Source: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/43582837/Safety-Lighter---Patent-5197870
Timestamp: 2014-07-12 02:42:02
Document Index: 606028901

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 121', 'art 221', 'art 221', 'art 211', 'art 221', 'art 721', 'art 721', 'art 121']

Safety Lighter - Patent 5197870
United States Patent: 5197870
A gas lighter which operates by depressing an operating lever to lift a gas
pipe thereby opening a gas release valve while a spark is generated by
simultaneous rotation of a striker wheel in engagement with a flint has a
safety mechanism for ensuring that the valve is closed when the operating
lever is released. The safety mechanism includes a spring element which
urges the operating lever out of engagement with the gas pipe in the
Yang; James C. H. (Gardena, CA)
07/827,720
431/153,254,276,277
1.  In a gas lighter comprising a lighter body, a gas pipe mounted on the body for up and down movement to open and close a gas valve in the lighter body, mounting means on the
body for an operating lever, an operating lever pivotally mounted on the mounting means, the lever having a pressure plate at one end and a groove at the opposite end for engaging a neck portion of the gas pipe and lifting the gas pipe to open the gas
valve when the pressure plate is depressed, and a striker wheel and flint for creating a spark to ignite gas issuing from the gas pipe when the striker wheel is rotated and the pressure plate is depressed, the improvement wherein the operating lever is
mounted on the mounting means for movement between first and second positions wherein said groove is respectively out of engagement with and in engagement with said neck portion of the gas pipe, and the lighter includes resilient means urging the lever
to said first position whereby to operate the lighter, the lever must be moved to the second position causing the groove to engage the gas pipe and the pressure plate must be depressed to raise the gas pipe, and whereby when the lever is released the
resilient means returns the lever to the first position disengaging the groove from the neck portion of the gas pipe.
2.  The improvement defined in claim 1, wherein the mounting means comprises respective supports on opposite sides of the operating lever, an aperture in each support having a forward portion and a back portion, and a pin on each side of the
lever fitting in a respective one of said apertures, the pins in the first position of the lever being located in the back portions of the respective apertures and being moved to the forward portions of the respective apertures when the lever is moved to
3.  The improvement defined in claim 2, wherein the forward portion of each aperture has an upper leg and a lower leg, wherein the respective pin moves from the back portion of the aperture into the upper leg when the lever is moved from the
first position to the second position, and from the upper leg into the lower leg when the pressure plate is depressed to lift the gas pipe.
4.  The improvement defined in claim 2, wherein the resilient means comprises a spring connected between an undersurface of the pressure plate and the lighter body.
5.  The improvement defined in claim 4 wherein the spring is a leaf spring.
6.  The improvement defined in claim 4, wherein the spring is a coil spring.
7.  The improvement defined in claim 1, wherein the lighter body includes an upwardly projecting flint holder, the operating lever has legs bounding a central opening in the lever and straddling the flint holder, the mounting means includes
uprights on the lighter body on opposite sides of the flint holder and protuberances on undersurfaces of the respective legs of the lever for movement over said uprights, further wherein the resilient means comprises a spring connected between the flint
holder and a part of the lever under said pressure plate and wherein in the first position of the lever said protuberances engage against rearward surfaces of said uprights and in the second position of the lever said protuberances move over the uprights
and engage against forward surfaces of the uprights compressing the spring.
8.  The improvement defined in claim 7 wherein said rearward surfaces of the uprights are curved and said forward surfaces of the uprights are sharp-edged.  Description
A traditional gas-fuel lighter is shown in FIG. 1.  The lighter has an actuator lever 11 with a groove 111 at its forward end engaging the neck part 121 of gas pipe 12.  When the plate 112 of lever 11 is pushed down, pins 113 on the lever rotate
in apertures 171, 181 on a pair of supports 17, 18 on the top of the lighter body 16.  This operation will make the groove 111 move upwards and lift the gas pipe 12 up so that a valve which is located beneath the gas pipe 12 will also be opened and spray
gas out from the lighter.  Meanwhile, a spark will be generated through mutual friction of a striker wheel 13 and a flint 15 lifted by a spring 14 to ignite the gas and provide a flame.  The user just rotates the striker wheel 13 with his or her thumb
and at the same time presses the plate 112 down to create and maintain the flame.  This simplified lighter&#39;s price is commonly about 25 cents in Taiwan and 50 cents in the United States.  Because of its advantages of being cheap and convenient, the
product has prevailed worldwide despite its tendency to stick in a open condition and thereby present a danger of conflagration particularly if operated by children.
