Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6726470
-
Patent Number
6,726,470
-
Date Filed
Tuesday, December 10, 200221 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, April 27, 200420 years ago
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Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 431 130
- 431 143
- 431 133
- 431 255
- 431 136
- 431 323
- 431 324
- 431 320
- 431 153
- 431 154
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International Classifications
-
Abstract
A windproof lighter is provided having an inside unit and an exterior case. The inside unit has an interior chamber, a wick, a flint, a flint position apparatus positioned in the interior chamber, a flint wheel, and a chimney. The lighter has a disposable fuel cell containing lighter fuel. The fuel cell is designed to fit within the interior chamber and to not interfere with the flint position apparatus. When the container is to be used in a windproof lighter, it has an opening that receives the wick. The wick extends into the interior chamber and has a component that is larger than the opening so that when the container is properly positioned within the interior chamber, the component secures the container in position and prevents accidental spillage of the lighter fuel.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a windproof lighter, and specifically to the type including liquid fuel, a wick, a strike-wheel, and a flint.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Windproof lighters are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,517,191 to Flickinger et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 2,032,695 to Gimera et al., which are incorporated by reference in this application.
A windproof lighter
10
, as shown in
FIG. 1
, has a case
12
and an inside unit
14
. The case
12
has a top section
16
and a bottom section
18
connected together by a hinge
20
. The inside unit
14
is removably secured, preferably snugly fit, within the bottom section
18
.
Turning to
FIG. 2
, the inside unit
14
has an interior chamber
36
and an exterior surface
38
. On the exterior surface
38
and the side
39
that projects beyond the bottom section
18
when the inside unit
14
is within the bottom section
18
, is, as shown at
FIGS. 2 and 4
, a chimney
22
, a wick opening
23
within the chimney
22
, a wick
25
, a flint wheel
24
connected to the chimney
22
, a flint
26
designed to be positioned below and contacting the flint wheel
24
, a tang
30
connected to the chimney
22
, and a second resilient member
32
for controlling the position of the tang
30
, which assists in the positioning of the top section
16
.
The exterior surface
38
also has side walls
35
that contact corresponding side walls of the bottom section
18
, and an opening
37
that is positioned opposite;the chimney
22
and allows a user to refill the lighter
10
with lighter fuel, not shown. The interior chamber
36
has a flint position apparatus
28
having a resilient member
42
contained within a tube
40
and a set screw
44
. The set screw
44
allows the user to apply sufficient force through the resilient member
42
to the flint
26
so the flint
26
contacts the flint wheel
24
.
The interior chamber also has packing material
60
that is designed to contain lighter fuel, and a felt pad
62
positioned at the opening
37
, as shown in
FIG. 3
, between the packing material
60
and the bottom section
18
. The felt pad
62
is secured into position by the set screw
44
.
The interior chamber also has a wick
25
positioned within the packing material
60
, and extending through the wick opening
23
.
Windproof lighter
10
operates with lighter fuel and is refillable. The instructions for refilling lighters typically call for (1) removing the inside unit from the case; (2) lifting the corner of the felt pad on the bottom of the insert to reveal the packing material in a fuel chamber, which is the interior of the inside unit; and (3) saturating the packing with lighter fluid by filling it slowly so the inside unit is not overfilled; and (4) inserting the inside unit back into the case; and (5) wiping the lighter and the user's hands dry before igniting the lighter.
Some lighters have permanent inside units with refill ports on the bottom or on the side of the lighter for refilling the liquid fuel reservoir in the inside unit. These designs have special refilling instructions as well.
Accordingly, there is a need for an easy and reliable way to refill windproof lighters.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention meets the above-described need by providing a disposable liquid fuel cell. The fuel cell is designed to fit within the interior chamber and to not interfere with the flint position apparatus, and the fuel cell has an opening that receives the wick. The wick extends into the interior chamber and has a component that is larger than the opening so that when the fuel cell is properly positioned within the interior chamber, the component secures the fuel cell in position and prevents accidental spillage of the lighter fuel.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
illustrates a prior art windproof lighter.
FIG. 2
illustrates a prior art inside unit of a lighter.
FIG. 3
is a view of
FIG. 2
taken along the lines of
3
—
3
.
FIG. 4
is a view of
FIG. 1
taken along the lines of
4
—
4
.
FIG. 5
is an exploded view of the present invention.
FIG. 6
is a view of the wick tube of FIG.
5
.
FIG. 7
illustrates the inside unit of the present invention, without the tang and corresponding resilient member on the exterior surface of the inside unit.
FIG. 8
illustrates an alternative embodiment of FIG.
7
.
FIG. 9
illustrates an exploded view of an alternative embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to
FIGS. 5-9
, the cell
100
, as shown in
FIG. 5
, is molded from a plastic material, preferably transparent or translucent material so the fuel volume can be seen, and has perimeter shape that fits, preferably snugly, within the interior chamber
36
and has a space
101
for the first resilient member
28
, and a user's fingers to pull the cell
100
out of the inside unit
14
. The cell
100
replaces the packing material and the felt pad of the prior art design.
In one embodiment, the cell
100
has a rupture disc
102
having a rim
120
which has an opening size of Q. The rupture disc
102
is positioned to be punctured by a rigid wick tube
104
, which extends below the wick opening
23
and has a splash cut or equivalent ending
200
that can penetrate the rupture disc
102
with the user's applied force to both the cell
100
and the inside unit
14
.
