Patent Application
20090263754
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a lighter, and more particularly to a utility lighter comprising an illumination arrangement which is capable of providing illumination toward an ignition zone to allow a user to apply ignition at exact target spot as visualized by said illumination of said ignition zone.
2. Description of Related Arts
A conventional utility lighter typically comprises a handle casing having a fuel storage compartment formed therein, a bendable extension arm extended from the handle casing, a gas releasing valve provided at the fuel storage compartment for releasing the gas therein in a controllable manner, an ignition nozzle provided at the bendable extension arm; a piezoelectric unit received within the handle casing, and an actuation unit provided on the handle casing for actuating the piezoelectric unit to generate a spark at the ignition nozzle, wherein the gaseous fuel is simultaneously released for generating an ignition flame at the ignition nozzle when the actuation unit is actuated. Since the point of ignition at the ignition nozzle is far away from the handle casing, a user is able to apply the ignition flame to ignite various objects for a wide variety of purposes. For example, a user is able to ignite a stove to initialize generation of stove flame.
In light of this background, there exists a number of a discrepancy or insufficiency in association with this kind of conventional utility lighter. First, when a user wishes to use the utility lighter in a dim environment, in which the user is unable to accurately discern the exact target spot of ignition, that user has to rely on other illumination equipment, such as a flashlight, to help him locating that exact target spot of ignition. This is inconvenience, especially when the user is unable to get such a flashlight or other illumination equipment in specific situations.
Second, a major difficulty for manufacturing a utility lighter having an illumination arrangement is to secure a power source for illuminators. When a typical replaceable battery (such as a regular dry cell) is used and mounted within the handle casing, it would be very difficult for a user to replace that battery. Moreover, the introduction of a dry cell into the handle casing would inevitably increase the overall size thereof, making it bulky and heavy.
Third, another difficulty for manufacturing a utility lighter having an illumination arrangement is that when the structure of the utility light is altered in order to accommodate the illumination arrangement, the manufacturing cost will inevitably be increased. Since competition in utility lighters market is extremely keen, any significant increase in selling price would put the corresponding manufacturer in a very disadvantageous market position.
A main object of the present invention is to provide a utility lighter comprising an illumination arrangement which is capable of providing illumination toward an ignition zone to allow a user to apply ignition at exact target spot as visualized by said illumination of said ignition zone.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a utility lighter comprising an illumination arrangement which can be detachably mounted onto a lighter casing. In other words, the illumination arrangement does not alter the original structure and operation of the utility lighter so that the manufacturing cost of the present invention can be minimized.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a utility lighter comprising an illumination arrangement, which comprises an automatic switching mechanism for optimally providing illumination to an ignition zone of the utility lighter. Thus, a user is able to conveniently switch on the illumination unit for acquiring optimal illumination at the ignition zone.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an illumination arrangement for a utility lighter, wherein a user is able conveniently install and detach the illumination arrangement to and from the utility lighter.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an illumination arrangement for a utility lighter, wherein the illumination arrangement can be incorporated with any utility lighter having an extension arm by coaxially inserting the extension arm into the mounting hole of the illumination arrangement.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an illumination arrangement, which is adapted to incorporate with other tools, such as screwdriver, pen, and pencil, to provide illumination at the operation tip of the tool.
Accordingly, in order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a utility lighter, comprising:
a lighter casing which comprises a casing body having a fuel storage compartment formed therein for storing a predetermined amount of liquefied gas, and an extension arm having an upper end and a lower end extended from the lighter casing, wherein the extension arm has a receiving channel which is extended from the lower end to the upper end, wherein the upper end of the extension arm defines an ignition zone of the utility lighter;
a gas releasing valve provided at the fuel storage compartment for releasing the gas therein in a controllable manner;
an ignition nozzle provided at the upper end of the extension arm to communicate with the gas releasing valve through the receiving channel for releasing the gas through the ignition nozzle;
a piezoelectric unit, which is supported in the lighter casing, having a depressible part and a spark-generating element extended at a position that when the depressible part of the piezoelectric unit is depressed, the spark-generating element generates a spark at the ignition nozzle to ignite the gas emitting therefrom so as to generate an ignition flame;
an actuation unit provided on the lighter casing for actuating the piezoelectric unit to generate a spark at the ignition nozzle, wherein the gaseous fuel is simultaneously released for generating an ignition flame at the ignition zone when the actuation unit is actuated; and
an illumination arrangement, which comprises:
an illumination holder mounted on the lighter casing; and
an illumination unit mounted on the illumination holder in such a manner that the illumination unit is arranged to provide illumination primarily toward the ignition zone so that a user is able to accurately apply the ignition of the utility lighter to a target spot as clearly visualized by illumination of the ignition zone.