The invention provides a safety lighter which prevents unexpected conflagrations effectively by means which urges the operating lever out of engagement with the gas pipe when the lever is released ensuring that the gas pipe can drop and thereby
close the gas valve.
The invention is developed for safety purposes and includes an elastic spring element fitted between the lighter body and the operating lever to urge the lever out of engagement with the gas pipe when it is released.  When the lighter is
operated, forward and downward pressure on the operating lever causes the groove in the front of the lever to engage and lift the gas pipe against the pressure of the spring element.
In one embodiment, the operating lever has mounting pins pivotally located in three-legged apertures formed in supports on the light body.  The spring element urges the pins into the rearmost legs of the apertures to disengage the gas pipe.
Downward and forward pressure on the lever when the lighter is operated moves the pins into the forward legs, causing the legs to engage the gas pipe.
FIG. 1.  is an exploded view of a traditional gas fuel lighter;
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the first embodiment of lighter which has gas pipe 22, a flame regulator 22a, a cover 22b, a striker 23, a spring 24, a flint 25 and a lighter body 26 which are all substantially conventional.  The primary
differences are that elastic leaf spring element 29 is fitted between the operating lever 21 and the lighter body.  Also, the supports 27, 28 which are located separately at opposite sides on top of the lighter are drilled with corresponding T-shaped
apertures 271, 281.  The apertures 271, 281 thus have respective legs 271a, 271b, 271c and 281a, 281b, 281c.  The operating lever has pins 213 which fit in the respective apertures 271, 281.  As shown in FIG. 3, in the released position of the operating
lever 21, pressure of leaf spring 29 causes the two pins 213 of lever 21 to engage in the rear legs 271a, 281a of apertures 271, 281.  The groove 211 in the forward part of lever 21 is disengaged from the neck part 221 of gas pipe 22.  When operating the
safety lighter as shown in FIG. 4, the thumb should first push the plate 212 of lever 21 to make the lever groove 211 engage with the gas pipe 22.  With this motion, the two pins 213 of lever 21 are moved out from the rear legs 271a, 281a of apertures
271, 281 and into the upper legs 271b, 281b.  Thus, the groove 211 at forward part of lever 21 will be engaged with the neck part 221 of gas pipe 22.  As shown in FIG. 5, the thumb should then push downwards on the plate 212 while at the same time
rotating striker wheel 23 to rub the flint 25 which is lifted by spring 24, so as to produce a spark.  The two pins 213 of lever 21 will move to the bottom legs 271c, 281c from upper legs 271b, 281b.  With this action, the groove 211 will lift the gas
pipe 22 up and this operation will release gas from the valve which is located beneath the gas pipe for creating a flame by means of spark generated through mutual friction of striker wheel 23 and flint 25 and retain the flame while lever 21 is
Release spring 29 which is located under the bottom part of plate 212 will generate a rearward and upward rebound force on lever 21 when the lever is released.  This causes the two pins 213 to move from the bottom legs 271c, 281c of apertures
271, 281 in an upward and rearward direction back into the rear legs 271a, 281a.  The groove 211 will be disengaged and removed away from the neck part 211 of gas pipe 22.
The safety lighter thus features a mechanism for precisely snapping the groove 211 away from nect part 221 of gas pipe 22 and minimize sticking of the lighter in the flaming state when the lever is released.  Also, the lighter needs a two stage
manipulation to create a flame which makes it more difficult to be operated by children.
