Patent Publication Number: US-6655953-B1

Title: Disposable lighter

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The present invention relates to a lighter, and more particularly to a disposable lighter, which comprises a gas casing and an outer shelter slidably mounted on a side of the gas casing wherein the outer shelter functions as an ignition actuator and arranged in such a manner that the outer shelter is slid in an axially movable manner with respect to the gas casing to ignite the disposable lighter. 
     2. Description of Related Arts 
     A conventional piezoelectric lighter generally comprises a lighter case receiving a fuel storage chamber and having an ignition cavity, an ignition system comprises a gas emitting nozzle communicated with the fuel storage chamber, a piezoelectric unit disposed in the ignition cavity and arranged for producing a spark toward the gas emitting nozzle, and an ignition button slidably mounted on top of the lighter case and communicated with the gas emitting nozzle via a gas lever. 
     Hence, when the ignition button is depressed downwardly, the gas lever is arranged to lift up the gas emitting nozzle for releasing gas fuel and, at the same time, a movable operating part of the piezoelectric unit is depressed downwardly to produce the spark at the ignition tip of the gas emitting nozzle such that the gas fuel ejecting from the gas emitting nozzle is then ignited by the spark. 
     According to the construction of the conventional piezoelectric lighter, the ignition button is provided on a top side of the lighter case adjacent to the ignition tip of the gas emitting nozzle such that a user must use his or her thumb to depress the ignition button downwardly to ignite the piezoelectric lighter. One of the reasons for such structure is that the user is able to conveniently ignite the piezoelectric lighter. 
     However, such convenient structure also creates some repercussions. The conventional piezoelectric lighter may cause undesirable ignitions, especially by children. 
     As a matter of facts, the appearances and the operation procedures of most conventional piezoelectric lighters are similar. Driven by curiosity, a child may easily recognize that there is a lighter in a certain place and he or she can easily reach and ignite it for fun. Although safety locks are incorporated with such piezoelectric lighters to lock up the downward movement of the ignition button, most of the safety locks are simple enough that the children can easily figure out the way to unlock the ignition button. 
     Moreover, since the ignition button is positioned adjacent to the ignition tip of the gas emitting nozzle, the flame produced at the ignition tip of the gas emitting nozzle may bum the user&#39;s thumb, especially when the flame is adjusted to have a larger flame size. For example, when the user ignites the piezoelectric lighter to light up a cigar that takes a relative longer time, the flame will heat up the surrounding area of the ignition tip of the gas emitting nozzle. Therefore, the flame may burn a portion of the ignition button closed to the ignition tip or even hurt the user&#39;s thumb. 
     In addition, the size of the lighter case must be large enough to store the gas therein and receive the piezoelectric unit. In order to provide a compact size of the piezoelectric lighter, the size of the fuel storage chamber in the lighter case must be minimized to create the ignition cavity for the piezoelectric unit disposed therein. Therefore, most of the piezoelectric lighter must be disposed when the gas fuel is used up rather than the piezoelectric unit is terminated. 
     Besides, since the ignition button is conventionally constructed on the top side of the lighter case, the ignition button will limit the appearance of the piezoelectric lighter. Such press down type of the piezoelectric lighter also prevents the industry designer to create any ornament design without the ignition button equipped thereon. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     A main object of the present invention is to provide a disposable lighter which comprises a gas casing and an outer shelter slidably mounted on a side of the gas casing wherein the outer shelter functions as an ignition actuator and arranged in such a manner that the outer shelter is slid in an axially movable manner with respect to the gas casing to ignite the disposable lighter. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable lighter, wherein no ignition button is mounted on the gas casing so that the children may not find out how to operate the disposable lighter so as to prevent the disposable lighter from being ignited by the children. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable lighter, wherein the piezoelectric unit is mounted between the gas casing and the outer shelter such that the size of the gas chamber in the gas casing can be maximized to prolong the service life of the present invention. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable lighter, wherein an adult must use his or her fingers to apply the axial sliding force on the outer shelter, such that the adult&#39;s fingers are positioned below the ignition tip of the gas emitting nozzle so as to prevent the adult&#39;s fingers getting burnt by the flame. In other words, the adult&#39;s fingers are positioned far away from the flame for safety purpose. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable lighter, wherein the disposable lighter can be designed and crafted to a variety of shapes and models without affecting the ignition operation of the disposable lighter, so as to enhance the aesthetic appearance of the disposable lighter of the present invention. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable lighter, wherein the ignition operation of the disposable lighter merely requires a simple single-action operation by the adult instead of the conventional double-action operation. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable lighter, which comprises a compression resistance element provided between the outer shelter and the gas casing for providing an additional sliding resistance force against the outer shelter such that the compression resistance element forms as a physical barrier for preventing the disposable lighter of the prevent invention from being ignited accidentally or by children. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a disposable lighter, wherein no expensive or complicated mechanism is required to employ in the disposable lighter, so as to minimize the manufacturing and marketing cost of the disposable lighter of the present invention. 
