CA1048286A - Pencil-shape gas lighter - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
According to the device of the present invention, it is possible to accomplish ignition, stifling of flames, and exposure and concealment of the flame adjusting portion and feed valve by a simple operation of merely pushing ox turning the fore cylinder of the device. Also, since the feed valve and other internal parts are covered up within the casing, the external appearance of the device is not impaired and the feed valve is protected against external impact. Further, since the feed valve is secured directly to the gas container, the required space can be minimized, thus realizing an ideal pencil-shaped gas lighter which is small in size and very handy to carry.

Description

1 This invelltion relates to a gas lighter having the appe~rctnce of a pencil.
Most of the conventional pencil-shaped gas lighters use a casing which is formed from a single elongated cylindrical body and which houses in its forward portion a gas container, an ignition noz~le communicated with said gas container through a gas valve and a discharge electrode disposed within the range of gas ejection from said ignition nozzle, and also houses in its rearward portion a high voltage generating means electrically connected to said discharge electrode.
One of the important problems in making such pencil-shaped gas lighters is selection of the position where the feed valve for supplying gas into the gas container is provided.
If it is attempted to set the feed valvs directly to the gas container, then it is necessary to form a hole at a pertinent part in the side wall of the casing cylinder corresponding to the location where the gas container is dis-posed, and the feed valve must be fitted into the gas container from said hole. If this method is used, the end face of the feed valve is exposed on the oute~ surface of the casing cylinder impairing the external appearance of the lighter, resulting in a reduced commercial value of the article.
On the other hand, if one tries to set the feed valve ` in the inconspicuous rear end of the casing cylinder, although the above-said problem is somewhat alleviated, it becomes impossible to directly connect ~he feed valve and gas container, as a high voltage generating means ïs disposed therebetween.
Hence, it is necessary to connect them by way of a pipe. This then results in the need for a space to accommodate the pipe in the casing cylinder. This makes it necessary to either enlarge the ,: , ' .. ~

1 diameter of ~he casing cy:Linder or to provide a passac~e for the pipe through the assembl~ p~r ts ~f -the high vo~ t~ge generati~g means. ~lowev~r, the former method not only makes for poor use of space in the casing, it also makes for an inconvenient size of lightar because of its enlarged diameter. The latter method involves a problem in that the construction of the assembly parts is cornplicated and troublesome and time-consuming in manu-facture. As well, it becomes difficult to manufacture a small-sized pencil-shaped gas lighter by using small-sized assembly parts.
The present invention has for its object to provide a small-sized pencil-shaped gas lighter which is easy to operate and convenient to carry and which is also not impaired in its external appearance as it uses a casing cylinder assembly composed of a combination of separable fore and rear cylinders.
The present invention is now described in detail by way of some of th~ preferred ernbodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a pencil-shaped gas lighter according to the present inventioni Figure 2 is a side view of the same lighter in a condition where the flames have been just stifled;
Figure 3 is a similar view to Fig. 2 but showing a condition where the lighter is be-~ng ignited;
Figure 4 is also a similar view but showing a condition where the fore and rear cylinders of the lighter have been separated;

- Figure 5 is an enlarged side view of the lighter, with a part of the casing being cut out;

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1 Figur~ 6 i~ an enla~ged sectional view showing the~
interior arrangements in the fore cylinder o~ the lighter;
Figure 7 is a plane view of a valve opening plate used in the lighter;
Figure 8 is an enlarged sectional view of the portion of the lighter where the valve opening plate i5 mounted;
Figure 9 is an enlarged rear end view of the fore cylinder;
Figure 10 is an enlarged front end view of the rear . 10 cylinder;
Figure 11 is an enlarged sectional view of the juncture of the fore and rear cylinders;
Figure 12 is a side view of a pencil-shaped gas lighter according to another embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 13 is a partial enlarged sectional view of the same lighter;
Figure 14 is an enlarged end view of an ignition ring `~ used in said lighter;
Figure 15 is an enlarged end view of a coupling used in the lighter;
Figure 16 is an enlarged sectional view of said coupling;
Figure 17 is an enlarged exploded perspeative view of the juncture of the fore and rear cylinders in a pencil-shaped gas lighter using a modified coupling;
Figure 18 is a perspective view of said coupling as taken from the side opposite to Fig. 17;
Figure 19 is a plane view of a valve opening plate used in combination with said coupling;
Figure 20 is a top view of a pencil-shaped gas lighter using the coupling of Fig~ 17, said lighter being shown in a condition where the flames have been stifled;

