Patent Application
20230135739
The present invention relates to a lighter, and more particularly to a lighter comprising a flint mounting frame which can be detached from a fuel casing and a supporting frame for facilitating replacement of a flint member.
A conventional lighter usually comprises a fuel casing having a receiving cavity and a gas-releasing nozzle, an upper supporting frame mounted on the fuel casing, a flint member provided in the upper supporting frame at a position near the gas-releasing nozzle, a spark wheel rotatably supported in the upper supporting frame, and an actuator operatively provided on the fuel casing and connected to the gas-releasing nozzle. When in use, a user may simultaneously depress the actuator and rotate the spark wheel. When the actuator is depressed, the gas-releasing nozzle is lifted up so as to release gaseous fuel. At the same time, the spark wheel is arranged to hit the flint member and generate a spark so as to ignite the gaseous fuel coming out from the gas-releasing nozzle. Continuous stream of fire will then be generated by continuous supply of gaseous fuel.
A major disadvantage of conventional lighters such as the one described above is that the fire generated by the lighter is created by hitting the spark wheel against the flint member. When the lighter is used for a certain period time, the flint member will suffer wear and tear and needs replacement. The problem, however, is that it is very difficult, if not infeasible, for a user to replace the flint member. Some models of lighters simply don't allow a user to replace the flint member. As a result, instead of replacing the flint members, most people will get a new lighter and this causes a waste of resources and money.
As a result, there is a need to develop a lighter which allows a user to replace a flint member with ease and convenience.
Certain variations of present invention provide a lighter comprising a flint mounting frame which can be detached from a fuel casing and a supporting frame for facilitating easy replacement of a flint member.
In one aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, it provides a lighter, comprising:
a fuel casing having a fuel storage cavity, and an accommodating slot formed in the fuel storage cavity;
a gas-releasing nozzle movably provided on the fuel casing;
a supporting frame provided on the fuel casing; and
a flint mounting frame having an upper operative frame detachably mounted on the supporting frame, and a lower mounting frame detachably attached on the upper operative frame and extended in the accommodating slot;
a spark wheel rotatably supported on the upper operative frame of the flint mounting frame;
a flint member detachably mounted in the lower mounting frame of the flint mounting frame and extended toward the upper operative frame to communicate with the spark wheel, in such a manner that when the spark wheel is rotated, a spark is generated at the flint member, wherein when the flint mounting frame is detached from the supporting frame and the fuel casing, the flint member is capable of being detached from the lower mounting frame for replacement; and
an actuator operatively mounted on the supporting frame and connected to the gas-releasing nozzle, in such a manner that when the actuator is depressed, the gas-releasing nozzle is lifted up for releasing fuel stored in the fuel storage cavity.
This summary presented above is provided merely to introduce certain concepts and not to identify any key or essential features of the claimed subject matter.
The following detailed description of the preferred embodiment is the preferred mode of carrying out the present disclosure. The description is not to be taken in any limiting sense. It is presented for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of embodiments of the present disclosure.
It should be appreciated that the terms “install”, “connect”, “couple”, and “mount” in the following description refer to the connecting relationship in the accompanying drawings for easy understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the connection can refer to permanent connection or detachable connection or connection through connecting pipes. Furthermore, “connected” may also mean direct connection or indirect connection, or connection through other auxiliary components, such as at least one connecting pipe 100 or at least one air conduit. Therefore, the above terms should not be an actual connection limitation of the elements of embodiments of the present disclosure.
It should be appreciated that the terms “length”, “width”, “top”, “bottom”, “front”, “rear”, “left”, “right”, vertical”, “horizontal”, “upper”, “lower”, “exterior”, and “interior” in the following description refer to the orientation or positioning relationship in the accompanying drawings for easy understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure without limiting the actual location or orientation of embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the above terms should not be an actual location limitation of the elements of embodiments of the present disclosure.
It should be appreciated that the terms “first”, “second”, “one”, “a”, and “an” in the following description refer to “at least one” or “one or more” in the embodiment. In particular, the term “a” in one embodiment may refer to “one” while in another embodiment may refer to “more than one”. Therefore, the above terms should not be an actual numerical limitation of the elements of embodiments of the present disclosure.
Referring to
The fuel casing 10 may have a fuel storage cavity 11, and an accommodating slot 12 formed in the fuel storage cavity 11. The fuel storage cavity 11 may be arranged to store a predetermined of fuel in liquid state. The gas-releasing nozzle 20 may be movably provided on the fuel casing 10 such that when the gas-releasing nozzle 20 is uplifted, the fuel in the fuel storage cavity 11 may be converted into gaseous state and may be ejected through the gas-releasing nozzle 20.
The flint mounting frame 40 may comprise an upper operative frame 41 detachably mounted on the supporting frame 30, and a lower mounting frame 42 detachably attached to the upper operative frame 41 and at least partially extended in the accommodating slot 12 of the fuel casing 10.
The spark wheel 50 may be rotatably supported on the upper operative frame 41 of the flint mounting frame 40.
The flint member 60 may be detachably mounted in the lower mounting frame 42 of the flint mounting frame 40 and extend toward the upper operative frame 41 to communicate with the spark wheel 50, in such a manner that when the spark wheel 50 is rotated, a spark is generated at the flint member 60. The flint mounting frame 40 may be detached from the supporting frame 30 and the fuel casing 10, wherein the flint member 60 may be detached from the lower mounting frame 42 of the flint mounting frame 40 for replacement by a new flint member 60.
