Patent Abstract:
A piezoelectric lighter incorporates with a safety arrangement which includes is movably mounted on a casing in a vertical movable manner wherein a guiding slot is provided on top of the casing to communicate with an exterior thereof. A locking member includes a locking arm disposed in the ignition cavity and an operation button slidably mounted on an ignition button. A resilient element is adapted for applying an urging pressure against the locking arm so as to normally retain the locking arm in a locking position. In which, in the locking position, the locking arm blocks up the ignition button from ignition. In order to ignite the piezoelectric lighter, a user&#39;s thumb must operate the operation button for moving the locking arm to an unlocking position. Then, the user is able to push the ignition button downwardly to ignite the piezoelectric lighter.

Full Description:
CROSS REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This is a divisional application of a non-provisional application, application No. 09/971,888, filed Oct. 4, 2001. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention relates to a piezoelectric lighter, and more particularly to a piezoelectric lighter with safety arrangement which normally locks up the ignition button of the piezoelectric lighter so as to prevent the piezoelectric lighter from ignited accidentally or by children.  
           [0004]    2. Description of Related Arts  
           [0005]    Commercially available piezoelectric lighters are dangerous if they are handled careless, especially by young children. The inadvertent ignition of such piezoelectric lighters may result in fires causing property damage and injury to people. Therefore, there is a need for a safety device that prevents inadvertent ignition of the disposable lighter, or makes the lighters difficult for children to operate.  
           [0006]    In response to the demands for the piezoelectric lighter which is improved in safety in such a manner that inadvertent and unintentional ignition by those who are unfamiliar with the proper use of the lighter can surely be prevented. An improved piezoelectric lighter having different types of safety devices have already been known. The piezoelectric lighter generally comprises a cap which covers on top of the lighter. In order to ignite the lighter, a user must open the cap and downwardly depress an ignition button. The cap can prevent the lighter from being ignited accidentally. However, it cannot stop children from the usage of the piezoelectric lighter.  
           [0007]    The piezoelectric lighter with another type of safety device have lock mechanism which prevents depression of the depressible operation button and must be released to allow the operation button to be depressed. However, the original structural design of piezoelectric lighter must be altered to incorporate with the lock mechanism. Therefore, in manufacturing lighters with such a safety device, it is required to rationalize the assembling steps, to improve assembling accuracy, thereby further enhancing the handling of the safety device, and to reduce the manufacturing cost.  
         SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION  
         [0008]    A main object of the present invention is to provide a piezoelectric lighter with safety arrangement which can prevent the lighter from being ignited accidentally or by children.  
           [0009]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a piezoelectric lighter with safety arrangement that normally locks up the downward movement of the ignition button of the piezoelectric lighter so as to prevent any unwanted ignition of the lighter.  
           [0010]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a piezoelectric lighter with safety arrangement, wherein in order to depress the ignition button so as to ignite the lighter, a locking member of the safety arrangement must be manipulated and remained in an unlocked position. Therefore, children under five years old are unable to complete the ignition operation.  
           [0011]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a piezoelectric lighter with safety arrangement, which not only normally retains in a locked condition but also automatically return to the locked condition after each ignition operation so as to prevent any unintentional ignition of the lighter.  
           [0012]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a piezoelectric lighter with safety arrangement, wherein the ignition of the ignition of the lighter of the present invention requires a simple single-action operation by an adult&#39;s thumb instead of the conventional double-action operation.  
           [0013]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a piezoelectric lighter with safety arrangement, which is adapted to be installed to all kinds of the lighter having the piezoelectric unit.  
           [0014]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a piezoelectric lighter with safety arrangement, which does not require to alter the original structural design of the piezoelectric lighter, so as to minimize the manufacturing cost of incorporating the safety device with every conventional piezoelectric lighter having a conventional piezoelectric unit.  
