Patent ID: 7614874

Claim:
A foldable lighter comprising: a lighter body that contains a fuel tank and a piezoelectric unit and has an operating component exposed to the outside for operating substantially simultaneously the piezoelectric unit and a fuel supply valve that controls supply of fuel from the fuel tank; a swing-arm that is pivotally connected to one end to the lighter body, has an opening at the other end, and can be pivotally turned relative to the lighter body between a folded position against the lighter body and an operation position in which the swing-arm is opened at 90 degrees or more than 90 degrees relative to the lighter body; a flame-emission nozzle in the vicinity of the other end of the swing-arm; and a flexible fuel supply tube located in the lighter body and the swing-arm and having one end connected to the fuel tank and the other end to the flame-emission nozzle; said foldable lighter being characterized by having a cylindrical wall that forms a substantially cylindrical annular space coaxial with the center of rotation of said swingarm, said cylindrical wall being formed in either the lighter housing or in the swing-arm; the swing-arm being provided with a pipe assembly that holds a part of a guide tube and the flame-emission nozzle inside the swing-arm and that is capable of sliding in the longitudinal direction of the swing-arm; in the folded position, the end of the pipe assembly on the side of the lighter body reaching the annular space; said annular space of the lighter body having: a stopper acting so that during rotation of the swing-arm from the folded position to the operation position, the stopper comes into contact with the pipe assembly end on the lighter-body side and moves the pipe assembly forward under the effect of the aforementioned rotation whereby the end of the pipe assembly on the side of the flame-emission nozzle protrudes from the opening; and an engagement member that engages the end of the pipe assembly on the lighter-body side during rotation of the swing-arm from the operational position to the folded position and withdraws the pipe assembly under the effect of the rotation so that the end of the pipe assembly on the side of the flame-emission nozzle is withdrawn from the aforementioned opening into the swing-arm.