Information
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Patent Grant
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6682340
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Patent Number
6,682,340
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Date Filed
Tuesday, May 21, 200222 years ago
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Date Issued
Tuesday, January 27, 200420 years ago
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Inventors
-
-
Examiners
- Lazarus; Ira S.
- Barrow; James G.
Agents
- Ostrolenk, Faber, Gerb & Soffen, LLP
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CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
-
International Classifications
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Abstract
A lighter that includes a safety mechanism for preventing its ignition. A piezoelectric lighter ignition unit has a plunger that is movable into a main casting to generate sparks for igniting a stream of flammable gas. A safety mechanism includes a plunger which includes a notch at one side to define an open surface that extends transversely to the direction of motion of the plunger. A latch has a stop portion that makes contact with the transverse open surface to obstruct the motion of the plunger. An arm moves the latch.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a safety mechanism for a lighter, and more specifically a safety mechanism that obstructs the operation of the piezoelectric unit in the lighter to prevent ignition of fuel.
Some types of lighters typically include a piezoelectric unit, which when operated, produces sparks to ignite a stream of flammable gas. A conventional piezoelectric unit includes a plunger which is moveable within a main casting. The main casting includes an electrical ceramic element. When the plunger is pressed into the main casting, its bottom portion strikes the electrical ceramic element to generate an electric current. In a typical lighter, flammable gas is supplied from a chamber to a nozzle. The electric current produced by the piezoelectric unit is delivered to a position near the nozzle where it is emitted as a spark to ignite the gas that is streaming out of the nozzle.
The use of conventional lighters is relatively simple. In conventional lighters, for example, the plunger of the piezoelectric unit is connected to a trigger, a button, or some other actuating mechanism that can be manipulated by a user to press the plunger into the main casting of the piezoelectric unit. The simplicity of operation of conventional lighters is disadvantageous as it makes it easy for children to ignite the lighter thereby creating a risk of accidental fires. To reduce the risk of misuse by children, mechanisms have been incorporated in lighters to make their use more complicated. Often such mechanisms include a safety feature which must first be actuated before the lighter is ready to be used. A well known mechanism for preventing usage of a lighter by children involves a mechanism for obstructing the motion of the trigger to prevent ignition of the lighter. U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,762, for example, shows a lighter which includes a feature that engages the trigger to obstruct its motion. Such mechanisms work well. Generally, however, such safety mechanisms include a trigger mechanism having unique features. Thus, to take advantage of such safety mechanisms, the trigger mechanism of the lighter must be designed according to such unique features. That means that each commercial lighter must be customized to include the unique features. It is desirable to provide a safety mechanism that can be universally incorporated into all commercial lighters utilizing a piezoelectric unit, without regard to the configuration of the trigger itself.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a lighter safety mechanism that might be incorporated in any lighter which includes a piezoelectric ignition unit.
A lighter regardless of the purpose for which the lighter may be used and regardless of its shape and size, according to the present invention includes a universal safety mechanism for a piezoelectric lighter ignition unit. That mechanism has an ignition plunger that is selectively moveable within a main casting to generate a spark for igniting a stream of flammable gas, and some type of locking object or stop obstructs the movement of the plunger into the main casting to prevent ignition. Examples of stops may be any element that presents an obstacle, such as a rod, a spring, a latch etc.
In one preferred non-limiting embodiment, the plunger of the piezoelectric unit according to the present invention includes a notch on one side thereof. The notch has an open surface which is oriented transverse to the direction of motion of the plunger. The latch includes a stop portion which is selectively moveable to a position where it may oppose the transverse open surface in order to obstruct the motion of the plunger.