           [0015]    Accordingly, in order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a piezoelectric lighter, comprising:  
           [0016]    a casing receiving a liquefied gas storage and an ignition cavity provided therein;  
           [0017]    a gas emitting nozzle disposed in the casing and communicating with the liquefied gas storage for controlling a flow of gas;  
           [0018]    a piezoelectric unit for generating piezoelectricity comprising a piezoelectric body having a ceiling disposed in the casing, a movable operating part upwardly extended from the piezoelectric body, and an ignition tip extended to a position close to the gas emitting nozzle, wherein when the movable operating part is depressed downwardly with respect to the piezoelectric body, the ignition tip generates sparks to ignite the gas emitted from the gas emitting nozzle; and  
           [0019]    a safety arrangement, comprising:  
           [0020]    an ignition button movably mounted on the casing in a vertical movable manner wherein the ignition button is attached to a top end of the piezoelectric unit and arranged in such a manner that when the ignition button is pushed downwardly, the movable operating part of the piezoelectric unit is depressed to ignite the piezoelectric lighter, wherein the ignition button has a guiding slot provided on a top portion thereof to communicate with outside;  
           [0021]    a locking member comprising a locking arm disposed in the ignition cavity of the casing and arranged to bias against the ceiling of the piezoelectric body for blocking up the ignition button from being depressed downwardly so as to lock up the ignition button from ignition and an operation button slidably mounted on the ignition button and arranged to operate the locking arm to move from a normally locking position to an unlocking position; and  
           [0022]    a resilient element which is disposed in the ignition cavity for applying an urging pressure against the locking member so as to normally retain the locking member in the locking position, wherein at the locking position, the ignition button is locked for downward movement by the locking member so as to prevent ignition, and that in the unlocking position, the locking member is moved to release the blocking up of the ignition button with respect to the piezoelectric unit, so that the ignition button is capable of being depressed downwardly to ignite the piezoelectric lighter.  
           [0023]    In order to ignite the piezoelectric lighter, a pulling force must be intentionally applied to pull the operation button of the locking member rearwardly so as to move the bottom end of the locking arm away from the ceiling of the piezoelectric body of the piezoelectric unit to unlock the safety arrangement. At this unlocked position, a downward depression force can be applied on the ignition button to compress the piezoelectric unit for generating piezoelectricity and ignite the piezoelectric lighter.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0024]    [0024]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a piezoelectric lighter with safety arrangement according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the piezoelectric lighter with safety arrangement according to the above first preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 3A is a sectional view of the safety arrangement of the piezoelectric lighter in a locking position according to the above first preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 3B is a sectional view of the safety arrangement of the piezoelectric lighter in an unlocking position according to the above first preferred embodiment of the present invention  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 4 illustrates a first alternative mode of a resilient element of the safety arrangement of the piezoelectric lighter according to the above first preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a safety arrangement of the piezoelectric lighter in a locking position according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a safety arrangement of the piezoelectric lighter in an unlocking position according to the above second preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 7 illustrates an alternative mode of the resilient element of the safety arrangement of the piezoelectric lighter according to the above second preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0032]    Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a piezoelectric lighter incorporated with a safety arrangement  2  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. The piezoelectric lighter, such as a standard piezoelectric lighter, comprises a casing  10  receiving a liquefied storage  11  and an ignition cavity  12  provided therein, a gas emitting nozzle  13  disposed in the casing  10  and communicating with the liquefied gas storage  11  for controlling a flow of gas, a piezoelectric unit  14  disposed in the casing  10  for generating piezoelectricity, and a safety arrangement  2  which comprises an ignition button  21 , a locking member  22  for blocking up the ignition button  21  from being depressed downwardly, and a resilient element  23  disposed in the ignition cavity  12  for applying an urging pressure against the locking member  22  so as to retain the locking member  22  in an locking position.  
