Patent Application
20090170045
The present invention is related to cigarette lighting apparatuses and the operation thereof. Specifically, the present invention is related to cigarette lighters having lids for covering their nozzles during non-use and mechanisms for automatically engaging such lids.
Cigarette lighters typically have a body portion containing a fuel supply, an igniter for causing combustion of fuel from the fuel supply, a nozzle for causing the combusted fuel into a flame of a desired shape, and an actuator for causing actuation of the igniter to cause the combustion. Some cigarette lighters also have a lid affixed to said body and movable between a closed state wherein the lid covers the nozzle and an open sated wherein the lid exposes the nozzle.
Such lids typically serve the purposes of protecting the nozzle during non-use of the lighter, providing safety from the oft-hot nozzle after use, and denying oxygen to disable inadvertent combustion.
There exists a need for improvement in the actuation of lids in cigarette lighters, and such is an object of the present invention. There exists a need for added convenience in the actuation of lids in cigarette lighters, and such is an object of the present invention. There exists a need for simplification in the actuation of lids in cigarette lighters, and such is an object of the present invention. There exists a need for preventing users from inadvertently leaving open the lids on cigarette lighters after use and during non-use, and such is an object of the present invention.
Further needs and objects exist which are addressed by the present invention, as may become apparent by the included disclosure of an exemplary embodiment thereof.
The invention may be embodied as a cigarette lighter having a body portion with a fuel supply, an igniter for causing combustion of fuel from the fuel supply, a nozzle for causing the combusted fuel into a flame of a desired shape, an actuator for causing release of fuel from the fuel supply to the igniter then actuation of the igniter to cause the combustion, and a lid affixed to the body and movable between a closed state wherein the lid covers the nozzle and an open sated wherein the lid exposes the nozzle. Upon completion of use, the actuator also causes movement of the lid from the open state to the closed state.
While the term “cigarette” is used throughout this specification and its appended claims, it is anticipated that such a lighter could be used for any similar purpose, such as lighting cigars and smoking pipes. Therefore, the term “cigarettes” is meant to include any such smoking device whenever the term is used in this specification of the appended claims.
Further features and aspects of the invention are disclosed with more specificity in the Detailed Description and Drawings of an exemplary embodiment provided herein.
Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
Reference is now made to
Lighter 100 includes body 102, lid 104, and actuator 106. Within body 102 is encased a fuel supply reservoir 110 having a valve 112. The fuel supply and its valve may be a removable from the body for replacement or refilling. Typically, the reservoir contains butane fuel compressed and pressurized into a liquid state, which expands through valve 112 into a gaseous state as the valve is opened.
Also within the body are a piezoelectric igniter 114 and a flame-shaping nozzle 116. The igniter may be a typical piezoelectric igniting mechanism electrically connected to nozzle 116 and arranged to create a spark adjacent to the nozzle to ignite fuel escaping from reservoir 110 when valve 112 is opened and when sufficient oxygen is present to feed combustion. Compression of the igniter causes a common internal triggering mechanism, well-known in the art, to create the spark. Nozzle 116 causes the burning fuel into a well-defined flame tip 120 during combustion for lighting cigarettes and such.
Lid 104 is hingedly connected to body 102 and is movable between a closed state wherein the lid covers the nozzle and denies oxygen for combustion, and an open state wherein the lid exposes the nozzle and allows combustion. The lid also serves to protect externally from the hot nozzle after combustion has been terminated. The lid is configured as a cap which covers and encases the internal components of the lighter when in its closed state and provides wind shielding to the flame tip 120 during combustion when in its open state.
Initially, lighter 100 is stored and transported with lid 104 and the actuator 106 in their closed states shown in
To use lighter 100, lid 104 is first flipped open such as by the user's thumb 200, as seen in
Referring now to
So long as actuator button 128 is held down in this combustion state, fuel will continue to escape from open valve 112 and be ignited, and lid 104 will remain open.
Actuator 106 is biased from the combustion state of
Upon completion of use, the user's thumb 200 is simply repositioned to the underside of button 128, and the button is forced upwardly as shown in
Body 102 further includes window 140, seen in
In summary, the invention may be embodied as a cigarette lighter with a body portion having a fuel supply, an igniter for causing combustion of fuel from the fuel supply, and a nozzle for causing the combusted fuel into a flame of a desired shape. The lighter may have a lid affixed to the body and movable between a closed state wherein the lid covers the nozzle and an open state wherein the lid exposes the nozzle, and an actuator for sequentially causing release of fuel from the fuel supply to the igniter, then actuation of the igniter to cause the combustion, and then movement of the lid from the open state to the closed state. The fuel supply may be a reservoir containing a pressurized fuel and having a valve, and the actuator may engage the valve to cause the release of fuel to the igniter.
The actuator may disengage the valve to deny the release of fuel during the movement of the lid from the open state to the closed state. The igniter may be a piezoelectric mechanism for causing a spark at the nozzle, and the actuator may cause actuation of the igniter by compressing the piezoelectric mechanism.
The lid may be a cap enclosing the nozzle during the closed state, thereby denying oxygen to extinguish the combustion. The actuator may cause the engaging of the valve and the actuation of the igniter during forced motion of the actuator by a user in a first direction, and may cause the disengagement of the valve and the movement of the lid during forced motion of the actuator by the user in a second direction, opposite to the first direction.
The invention may be further embodied as a method of operating such a cigarette lighter. The method may include the sequential steps of forcing the actuator to cause release of fuel from the fuel supply to the igniter, then further forcing the actuator to cause actuation of the igniter to cause the combustion, and then further forcing the actuator to cause movement of the lid from the open state to the closed state. The method may also include the step of further forcing the actuator to disengage the valve to deny the release of fuel during the movement of the lid from the open state to the closed state, between the step of further forcing the actuator to cause actuation of the igniter and the step of further forcing the actuator to cause movement of the lid.
The invention may further be embodied as a cigarette lighter having a body portion having, a fuel supply having a reservoir containing a pressurized fuel, a valve, an igniter having a piezoelectric mechanism for causing a spark to cause combustion of fuel from the fuel supply, and a nozzle for causing the combusted fuel into a flame of a desired shape, a lid affixed to the body and movable between a closed state wherein the lid covers the nozzle and an open sated wherein the lid exposes the nozzle, the lid having a cap enclosing the nozzle during the closed state, and an actuator for sequentially, engaging the valve to release fuel from the fuel supply to the igniter, then actuating the igniter by compressing the piezoelectric mechanism to cause the combustion, and then disengaging the valve to deny the release of fuel, and movement of the lid from the open state to the closed state thereby denying oxygen to extinguish the combustion, wherein the actuator causes the engaging of the valve and the actuating of the igniter during forced motion of the actuator by a user in a first direction, and causes the disengagement of the valve and the movement of the lid during forced motion of the actuator by the user in a second direction, opposite to the first direction.
While the invention has been shown and described with reference to a specific exemplary embodiment, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and that the invention should therefore only be limited according to the following claims, including all equivalent interpretation to which they are entitled.