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I Figure ~l is a partly cut~out side view o~ the gas li~hter 3h~wn in Fi~. 20;
Fig~r~ 22 is a top view of the same lighter in a con-dition where it is being clicked to flame;
Figure 23 is a side view thereof;
Figure 24 is a top view of the same lighter with the feed valve and flame adjusting portion being exposed:
Figure 25 is a side view thereof;
Figure 26 ~located on the same page of E'ig~. 17-l9) is l~ an enlarged perspective view of a modification of the coupling shown in Fig. 26;
Figure 27 is an enlarged sectional view showing a method of setting a valve opening plate used in combination with the coupling of Fig. 26;
Figure 28 is an enlarg~d sectional view showing another method of setting said plate;
Figure 29 is a perspective view of a high voltage generating means;
Figure 30 is an enlarged sectional view showing the interior of the fore cylinder of a pencil-shaped gas lighter assembled by using the coupling shown in Fig. 17; and Figure 31 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a .~ .
valve shaft in which is fitted a discharge needle used in said lighter.
`~ Referring generally to the drawings, reference numeral 1 i designates a cylindrical casing made from a small-sized small- ;
-j diameter metallic cylinder assembly which is approximately 150 mm ~ ~
in total length and approximately lO mm in outer diameter. This ~ ;
cylindrical casing is composed of a combination of separable fore ~ ;
cylinder 2 and rear cylinder 3 as shown in Fig. 4. If desired, . : ~
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~V ~ 6 a clip not sllow~ may be att~ched to th~ ca~ing 1. I~ Fig. 6, numera.l. 4 indi.cates a fl~me port provided at an eccentric position in the end cap of the fore cylinder 2, 5, an ai.r vent provided at a part of the casin~ wall adjacent to the end of said fore cylinder 2, 6, a metal-made gas container slidably fitted in Said ore cylinder 2, and 7, a front end plate covering the front end of said gas container 6. Said front end plate is provided with an internal threaded hole 8 in which is threadingly engaged a cylinder 9 inserted into the gas container 6. Fitted in cylinder 9 through a spring 13 is a hollow valve stem 12 which has at its fore end an ignition nozzle 11 positioned immedi~tely below said ~lame port 4 and at its reax end a gas valve 10. 14 i.s a valve seat provided at the rear end of cylinder 9 with which~
gas valve 10 is in contact. Cylinder 15 extends below valve seat 14 on the gas inlet side of the seat. 17 is a hollow piston fitted into cylinder 15 through a pressure reducing packing 16, and 18 is a rear end plate covering the rear end of the gas con-tainer 6.
As shown in Fig. 4, the rear end of the rear end plate 18 slightly projects out from the rear end joint of the fore cylinder 2 such that the protruding portion can be fitted into the corresponding end of the rear cylinder 3. In Fig. 6, 21 is a valve box threadingly engaged in the internal threaded hole 19 formed in rear end plate. 18. Provided in valve box 21 is a feed valve 20 for supplying gas into the gas container 6. 22 is a conduit extending through the gas container 6, said conduit being connected at its one end to hollow piston 17 and at its other end to the valve box 21 projecting into the gas container 6. The wall of conduit 22 is ~ormed with pores 24 connecting into the gas container 6. When the conduit 22 is filled up with , .