In a lighter safety mechanism according to the preferred embodiment, the latch includes an arm which is integral with the stop portion to form a unitary L-shaped latch. The arm portion extends from the interior of the housing of the lighter that houses the piezoelectric unit to the exterior of the housing where it may be manipulated by a user to selectively move the stop portion from a stop position where it opposes the transverse open surface to an open position away from the transverse open surface to allow the plunger to be pressed freely into the main casting. According to the preferred embodiment, the latch is spring-loaded so that it is returned to a position where its stop portion may oppose the transverse open surface when the user stops manipulating the arm. Alternative types of stops or obstacle elements share in common the movability between the stop and open plunger motion positions.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention which refers to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1A
shows a side elevation view of a piezoelectric unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 1B
shows a partially exploded perspective view of a lighter safety mechanism according to the present invention which includes the piezoelectric unit of
FIG. 1A
, and a latch that engages the plunger of the piezoelectric unit to prevent the piezoelectric unit from operating;
FIG. 1C
shows a perspective view in which the latch shown in
FIG. 1B
engages the plunger of the piezoelectric unit to prevent the piezoelectric unit from operating;
FIG. 1D
shows a perspective view in which the latch shown in
FIG. 1C
has disengaged from the plunger of the piezoelectric unit to allow the piezoelectric unit to operate;
FIG. 2A
shows schematically a side view of the interior of a lighter having a lighter safety mechanism that is engaged according to the present invention;
FIG. 2B
is a cross-sectional view of the lighter shown in
FIG. 2B
along line
2
B—
2
B in
FIG. 2A
looking in the direction of the arrows;
FIG. 2C
shows schematically a side view of the interior of a lighter having a lighter safety mechanism according to the present invention in a disengaged condition;
FIG. 2D
is a cross-sectional view of the lighter shown in
FIG. 2C
along line
2
D—
2
D in
FIG. 2C
looking in the direction of the arrows.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIG. 1A
shows a side view of a piezoelectric lighter ignition unit
10
that is used in a lighter according to the present invention. Piezoelectric unit
10
includes a main casting
12
and a plunger
14
. Main casting
12
includes an opening which receives an end of plunger
14
and allows the same to be selectively moved inside main casting
12
. As is conventionally known, piezoelectric unit
10
generates electricity and transmits the same to wire
16
when plunger
14
is pressed and thus caused to move inside main casting
12
. The generated electricity is used to produce a spark to light a stream of flammable gas. Unless urged by an external force, most of the body of plunger
14
extends outside of main casting
12
. Plunger
14
is spring loaded, however, by a spring inside casting
12
so that when the external force that urges plunger
14
into the main casting
12
ceases, plunger
14
returns to its original extended position.
Referring now to
FIGS. 1A-1D
, plunger
14
includes a notch
18
on a side thereof. Notch
18
includes open surface
18
a
which is transverse to the direction of movement of plunger
14
into main casting
12
. Notch
18
is large enough to receive stop portion
20
of latch
22
. Referring specifically to
FIG. 1C
, once stop portion
20
of latch
22
is received in notch
18
, transverse open surface
18
a
is opposed by stop portion
20
when plunger
14
is pressed in an inward direction into main casting
12
. The contact between transverse open surface
18
a
and stop portion
20
obstructs the movement of plunger
14
, thereby preventing the production of a spark that lights the flammable gas. As shown in
FIG. 1D
, once stop portion
20
is moved away from transverse open surface
18
a
, plunger
14
is free to move inwardly into main casting
12
to produce a spark to light the flammable gas.
Piezoelectric unit
10
as incorporated in a lighter is shown in
FIGS. 2A-2D
. Referring to
FIG. 2A
, piezoelectric unit
10
is disposed in the interior of a housing
11
. The free end of plunger
14
extends into a trigger
24
. Trigger
24
is attached to the free end of plunger
14
to allow a user to press plunger
14
inwardly into main casting
12
. Trigger
24
includes fuel release member
26
which extends in the direction of movement of plunger
14
. As trigger
24
is pressed to press plunger
14
inwardly into casting
12
to produce a spark, the free end of member
26
contacts lever
28
. This contact causes lever
28
to be moved in the direction of plunger
14
. The movement of lever
28
causes a valve (not shown) to be opened to allow flammable gas to enter fuel tube
30
through nozzle
32
from fuel chamber
34
. As plunger
14
is further pressed into main casting
12
, a spark is produced to light the flammable gas.
Referring now to
FIG. 2B
, latch
22
includes arm
36
which is integral with stop portion
20
and extends from the interior of housing
11
to its exterior. Arm
36
is slidably received by first
38
and second
40
snap-in latch supports. First
38
and second
40
snap-in latch supports are spaced from one another along arm
36
and are attached to an interior wall of housing
11
. Stopper
42
is attached to arm
36
. Compression spring
44
on arm
36
is disposed between stopper
42
and second snap-in latch support
40
. Arm
36
also has knob
46
disposed at its free end to make it more comfortable for the user to press the end of arm
36
.
Now referring to
FIGS. 2B and 2D
, in its natural, expanded state, spring
44
presses against second snap-in latch support
40
and stopper
42
, thereby keeping the two spaced at a predetermined distance set by abutment of stopper
42
with the interior housing
11
. As a result, stop portion
20
is moved into notch
18
where transverse open surface
18
a
(
FIG. 1A
) is opposed by stop portion
20
to prevent the inward movement of plunger
14
into the interior of main casting
12
. To release plunger
14
, a user applies force to knob
46
at the end of arm
36
. This force moves stop portion
20
out of the path of transverse open surface
18
a
(
FIG. 1A
) allowing plunger
14
to be pressed inwardly into main casting
12
. Also, this force causes stopper
42
to be moved toward second snap-in latch support
40
causing spring
44
to be squeezed therebetween. When the force is removed from knob
46
, spring
44
returns to its natural, extended state, thus forcing second snap-in latch support
40
and stopper
42
to be spaced apart. While second snap-in latch support
40
and stopper
42
are being spaced apart by the expansion of spring
44
, plunger
14
is allowed to move outwardly outside of the interior of main casting
12
thus allowing stop portion
20
to be received in notch
18
(
FIG. 1A
) and to oppose transverse open surface
18
A (FIG.
