Patent Application
20090246721
The present invention relates to a lighter and, more particularly, to a lighter having a safety mechanism for preventing child from completing the ignition procedure without difficulty while playing with a lighter and causing a fire accident.
Lighters currently sold on the market are easy to carry around and have wide applications, including, for example, setting off firecrackers, lighting a cigarette, and kindling joss paper, incense sticks, candles, etc. Hence, almost every family keeps some lighters. Referring to
Further, the two fixing frames 100 each have a circular pivot hole 103 provided at corresponding locations, while the friction wheel 12 is provided with a cylindrical rotating shaft 120 on each of two sides thereof. The friction wheel 12 is pivotally connected between the two fixing frames 100 by the rotating shafts 120 penetrating the corresponding circular pivot holes 103. In addition, the friction wheel 12 is constantly biased by the flint 14 connected to the upper end of the spring 101. Therefore, when the user rotates the friction wheel 12 to rub the friction wheel 12 against the flint 14, the flint 14 produces a spark as a result of friction. If the pressing portion 111 is simultaneously pressed to open the fuel valve 102, the fuel released outwards will be ignited by the spark.
While the lighter 1 provides an easy ignition procedure involving no more than rotating the friction wheel 12 and pressing the pressing portion 111 at the same time, such easy ignition procedure is also a serious drawback in using the lighter 1. More particularly, if the lighter 1 is randomly placed, a child who finds it incidentally may easily complete the ignition process while playing with the lighter 1, and thereby causes a fire that endangers both life and property safety.
Therefore, it is a major goal of the present invention to design a lighter having a safety mechanism that complies with more rigorous safety regulations, so that a child who happens to find the lighter cannot complete an ignition procedure thereof easily and is therefore guarded from causing a fire accidentally.
In view of the problem and drawback mentioned above, the present inventor after years of practical experience, research and experiments, finally succeeded in developing a lighter having a safety mechanism as disclosed herein, with the aims of effectively solving the problem of the conventional lighter that its ignition procedure can be completed in such an easy manner, with only a few simple operations, that a child who happens to find the lighter may complete the ignition procedure without difficulty while playing with the lighter, and thereby causes a fire accident.
Therefore, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a lighter having a safety mechanism, wherein the lighter comprises a fuel reservoir, an ignition base and an actuating element. The fuel reservoir has a first opening. The ignition base covers the first opening and is provided with a supporting frame on each of two opposite sides of the ignition base, wherein a resilient element is disposed between the two supporting frames. The ignition base is further provided with a flint connected to an end of the resilient element, and a valve disposed at an end of the ignition base. The actuating element is pivotally connected between the two supporting frames and has a second opening for receiving the end of the resilient element passing therethrough. The actuating element has a first end connected to the valve, so that the valve is opened by the actuating element when a user presses a second end thereof, allowing a fuel in the fuel reservoir to be released outwards. The two supporting frames are disposed at corresponding locations and each of them has a retaining hole comprising a first slot and a second slot, wherein the first and the second slots are in communication with each other. The first slot is located above the second slot and has a width smaller than a width of the second slot. The lighter further comprises a wheel having a rotating shaft on each of two sides thereof, wherein each said rotating shaft has a radial cross-sectional shape whose largest diagonal length is greater than the width of the corresponding first slot but not greater than the width of the corresponding second slot. Furthermore, the rotating shafts are so shaped that they are not allowed to rotate when engaged in the first slots but are allowed to rotate freely in the second slots. The wheel is pivotally connected to the two retaining holes of the respective two supporting frames by the corresponding two rotating shafts, and biased by the flint connected to the end of the resilient element so that the two rotating shafts are engaged in the first slots to prevent the wheel from being rotated. When the user applies a downward force to the wheel to move the rotating shafts into the second slots, the rotating shafts are disengaged from the first slots, allowing the user to rotate the wheel in such a manner that the wheel rubs against the flint to produce a spark. If the user presses the second end of the actuating element simultaneously, the valve will be opened to release the fuel outwards, so that the spark ignites the fuel.
Therefore, when it is desired to operate the lighter of the present invention, the user must begin by applying a considerable downward force to disengage the rotating shafts from the first slots, and then rotating the wheel and pressing the actuating element simultaneously to complete an ignition procedure. Thus, the lighter according to the present invention conforms to stricter safety regulations by properly preventing a child who plays with the lighter from easily completing the ignition procedure and thereby causing a fire accident.
The invention as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Referring to
Referring to
Therefore, when it is desired to operate the lighter 2, the user must hold the lighter 2 firmly and use a thumb to apply a considerable downward force to the wheel 23 to disengage the rotating shafts 230 from the first slots 2140, so that the wheel 23 can be rotated. Then, an ignition procedure is completed by rotating the wheel 23 and pressing the actuating element 22 simultaneously. Thus, the lighter 2 is greatly enhanced in its safety and complies with more rigorous safety regulations. More particularly, a child who plays with the lighter 2 is effectively prevented from completing the ignition procedure with ease, so that a fire will not be caused accidentally.
Referring back to
Moreover, in the foregoing preferred embodiment of the present invention, an adjusting element 215 is pivotally installed on a periphery of the valve 213. By rotating the adjusting element 215, the user can adjust a speed at which the fuel in the fuel reservoir 20 is released through the valve 213 after the valve 213 is opened, thereby controlling a dimension of a flame generated by the lighter 2 when the ignition procedure of the lighter 2 is completed. Now that the dimension of the flame can be conveniently adjusted as needed via the adjusting element 215, the convenience of the lighter 2 is effectively enhanced.
Referring again to
In the aforementioned embodiment of the present invention, the radial cross-sectional shape of each said rotating shaft 230 on the wheel 23 can be formed as a shape other than a rectangular shape. In fact, the shape may be subject to change according to an actual design of the lighter 2 and includes, for example, as shown in
The present invention has been described with preferred embodiments thereof, which are provided for illustrative purposes only and not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Moreover, as the content disclosed herein should be readily understood and can be implemented by a person skilled in the art, all equivalent changes or modifications which do not depart from the spirit of the present invention are encompassed by the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 097111394 | Mar 2008 | TW | national |