         [0033]    The piezoelectric unit  14  comprises a piezoelectric body  141  having a ceiling  1411  disposed in the casing  10 , a movable operating part  142  upwardly extended from the piezoelectric body  141 , and an ignition tip  143  extended to a position close to the gas emitting nozzle  13 , wherein when the movable operating part  142  is depressed downwardly with respect to the piezoelectric body  141 , the ignition tip  143  generates sparks to ignite the gas emitted from the gas emitting nozzle  13  at the same time.  
         [0034]    The ignition button  21  is movably mounted on the casing  10  in a vertical movable manner wherein the ignition button  21  is attached to a top end of the movable operating part  142  of the piezoelectric unit  14  and arranged in such a manner that when the ignition button  21  is pushed downwardly, the movable operating part  142  of the piezoelectric unit  14  is depressed to ignite the piezoelectric lighter. Moreover, the ignition button  21  has a guiding slot  211  provided on a top portion thereof to communicate with outside.  
         [0035]    The locking member  22  comprises a locking arm  221  disposed in the ignition cavity  12  of the casing  10  and arranged to bias against the ceiling  1411  of the piezoelectric body  141  for blocking up the ignition button  21  from being depressed downwardly so as to lock up the ignition button  21  from ignition and an operation button  222  slidably mounted on the ignition button  21  and is arranged to operate the locking arm  221  to move from a normally locking position to an unlocking position.  
         [0036]    The resilient element  23  is disposed in the ignition cavity  12  for applying an urging pressure against the locking member  22  so as to normally retain the locking member  22  in the locking position. Accordingly, in the locking position as shown in FIG. 3A, the ignition button  21  is locked for downward movement by the locking member  22  so as to prevent ignition. Moreover, in the unlocking position as shown in FIG. 3B, the locking member  22  is moved to release the blocking up of the ignition button  21  with respect to the piezoelectric unit  14 , so that the ignition button  21  is capable of being depressed downwardly to ignition the piezoelectric lighter.  
         [0037]    According to the preferred embodiment, the locking arm  221  having a predetermined length is downwardly and integrally extended from the operation button  222  through the guiding slot  211  until a bottom end portion of the locking arm  221  reaches the ceiling  1411  of the piezoelectric body  141  so that the ceiling  1411  of the piezoelectric body  141  of the piezoelectric unit  14  blocks up the downwardly movement of the ignition button  21  to prevent ignition.  
         [0038]    As shown in FIG. 3A, the locking arm  221  has an enlarged bottom portion to fit a shape of the piezoelectric unit  14 , so as to not only lock up the downward movement of the ignition button  21  but only block up the depression of the movable operating part  142  of the piezoelectric unit  14  for preventing the piezoelectric lighter from being ignited. The locking arm  221  has a blocking portion  2211  outwardly protruded therefrom to form a L-shape structure, wherein the bottom end of the blocking portion  2211  of the locking arm  221  is arranged to rest on the ceiling  1411  of the piezoelectric body  141  of the piezoelectric unit  14  for locking the ignition button  21  in a downward movable manner and a top edge of the blocking portion  2211  of the locking arm  221  is adapted to bias against an enlarged top portion of the movable operating part  142  of the piezoelectric unit, so as to block up the depression motion of the movable operating part  142  of the piezoelectric unit  14  to ignite the piezoelectric lighter. It is worth to mention that the locking arm  221  will be forced by the resilient element  23  towards to the piezoelectric unit  14  until the locking arm  221  bias against the movable operating part  142  of the piezoelectric unit  14 , as shown in FIG. 3A.  
         [0039]    The guiding slot  211 , which is provided on a top of the ignition button  21 , is an elongated through slot that has a length adapted for the locking arm  221  moving from the locking position to the unlocking position.  
         [0040]    In order to enhance the sliding movement of the operation button  222  on the ignition button  21 , the ignition button  21  has a pair of parallel guiding tracks  214  provided on top of the ignition button  21  and a pair of corresponding opposed L-shaped projections  215  downwardly formed on the operation button  222  and arranged to slidably mounted on the guiding tracks  214  respectively, so as to ensure a sliding movement of the operation button  222  on the ignition button  21 .  
