Patent Publication Number: US-5020989-A

Title: Pistol lighter

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a lighter, more particularly to a pistol lighter incorporating a light and sound device. 
     Cigarette lighters are known in the art. One popular type of lighter, as shown in FIG. 1, uses a flint to strike a spark which ignites escaping flammable gas. Another popular lighter type is the pistol lighter A shown in FIG. 2. The pistol lighter A has a movable trigger T which is pulled to release gas from a gas cylinder (not shown) disposed inside the barrel B. The pistol lighter A has an electrode (not shown) which causes the ignition of the released gas. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The objective of the present invention is to provide an improved pistol lighter which incorporates a light and sound device. 
     The preferred embodiment of a pistol lighter according to the present invention comprises a hollow pistol casing having a barrel portion and a perforated butt portion, a gas cylinder disposed inside the barrel portion, a movable trigger to release gas from the gas cylinder, a spark generator having a biased push button abutting the trigger and an electrode to ignite the gas released from the gas cylinder, a plurality of light emitting diodes disposed on the barrel portion, a speaker fixed inside the hollow pistol casing adjacent to the butt portion, a circuit means similarly disposed inside the hollow casing to actuate the light emitting diodes and the speaker, cell means to supply power to the circuit means, the speaker and the light emitting diodes, and a contact switch to activate the circuit means. The trigger has a contact member that actuates the contact switch whenever the trigger is pulled. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Other features and advantages of this invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is an illustration of a conventional lighter using a flint to strike a fire; 
     FIG. 2 is an illustration of a conventional pistol lighter; 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the preferred embodiment of a pistol lighter according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 3A is a sectional view illustrating the actuation of a contact switch by a contact member of a trigger of the pistol lighter according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic circuit diagram of a light and sound device of the preferred embodiment; and FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the preferred embodiment illustrating assembly. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIG. 3, the preferred embodiment of a pistol lighter according to the present invention is shown to comprise a lighter casing 1, a gas cylinder 2, a light and sound device 3, a trigger 4, a spark generator 5, and cell means 6. 
     The lighter casing 1 comprises a first pistol casing half 11 and a second pistol casing half 12. The first pistol casing half 11 includes a barrel recess 111 which confines a receiving space 112 for the gas cylinder 2. A second recess 13 is formed above the barrel recess 111 to receive a light unit 31 of the light and sound device 3. The cell means 6 is disposed between the barrel recess 111 and a trigger guard 113 of the first pistol casing half 11. A main circuit board 32 of the light and sound device 3 is mounted adjacent to the cell means 6 on the first pistol casing half 11. The trigger 4 extends out of the first pistol casing half 11 and is disposed adjacent to the trigger guard 113. The first pistol casing half 11 further includes a butt portion 14 having a plurality of sound holes 15. The second pistol casing half 12 has a shape corresponding to that of the first pistol casing 11. When assembled, the first and second casing halves 11 and 12 form an imitation pistol. 
     The gas cylinder 2 is disposed in the receiving space 112 of the first pistol casing half 11. The gas cylinder 2 has a gas flow rate regulating screw 21 on a front end. The gas cylinder 2 further has a valve 22 with a gas flow hole 23 on the front end. 
     The light unit 31 of the light and sound device 3 includes a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) 311 arranged on a circuit board mounted at the second recess 13 of the first pistol casing half 11. Referring to FIG. 4, the light and sound device 3 further includes an integrated circuit means IC1, a contact switch 321, a transistor amplifier Q1, a resistor R1, and a speaker 322. The integrated circuit means IC1, the transistor amplifier Q1, and the resistor R1 are electrically mounted on the main circuit board 32. The contact switch 321 electrically connects a terminal of the integrated circuit means IC1 to a ground point when actuated. The contact switch 321 is actuated whenever the trigger 4 is pulled. When activated, the integrated circuit means IC1 controls the light output of the LEDs 311 and the sound output of the speaker 322. The blinking light output of the LEDs 311 and the sound output of the speaker 322 are set beforehand by varying the setting of the resistor R1 according to the construction of the integrated circuit means IC1. The sound output of the speaker 322 can be set to simulate a variety of sounds such as gun shots, etc. The cell means 6 supplies the required electric power to the integrated circuit means IC1, the LEDs 311 and to the speaker 322. 
     The construction of the trigger 4 is substantially similar to the trigger of a conventional pistol lighter. The valve 22 of the gas cylinder 2 engages with a notch 41 formed on a top end of the trigger 4. The trigger 4 has a rearwardly projecting contact member 42 to actuate the contact switch 321. Referring to FIG. 3A, when the trigger 4 is pulled, the contact member 42 pushes a folded conducting strip C to contact a conducting wire D. This illustrates the actuation of the contact switch 321. Referring once more to FIG. 3, the trigger 4 further has a pivot pin 43 so that it may rotatably engage the lighter casing 1. 
     The spark generator 5 includes a rectangular hollow casing 50, a push button 52, a biasing spring 51 to urge the push button 52 away from the hollow casing 50, and an electrode 53. The electrode 53 extends adjacent to the gas flow hole 23 of the gas cylinder 2. The push button 52 abuts the trigger 4. When the trigger 4 is pulled, it rotates about the pivot pin 43 to force the push button 52 towards the hollow casing 50, thus compressing the biasing spring 51 and causing the electrode 53 to produce a spark. The valve 22 of the gas cylinder 2 is simultaneously pulled by the rotation of the trigger 4, thus allowing gas to escape through the gas flow hole 23. The spark produced by the electrode 53 ignites the released gas. This defines the operation of the pistol lighter according to the present invention. Once the trigger 4 is released, the biasing spring 51 expands to force the trigger 4 back to its former position. 
     Referring to FIG. 5, the speaker 322 is disposed adjacent to the sound holes 15 of the lighter casing 1 to make the sound output of the speaker 322 audible. 
     A possible modification of the present invention is to vary the construction of the trigger to allow non-simultaneous actuation of the light and sound device and the ignition of the released gas, i.e., the light and sound device is actuated before the released gas is ignited. 
     While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment, but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.