These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.
Referring to
The lighter casing 10 comprises a casing body 11 having a fuel storage compartment 111 formed therein for storing a predetermined amount of liquefied gas, and an extension arm 12 having an upper end 121 and a lower end 122 extended from the lighter casing 10, wherein the extension arm 12 has a receiving channel which is extended from the lower end 122 to the upper end 121, wherein the upper end 121 of the extension arm 12 defines an operation tip thereof as an ignition zone of the utility lighter. On the other hand, the gas releasing valve 20 is provided at the fuel storage compartment 111 for releasing the gas therein in a controllable manner.
The ignition nozzle 30 is provided at the upper end 121 of the extension arm 12 to communicate with the gas releasing valve 20 through the receiving channel for releasing the gas through the ignition nozzle 30.
The piezoelectric unit 40, which is supported in the lighter casing 10, has a depressible part 41 and a spark-generating element 42 extended at a position that when the depressible part 41 of the piezoelectric unit 40 is depressed, the spark-generating element 42 generates a spark at the ignition nozzle 30 to ignite the gas emitting therefrom so as to generate an ignition flame at the operation tip of the utility lighter.
The actuation unit 50 is provided at the lower portion of the lighter casing 10 for actuating the piezoelectric unit 40 to generate a spark at the ignition nozzle 30, wherein the gaseous fuel is simultaneously released for generating the ignition flame at the ignition zone when the actuation unit 50 is actuated.
The illumination arrangement 60 comprises an illumination holder 61 and an illumination unit 62. The illumination holder 61 is mounted at a top side of the lighter casing 10. The illumination unit 62 is mounted on the illumination holder 61 in such a manner that the illumination unit 62 is arranged to provide illumination primarily toward the ignition zone so that a user is able to accurately apply the ignition of the utility lighter to a target spot as clearly visualized by illumination of the ignition zone.
It is worth mentioning that the illumination unit 62 provides an illumination zone at the operation tip that the illumination zone covers the ignition zone so that the user is able to clearly target the ignition flame at the target spot. In addition, the illumination direction of the illumination unit 62 is corresponding to the axis of the extension arm 12. Accordingly, when the user actuates the actuation unit 50 by his or her finger for ignition, the illumination unit 62 provides enough illumination at the operation tip of the utility lighter without blocking the light from the illumination unit 62 by the hand of the user.
According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the casing body 11 comprises a first body member 112 and a second body member 113 which is detachably connected with the first body member 112 to form a receiving cavity 114 between the first body member 112 and the second body member 113, wherein the fuel storage compartment 111 is provided within the receiving cavity 114. Accordingly, the first and second body members 112, 113 are two half-casings of the casing body 11, i.e. the left side and right side of the casing body 11. Referring to
The illumination holder 61 comprises a retention member 611 attached on the casing body 11, and an illuminator housing 612 movably mounted on the retention member 611 for supporting the illumination unit 62 thereon, wherein the illuminator housing 612 is capable of pivotally moving between an idle position and an illumination position, wherein in the idle position, the illuminator housing 612 is pivotally folded with respective to the retention member 611 to align with the extension arm 12 for reducing an overall size of the utility lighter, wherein in the illumination position, the illuminator housing 612 is pivotally and outwardly unfolded with respective to the retention member 611 to allow the illumination unit 62 to generate illumination toward the ignition zone of the utility lighter.
The retention member 611 comprises a tubular retention element 6111 defining a through mounting hole 6112 extended therealong, wherein the mounting hole 6112 has a diameter substantially the same as or slightly larger than the diameter of the extension portion 115 of the casing body 11 so that the tubular retention element 6111 is capable of fittedly mounting onto the extension portion 115 of the casing body 11 by inserting the extension portion 115 into the mounting hole 6112. The retention member 611 further comprises a supporting seat 6113 integrally extended from the tubular retention element 6111 wherein the illuminator housing 612 is pivotally mounted onto the supporting seat 6113 for moving between the idle position and the illumination position.
According to the preferred embodiment, the retention element 6111 also forms a locking ring to securely lock up the first and second body members 112, 113. In other words, when the first and second body members 112, 113 are coupled with each other, the extension arm 12 is coaxially inserted into the mounting hole 6112 of the retention element 6111 until the retention element 6111 is coaxially mounted at the extension portion 115 of the casing body 11 to lock up the first and second body members 112, 113. Therefore, the extension arm 12 is also securely locked at the extension portion 115 of the casing body 11.