         [0041]    The resilient element  23 , according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, is a compression spring, which is horizontally disposed in the ignition cavity  12  and is provided between the locking arm  221  and a rear wall  212  of the ignition button  21 . The resilient element  23  is biasing against the locking arm  221  and the rear wall  212  of the ignition button  21  by attaching a first end of resilient element  23  to the locking arm  221  and a second end of the resilient element  23  to the rear wall  212  of the ignition button  21 . Accordingly, the resilient element  23  will normally urge and retain the locking arm  221  in the locking position that the bottom end of the locking arm  221  is extended to rest on the ceiling  1411  of the piezoelectric body  141  of the piezoelectric unit  14 , so as to block up any downward movement of the locking member  22  for blocking up the ignition button  21  from being pushed downwardly, so as to lock up the ignition button  21  from ignition.  
         [0042]    Moreover, the safety arrangement  2  of the piezoelectric lighter further comprises a first holder  241  and a second holder  242  for holding the resilient element  23  in position so as to secure the two ends of the resilient element  23  to bias against the locking arm  221  and the rear wall  212  of the ignition button  21 . The first and second holders  241 ,  242  are two rod-like protrusions perpendicularly protruded from the locking arm  221  and the rear wall  212  of the ignition button  21  respectively wherein the first and second holders  241 ,  242  are adapted to insert into the two ends of the resilient element  23  respectively to securely hold the resilient element  23  between the locking arm  221  and the ignition button  21 .  
         [0043]    In order to ignite the piezoelectric lighter, a pulling force F 1  is intentionally applied to pull the operation button  222  of the locking member  22  rearwardly so as to move the bottom end of the locking arm  221  away from the ceiling  1411  of the piezoelectric body  141  of the piezoelectric unit  14  to unlock the safety arrangement  2 . At this unlocked position, a downward depression force F 2  can be applied on the ignition button  21  to compress the piezoelectric unit  14  for generating piezoelectricity and ignite the piezoelectric lighter.  
         [0044]    While releasing the downward depression force F 2  on the ignition button  21 , the compressed piezoelectric unit  14  will rebound to its original form which pushes the ignition button  21  back to its original position. Furthermore, the resilient element  23  will then rebound frontwardly and force the locking arm  221  back to its original lock-up position.  
         [0045]    [0045]FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative mode of the resilient element  23 A of the safety arrangement  2 A wherein the resilient element  23 A is horizontally disposed in the ignition cavity  12 A and is provided between the locking arm  221 A and a front wall  213 A of the ignition button  21 A. The resilient element  23 A is biasing against the locking arm  221 A and the front wall  213 A of the ignition button  21 A by attaching a first end of resilient element  23 A to the locking arm  221 A and a second end of the resilient element  23 A to the rear wall  212 A of the ignition button  21 A.  
         [0046]    As shown in FIG. 4, the safety arrangement  2 A of the piezoelectric lighter further comprises a rod-like protrusion  241 A protruded from the locking arm  221 A and a spring hole  242 A transversely formed on the front wall  213 A of the ignition button  21 A, wherein the first end of the resilient element  23 A is adapted to be inserted into the protrusion  241 A and the second end of the resilient element  23 A is adapted to insert into the spring hole  242 A, so as to secure the two ends of the resilient element  23 A to bias against the locking arm  221 A and the front wall  213 A of the ignition button  21 A. Accordingly, the resilient element  23 A will pull the locking arm  221 A towards the piezoelectric unit  14 A that the bottom end of blocking portion  2211 A the locking arm  221 A will rest on the ceiling  1411 A of the piezoelectric body  141 A of the piezoelectric unit  14 A to prevent ignition.  
