Improvements in Electric Cigar Lighters.
Year: 1893

page_text: te of Application, 25th Apr., 1893-Accepted, 27th May, 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Electric Cigar Lighters.
I LAWRENCE THAYER SMITH of Barrignton Center, Bristol County, Rhode
Island United States of America Electrical Engineer do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to electric cigar-lighters, so called; that is lighters in which
the burners are rendered incandescent by means of a current of electricity passing
through them.
Hitherto in lighters of the class just referred to it has been usual to employ an
exposed filament of suitable incandescing conducting material combined with an
operating switch or cut out, the latter operating automatically or otherwise each
time the lighter is brought into use.
There are objections to such former electric lighters both in their construction
and method of operation. For example, owing to the fact that the incandescing
material or filament is exposed, in order to bring it quickly to a suitable degree of
heat, and to the further fact that the cigar or article to be ignited must be brought
into actual contact with the glowing material, it follows that the latter is liable to
be easily disarranged or broken thus rendering the device inoperative for the time
being. Moreover, the gradual accumulation of ashes upon the filament operates in
a measure to corrode it thus impairing its efficiency. The employment of a switch
or cut out operating each time the burner is brought into service soon wears or
burns it out by reason of the arc formed each time the current is broken. It is
further found that in order to use a filament having sufficient size it is necessary to
employ some form of auxiliary resistance in the circuit to prevent the filament
from burning out. In burners using an alternating current special forms of con-
verters are employed, this latter construction possesses the inherent disadvantage
that it cannot be operated electrically by direct currents.
The object I have in view is to produce an electric cigar-lighter in which the
disadvantages before referred to are eliminated. That is to say my improved
cigar-lighter has no exposed filament; the current is used continuously, no switch
or cut out being employed to break the current each time the device is used, and
the use of a converter or auxiliary resistance mechanism is dispensed with.
My invention consists in the novel and useful construction, combination and
arrangement of parts for effecting the above mentioned object, hereafter fully
described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.
In the accompanying sheet of drawings
Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved electric cigar-lighter; Fig. 2 is a
front view of the same;
Fig. 3 is a side elevation, in partial longitudinal central section, of the plug or
burner-block, detached, and
Fig. 4 is a side view, in reduced scale, showing the general arrangement of the
the device, ready for use.
The lighter as a whole is indicated by A, and in order to render it more con-
venient for the user it is provided with a handle portion screwed into and
depending from the head a. These parts I preferably make of wood, although
other material may be employed. To the head a are also secured oppositely
arranged current-conducting holders or arms b of metal, as brass; each as drawn
being bent to form a spring b¹ and terminating at its free end in an enlarged
socket 6; these latter face each other and are arranged to be separated to receive
and hold the burner-block e about to be described.
';

