Lighter with a lock-off mechanism

Abstract

The present invention relates to a lighter with a lock-off mechanism. Since the lighter in the art has not been provided with a lock-off mechanism limiting the operation of the actuator, the safety is lower. The lighter according to the present invention comprises a tank, a piezoelectric device, and an outlet device, wherein said actuator is provided with a lock-off mechanism formed by a gear, a rack and a return spring, the gear engages with the rack and cooperates together with it; the return spring is located between the actuator and the rack and causes the lower end of the rack being inserted into the tank in the no-operation condition. By moving the rack up or down, the locking or unlocking is achieved. According to the present invention, the safety of the lighter is improved, and the risk of generating a flame due to directly turning the actuator or unintentionally abutting against the actuator by an external force is avoided.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a lighter with a lock-off mechanism.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

[0002] A lighter commonly used at present is an electric igniter using combustible gas, such as butane gas and natural gas, as a fuel. It can generate a flame usually by pressing the operative actuator directly by the fingers and permitting the piezoelectric block in a piezoelectric device to spark so as to ignite the combustible gas. Without a lock-off mechanism (or a safety device) in the lighter, the operation of the actuator is not restricted, so that an unintentional operation of the actuator, such as an error operation, an operation by the infant, or some unintentional collision by a hard thing acting on the actuator, can easily ignite the lighter containing the combustible gas in itself, which will hurt the infant or damage the public safety. In addition, when an external force unintentionally acts on the actuator, the outlet valve will be opened, and then the combustible gas is leaked off, so that there is a potential risk due to the leaking of the combustible gas. Therefore, some countries and territories have prohibited or will prohibit the producing and selling of the lighter without a lock-off mechanism.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] An object of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned technical defects of the prior art, and to provide a lighter provided with a lock-off mechanism which can prevent the actuator of the lighter from being turned on directly, so as to avoid the above-mentioned potential risk. The lighter of the present invention can provide not only a higher ignition efficiency, but also higher safety. In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a lighter which comprises a tank for housing the fuel, a piezoelectric device in the tank, an outlet device, and a windshield above the tank, wherein the piezoelectric device comprises a piezoelectric block and an actuator, and a force applied on the piezoelectric block by the actuator causes the piezoelectric block to generate a stronger instantaneous current and create electric sparks; the outlet device comprises an outlet valve, a regulator ring and an lever, the lever opens the outlet valve under the driving of the actuator, and the regulator ring is adapted to adjust the air output, characterized in that said actuator is provided with a lock-off mechanism comprising a gear as a rotatable control member, a rack as a linearly movable locking member, and a return spring. The gear engages with the rack and co-operates together with it, and the return spring is located between the actuator and the rack, which keeps the lower end of the rack being inserted in the tank in the no-operation condition so as to lock the lighter. In this case, the actuator can not be turned directly. The actuator can be turned only after the gear is rotated to cause the rack to disengage from the tank so as to release the locking.

[0004] According to one aspect of the lighter with a lock-off mechanism of the present invention, the lower end of the rack is of an arc shape, which can be smoothly transited to the engaging surface of the tank, so that the actuator can be moved and returned smoothly.

[0005] According to the other aspect of the present invention, said gear is pivotally arranged in the chamber of the actuator, and the pivotal arrangement can be achieved by a rotation shaft, by fitting two projections provided on the opposed sides of the gear center into the recesses in the actuator or by other equivalent arrangements so as to make the rotation of the gear flexible.

[0006] According to another aspect of the present invention, the return spring is accommodated in the chamber formed by the actuator and the rack. The return spring can be a compression spring vertically mounted in the chamber or a torsion spring sleeved on the rotation shaft of the gear.

[0007] According to another aspect of the present invention, a lower cover is provided at the bottom of the tank to ensure the tank to be sealed strictly.

[0008] According to the invention, since the actuator has been provided at its one side with the lock-off mechanism cooperating with it, if the lock-off mechanism is not turned on, it is impossible to turn the actuator, so as to overcome the above problems of the prior art, improve the safety and prevent error operation.