         [0047]    Referring to FIG. 5, a second embodiment of the present invention illustrates an alternative mode of the safety arrangement  2  of the first embodiment, wherein the structure of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, such as the pair of parallel guiding tracks  214 ′ provided on top of the ignition button  21 ′ and a pair of corresponding opposed L-shaped projections  215 ′ downwardly formed on the operation button  222 ′ and arranged to slidably mounted on said guiding tracks  214 ′ respectively.  
         [0048]    According to the second embodiment, the piezoelectric unit  14 ′ further comprises a platform  1412 ′ rearwardly extended from the piezoelectric body  141 ′, so as to enlarge an area of the ceiling  1411 ′ of the piezoelectric body  141 ′, as shown in FIG. 5.  
         [0049]    The bottom end of the locking arm  221 ′ of the locking member  22 ′ is normally rest on the platform  1412 ′ for blocking up the downward movement of the ignition button  21 ′, so as to lock up the ignition of the piezoelectric lighter.  
         [0050]    The locking arm  221 ′ further comprises a guiding protrusion  2211 ′ downwardly and integrally extended from a rear portion of the bottom end of the locking arm  221 ′ and arranged to bias against a front side of the platform  1412 ′ for blocking up the frontward movement of the locking member  22 ′ towards to the piezoelectric unit  14 ′ so as to ensure the locking position of the locking arm  221 ′, as shown in FIG. 5. When the pulling force F 1  is applied on the operation button  222 ′, the bottom end of the locking arm  221 ′ is moved away from the platform  1412 ′ of the piezoelectric body  142 ′ of the piezoelectric unit  14 ′ to unlock the safety arrangement  2 ′, as shown in FIG. 6.  
         [0051]    According to the second embodiment, the resilient element  23 ′ is an elongated spring strip vertically disposed in the ignition cavity  12 ′ and provided between the locking arm  221 ′ and the rear wall  212 ′ of the ignition button  21 ′ for biasing against the locking arm  211 ′ and the ignition button  21 ′. Accordingly, the resilient element  23 ′ has a first end affixed to the locking member  22 ′ and a second end affixed to the rear wall  212 ′ of the ignition such that the resilient element  23 ′ will normally urge and retain the locking arm  221 ′ in the locking position.  
         [0052]    Accordingly, the displacement of the locking arm  221 ′ of the second embodiment can be reduced by the platform  1412 ′ extended from the ceiling  1411 ′ of the piezoelectric body  141 ′ of the piezoelectric unit  14 ′ such that the casing  10 ′ of the piezoelectric lighter can be constructed to have a slim shape, so as to reduce the overall size of the piezoelectric lighter. Thus, for ladies, they may easily operate the piezoelectric lighter by pulling the operation button  222 ′ rearwardly to maintain the unlocking position of the safety arrangement  2 ′ so that it is easier for them to press the unlocked ignition button  21 ′ to ignite the piezoelectric lighter.  
         [0053]    [0053]FIG. 7 illustrates an alternative mode of the resilient element  23 B of the safety arrangement  2 B of the second embodiment, wherein a U-shaped spring strip is capable of substituting the elongated spring strip as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 for biasing against the locking arm  221 B and the rear wall  212 B of the ignition button  21 B. The U-shaped spring strap of the resilient element  23 B is vertically disposed in the ignition cavity  12 B and provided between the locking arm  221  B and the rear wall  212 B of the ignition button  21 B in such a manner that the resilient element  23 B will normally urge and retain the locking arm  221 B in the locking position.  
         [0054]    It is obvious that the compression spring of the resilient element  23 ,  23 A of the first embodiment can be substituted by the elongated spring strap and the U-shaped spring strap of the resilient element  23 ′,  23 B for biasing against the locking arm and the ignition button to urge and retain the locking arm in the locking position. In other words, it should be appreciated that certain obvious modifications, variations, and substitutions may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention while the foregoing description and diagrams describe the preferred embodiments and their alternatives of the present invention, such as the positions of the resilient element and the types of the resilient element.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5