As shown in
FIG. 6
, the rigid wick tube
104
incorporates slots or perforations
106
along its sides to allow the fuel access the wick
25
, which is contained in the tube
104
. The wick tube
104
has a lip
108
near, and not at, the top of the wick tube
104
. The lip
108
, as shown in
FIG. 7
, has a perimeter D which is larger than (a) the bottom portion
110
of the wick tube
104
, and (b) the opening size of Q to effect a seal with the rim
120
when the cell
100
is positioned in the inside unit
14
. In other words, the lip
108
snaps in place under the rim
120
. Once the fuel cell
100
is properly positioned, the wick
25
will absorb and transfer the fuel to its upper extremity for ignition.
In an alternative embodiment that is shown in
FIG. 8
, the cell
100
has an aperture
130
with a neck
132
therein. The neck
132
is like an o-ring type seal. The neck
132
mates with the groove in a wick bushing
138
that holds the wick
25
in place. Once the aperture
130
exposed, the wick
25
will be fed into the aperture
130
. The cell
100
is then snapped in place onto the wick bushing
138
as illustrated in FIG.
8
.
As shown in
FIG. 9
, the inside unit
14
has at least one, and possibly two, openings
150
that allow a user to view the quantity of fuel in the cell
100
and allow the cell
100
to be easily removed therefrom. When the cell
100
is not being used in the lighter
10
, the aperture
130
is covered by a snap-on cap, a seal, or a plug
122
(a removable seal), as shown in
FIG. 9
or by a rupture disc as shown in FIG.
5
.
Accordingly, this invention is directed to a remodeling of the inside unit
14
to avoid (1) overfilling the packing material which could lead to leakage of the lighter fuel, (2) inconsistency in the manner in which the packing material is inserted into the inside unit which creates variations of lighter fuel storage from one lighter to the next, and (3) underfilling the packing material to prevent leakage. In addition, the present invention will allow the user to know how much lighter fuel is in the lighter, easily carry extra lighter fuel, and maximize the amount of lighter fuel. The last item is an issue because in the reservoir the prior lighters use packing material and the packing material decreases the amount of fuel that can be stored in the inside unit.
Although variations in the embodiment of the present invention may not each realize all the advantages of the invention, certain features may become more important than others in various applications of the device. The invention, accordingly, should be understood to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. A windproof lighter having an inside unit and a exterior case, the inside unit having side walls forming an interior chamber, a wick tube containing a wick, a flint, a flint position apparatus positioned in the interior chamber, a flint wheel, and a chimney, the inside unit having an opening disposed opposite the chimney, the lighter comprising:a container having lighter fuel, and designed to fit within the interior chamber through the opening in the inside unit and not interfere with the flint position apparatus, the container further comprises an opening that receives the wick tube; and, the wick tube extends into the interior chamber and has a component that is larger than the opening so that when the container is properly positioned within the interior chamber, the component is disposed inside the container and secures the container to the inside unit and prevents accidental spillage of the lighter fuel.
- 2. The lighter of claim 1 wherein the opening is covered by a rupture disc that is opened by a the wick tube that contains a wick within the interior chamber.
- 3. The lighter of claim 2 wherein the wick tube has at least one aperture to allow the lighter fuel to contact the wick.
- 4. The lighter of claim 2 wherein the wick tube has a lip that mates with a rim on the opening.
- 5. The lighter of claim 1 wherein the opening is covered by a rupture disc.
- 6. The lighter of claim 1 wherein the container has a space to accommodate the flint position apparatus within the interior chamber.
- 7. The lighter of claim 1 wherein the inside unit has at least one aperture to view the quantity of lighter fuel in the container.
- 8. The lighter of claim 1 wherein the container before being inserted into the lighter has a removable seal thereon.
- 9. A windproof lighter having an inside unit and an exterior case, the inside unit having side walls forming an interior chamber, a wick bushing containing a wick, a flint, a flint position apparatus positioned in the interior chamber, a flint wheel, and a chimney, the inside unit having an opening disposed opposite the chimney, the lighter comprising:a container having lighter fuel, and designed to fit within the interior chamber through the opening in the inside unit and not interfere with the flint position apparatus, the container further comprises an opening that receives the wick bushing, wherein the opening has a neck that mates with a the wick bushing that positions the wick in the lighter.
- 10. A method of refilling a windproof lighter having an inside unit and a exterior case, and the inside unit has an interior chamber, a wick tube containing a wick, a flint, a flint position apparatus positioned in the interior chamber, a flint wheel, and a chimney, comprising:inserting a container having lighter fuel, designed to fit within the interior chamber and not interfere with the flint position apparatus, and an opening that receives the wick tube into the interior chamber; positioning the wick tube through the opening; and, securing the container into the interior chamber to prevent accidental spillage of the lighter fuel, the container being secured to the interior chamber by engagement of a component on the wick tube with the opening, the component being larger than the opening and being disposed inside the container upon engagement.
- 11. The method of claim 10 wherein the opening is covered by a rupture disc that is opened by the wick tube that contains the wick within the interior chamber.
- 12. The method of claim 11 wherein the wick tube has at least one aperture to allow the lighter fuel to contact the wick.
- 13. The method of claim 11 wherein the wick tube has a lip that mates with a rib on the aperture.
- 14. The method of claim 10 wherein the container has a space to accommodate the flint position apparatus within the interior chamber.
- 15. The method of claim 10 wherein the inside unit has at least one aperture to view the quantity of lighter fuel in the container.
- 16. The method of claim 10 wherein the container before being inserted into the lighter has a removable seal thereon.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2557115 |
Jun 1976 |
DE |