FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a flashlight firestarter and, more particularly, to a flashlight having an electrically heated firestarting element as the ignition source
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Both flashlights and firestarting tools have been used in many different environments and can be particularly useful during camping and outdoors activities where people are often isolated from civilization. Flashlights can be useful when navigating through dark wilderness, searching for items in backpacks or tents, fixing disabled vehicles, and to signal search and rescue personal. Firestarters can be useful when fire is needed to provide warmth, cook meals, and also to signal rescue personal. Both flashlights and firestarters can be life saving devices when confronted with a survival situation caused by natural disasters like, hurricanes, tornados, and floods—that often cause electrical outages and can displace people from their homes. Flashlights are even used in oxygen free environments like manned space flights and both flashlights and firestarters have also found their way into war zones. There are a presently many different types of flashlights and many different types of firestarters being sold in the market place today. The most common types of flashlights use LED or incandescent bulbs of various wavelengths and Brightness's that are illuminated using electrons supplied by batteries or other on-board mechanisms. Incandescent light bulbs use excessive amounts of electrical energy and significantly reduce battery life in portable devices. LED's use less electrical power but can often be difficult to replace. Generally flashlights in use today use electrical switches that are either, push-button, sliding, or, single throw rotating threaded caps to complete the electrical circuits that direct electrical power to the illumination source. These types of switches have disadvantages in devices where safety, physical size, low contact wear, multiple switching, high temperature, or high electrical current draw are considerations. Push button, sliding, and rotational switches can be turned on accidentally in the field during storage or transport in backpacks or other stowage containers. If high electrical current is to be directed, push button switches become too physically large and expensive to be practical in small portable devices. In addition, switch contact wear can reduce the useful life of the portable devices. If multiple switching is desired more than one pushbutton type switch may be required and threaded caps are generally single on/off type switches. High temperatures and or high electrical current will also damage the switches commonly used in flashlights. Many types of firestarters are also sold in the market place today and generally use a variety of ignition sources. These ignition sources include; matches, lighters that use some type of combustible liquid or gas, and stand alone pyrophoric elements such as ferrocerium rods that are struck with sharp objects to produce a plurality of sparks. Housing matches within a device is not an improvement in the art because even water proof matches do not work well in windy conditions and provide minimal ignition-time potential. Lighters use pyrophoric elements to ignite the on board fuel source and pyrophoric elements, both in lighters and stand-alone, wear out over time, are susceptible to rapid oxidation in wet environments, are brittle and easily broken, require some means to scrape the pyrophoric element to obtain sparks, can be difficult to use, and contain rare earth elements, such as cerium, that are becoming too expensive to be practical. Ever since flashlights and firestarters have been used there has been a need for one invention that would provide sufficient light for purposes of illumination and a non-consumable ignition source to be used to ignite combustible materials in one portable, safe, durable device. The present invention addresses the aforementioned problems by using a structural and electrical design that is aimed at minimizing the negative effects thus increasing the likelihood that the individual will carry the flashlight firestarter and realize it's benefits.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided . . . a flashlight firestarter that includes an illumination source, an electrically heated ignition source for igniting combustible materials, and a firestarting element protective cap that includes a magnetic insert, all housed in a hollow multi-section cylindrical body. The firestarting element protective cap can be magnetically attached to the base of the invention for storage during operation of the firestarting element. Battery supplied electrons are directed through a component cylinder that works in conjunction with other elements of the invention to form a high current, cylindrical, multi-contact, low friction, auto-isolation switching mechanism. The flashlight firestarter also includes safety and reference channels that are used as both visual and tactile references during operation and are also used to house an onboard safety clip that prevents operation of the flashlight firestarter during storage or transport.