The actuator 70 may be operatively mounted on the supporting frame 30 and connected to the gas-releasing nozzle 20, in such a manner that when the actuator 70 is depressed, the gas-releasing nozzle 20 may be lifted up for releasing the fuel stored in the fuel storage cavity 11.
According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the supporting frame 30 may be mounted on top of the fuel casing 10. The supporting frame 30 may comprise a side boundary wall 31, a top wall 32, and a receiving cavity 33 formed in a space surrounded by the side boundary wall 31 and the top wall 32. The side boundary wall 31 may have a curved external contour so as to match an external shape of the fuel casing 10. The top wall 32 may have a flame releasing slot 321 for allowing flame to pass through. The gas-releasing nozzle 20 may be positioned corresponding to the flame releasing slot 321 so that ignited gas released through the gas-releasing nozzle 20 may be arranged to pass through the flame releasing slot 321.
As shown in
The upper operative frame 41 of the flint mounting member 40 may comprise a supporting base wall 411 and two sidewalls 412 upwardly extended from the supporting base wall 411 to form a wheel cavity 413 at a space surrounded by the supporting base wall 411 and the two sidewalls 412. The spark wheel 50 may be rotatably supported in this wheel cavity 413. Moreover, the upper operative frame 41 may further comprise a plurality of engaging members 414 outwardly protruded from the two sidewalls 412 respectively, wherein the engaging members 414 may be positioned corresponding to the engaging slots 36 of the first securing frame 34 and the second securing frame 35 respectively, and may be arranged to detachably engage with the engaging slots 36 when the upper operative frame 41 is detachably accommodated in the receiving cavity 33. Thus, the engaging members 414 and the engaging slots 36 may help to secure the upper operative frame 41 on top of the fuel casing 10.
The upper operative frame 41 may further comprise an upper extension member 415 downwardly extended from the base wall 411 to detachably connect to the lower mounting frame 42. The upper extension member 415 may be configured to be a hollow structure and may have an upper cavity 4151 for accommodating the flint member 60 therein. The base wall 411 may further have a through hole 4111 formed thereon for communicating the wheel cavity 413 with the upper cavity 4141 of the upper extension member 415. As such, the flint member 60 may be accommodated in the upper extension member 415 and partially expose to the wheel cavity 413 through the through hole 4111.
On the other hand, the lower mounting frame 42 may also be configured to be a hollow structure and may have a lower cavity 421. The flint mounting member 40 may further comprise a resilient element 43 partially received in the lower cavity 421 for biasing against the flint member 60. The lower mounting frame 42 may detachably attach to the upper extension member 415 so that the lower cavity 421 may communicate with the upper cavity 4151 when the lower mounting frame 42 is detachably attached to the upper extension member 415. As shown in
Referring to
The spark wheel 50 may comprise a main ignition wheel 51 and a plurality of retention wheels 52 coaxially provided at two sides of the main ignition wheel 51. A diameter of each of the retention wheels 52 may be greater than that of the main ignition wheel 51. Each of the main ignition wheel 51 and the retention wheels 52 may have a plurality of teeth 53 formed thereon, wherein the teeth 53 on the main ignition wheel 51 may be arranged to physically hit the flint member 60 when the spark wheel 50 is driven to rotate. The retention wheels 52 may be rotatably connected to the sidewalls 412 of the upper operative frame 41 so as to rotatably mount the spark wheel 50 on the flint mounting frame 40.
As shown in
Each of the connecting members 73 may have a first inclined portion 731, a second inclined portion 732, and an elongated portion 733 integrally extended between the first inclined portion 731 and the second inclined portion 732. The first inclined portions 731 of the connecting members 73 may be connected to the lifting member 72, while the second inclined portions 732 of the connecting members 73 may be connected to the depression member 71. For each of the connecting members 73, the first inclined portion 731 and the second inclined portion 732 may be upwardly and inclinedly extended from two ends of the corresponding elongated portion 733.
As shown in
The actuator 70 may further comprise a plurality of pivotal shafts 75 outwardly extended from the connecting members 73 to pivotally connect to the first securing frame 34 and the second securing frame 35 respectively. Accordingly, each of the first securing frame 34 and the second securing frame 35 may have a positioning slot 37 positioned to correspond to that of the pivotal shafts 75. The pivotal shafts 75 may be arranged to pivotally connect to the positioning slots 37 so as to pivotally connect the actuator 70 to the first securing frame 34 and the second securing frame 35. In this preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pivotal shafts 75 may outwardly extend from the first inclined portions 731 of the connecting members 73 respectively.
The lifting member 72 may have a lifting slot 721 engaging with the gas-releasing nozzle 20. When the depression member 71 is depressed, the lifting member 72 may be pivotally move upwardly by lever action of the connecting members 73 so as to lift up the gas-releasing nozzle 20 for releasing the fuel stored in the fuel storage cavity 11 in gaseous form.
As shown in
When the user wishes to replace the flint member 60, the user may need to pivotally move the depression member 71 of the actuator 70 in upward direction (see
From the forgoing descriptions, one skilled in the art may appreciate that the present invention may allow a user to conveniently replace the flint member 60 from the lighter. Thus, when the flint member 60 is dissipated due to prolonged usage, the user can only replace the flint member 60 without replacing the entire lighter.
Embodiments of the present disclosure, while illustrated and described in terms of a preferred embodiment and several alternatives, is not limited to the particular description contained in this specification. Additional alternative or equivalent components could also be used to practice embodiments of the present disclosure.