page_text: The incandescing plug or burner portion e is composed of fire-resisting material,
as for example a mixture of ground glass and fire clay suitably tempered, moulded
and finally baked. As drawn the burner is cylindrical and is provided with reduced
ends s which are covered with current conducting metal caps f, as copper. The
cylinder e¹ is wound with a number of turns of a piece of filament or wire p, as
platinum; the several convolutions are separated from each other and the terminals
of the wire are soldered or otherwise secured to the capsf of the respective burner
ends &
After being thus wound the burner is covered exteriorly along its barrel
portion with a layer or coating e² of suitable fire-resisting material, thus completely
concealing and embedding the wire p therein. The plug is now completed, ready
to be inserted into the two conducting arm sockets 62, before described. I would
state that practically the caps are placed over the burner ends and are secured to
the filament p after the plug has been baked. By this arrangement it will be seen
that the fine wire p is not only capable of withstanding the high degree of heat
necessary to bake the burner but it is completely protected, thus preventing it from
corrosion, breakage and accidental displacement. Moreover, the amount of filament
thus wound produces sufficient resistance in and of itself without auxiliary resistance
of any kind, thereby permitting the lighter to be operated with a minimum current
of electricity, the cost of the latter being correspondingly reduced.
In order to electrically connect my improved cigar-lighter with the main or
brauch current-conducting wires I prefer to suspend it at the lower end of a
flexible conductor c composed of two poles m and n insulated from each other as
common; the upper end of the conductor may be attached to a rosetter and con-
nected with the circuit wires in the usual manner. The conductor c as drawn
passes through the upper end of the hollow head a, one pole, say n, being bent
laterally and secured to one of the spring arms b, the other pole being attached to
a pin of the switch-arm c³ let into one side of the head; the free end of said arm
being adapted to engage stops or pins k kl. A short wire electrically connects
the pink with the other spring arm b, as clearly indicated in Fig. 2. When in this
position the current is passing through the burner e, but upon swinging the switch-
arm downwardly to engage the pin k¹ the circuit is broken, because the current
cannot pass from one pin to the other. The device works equally well without the
switch the latter is not to be operated each time the lighter is used but is simply
introduced as a means for shutting off the current at night, or for longer periods
when the lighter is not required. In fact I prefer to so conceal the switch that
the ordinary user will not be aware of its presence. In the drawings it is located
in a small recess covered by a thin plate or cover c².
The manner of operating my improved cigar-lighter is as follows,-First assuming
the electric current to be passing through the device. The action of the current
is to heat that portion of the surface of the burner-block e, contiguous to the
spirally wound wire p, to a dull glow or dark cherry-red color. Now, in order to.
utilize it the user simply grasps it by the handle and brings the burner e into
contact with the cigar or other article to be ignited. In fact the act of using it
is substantially the same as though it were one of the well known continuously-
burning gas cigar-lighters.
I would add that the switch-lever e³ is employed not only to break the circuit,
say at night when the light will not be required, but also whenever upon occasion
it becomes necessary to replace the burner e by a new one.
As before stated, in my present device the flow of the electric current through
the burner-block is continuous (the current proper it is to be understood being
direct, or even alternating) thereby providing an always-ready lighter, as dis
tinguished from electric cigar-lighters provided with circuit-closers which
automatically operate to energize or heat an exposed wire whenever the lighter
is brought into use. In such former devices the wire or burner is easily damaged
or rendered inoperative; moreover, the user is compelled to wait a comparatively
long time for the burner to attain a sufficiently high degree of temperature
necessary to ignite a cigar, in fact it is almost impossible to thus relight a cigar

page_text: having its end covered with ashes even though a much greater current of
electricity be employed than is required in my present lighter.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is ;-
1. An electric cigar-lighter consisting of a head portion arranged to be connected
in an electric circuit, conducting holders or arms secured to said head adapted to
contact with the poles of the circuit, and an incandescing plug or burner-block
attached to said holders; the plug containing a non-exposed high resistance con-
ducting wire or filament having its ends arranged to electrically engage the
holders, substantially as set forth.
2. An electric cigar-lighter provided with current-conducting arms or holders,
an incandescing plug or burner-block adapted to be supported by said arms
composed of fire-resisting material, a non-exposed conducting wire or filament of
high resistance embedded in the plug, and having the ends of said filament
arranged to engage the arms, whereby an electric current may pass from one arm
to the other via the filament contained in the interposed plug, substantially as set
forth.
3. A cigar-lighter adapted for continuous heating by electricity, consisting of a
non-exposed conducting wire or filament of high resistance mounted in a plug or
cylinder of fire-resisting material and having said plug removably secured to
conducting-arms or holders mounted in a head located in an electric circuit,
substantially as set forth.
4. A cigar-lighter having a burner or plug formed of a fire-resisting material
provided with a non-exposed conducting filament of high resistance combined with
a head portion arranged to be located in an electric circuit and conducting arms
secured to the head arranged to receive said plug for the purpose set forth.
5. In a cigar-lighter, the combination of conducting arms adapted to be con-
nected with the poles of an electric circuit, with an incandescing plug mounted in
said arms having capped conducting ends and further provided with a non-exposed
conducting filament of high resistance secured to said caps, substantially as set
forth.
6. A cigar-lighter, consisting of a head or holder portion arranged to connect
with the poles of an electric circuit, and a burner-block, provided with a non-
exposed high resistance current conducting wire or filament, removably mounted
in said head, and having such wire or filament adapted to contact with the current
poles for continuous heating.
7. In an electric cigar-lighter, the combination of an inner block of non-con-
ducting material, a thin wire or filament of high resistance wrapped on the outer
surface of said block, said wire forming part of an electric circuit, and an outer
covering of fire-clay or other non-conducting fire-resisting material, substantially
as described.
8. In an electric cigar-lighter, the combination of an inner block of non-con-
ducting material, a thin wire or filament of high resistance wrapped on the surface
of said block in a helical or tortuous path, and an outer covering of non-conducting
fire-resisting material, with a battery or similar source of electricity in said circuit
of sufficient strength to render said outer surface incandescent, substantially as
described.