It would be advantageous to provide a . . . flashlight and firestarter in one device
It would also be advantageous to provide a flashlight firestarter that included an electrically heated firestarting element as the ignition source
It would further be advantageous to provide a flashlight firestarter that included an electrically heated firestarting element ignition source that had a large surface area
It would also be advantageous to provide a flashlight firestarter that included a firestarting element ignition source that is non-consumable
It would further be advantageous to provide a . . . flashlight firestarter the included a firestarting element ignition source that is self-cleaning
It would also be advantageous to provide a . . . flashlight firestarter that included a .firestarting element ignition source that is water proof
It would further be advantageous to provide a flashlight firestarter that included a protective cap for the firestarting element ignition source
It would also be advantageous to provide a flashlight firestarter that included a protective cap for the firestarting element ignition source with a magnetic insert that could be used as a tool
It would further be advantageous to provide a flashlight firestarter that included a battery cap with a magnetic insert that could be used as a tool to magnetize ferrous metals
It would also be advantageous to provide a flashlight firestarter that included protective cap for the firestarting element ignition source that could be attached magnetically to the battery cap during operation
It would further be advantageous to provide a flashlight firestarter that included a switching mechanism that was able to direct high current electron flow
It would also be advantageous to provide a flashlight firestarter that included a switching mechanism that mechanical prevented the operation of the flashlight and firestarter at the same time to conserve energy
It would further be advantageous to provide a flashlight firestarter that included an integrated multi-contact switching mechanism able to direct high current electron flow
It would also be advantageous to provide a flashlight firestarter that included a switching mechanism that was low friction to reduce wear
It would further be advantageous to provide a flashlight firestarter that included a switching mechanism that was rotatable
It would also be advantageous to provide a flashlight firestarter that included a switching mechanism that was silent
It would further be advantageous to provide a flashlight firestarter with operational reference channels
It would also be advantageous to proved a flashlight firestarter that included a safety clip
It would further be advantageous to provide a flashlight firestarter that included a safety clip storage channel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings, when considered in conjunction with the subsequent, detailed description, in which:
FIG. 1 is a side cutaway view of the flashlight firestarter in the off configuration;
FIG. 2 is a side cutaway view of the flashlight firestarter in the flashlight-on configuration;
FIG. 3 is a side cutaway view of the flashlight firestarter in the flashlight-off, firestarter-on configuration; and
FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the flashlight firestarter.
For purposes of clarity and brevity, like elements and components will bear the same designations and numbering throughout the Figures.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4 and working from top to bottom each element of the flashlight firestarter is briefly described. A full description of the function and operation of the flashlight firestarter will follow. The firestarter flashlight 8 of the invention includes, a firestarting element protective cap 24 that includes a magnetic insert 28 that is detachably mounted for easy replacement and securely held in position using a magnet retainer 26 that is threadably coupled to the inside of the firestarting element protective cap 24. The firestarting element protective cap 24 has a through hole at the thin-walled tip that is of a smaller diameter than the magnetic insert 28. The magnetic insert 28 is held against the smaller diameter through hole by the magnet retainer 26. The firestarting element protective cap 24 is constructed from metal or heat resistant material and is knurled for grip. The firestarting element 62 is an electrically heated ignition source made from nichrome wire that has been tightly coiled multiple times (approximately ⅛″ in diameter) to increase the surface area available to ignite combustible materials and to facilitate the flow of electrons. The firestarting element 62 is also non-consumable, maintenance free, self cleaning, and water proof. The firestarting element 62 is securely embedded into the ceramic insert 44. The ceramic insert 44 acts both as an electrically insulated barrier between the positive and negative leads of the firestarting element 62 and a thermal barrier between the firestarting element 62 and the top housing insert 16 and