It is worth mentioning that the illumination arrangement 60 can be incorporated with the conventional utility lighter by removing the conventional locking ring thereof and being replaced by the retention element 6111. Therefore, the illumination arrangement 60 of the present invention can be formed as an add-on device to incorporate with any conventional utility lighter having the extension arm 12.
More specifically, the supporting seat 6113 comprises a plurality of seat members 6114 upwardly extended from the tubular retention element 6111 at two sides thereof to form a seat cavity within an inner side of each of the seat members 6114 and an upper surface of the tubular retention element 6111, wherein the illuminator housing 612 is pivotally mounted in the seat cavity to move between the idle position and the illumination position.
The illumination unit 62 comprises a LED illuminator mounted on the illuminator housing 612 in such a manner that when the illuminator housing 612 is at the illumination position, the LED illuminator is capable of generating illumination as a point source of light toward the ignition zone.
The illumination arrangement 60 further comprises an automatic switching mechanism 63 provided on the illuminator housing 612 to automatically switch on the illumination unit 62 when the illuminator housing 612 is moved from the idle position to the illumination position, and to automatically switch off the illumination unit 62 when the illuminator housing 612 is moved from the illumination position back to the idle position.
According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the automatic switching mechanism 63 contains a switching indention 631 indently formed on an upper surface of the tubular retention element 6111, and comprises a depressible switch 632 provided on a bottom surface of the illuminator housing 612 to align with the switching indention 631 when the illuminator housing 612 is at the illumination position. The depressible switch 632 is adapted to be depressed with respective to the illuminator housing 612 for turning on the illumination unit 62 mounted within the illuminator housing 612.
It is worth mentioning that when the illuminator housing 612 is at the idle position, the depressible switch 632 is not subject to any depression and thus the illumination unit 62 is turned off. On the other hand, when the illuminator housing 612 is at the illumination position, the depressible switch 632 is moved to engage with the switching indention 631 so that the depressible switch 632 is depressed by the switching indention 631 for turning on the illumination unit 62. Accordingly, the depressible switch 632 has a spherical shape wherein a diameter of the switching indention 631 is slightly less than a diameter of the depressible switch 632 so that when the illuminator housing 612 is at the illumination position, the depressible switch 632 is depressed to turn on the illumination unit 62. It is important to point out that, however, a manual switch can also be installed at the illuminator housing 612 for manually switching on and off the illumination unit 62.
Since the illuminator housing 612 is pivotally movable on the illumination holder 61, the angle of illumination by the illumination unit 62 is adjustable so as to allow a user to flexibly or fine tune the angle of illumination in order to suit his or her own need under particular circumstances.
Referring to
The illumination holder 61′ comprises a retention member 611′ attached on the casing body 11 wherein the illumination unit 62′ comprises a plurality of LED illuminators 621′ spacedly provided on a peripheral portion of the retention member 611′ for providing illumination toward the ignition zone. More specifically, the retention member 611′ comprises a tubular retention element 6111′ defining a through mounting hole 6112′ extended therealong, wherein the mounting hole 6112′ has a diameter substantially the same as the diameter of the extension portion 115 of the casing body 11 so that the tubular retention element 6111′ is capable of fittedly mounting onto the extension portion 115 of the casing body 11 by inserting the extension portion 115 into the mounting hole 6112. A manual switch can be installed at the illumination holder 61′ for switching on and off the LED illuminators 621′.
Accordingly, the retention element 6111′ also forms a locking ring to securely lock up the first and second body members 112, 113. In other words, when the first and second body members 112, 113 are coupled with each other, the extension arm 12 is coaxially inserted into the mounting hole 6112′ of the retention element 6111′ until the retention element 6111′ is coaxially mounted at the extension portion 115 of the casing body 11 to lock up the first and second body members 112, 113. Therefore, the extension arm 12 is also securely locked at the extension portion 115 of the casing body 11.
It is worth to mention that the illumination arrangement 60, 60′ and its alternative mode can be incorporated with another tool to provide the illumination for the operation tip of the tool. For example, the illumination arrangement 60, 60′ can be mounted to a screwdriver to provide the illumination for the screw head as the operation tip. Likewise, the illumination arrangement 60, 60′ can be mounted to a pen or pencil to provide the illumination for the writing tip as the operation tip.
One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting.
It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. The embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.