     Accordingly, in order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a disposable lighter, comprising: 
     a gas casing receiving a fuel storage; 
     a gas emitting nozzle having an ignition tip appearing at a ceiling of the gas casing and communicating with the fuel storage for controlling a flow of gas; 
     a piezoelectric unit comprising a main piezoelectric body, a movable operating part slidably extended therefrom, and a spark generating tip extended to a position close to the ignition tip of the gas emitting nozzle, wherein when the movable operating part is depressed with respect to the main piezoelectric body, the spark generating tip generates sparks to ignite the gas emitted from the ignition tip of the gas emitting nozzle; 
     an outer shelter slidably mounted on a sidewall of the gas casing and defining a receiving cavity between the outer shelter and the gas casing wherein the piezoelectric unit is received in the receiving cavity; and 
     an actuating arm extended from an inner side of the outer shelter to a top end of the piezoelectric unit in such a manner that when the outer shelter is axially slid with respect to the gas casing, the actuating arm is driven to compress the piezoelectric unit so as to ignite the disposable lighter. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a disposable lighter according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2A is a sectional view of the disposable lighter according to the above first preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2B is a sectional view of the disposable lighter according to the above first preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the disposable lighter being ignited. 
     FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the disposable lighter according to the above first preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative mode of a gas casing of the disposable lighter according to the above first preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a disposable lighter according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the disposable lighter according to the above second preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a disposable lighter according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a disposable lighter according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, wherein the disposable lighter comprises a gas casing  10  receiving a fuel storage  11 , a gas emitting nozzle  20  having an ignition tip  21  appearing at a ceiling of the gas casing  10  and communicating with the fuel storage  11  for controlling a flow of gas. 
     The disposable lighter further comprises a piezoelectric unit  30 , an outer shelter  40  and an actuating arm  50 . 
     The piezoelectric unit  30  comprises a main piezoelectric body  31 , a movable operating part  32  slidably extended therefrom, and a spark generating tip  33  extended to a position close to the ignition tip  21  of the gas emitting nozzle  20 , wherein when the movable operating part  32  is depressed with respect to the main piezoelectric body  31 , the spark generating tip  33  generates sparks to ignite the gas emitted from the ignition tip  21  of the gas emitting nozzle  20 . 
     The outer shelter  40  is slidably mounted on a sidewall of the gas casing  10  in an axially movable manner and defines a receiving cavity  41  between the outer shelter  40  and the gas casing  10  wherein the piezoelectric unit  30  is received in the receiving cavity  41 . 
     The actuating arm  50  is extended from an inner side of the outer shelter  40  to a top end of the piezoelectric unit  30  in such a manner that when the outer shelter  40  is axially slid with respect to the gas casing  10 , the actuating arm  50  is driven to compress the piezoelectric unit  30  so as to ignite the disposable lighter. 
     As shown in FIG. 2A, the gas emitting nozzle  20  is communicated with the fuel storage  11  via a gas releasable valve  22  for controlling the flow of gas, wherein the gas releasable valve  22  is adapted to be lifted up via a gas lever  23  for releasing the gas in the fuel storage cavity  11  through the ignition tip  21  of the gas emitting nozzle  20 . 
     The gas lever  23  has an engaging end  231  engaging with the gas releasable valve  22  and an actuating end  232  arranged in such a manner that when the actuating end  232  of the gas lever  23  is depressed downwardly, the engaging end  231  of the gas lever  23  pivotally lifts up the gas releasable valve  22  to release the gas from the fuel storage  11 . 