1 ~he gas suppli~d from the Eeed va].ve 20, the gas flows out ~rom pores 2~ into the gas container 6 to fill it up with ~hc gas.
~t the rear end face of the valve box 21 is formed a groove 23 in which the driving tip of a driver or like means not shown can be set. When the driving tip of a driver or such iS set in groove 23 and then the driver is turned after sepa.rating the fore and rear cylinders 2 and 3, the pitch movement of the valve box - 21 given by the threaded hole 19 is conveyed to the hollow piston 17 through the conduit 2? to adjust the compressibility of the pressure reducing packing 16 to thereby control the gas ejection from the ignition no~zle 11, and hence the size of the flame 25 is a discharge 01ectrode within the range of gas ejection from the ignition nozzle 11. This discharge electrode 25 is secured to an insulating support pipe 27 fitted and fixed in the end opening of a pipe 26 which extends in the gas container 6 .
and which is secured to the front end plate 7 and rear end plate . 18. Provided inside and toward the rear end of said pipe 26 is :~
a current conducting terminal 28 which is elastically pressed by a spring provided in a casing 29 to project out from the rear ; 20 end of casing 29. 30 is a connecting rod in pipe 26 connecting discharge electrode 25.and current conducting terminal 28. 31 .
. is a lead wire also connecting said discharge electrode 25 and terminal 28. 32 is a circular valve opening plate which, as shown in Fig. 7, is formed with a hole 33 for passing the valve ~ :
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stem 12, a hole 34 for passing the insulating support pipe 27 and holes 35, 35 for passing the return operating rods 38 which are '~ to be described later. The corresponding parts projecting out :,' ' from front end plate 7 are passed through these holes, and the peripheral edge of valve opening plate 32 is secured as by spot welding to the innex wall of the fore cylinder 2.

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1 ~s shown in Fig. ~, the return operating rods 38, 3~
pass at one end through r~spective holes 35, 35 formed in valve opening plate 32, with stopper rings 39, 39 being secured to their end portions that just pass beyond their respective holes, while the other ends of the rods are fitted in the holes 36, 36 formed in the front end plate 7/ with springs 37, 37 being dîsposed therein. ~0 is a stopper ring secured to the outer wall of the ignition noz~le 11 projecting out from the valve opening plate,32.
When the fore cylinder 2 is pushed toward its front end side, the valve opening plate 32 presses the stopper rings 39, 39 to raise up the return operating rods 38, 38 against the force of springs 37, 37, while also raising up the valve stem 12 through said stopper ring 40 to the gas valve 10 opening position against the force of spring 13. This causes the gas valve 10 to separate from the valve seat 14 opening the gas passage in said valve seat 14, allowing the pressured gas in the gas container 6 to flow out from the conduit 22 to pass through the hollow of the piston 17, pressure reducing packing 16, gas passage in the 2~ valve seat 14, hole formed in the wall of the valve stem 12 and then the hollow of said valve stem 12 to finally eject out from the ignition nozzle 11. When the pressing force on the fore cylinder 2 is released, spring pressure accumulated in the springs 37, 37 acts to the return operating rods 38, 38 to return the valve opening plate 32 to its original position. The valve stem 12 also returns to its original position by receiving pressure of the spring 13 and the gas valve 10 now closes the gas passage in the valve seat 14.
As shown in Figs. 9 and 11, 41 is an engaging hole

3~ formed in the rear end plate 18 with a suitable depth from the - rear end face thereof, and.42 is a slot formed in a part of the .
' 1 side wall of said rear end plate 18 with a suitable length from the rear end face toward the end of tlle plate. Slidably fitted in said slot 42 is a protuberance 43 provided on the inner wall of the rear end joint of the fore cylinder 2, said protuberance 43 being provided with a hole 44 into which the end of a push lever 60 of a microswitch 51, which is to be described later, can be removably fitted. 45, see also Fig. 5~ is a slot also provided in said rear end plate 18 such that it is elongated circum-; ferentially at the location where the e~ternal surface of plates 18 approaches closest to the valve box 21. This slot is provided at that part of the side face of the rear end plate 18 which is exposed between the spaced-apart joining ends of both fore and rear cylinders 2 and 3 when fore cylinder 2 is pushed forwardly to eject gas as shown in Fig~ 3. It is possible to turn the valve box 21 without separating both fore and rear cylinders 2 , and 3 as shown in Fig. 4, by inserting a pin or the like into one of the small holes 46 provided at suitable intervals in the external surface of the valve box 21 corresponaing to elongated slot 45, thus allowing adjustment of the rate of gas ejected 2~ from the ignition nozzle 11.
As shown in Fig. 5, 47 is a high voltage generating means provided in the rear cylinder 3. It comprises a charging circuit and a discharging circuit formed by a battery 48, a ; capacitor 49, a transformer 50 and a microswitch 51. The battery 48, if used up,can be e~changed with new one by removing the ; rear end cap of the rear cylinder 3.
Referring to Fig. 6, 52 is a coupling secured to the inner wall of the rear cylinder 3 as by spot welding at the position slightly recessed from the end face of the fore joint of the rear cylinder 3. It is prcvided with a hole 53 into which ' ~ , ..