[0009] The present invention will be described in detail by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the general configure of the lighter according to the invention,

[0011] FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the lighter in its locking position according to the invention,

[0012] FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the lighter in its operating position according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, the lighter of the present invention comprises a tank 13, a piezoelectric device 15 in the tank, an outlet device 16, a windshield 4 above the outlet device, an actuator 6 over the windshield, an inner shield 5 in the windshield 4, a top cover 7 on the actuator, and a lower cover 14 at the bottom of the tank 13, wherein the piezoelectric device 15 comprises a piezoelectric block 11, an actuator 6 and a rubber cushion 12; the outlet device 16 comprises an outlet valve 1, a regulator ring 2 and an lever 3, which are all assembled together in a conventional manner. On the actuator 6 is provided with a lock-off mechanism formed by a gear 8, a rack 10 and a return spring 9. The gear 8 engages with the rack 10 and co-operates together with it. The rack 10 can move up or down under the action of the gear 8 and the return spring 9 so as to disengage from or be inserted into the tank 13 in order to release or achieve the locking. The windshield 4 is adapted to shield the flame from the wind, the inner shield 5 is adapted to isolate the flame, the cushion 12 can absorb the shock, and the tank 13 houses the gas.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 2, in the locking position, the lower end of the rack 10 is inserted into the tank 13 under the action of the return spring 9. At this time, the actuator can not be turned directly by the finger. Even if there is a force acted on the gear 8 in the clockwise direction, since the lower end of the rack 10 abuts against the inner wall of the tank 13, the gear 8 can not be rotated, so that the lighter is locked off.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 3, while igniting the lighter, the gear 8 should be drove in the counter clockwise direction at first, then the rack 10 engaged with the gear moves up and disengages from the tank 13, so as to unlock the lighter, and the actuator 6 can be turned at the same time. Thus, the turning of the actuator 6 will drive the lever 3 to open the outlet valve 1, and the piezoelectric block 11 sparks simultaneously and then ignites the combustible gas. The flame will not be extinguished till the actuator 6 is turned off. Adjusting the regulator ring 2 can change the extension of the flame. If the user wants to extinguish the flame, what the user needs to do is to release his finger, which will make the actuator 6 restored automatically, and the rack 10 will return to the locking position under the force of the return spring 9, so that the lighter is restored to the locking condition. Subsequently, the lever 3 is restored to close the outlet valve 1, and the flow passage of the combustible gas is cut off, so that the flame is extinguished.

[0016] The present invention includes, but not exclusively, the example described above, various equivalent modification and variations of the lock-off mechanism, which utilizes engagement between a rotatable control member and a linearly movable locking member so as to make both members co-operate together, will fall into the protection scope of the present invention. For example, the control member may be a gear, a crank, a ratchet wheel, a cam or the like, the locking member cooperated with the control member may be a rack or a straight strap, etc., and the return mechanism making the locking member return may be a spring, a steel strap, a spring leaf or the like that has resilient return function.

Claims

1. A lighter with a lock-off mechanism comprising a tank (13), a piezoelectric device (15)in the tank, an outlet device (16), and a windshield (4) above the tank, wherein the piezoelectric device (15) comprises a piezoelectric block (11) and an actuator (6), and the outlet device (16) comprises an outlet valve (1) and an lever (3), characterized in that said actuator is provided with a lock-off mechanism formed by a gear (8) as a rotatable control member, a rack (10) as a linearly movable locking member and a return spring (9), and the gear (8) engages with he rack (10) and co-operates together with it; the return spring (9) is located between the actuator (6) and the rack (10) and causes the lower end of the rack (10) being inserted into the tank (13) in the no-operation condition.

2. A lighter according to claim 1, wherein the lower end of the rack 10 is of an arc shape, which can be smoothly transited to the engaging surface of the tank.

3. A lighter according to claim 1, wherein said gear (8) is pivotally arranged in the chamber of the actuator (6).

4. A lighter according to claim 1, wherein the return spring (9) is accommodated in the chamber formed by the actuator (6) and the rack (10).

5. A lighter according to claim 1, wherein a lower cover (14) is provided at the bottom of the tank (13).