     As shown in FIG. 1, the gas emitting nozzle  20  is sealedly mounted on the gas casing  10  to form a one-piece integral body. Since the piezoelectric unit  30  is positioned outside of the gas casing  10  instead of the conventional lighter that the piezoelectric unit is disposed inside the gas casing, the size of the fuel storage  11  can be maximized to store the gas fuel therein. 
     The gas casing  10  further has a receiving chamber  12  formed on the sidewall of the gas casing  10  and a guiding slot  13  which is indented on the sidewall of the gas casing and extended from the receiving chamber  12  to the ceiling of the gas casing  10  wherein the piezoelectric unit  30  is disposed in the receiving chamber  12  and the spark generating tip  33  is guided towards extend to the ignition tip  21  of the gas emitting nozzle  20  through the guiding slot  13 . 
     According to the first embodiment, the outer shelter  40  is shaped and sized as a sidewall shelter to fully cover the sidewall of the gas casing  10  in a slidably movable manner so as to enclose the receiving chamber  12  of the gas casing  10  and retain the piezoelectric unit  30  in position, wherein the outer shelter  40  is adapted to be axially and downwardly slid on the sidewall of the gas casing  10 . 
     The actuating arm  50  is supported in the receiving cavity  41  wherein the actuating arm  50  is extended from the inner side of the outer shelter  40  to the top end of the main piezoelectric body  31  of the piezoelectric unit  30  in such a manner that when the outer shelter  40  is downwardly slid on the gas casing  10 , the actuating arm  50  is driven downwardly to compress the piezoelectric unit  30  so as to ignite the disposable lighter, as shown in FIG.  2 B. 
     The disposable lighter of the present invention further comprises a depressible arm  51  extended from the inner side of the outer shelter  40  to engage with the actuating end  232  of the gas lever  23  in such a manner that when the outer shelter  40  is downwardly slid on the gas casing  10  to compress the piezoelectric unit, the depressible arm  51  is driven to depress the actuating end  232  of the gas lever  23 , so as to lift up the gas releasable valve  22  for releasing the gas from the fuel storage  11 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the disposable lighter further, comprises an ignition guiding arrangement  60  which comprises a first guider  61  provided on an outer side of the outer shelter  40  and a second guider  62  provide on an upper portion of an opposed sidewall of the gas casing  10  wherein the first and second guiders  61 ,  62  provide finger grips for frictionally contacting the user&#39;s thumb and fingers on the gas casing  10  and the outer shelter  40  respectively. 
     Accordingly, the first guider  61  comprises a plurality of gripping ribs  611  integrally protruded from the outer side of the outer shelter  40  and the second guider  62  comprises a plurality of projections  621  protruded from the opposed sidewall of the gas casing  10  in such a manner that the user is able to securely hold the disposable lighter and slide the outer shelter  40  on the gas casing  10  by pressing the user&#39;s thumb on the projections  621  of the second guider  62  and the user&#39;s fingers on the gripping ribs  611  of the first guider  61 . In other words, the ignition guiding arrangement  60  enhance the friction between the disposable lighter and the user&#39;s hand so that the user can easily slide down the outer shelter  40  with respect to the gas casing  10 . 
     Alternatively, the first guider  61 A comprises a plurality of guiding grooves  611 A indented on the outer side of the outer shelter  40  and the second guider  62 A is embodied as a guiding edge  621 A integrally protruded from the opposed sidewall of the gas casing  10 A such that the user&#39;s thumb is adapted to press at the guiding edge  621 A of the second guider  62 A and the user&#39;s fingers are pressed on the guiding grooves  611  A of the first guider  61 A on the outer shelter  40  so as to frictionally slide the outer shelter  40  on the gas casing  10 A by the user&#39;s hand, as shown in FIG.  4 . 
     It is worth mentioning that the user must use his or her thumb and fingers to ignite the disposable lighter. Therefore, only the adult user is able to ignite the disposable lighter since he or she has a bigger hand that the user&#39;s thumb presses on the gas casing  10  and the user&#39;s fingers press on the outer shelter  40 . However, a young child has a smaller hand size that is unable to hold the disposable lighter to slide the outer shelter  40  on the gas casing  10  for ignition. In other words, the outer shelter  40  functions as a physical barrier to prevent the disposable lighter from being ignited. 