1 the protubcrant portion of the valve box 21 c~n escape when the valve box 21 is -turned to the p~sition where it projects out from the rear end o~ the rear end plate 18 for adjusting the flames, an insulating pipe.5G including a contactor 55 of which ~he fore end enters pipe 26 from its rear end opening to contact the terminal 28 while the rear end is electrically connected to the high voltage generating means 47 by way of a lead wire 54, a pro-: tuberance 57 which is removably fitted into the hole 41 provided in the rear end plate 18 as shown in Fig. 11, and a hole 58 through which a push lever of the microswitch 51 is passed, saidpush lever being described in detail later~ 59 is a push lobe of the microswitch 51, and 60 a push lever which pushes lobe 59.
C~ne end of said push lever 60 passes through hole 58 to fit in the hole 44 in the protuberance 43. The other end of push lever 60 moves, as a result of forced movement of the fore cylinder 2, to depress the push lobe 59. When the push lobe 59 is depressed, the charging circuit of the high voltage generating means is turned on to discharge the high voltage charged in the charging circuit. Of the thus discharged high voltage, the portion on the high voltage side is applied to the discharge electrode 25 through lead wire 54, contact terminal 55, conducting terminal ~, 28 and lead wire 31 while the portion on the low voltage side is applied to the ignition nozzle 11 by passing through the respective parts from the earth terminal 101 (see Fig. 29) contacted with the inner wall of the rear cylinder 3, thus giving off discharge sparks between the discharge electrode 25 ~ and ignition nozzle 11. These discharge sparks ignite the ., gas ejected from the ignition nozzle 11 which has been moved to the gas valve 10 open position by the valve opening plate 32 with 30 pushed movement of the fore cylinder 2, and consequently the flames rise up from the flame port 4. 61 is a protuberance adapted . ~.

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2~i to prevent the push lever 60 from being fo~cibly pulled out when the fore cylinder 2 is pushed forwardly.
In this pencil type gas lighter, if the fore and rear cylinders 2 and 3 are pulled in the opposite directions to each other, the protuberance 57 moves away from the hole 41 ~hile the push lever 60 is also disengaged from the hole 44, so that said both cylinders 2 and 3 separate from each other to bare out the feed valve ~0 on the rear end side of the fora cylinder 2, thus allowing supply o gas into the gas container 6. The separated 1~ fore and rear cylinders 2 and 3 can be joined together into one assembly as shown in Fig. 11 by pressing the protuberance 57 ~; into the hole 41 while inserting the push lever 60 into the c,pening 44 through a hole 58.
Referring now to Figs. 12 to 16, there is shown another ambodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a p.ipe 62 is slidably fitted between the fore cylinder 2 and gas ' containter 6, with the valve opening plate 32 being secured to the front end of said pipe 62. At the rear end o said pipe 62 is provided a protuberance 63 which extends out from a part of ~, 20` the pipe edge as shown in Fig. 13. Also, a ring 64 is slidably ~;
fitted around the joint of the fore and rear cylinders 2 and 3.
This ring 64 has on its inner wall a protuberance 65 which extends throug}l a hole (not shown) in the wall of the fore `` cylinder 2 and abuts against the protuberance 63 of said pipe 62 to push it. At the rear end of said ring 64 is also provided a '; protuberance 66 adapted to depress the pressing lobe 59 of the microswitch 51 of the high voltage generating means 47. Thus, if the ring 64 is pushed toward the front end of the fore cylinder 2 instead of pushing the fore cylinder 2 itself,the protuberance 65 pushes the pipe 62 whereby the valve opening plate ' :

