position. The bottom of lid  38  has an actuating member  50  (see FIG. 2) that is biased outwardly by an internal coil spring  52  (see FIG.  3 ). Actuating member  50  is positioned within lid  38  so that, as lid  38  is closed, actuation member  50  forces smaller pipe  20  downwardly towards the closed position. When lid  38  is moved to an open position, actuating member  50  is removed from smaller pipe  20 , which is then biased upwardly by spring  28 , as shown in FIG.  7 . The fuel contained within housing  12  is now free to vaporize and the vapors are released from the reservoir, through opening  24  into pipe  20  and out through exit opening  26 , which is adjacent to a flint  58 . 
     As described above, smaller pipe  20  moves axially within larger pipe  22  between an open position (FIG. 6) and a closed position (FIG. 5) by action of lid  38 . In the closed position, lid actuator  50  moves smaller pipe  20  in a downward direction (i.e., into housing  12 ), whereby the connected washer  32  is moved downward, causing spring  28  to compress. A bottom seal, or plug  52 , is sealingly placed in the bottom end of the base of small pipe  20 . In the closed position, plug  52  presses against a step  54  in the interior of pipe  22  to seal a hole  56  to prevent communication of fuel between the reservoir and the interior of the smaller pipe  20 . 
     In the open position of lid  38  (see FIG.  6 ), smaller pipe  20  is biased in the upward direction by spring  28 . While open, seal  36  presses against bushing  34 , thereby defining the maximum upward travel of smaller pipe  20 . It will be appreciated that the top of smaller pipe  20  protrudes outwardly from the top rim of larger pipe  22  far enough so that as smaller pipe  4  moves downward, bottom seal  52  interacts with step  54  to prevent the flow of fuel as described above. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 8, a flint  58  is mounted to top plate  14 , adjacent to outlet  26 . Flint  58  is mounted on a support  60  that is movable in the direction indicated by arrow B upon the rotation of a knurled knob  62 . Knob  62  has a threaded shaft (not shown) protruding therefrom and connected to support  60 . The threaded shaft is received within spherical housing  64 , which is fixedly mounted to top plate  14 . Spherical housing  64  includes a threaded bore to receive the threaded shaft projecting from knob  62 . Thus, rotation of knob  62  causes the flint  58  to advance toward or retract from a spark disk  66 . Spark disk  66  has the conventional corrugations or knurls for augmenting the friction between itself and flint  58 . 
     A driver disk  68  is fixedly connected to spark disk  66 . Disks  66 ,  68  are rotatably attached to the top of plate  14 . Thus, selective spinning of driver disk  68  causes a spinning of spark disk  66 . Moreover, driver disk  68  is knurled in a conventional manner so that, in the lid open position, it may be selectively rotated, causing spark disk  66  to move against flint  58 , thereby creating a spark to ignite fuel that is released from the reservoir. The diameter of driver disk  68  is larger than the diameter of spark disk  66  so as to increase the leverage advantage when driver disk  68  is selectively rotated. 
     In the preferred embodiment, the underside of lid  38  has an open area  72  for covering flint  58  and spark disk  66  when lid  38  is moved to the closed position (FIG.  3 ). Moreover, spring  46  is stiff enough to hinder the selective rotation of lid  38  from the closed position to the opened position and vice versa. 
     A third disk  70  is rotatably connected to housing  12  and is disposed between driver disk  68  and spark disk  66 . Third disk  70  freely spins about the axle connecting spark disk  66  to driver disk  68 . Disk  70  is relatively thin compared to driver disk  68 , and has a diameter that is slightly larger than that of driver disk  68 , for example 10% larger than the diameter of driver disk  68 . Disk  70  is preferably made of metal or some similarly rigid non-flammable material that has a low coefficient of friction so that although it is between and engages one or both of spark disk  66  and driver disk  68 , disk  70  can freely spin around the axle. The outer perimeter of disk  70  is preferably knurled, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, although the outer perimeter may be smooth. 
     Top plate  14  includes a radially outwardly protruding arcuate portion  74  between housing  12  and driver disk  68 . Portion  74  extends radially outward a slightly greater distance than driver disk  68  as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Portion  74  preferably aligns with disk  70  to restrict or limit access to driver disk  68 . Thus, one needs to make a concerted effort to place the fleshy bottom portion of their thumb (or other finger) on driver disk  68  to cause it to rotate. Most young children lack sufficient fleshy tissue in their thumbs and fingers to cause the driver disk  68  to rotate. 
     In use, after lid  38  is moved to the opened position, the user ignites a flame by rotating driver disk  68 , thereby rotating spark disk  66  against flint  58  (FIG.  8 ). Because third disk  70  is larger than driver disk  68 , disk  70  is contacted by the finger of the user prior to driver disk  68  being contacted. Disk  70  will spin freely thereby influencing the user&#39;s finger to slip off of the lighter and bypass driver disk  68 . Similarly, because arcuate portion  74  of plate  14  protrudes radially out beyond driver disk  68 , the finger of the casual user will follow the contour of portion  74 , thereby further influencing the user&#39;s finger to slip off of the lighter and to bypass driver disk  68 . To operate the lighter, the thumb of the physically mature user must be precisely positioned so that the fleshy part of the thumb can engage driver disk  68  and thereby avoid the slipping influence of safety disk  70  and arcuate portion  74  of plate  14 . 
     When a child operates the lighter in an effort to mimic an adult and create a flame, safety disk  70  and arcuate portion  74  will make it quite difficult, or even impossible, for the child, with an insufficiently fleshy thumb or finger, to rotate the driver disk  68  and thereby operate the lighter and create a potentially dangerous flame. In addition, unlike an adult user, the child will not appreciate the importance of directing his/her grip toward the smaller diameter driver disk  68  as compared to directing the grip toward the larger diameter freely spinning safety disk  70  and the radially protruding arcuate portion  74 , which the child&#39;s finger or thumb should come into contact with first. Due to the short attention span of the child and the obstacles in operating the lighter created by the use of safety disk  70  and arcuate portion  74 , it is more likely that the child will be caused to lose interest in operating the lighter before a flame is created. 
     While various descriptions of the present invention were described above, it is within the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art to use the various features of the present invention singly or in any combination thereof. Therefore, this invention is not to be limited to only the specifically preferred embodiments depicted therein.