     For safety purpose, the disposable lighter further comprises a pressure absorbing arrangement  70  which comprises a compression resistance element  71  supported in the receiving cavity  41  for providing a sliding resistance against the outer shelter  40  and a pusher arm  72  extended from the inner side of the outer shelter  40  to a top end of the compression resistance element  71  wherein the sliding resistance is an additional upward force added to the outer shelter  40  in addition to that provided by the piezoelectric unit  30 , as shown in FIG.  3 . In other words, the compression resistance element  71  must be compressed by the pusher arm  72  when the outer shelter  40  is slid on the gas casing  10  to ignite the disposable lighter. Therefore, the pressure absorbing arrangement  70  can stop the young children from the usage of the disposable lighter by limitation of their physical capability. 
     Accordingly, the compression resistance element  71  is a cylindrical rubber post vertically held in the receiving chamber  12  of the gas casing  10 . The pressure absorbing arrangement  70  further comprises means  73  for securely holding the compression resistance element  71  in the receiving cavity  41  wherein the holding means  73  has an indention  731  provided on a bottom wall of the receiving chamber  12  in such a manner that a bottom end of the compression resistance element  71  is securely received in the indention  731  so as to vertically support the compression resistance element  71  in the receiving cavity  41 , as shown in FIG.  3 . 
     Moreover, the disposable lighter further comprises a safety locking arrangement  80  for locking a sliding movement of the outer shelter  40  on the gas casing  10 , wherein the safety locking arrangement  80  has a locking groove  81  transversely formed on the inner side of the outer shelter  40  and comprises a locking member  81  having a control end rotatably mounted to the gas casing  10  and a locking end adapted to move into the locking groove  81  so as to lock up the outer shelter  40  on the gas casing  10 . In other words, when the control end of the locking member  81  is rotated to drive the locking end of the locking member  81  into the locking groove  81 , the outer shelter  40  is locked up with respect to the gas casing  10 , so as to prevent the disposable lighter from being ignited accidentally and unintentionally. 
     Alternatively, the safety locking arrangement  80 A has a locking groove  81 A transversely provided on the sidewall of the gas casing  10 A and a locking hole  81 A provided on the outer shelter  40 A and aligned with the locking groove  81 A, wherein the safety locking arrangement  80 A further comprises a locking member  83 A slidably received in the locking groove  81 A, a resilient element  84 A disposed in the locking groove  81 A for applying an urging force against the locking member  83 A to push the locking member  83 A towards the locking hole  82 A to lock up the outer shelter  40 A on the gas casing  10 A, and a pusher button  85 A slidably mounted on the outer shelter  40 A through the locking hole  82 A and arranged in such a manner that when the pusher button  85 A pushes the locking member  84 A into the locking groove  81 A, the locking member  84 A is moved out of the locking hole  82 A to release a blocking up of the outer shelter  40 A with respect to the gas casing  10 A, so that the outer shelter  40 A is capable of axially sliding on the gas casing  10 A, as shown in FIG.  4 . 
     In order to ignite the disposable lighter, the user is preferred to use his or her thumb to press on the gas casing  10  at the second guider  62  and his or her fingers to press on the outer shelter  61  at the first guider  61  such that by applying a downward sliding force on the outer shelter  40 , the outer shelter  40  is axially slid on the gas casing  10  to compress the piezoelectric unit  30  by the actuating arm  50  so as to ignite the disposable lighter. 
     By releasing the downward sliding force on the outer shelter  40 , the compressed piezoelectric unit  30  is rebounded to its original form so as to push the outer shelter  40  upwardly via the actuating arm  50  back to the original position. Since the ignition operation of the disposable lighter requires the user to hold the outer shelter  40  and the gas casing  10 , the flame at the ignition tip  21  of the gas emitting nozzle  20  is positioned above the user&#39;s hand. Therefore, the user&#39;s hand will not be burnt by the flame even the disposable lighter is remained in its ignition position for a period of time. 
     As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a disposable lighter of a second embodiment illustrates an alternative mode of the first embodiment of the present invention, wherein the gas casing  10 ′ has a receiving chamber  12 ′ provided on a lower portion of the sidewall of the gas casing  10 ′ and a through slot  14 ′ extended from the receiving chamber  12 ′ to a ceiling of the gas casing  10 ′. 