32 secured to ~he end o~ saicl pipe 62 pul.ls Up the ignition noæzle 11 f~-om tile cylinder 9 to eject out gas from the gas cont~iner 6 in the same way as in the preceding embodiment. Coincidently w.ith this gas ejection, the protuberance 66 provid~d at the rear end of the ring 64 depresses the pushing lobe 59 of the micro-switch 51 to discharge the high voltage charged in the charging circuit of the high voltage generating means to let out dis-charge sparks between the discharge electrode 25 and ignition nozzle 11, thereby igniting the gas ejected ~rom the ignition noz~le 11.
In Fig. 13, reference numeral 67 designates a spring interposed between the end cap of the fore cylinder 2 and the valve opening plate 32. This spring plays the role of the return operating rods 38 in the preceding embodiment. That is, it acts to let the valve opening plate 32 retuxn to its original position from the position where it has been pushed by the ring 64 through the pipe 62. 68 is a coupling which separately joins the fore and rear cylinders 2 and 3. Like the coupling 52 in the previous ~`.
embodiment, it has a hole 53 into which the rear end of the valve hox 21 can escape, an insulating pipe 56 containing a contact terminal 55, and a protuberance 57 which is removahly fitted in `~ the hole 41. 69 is an engaging annular ring forming the upper :
section with the coupling 68 and adapted to snugly receive therein the rear end plate 18 of.the gas container 6 projecting from the rear joint of the fore cylinder 2. Provided at a part of engaging ring 69 is a cut-out portion 70 arranged to allow extension therethrough of the protuberance 65 as well as movement of said protuberance to the position where it is placed off the pro-tuberance 63 with a turn of the ring 64. When the protuberance 65 is turned to the position off the protuberance 63, it abuts against .

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~` -1 a ~topper protube~ance 71 provided on the rear end plate 18 of ~he ~as cylinder 6. This eliminates ally poss.ibility that the ring 64 can b~ mistakenly or accidentally push~d causing ignitio~
when the gas light~r is not in use. :
Referring now to Figs. 17 to 25, there is shown still another embodiment of the coupling of the fore and rear cylinders 2 and 3 a~cording to the present invention. Designated generally by numeral 72 is a coupling formed by e~tending the rear end plate 18 of the gas container 6 shown in the preceding ~ embodiment. ~he portion of the coupling which fits on the joining end of the rear cylinder 3 i5 hollowed as shown by numeral 73 so that when the fore and rear cylinders 2 and 3 are :` joined together, the microswitch 51 of ~he high voltage generating means 47 housed in the rear cylinder 3 is placed in the hollow portion 73. In the side of the portion of said coupling 72 which is slidably fitted in the fore cylinder 2, there are provided : a short slot 74 and a long slot 75 arranged axially on the fore cylinder 2 and disposed respectively at a part corresponding to the push lobe 59 of the microswitch 51 and a part spaced a certain angular distance therefrom. The short slot 74 is of a length consistent with the length of the stroke of the valve opening plate 32 necessary for pulling upthe ignition noz7.1e ll to the open position of the gas valve 10 when the fore cylinder 2 . ~
is slid, 76 is a connecting opening provided between the ends of said both slots 74 and 75. 77 is an opening formed in the siae wall portion of the coupling 72 covering the hollow portion 73 by cutting out the extension of the intermediate portion between said both slots 74 and 75. 7~ is a ring slidably fit~ed around the coupling 72 and fixed to the inner wall of ths xear end , joint of the fore cylinder 2. 7~ is a lever which is slidably . .
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1 fittabl~ into eith~r of said slot~ 7~ and 75, with one end of said lever bein~ fixed to the ring 78. It i5 movable rom one end to the other of the cutout portion 77 through the connecting opening 76 with a turn of the fore cylinder 2 so as to regulate the turning of the fore cylinder to within the distance between slots 74 and 75. Thus, this lever 79 plays the role of the push lever 60 in the preceding embodiment. That is, when the fore cylinder 2 is turned to the position of Fig. 20 to mo~e the lever 79 to the short slot side, the intermediate thick portion 80 of the lever 79 rides on the push lobe 59 of the microc,witch 51 as shown in Fig. 21 to depxess said lobe 59 to switch on the charging circuit of the high voltage generating means 47, thus charging the high voltage to the charging circuit. Then/ when the fore cylinder 2 is pushed to slide the lever 79 along the short 510t 74 as shown in Fig. 23, the thin portion 81 at the rear end of the lever 79 arrives on the push lobe 59 of the microswitch 51 as shown in Fig. 23 to release pressure by the thick portion 80 to now switch on the discharging circuit of the high voltage generating means, whereupon the high voltage charged to the charging circuit is conducted to the discharge electrode 25 to produce discharge sparks between the gas valve 10 and ignition nozzle 11 which has been raised up to the open position of the ` gas valve by the valve openiny p]ate with pushed movement of the ! fore cylinder 2 and is e]ecting gas, thereby to ignite the gas from the ignition nozzle to create flames. The flames spout out from the flame port 4 which has moved just overhead the ignition nozzle 11 when the fore cylinder 2 has turned to the position of Fig. 20. Under this condition, if pressure on the fore cylinder 2 is released, the fore cylinder 2 automatically returns to the original position through the valve opening plate 32 by the action of the return operating rods 38 and at the same time the gas valve 10 is closed to stifle the flames.