the other elements of the firestarter flashlight 8. The ceramic insert 44 can be premolded over the firestarting element 62 and then adhesively fastened to the top housing insert 16 using a high temperature ceramic or alumina epoxy such as the Sauereisen 10 Insultemp or can be machined out of a ceramic or alumina cylinder that includes two holes separately drilled coaxially through the insert to accommodate the positive and negative leads of the firestarting element 62 while keeping them electrically and thermally insulated. The top housing insert 16 is constructed from an electrically conductive metal, has a threaded top housing insert nipple 98 that is an appendage of the top housing insert 16, that is designed to receive the firestarting element protective cap 24. The top housing insert 16 also houses the LED 46 (light emitting diode), ceramic insert 44, firestarting element 62 and ground screw 68. The LED 46 (light emitting diode) is press fit into the top housing insert 16 to provide a water tight seal and is removably held into position using the LED set screw 54. This allows easy replacement of the LED 46 if needed. LED 46 provides light for the flashlight portion of the flashlight firstarter. Many types of standard LED's could be used that emit either visible or infrared light. The top housing insert nipple 98 is extended to a point that will not cause a shadow in the approximately 15 degree cone of light projected from the LED 46. The ground screw 68 is threadably connected to the top housing insert 16 and is electrically connected to the negative LED wire 66 and the negative firestarting element wire 70 providing an electrical ground connection for both elements. The top housing insert 16 also has a top housing insert o-ring seal 52 that is circumferentially held in position by a channel that encircles the entire perimeter of the top housing insert 16. The top housing insert o-ring seal 52 provides a water tight seal between the top housing insert 16 and the top housing 12 when assembled. The top housing insert 16 fits securely and is press fit into the top housing 12 and secured using top housing set screw 58 and second top housing set screw 60. Both the top housing set screw 58 and second top housing set screw 60 are made from electrically conductive metals to allow electron flow between the top housing insert 16 and the top housing 12. The top housing 12 is also made from electrically conductive metal, is knurled for grip, and is threaded to allow the component switching cylinder 14 to be inserted and threadably coupled to the top housing 12. The component switching cylinder 14 is both threadably coupled to the top housing 12 and held into position using the set screw for component switching cylinder 56. The set screw for component switching cylinder 56 insures that the top housing 12 and component switching cylinder 14 remain securely coupled during operation and operate as one unit. The component switching cylinder 14 is electrically nonconductive and houses the firestarting element positive screw terminal 32, LED positive terminal 40, ball spring mechanism 30, contact spring 50, and has an oversized screw driver slot to allow easy insertion during assembly. The component switching cylinder 14, when populated with the components listed above, and working in conjunction with the other elements of the firestarter flashlight 8, comprises a rotatable, low friction, silent, long lasting, low maintenance, multi-switch mechanism capable of handling the high current demands of this device. The component switching cylinder 14 must be electrically nonconductive to electrically isolate the firestarting element positive screw terminal 32, LED positive terminal 40, ball spring mechanism 30, contact spring 50, and top housing 12 from each other. The firestarting element positive screw terminal 32 is an electrically conductive screw that is threadably coupled to the electrically nonconductive component switching cylinder 14 and electrically connected to positive firestarting element wire 72. The LED positive terminal 40 is also an electrically conductive screw and is threadably coupled to the electrically nonconductive component switching cylinder 14 and electrically connected to the positive LED wire 64. The ball spring mechanism 30 itself is manufactured by Halder Norm & Technik and is part number 22080.0004. The ball spring mechanism 30 is made from electrically conductive material and has an electrically conductive housing, electrically conductive spring, and an electrically conductive ball bearing. The ball spring mechanism 30 is tightly inserted into the component switching cylinder 14 by press fitting. The contact spring 50 is slidably inserted into the component switching cylinder 14 and forms a flexible electrical connection between the base of the LED positive terminal 40 and the ball spring mechanism 30. The main positive terminal 22 is made from an electrically conductive metal, is rotatable about it's longitudinal axis within the electrically nonconductive main positive terminal