FIGS. 7 to 10 show a third embodiment of the invention wherein a horizontal leaf spring 79 is fitted between operating lever 71 and the back edge of the flint holder 761 at the top of the lighter body 76.  In addition to this, uprights 762, 763
are provided on opposite sides of the flint holder.  As shown in FIG. 7-1, the joins between the forward parts and upper parts of the uprights 762, 763 should form right angles 762a, 763a.  The joins between the rear parts and upper parts of the uprights
should form curves 762b, 763b.  As shown in FIG. 7-2 protuberances 713a, 714a are provided on the bottom surfaces of the respective arms 713, 714 of lever 71.
As shown in FIG. 8, in the release position of the safety lighter, due to the resilience of leaf spring 79, the two protuberances 713a, 714a of lever 71 rests against the outside edges of curves 762b, 763b of the uprights and the lever 71 is
disengaged from gas pipe 72.
As shown in FIG. 9, a user should firstly use his thumb to push the lever 21 towrd the gas pipe 72.  This operation will cause the two protuberances 713a, 714a to slide over the upper surfaces of the uprights and then snap against the outside
edges of the right angles 762a, 763a.  Consequently, the groove 711 at the forward end of the lever 71 will be engaged with the neck part 721 of gas pipe 72.  When the user turns the striker wheel 73 to rub the flint 75 which is lifted by spring 74 for
generating a spark, the thumb simultaneously pushed downward on the plate 712 of lever 71.  As shown in FIG. 10, the two protuberances 713a, 714a remain against the outside right angles edges 762a, 763a of the uprights while the operating lever is
pivoted.  Thus, the groove 711 of lever 71 will lift the gas pipe 72 and the valve located beneath the gas pipe will be opened to produce a gas flow and flame when ignited by the generated spark.  After application of the lighter, the thumb is withdrawn
from the plate 712 and the lever 71 will be moved backward by the resilience of leaf spring 79.  This operation will cause the two protuberances 713a, 714a to slide back over the upper surfaces of the uprights and return into engagement with the curve
edges 762b, 763b.  Meanwhile, the groove 711 will be removed from the neck part 721 of gas pipe 72.
Safety lighter, Yang, James C. H. Yang, Application number 07 827-720, Combustion, gas lighter, child safety, cigarette lighter, lighter Manufacturers, United Kingdom, China Suppliers, Trade Leads, cigarette lighters, safety device, Industrial Co
A traditional gas-fuel lighter is shown in FIG. 1. The lighter has an actuator lever 11 with a groove 111 at its forward end engaging the neck part 121 of gas pipe 12. When the plate 112 of lever 11 is pushed down, pins 113 on the lever rotatein apertures 171, 181 on a pair of supports 17, 18 on the top of the lighter body 16. This operation will make the groove 111 move upwards and lift the gas pipe 12 up so that a valve which is located beneath the gas pipe 12 will also be opened and spraygas out from the lighter. Meanwhile, a spark will be generated through mutual friction of a striker wheel 13 and a flint 15 lifted by a spring 14 to ignite the gas and provide a flame. The user just rotates the striker wheel 13 with his or her thumband at the same time presses the plate 112 down to create and maintain the flame. This simplified lighter's price is commonly about 25 cents in Taiwan and 50 cents in the United States. Because of its advantages of being cheap and convenient, theproduct has prevailed worldwide despite its tendency to stick in a open condition and thereby present a danger of conflagration particularly if operated by children.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe invention provides a safety lighter which prevents unexpected conflagrations effectively by means which urges the operating lever out of engagement with the gas pipe when the lever is released ensuring that the gas pipe can drop and therebyclose the gas valve.The invention is developed for safety purposes and includes an elastic spring element fitted between the lighter body and the operating lever to urge the lever out of engagement with the gas pipe when it is released. When the lighter isoperated, forward and downward pressure on the operating lever causes the groove in the front of the lever to engage and lift the gas pipe against the pressure of the spring element.In one embodiment, the operating lever has mounting pins pivotally located in three-legged apertures formed in supports on the lig