Claims
- 1. A personal accessory to be carried about on the person of the user, said accessory comprising a plain and unadorned generally rectangular box, said box being divided into a bottom section and a flip top section, said flip top section having two stable positions, said flip top being hinged to one side of said box, the upper surface of said flip top being a simple and unadorned panel having edges defining a predetermined perimeter; a cigarette lighter including at least a flint wheel and a wick completely enclosed within the box when the flip top is in a first of said two positions with said box closed, the lighter and box being shaped and proportioned so that a user normally holds the bottom section of the box in his fist with his fingers curled around it with the flip top of the lighter extending above the fist, the second of said two positions being an open position, the flip top being completely visible above the fist in both said opened and closed positions with the flint wheel accessible to the thumb on said fist while holding said box, sculptured charm means mounted on the outside of said unadorned top panel of said box to stand above said fist and be visible when said top is in either of said two stable positions closed over said bottom or flipped to an open position, said charm being approximately aligned with and in front of the flame of said lighter insofar as the onlooker is concerned when the lighter is in use; an underside of said charm forming a somewhat cup shaped concave pocket having an unbroken surface which is closed on one side, said closed side of said pocket being fitted to follow, surround, and rest on said top panel, and to drape down and around at least part of the perimeter defined by one end and the adjacent edges of the upper surface of said flip top; said closed side of said pocket nesting against the one end of the top panel and extending over a side of the flip top of said lighter box downwardly far enough on at least one side of said lighter to give a vertical mechanical stability for attaching the charm to the flip top without interfering with the movement of the flip top between the two positions, and means for integrally attaching the closed side of said pocket on said charm to said top panel and to said one end at least one side of said flip top at a location where said pocket nests on and hugs said top.
- 2. A personal accessory to be carried about on the person of the user, said accessory comprising a plain and unadorned rectangular box having a bottom with a flip top having two stable positions hinged to one side thereof, the upper surface of said flip top being a simple and unadorned panel; a cigarette lighter completely enclosed within the box when the flip top is in a first of said two positions with said box closed, the lighter and box being shaped and proportioned so that a user normally holds the bottom of the box in his fist with his fingers curled around it with the top of the lighter extending above the fist, the second of said two positions being an opened position, the flip top being completely visible above the fist in both said opened and closed positions, and sculptured charm means mounted on the outside unadorned top panel of said box to stand above said fist and be visible when said top is in either of said two stable positions closed over said bottom or flipped to an open position, said charm being approximately aligned with and in front of the flame of said lighter insofar as the onlooker is concerned, when the lighter is in use, and a stand made of heavy metal having a design coordinated with the design of said sculptured charm, a relatively thin sheet metal pan means recessed into an opening in said heavy metal stand, an edge of said pan means being supported by said heavy metal stand, said pan means supporting the bottom part of said lighter to hold it in an upright and generally vertical position when said heavy metal stand is resting on a horizontal plane, said bottom part being a small fraction of the total height of the lighter, said pan having a thinness such that it is readily bendable while said heavy metal rests in said plane, said bending aligning the contours of said pan for supporting said lighter solely by its bottom part, whereby the major fraction of the total height of the lighter stands in a vertically aligned upright position.
- 3. A product for presenting a psychological prop in the form of personal accessories to be carried about by the user and having an impact upon the user's image, said product comprising:
- (a) a six-sided box having a bottom and a flip top hinged thereto, the upper surface of said flip top being a simple and unadorned panel, the box being shaped and proportioned so that a user normally holds the bottom in his fist with his fingers curled around it and with the flip top of the box extending above the fist in a position where the top may be flipped open with a flick of the thumb;
- (b) a cigarette lighter completely enclosed within the box, the top of the lighter being positioned to locate its flame approximately in a sight line between the face of the user and an onlooker, with the open flip top being completely visible above the fist; and
- (c) a sculptured charm mounted on the outside unadorned top panel of the flip fop of said box to stand above said top panel or be flipped to an open position, said charm being approximately in said line of sight and being aligned with an in front of the flame of said lighter insofar as the onlooker is concerned, when the lighter is in use, whereby the normal use of the lighter is to thrust a first carrying the image of the charm into the area of the face of a person getting a light from the lighter,
- (d) a stand comprising a base having an outside design which is coordinated with the design of said charm, and having a horizontally oriented window which is slightly larger than the outside cross section of said lighter;
- (e) a pan comprising a basin of relatively thin sheet metal in said window for receiving the bottom of said lighter, said pan being terminated at its upper edge by a peripheral flange; and
- (f) said peripheral flange being attached to the top of said base at said window.
- 4. The product of claim 3 wherein said basin is shaped by bending it with a tool simulating the bottom of a lighter in order to vertically align said lighter.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 472,647, filed Mar. 11, 1983, now abandoned, which was, in turn, a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 373,881, filed May 3, 1982, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (22)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2410323 |
Jun 1979 |
FRX |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
472647 |
Mar 1983 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
373881 |
May 1982 |
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