housing 20, and has a main positive terminal channel 82 to accept set screw main positive terminal 80. During assembly an electrical continuity meter is used to determine when set screw main positive terminal 80 is threadably inserted until it just makes physical contact with the main positive terminal channel 82. This allows free rotation of the main positive terminal 22 about it's longitudinal axis without longitudinal movement during operation. The main positive terminal 22, main positive terminal housing 20, and set screw main positive terminal 80 assembly are threadably coupled to the battery housing 10. Because the main positive terminal housing 20 is made from electrically nonconductive material there is no electron flow between the main positive terminal housing 20 and the battery housing 10. The main positive terminal 22, however, does extend beyond both the main positive terminal housing 20 to extend within the battery housing 10, to allow electrical contact between the main positive terminal 22 and the long lasting AA Energizer Ultimate Lithium Battery 76 and Second AA Energizer Ultimate Lithium Battery 78 and also extends up into the component cylinder to allow contact with the ball bearing contact 74 during operation. The battery housing 10 has a rubber battery housing o-ring seal 38 that provides a water tight seal between the top housing 12 and battery housing 10 and also provides smooth thread operation between the top housing 12 and battery housing 10. The battery housing o-ring seal 38 is circumferentially held in position within a custom fit o-ring channel battery housing 94 that is machined into the battery housing 10. The battery housing 10 also has a flashlight-on reference and safety clip channel 88, firestarter-on reference channel and safety clip channel 90 and a safety clip storage channel 92 machined into the battery housing 10. These reference channels provide both visual and tactile reference points during operation. Safety clip 86 is a half round clip made from spring steel, can be worn on finger to condition wild tinder, can be securely circumferentially held within safety clip storage channel 92 during nonuse, and can have a lanyard hole. Battery spring 48 is made from electrically conductive metal and is manufactured by Lee Spring part number LB 024A01 AA and is securely inserted into battery cap 18. Battery cap 18 has a battery cap o-ring seal 36 that is circumferentially held in position with the o-ring channel battery cap 96 that circumferentially encircles the battery cap 18 providing a water tight seal. The battery cap 18 also houses a second magnetic insert 84 that is detachably mounted for easy replacement within the battery cap 18 and securely held into position using a second magnet retainer 34 that is threadably coupled to the battery cap 18. The battery cap 18 thin-walled base has a through hole that is of a smaller diameter than the magnetic insert 28 and the magnetic insert 28 is held against the smaller diameter though hole using the second magnetic retainer.
In operation and referring to FIG. 1, before operation 2 AA Energizer Ultimate Lithium Batteries must be placed within the battery housing 10 by removing battery cap 18 and inserting battery's as shown in FIG. ! and reattaching battery cap 18. We will begin with the operation of the flashlight portion of the flashlight firestarter. As mentioned in the description above the flashlight firestarter is equipped with a safety clip 86. The purpose of the safety clip 86 is to prevent the flashlight firestarter from turning on during storage in backpacks, ones pocket, or other stowing containers even when coming in contact with other items or materials. The safety clip 86 is also designed to be used as a tool to condition wild tinder when using the firestarter portion of the flashlight firestarter. This is accomplished by wearing the safety clip 86 on ones finger like a ring and scraping fine shavings off of tree bark or other wild tinder's. To operate the flashlight portion of the flashlight firestarter the user must first remove safety clip 86 from the flashlight-on reference and safety clip channel 88 by forcibly sliding the safety clip 86 laterally to remove. Once the safety clip 86 is removed the user forcibly reinserts the safety clip 86 laterally into the safety clip storage channel 92. Removal of the safety clip 86 allows the top housing 12 to move freely upon clockwise rotation along the battery housing 10. The user must then rotate the entire top housing 12 clockwise to cause the top housing 12 to move toward the battery housing 10. As the top housing 12 is rotated clockwise the ball bearing contact 74 portion of the ball spring mechanism 30 begins to move closer to the side top portion of the main positive terminal 22 that extends up into the component switching cylinder 14 and out of the main positive terminal housing 20. Now referring to FIG. 2, after rotating the top housing 12 clockwise several times, the bottom edge of the top housing 12 meets the top of the flashlight-on reference