1
A). Hence, the lighter according to the present invention cannot be operated unless plunger
14
is released by application of force to knob
46
at the end of arm
36
. It is noteworthy that a lighter safety mechanism according to the present invention can be universally incorporated in any purpose lighter in that its operation does not depend on the configuration of the trigger or any other part of the lighter.
A movable latch of a particular configuration has been described. Any other element that may be an obstacle to motion of the plunger and that is movable between the stop and the open positions may be substituted.
Although the present invention has been described in relation to a particular embodiment thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is preferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. A lighter comprising:a housing; a piezoelectric lighter ignition unit disposed within said housing, said piezoelectric unit including a main casting and a plunger with a plunger portion that is shaped and sized to be movable into said main casting, the plunger including a recessed surface oriented transversely to a direction of motion of said plunger into said casting; and a latch that is positioned to be selectively opposable by said recessed surface, to prevent said plunger portion from moving into said main casting when said latch is in a stopping or locked position, and said latch being movable to an open position to allow the movement of said plunger into said main casting.
- 2. A lighter according to claim 1, wherein said latch includes an arm that extends out of said housing such that said latch is operable to its positions by motion of the latch along the length of the arm.
- 3. A lighter according to claim 2, further comprising a knob disposed on an end of said arm for moving said arm.
- 4. A lighter according to claim 2, further comprising a latch support disposed in said housing and slidably receiving said arm as it moves.
- 5. A lighter according to claim 2, further comprising a stop in said housing, a stopper disposed on and movable with said arm, and a spring disposed between said stopper and said latch support and said spring normally urging said stopper to engage said stop in said housing; said stopper is so placed on said arm that with said stopper engaging said stop, said arm operates said latch to said stopping position, and said arm is movable to move said stop portion of said latch to said open position.
- 6. A lighter according to claim 5, further comprising a latch support disposed in said housing and slidably receiving said arm as said arm moves.
- 7. A lighter according to claim 2, wherein said stop portion of said latch forms an L shaped unitary latch together with said arm.
- 8. A lighter according to claim 7, wherein said stop portion and said arm are integrally connected.
- 9. A lighter according to claim 1, further comprising a notch in a side of said plunger, said recessed surface being part of said notch.
- 10. A lighter according to claim 1, further comprising an operable trigger operatively connected to said plunger for moving said plunger into said casting.
- 11. A lighter according to claim 8, further comprising a chamber for housing flammable fluid lighter fuel, a valve openable to allow fuel to exit said chamber.
- 12. A lighter according to claim 11, further comprising a lever operable for opening said valve, and a trigger including a portion that abuts said lever and operates said lever for opening said valve when said trigger is operated to move said plunger into said main casting.
- 13. A safety mechanism for selective prevention of the operation of a piezoelectric unit for a lighter, comprising:a main casting; a piezoelectric lighter ignition unit having a plunger that is selectively moveable into said main casting to generate a spark for ignition of a flammable gas, said plunger having a stop element oriented transversely to the direction of motion of said plunger into said casting; and a latch having a stop portion, said latch being selectively moveable to a position where said stop portion may oppose said stop element to obstruct the movement of said plunger into said main casting.
- 14. The safety mechanism of claim 11, further comprising a housing in which said piezoelectric unit is disposed, and said latch includes an arm integrally connected to said stop portion and extending from inside to outside of said housing.
- 15. A safety mechanism for selective prevention of the operation of a piezoelectric unit for a lighter comprising:a main casting; a piezoelectric lighter ignition unit having a plunger that is selectively moveable into said main casting to generate a spark for ignition of a flammable gas, a movable stop located adjacent to the plunger and movable between a plunger stopping position in which the stop engages the plunger and an open, plunger moving position, in which the stop is away from and disengaged from the plunger, the stop being shaped and positioned for preventing the plunger from moving into the casting when the stop is in the stopping position and permitting the plunger to move into the casting with the stop in the open position.
- 16. In combination:a lighter comprising a housing; and a safety mechanism according to claim 15 in the housing.
- 17. The combination of claim 16, further comprising a spring normally urging the stop to the plunger stopping position.
US Referenced Citations (9)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2324140 |
Oct 1998 |
GB |