     According to the second embodiment, the piezoelectric unit  30 ′ is disposed in the receiving chamber  12 ′ within the receiving cavity  41 ′ wherein the spark generating tip  33 ′ is extended from the piezoelectric unit  30 ′ to a position close to the ignition tip  21 ′ of the gas emitting nozzle  20 ′ through the through slot  14 ′. 
     The outer shelter  40 ′ is constructed as a tubular sleeve having a shape and size encirclingly mounted on a lower portion of the sidewall of the gas casing  10 ′ in an axially and slidably movable manner, so as to enclose the receiving chamber  12 ′ of the gas casing  10 ′. The actuating arm  50 ′ is extended from the inner side of the outer shelter  40 ′ to the top end of the piezoelectric unit  30 ′ in such a manner that when the outer shelter  40 ′ is downwardly and axially slid on the gas casing  10 ′, the actuating arm  50 ′ is driven to compress the piezoelectric unit  30 ′ so as to ignite the disposable lighter. 
     The gas emitting nozzle  20 ′ further comprises a driven arm  24 ′ having a pulling end engaged with the actuating end  232 ′ of the gas lever  23 ′ and a driven end extended through the through slot  14 ′ to engage with the actuating arm  50 ′ in such a manner that when the outer shelter  40 ′ is axially slid on the gas casing  10 ′, the actuating arm  50 ′ is driven downwardly to lift up the engaging end  231 ′ of the gas lever  23 ′ for releasing the gas from the fuel storage  11 ′. 
     Moreover, ignition guiding arrangement  60 ′, the pressure absorbing arrangement  70 ′, and the safety locking arrangement  80 ′ according to the first embodiment is adapted to incorporate in the disposable lighter of the second embodiment to provide the safety feature of the present invention, as shown in FIG.  5 . 
     As shown in FIG. 7, a disposable lighter of a third embodiment illustrates an alternative mode of the first and second embodiments, wherein the disposable lighter of the third embodiment basically is a combination of the first and second embodiments. 
     The gas casing  10 ″ has a receiving chamber  12 ″ provided on a lower portion of the sidewall of the gas casing  10 ″ and a through slot  14 ″ extended from the receiving chamber  12 ″ to a ceiling of the gas casing  10 ″. 
     The piezoelectric unit  30 ″ is disposed in the receiving chamber  12 ″ within the receiving cavity  41 ″ wherein the spark generating tip  33 ″ is extended from the piezoelectric unit  30 ″ through the through slot  14 ″ to a position close to the ignition tip  21 ″ of the gas emitting nozzle  20 ″. 
     The outer shelter  40 ″ is shaped and sized to partially cover the sidewall of the gas casing  10 ″ in a slidably movable manner so as to enclose the receiving chamber  12 ″, wherein the outer shelter  40 ″ is adapted to be axially and downwardly slid on the sidewall of the gas casing  10 ″. The actuating arm  50 ″ is extended from the inner side of the outer shelter  40 ″ to a top end of the piezoelectric unit  30 ″ in such a manner that when the outer shelter  40 ″ is axially slid on the gas casing  10 ″, the actuating arm  50 ″ is driven downwardly to compress the piezoelectric unit  30 ″ so as to ignite the disposable lighter. 
     The gas emitting nozzle  20 ″ further comprises a driven arm  24 ″ having a pulling end engaged with the actuating end  232 ″ of the gas lever  23 ″ and a driven end extended through the through slot  14 ″ to engage with the actuating arm  50 ″ in such a manner that when the outer shelter  40 ″ is axially slid on the gas casing  10 ″, the actuating arm  50 ″ is driven downwardly to lift up the engaging end  231 ″ of the gas lever  23 ″ for releasing the gas from the fuel storage  11 ″. 
     Without violating the very spirit of present invention, some variations based on the above mentioned embodiments should be considered as equivalence. For example, the disposable lighter can be shaped into any aesthetic appearance wherein the ignition operation thereof requires the outer shelter  40  axially slid on the gas casing  10  to compress the piezoelectric unit  30  and move the gas lever  23  for releasing gas. Moreover, the disposable lighter of the present invention can stop the young children from the usage of the disposable lighter by the limitation of their physical capability and prevent the disposable lighter from being ignited accidentally and unintentionally.