and safety clip channel 88 and the ball bearing contact 74 of the ball spring mechanism 30 makes first electrical contact with the side top portion of the main positive terminal 22. The ball bearing contact 74 of the ball spring mechanism 30 continues to make electrical contact with the side top portion of the main positive terminal 22 during rotation of the top housing 12 for the entire width of the flashlight-on reference and safety clip channel 88. The flashlight-on reference and safety clip channel 88 gives the user a both visual and tactile reference as to when the light will turn on. This helps the user know which direction to turn the top housing 12 relative to the position remaining after last use. The ball bearing contact 74 of the ball spring mechanism 30 rotates freely and silently throughout contact with the top side portion of the main positive terminal 22 and the contact is buffered by the ball spring mechanism spring 100 providing a very smoothly operating, low friction electrical contact between the ball bearing contact 74 and the main positive terminal 22 that will reduce wear and give longer electrical contact life than has been show in prior art. Again referring to FIG. 2, with electrical contact made between the ball bearing contact 74 and the main positive terminal 22 electrons can now flow from AA Energizer Ultimate Lithium Battery 76 and second AA Energizer Ultimate Lithium Battery 78 through the main positive terminal 22, that is in constant contact with the positive terminal of AA Energizer Ultimate Lithium Battery 76, and through the ball bearing contact 74, ball spring mechanism 30, the contact spring 50, the LED positive terminal 40, the positive LED wire 64, the LED 46, the negative LED wire 66, the ground screw 68, top housing insert 16, and continue through the top housing set screw 58, second top housing set screw 60, through the top housing 12, through battery housing 10 that is threadably coupled to top housing 12, through battery spring 48 and finally to the negative terminal of the second AA Energizer Ultimate Lithium Battery 78, thus completing the electrical circuit and turning the flashlight on.
In operation of the firestarter portion of the flashlight firestarter and referring to FIG. 3, the user would first remove the firestarting element protective cap 24 by unscrewing and separating it from the top housing insert nipple 98. Once the firestarting element protective cap 24 is removed the user can then magnetically attach the firestarting element protective cap 24 to the bottom of the battery cap 18, which also has a magnetic insert 28 as described above. This insures that the user will always know where to find the firestarting element protective cap 24 and prevents loss of the firestarting element protective cap 24. The powerful neodymium magnetic inserts placed at the tips of both the firestarting element protective cap 24 and battery cap 18 can also be used to pick up metal parts that were dropped in tight or dangerous spaces that would not permit the user to retrieve the dropped parts using ones hands. The flashlight portion of the flashlight firestarter could also be illuminated when retrieving metal parts making it easier for the user to find and magnetically pickup the dropped parts in low light situations using the powerful neodymium magnetic insert 28 in the firestarting element protective cap 24. With the firestarting element protective cap 24 removed and attached to the battery cap 18 the user is now ready to ignited combustible materials using the firestarter portion of the flashlight firestarter. The user would now continue to rotate the top housing 12 until the bottom edge of the top housing 12 meets the top of the firestarter-on reference channel and safety clip channel 90. As the bottom edge of the top housing 12 approaches the top of the firestarter-on reference channel and safety clip channel 90 during clockwise rotation the ball bearing contact 74 of the ball spring mechanism 30 rotates around and down the top side portion of the main positive terminal 22 that extends up into the component switching cylinder 14 and out of the electrically nonconductive main positive terminal housing 20. Once the top housing 12 has been rotated to the point where the bottom edge of the top housing 12 is in positron at the top edge of the firestarter-on reference channel and safety clip channel 90 the ball bearing contact 74 has now traveled beyond the exposed electrically conductive top side portion of the main positive terminal 22, and is now positioned over and against the electrically nonconductive main positive terminal housing 20. The ball bearing contact 74 has also retracted within the ball spring mechanism 30 via the ball spring mechanism spring 100 to allow the ball bearing contact 74 to ride over the electrically nonconductive main positive terminal housing 20 and will continue to silently and rotate around and down the electrically nonconductive main positive terminal housing 20 during any additional clockwise rotation of the top housing 