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~V~2~6 1 When the fore cylinder 2 is turned to the position of Fi~. ?~, the le~er 79 separcl~es ~'rom the push lobe 59 of the microswitch 51 and moves to the long slot side while the flame poxt 4 moves to the pOSitiOIl off the ignition noz~le 11, and the open end of the ignition nozzle 11 i5 covered by the end cap o~ the fore cylinder 2 to guard the ignition nozzle 11 against dust or other alien matters when the gas lighter is not in use.
- If the fore cyli~lder 2 is pushed at the position of Fig. 24, the lever 79 slides along the slot 75 to move the fore cylinder 2 forwardly through the length of said slot 75, whereupon the joined ends of the fore and rear cylinders 2 and 3 separate from each other as shown in Fig. 25 to bare out tha side face of the coupling 72. It is to be noted that a feed valve 82 ~' in contact with the gas container 6 and a flame adjusting portion 83 are situated at a point on the side face so that when the ' gas lighter is not used, said feed valve 82 and flame adjusting portion 83 will be covered by the wall of the fore cylinder 2 so as not to impair the appearance of the lighter while protecting said feed valve 82 and flame adjusting portion 83 against dust or ` ~0 external impact~
~, The flame adiusting portion 83 has the following construction, As shown in Fig. 30, the conduit, 22 is connected at its one end to the hollow piston 17 slidably fitted through ' pressure reducing packing 16 in the cylinder 15 on the gas inlet side of the valve seat 14~ It is provided with a threaded bolt 84 at its other end. This threaded bolt 84 is inserted into a hole 85 formed in the rear end plate 18 of the gas container. A
nut 87 threadedly engaged with said bolt 84 i5 fitted'in a h,ole 85 formed so as to open in one side surface of the rear end plate 18 from said insertion hole 85. Thus, the user can adjust the . .
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1 amount o~ CJ~s ejected from the ig~i-tion nozzl~ 11 by turning the nut 87 to let the conduit 22 make vertical pitch movement by placing a finger against the side o~ the nut 87 close to the op~ning of th~ hole 86 a~d adjusting compr~ssion of the pressure reducing packing 16. ~rrangement is also made SU~}I that when the gas ejected from the ignition nozzle 11 is ignited by pushing the fore cylinder 2 after turning .it toward the short slot 74 in the coupling 72, the flame adjusting portion 83 emerges on the side of the coupling 72 to allow adjustment of the size of the flames when the gas is ignited.
Fig. 19 shows a valve opening plate designed for use in combination with said coupling 72. It comprises a disc 88 fixed to the inner wall of the fore cylinder 2 and arranged rotatable with rotation of the fore cylinder 2. Disc 88 is provided with an opening 89 formed by enlarging the hole 33 in the valve opening plate 32 for passing the valve shaft 12 and the hole 34 for passing the insulating support pipe 27 in the preceding embodiment in conformity to the range in which the fore cylinder 2 is movable between the short and long slots 74 and 75 in the ~oupling 72. Opening 89 is provided with an engaging edge 90 designed to engage with the stopper ring 40 provided at the outer periphery of the ignition nozæle 11 to raise up the ignition nozzle 11 to the open position of the gas valve 10 when the fore cylinder 2 is turned toward the short slot 74 as shown in Fig. 20 and then pushed toward its front end as shown in Fig. 23, and a disengaging edge 91 designed to release engage-ment with said stopper ring 40 of the ignition nozzle 11 when the fore cylinder 2 is turned toward the long slot 75 as shown in Fig. 24 and th~n pushed toward its front end as shown in Fig. 25.