12. Because the ball bearing contact 74 is now making direct contact with the electrically nonconductive main positive terminal housing 20 the supply of electrons to the LED 46 is cut off and the light portion of the flashlight firestarter is now automatically turned off to allow all available electrons to flow to the firestarter portion of the flashlight firestarter. Simultaneously the firestarting element positive screw terminal 32 has traveled toward the main positive terminal 22 and is now making direct electrical contact with the top of the electrically conductive main positive terminal 22. The main positive terminal 22 is able to rotate freely during electrical contact with the firestarting element positive screw terminal 32 due to the set screw main positive terminal 80 being mounted within the main positive channel. This feature is designed to eliminate frictional wear between the main positive terminal 22 and firestarting element positive screw terminal 32 thus increasing the life of the device. With contact made between the firestarting element positive screw terminal 32 and the main positive terminal 22 electrons begin to flow from the AA Energizer Ultimate Lithium Battery 76 and second AA Energizer Ultimate Lithium Battery 78 through the main positive terminal 22, that is in constant contact with the positive terminal of AA Energizer Ultimate Lithium Battery 76, and through the firestarting element positive screw terminal 32, through the positive firestarting element wire 72, the firestarting element 62, the negative firestarting element wire 70, the ground screw 68, the top housing insert 16, the top housing set screw 58, the second top housing set screw 60, the top housing 12, the battery housing 10, the battery spring 48, and to the negative terminal of the second AA Energizer Ultimate Lithium Battery 78 thus completing the circuit and turning on the firestarting element 62. The firestarting element 62 is a 22-36 gauge nichrome wire approximately 2 inches long and has (2 to 3) ⅛″ coils to increase surface area and to increase the flow of electrical current through the fire starting element. The firestarting element 62 reaches temperatures of over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit and is hot enough to ignite many combustible materials. During actual use the firestarting element 62 can become dirty from tree sap or other byproducts of combustion. To clean the firestarting element 62 the user can simply turn the firestarter portion of the firestarter flashlight 8 on for 1 second without touching any combustible material to vaporize any materials on the firestarting element 62 thus cleaning the firestarting element 62. Once the user is finished using the firstarter portion of the flashlight firstarter the firestarting element protective cap 24 can be forcibly removed from the magnetic battery cap 18 and threadably coupled to the top housing insert nipple 98 for storage or transport of the flashlight firestarter. To turn of either the firestarter or flashlight portions of the flashlight firestarter the user must simply rotate the top housing 12 counter clockwise until the bottom edge of the top housing 12 is positioned as to not line up with either the flashlight on reference channel and safety clip 86 channel or the firestarter on reference and safety clip 86 channel and insert the safety clip 86 where desired for the given operation.
In summary once the safety clip 86 is removed from the flashlight-on reference and safety clip channel 88 and reinserted into the safety clip storage channel 92 and the top housing 12 is rotated clockwise, the flashlight turns on at the flashlight-on reference and safety clip channel 88 and as the top housing 12 is further rotated clockwise, the flashlight portion of the flashlight firestarter continues to stay on through the width of the flashlight-on reference and safety clip channel 88 and then goes off once the top housing 12 has been rotated clockwise past the flashlight-on reference and safety clip channel 88. As the top housing 12 is rotated clockwise further to the firestarter-on reference channel and safety clip channel 90 the firestarting portion of the flashlight firestarter goes on. The safety clip 86 could also be inserted into any of the channels listed in this description to allow the user to effectively disable the individual functions. One of the purposes of this mechanism is to make it impossible for the user to use both the flashlight and firestarter at the same to direct all available electrons to the firestarting portion of the flashlight firestarter when igniting combustible materials.
Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating requirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen for purposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications which do not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of this invention.
Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected by Letters Patent is presented in the subsequently appended claims.
Patent Application
20130095439