_ 15 -: j - -1 Fig. 26 shows a modificatiorl of the above-said coupling 72. This modified coupling 72 ' l~ck~; thc~ short ~;lot 74 in th~
coupling 72 but is otherwise same as said coupling 72.
When using coupling 72'/ when the fore cylinder 2 is turned away from the elongated slot 75 and the lever 79 depresses the push lobe 59 of the microswitch 51 of the high voltage generating means 47, the charging circuit is energized while the discharging circuit deenergized, and when the fore cylinder 2 is turned toward the slot 75 and the lever 79 is disengaged from the push lobe S9, the charging circuit is energized while the discharging circuit deenergized.
When using the coupling 72', no gas is ajected from the ignition nozzle 11 when the fore cylinder 2 is turned in the direction opposite to the slot 75, no ignition is made. There-fore a cam 92 is provided at an upper end of the valve opening plate 88 as shown in Fig. 27 or at the underside of the valve opening plate 32 as shown in Fig. 28. Cam 92 acts upon the stopper ring 40 on the ignition nozzle 11 with a turn of the fore cylinder 2 raising up the ignition nozzle 11 to the open position ~ 20 of the gas valve 10~ In the case of Fig. 27, the valve opening - plate 88 turns together with the fore cylinder 2 to push up the ` stopper ring 40 along the slant of the cam 92 to thereby open the valve.
In the case of Fig. 28, the portion of the valve opening plate 32 remote from the ignition nozzle 11 is fixed while the portion close to the ignition nozzle 11 acts as a free end loaded with a spring pressure and abutting against the underside of the stopper ring 40. The end of a hook bar 93 turning with the fore cylinder 2 abuts against the slope of the cam 92 provided on the underside of said free end to raise up the valve opening plate 88 against its spring pressure to thereby open the valve.

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1 Fig. 29 shows a partial modi~ication o~ the high voltage generatin~ means already described. In this modi~ication, a capacitor 49~, a transformer 50~ and a microswitch SlA, all with a size conforming to the hollow of the rear cylinder 3, are joined in vertical alignment and wired such that the charging and discharging circuits can be switched from one to the other by the push lobe 59A of the microswitch SlAo These three parts are covered with an organic insulating material such as plastic to form an integral assembly. In Fig. 29, numeral 101 is an earth terminal which extends out so that it will touch the inner wall of the rear cylinder 3 when said integral assembly of the three parts is placed in the rear cylinder 3 along with a battery.
94 is a lead wire which extends from a side of the microswitch 49A and is coated with an insulating material. This lead wire 94 is arranged such that, as shown in Fig. 30, when the fore and rear cylinders 2 and 3 are joined together, it extends out ~rom the rear end plate 18 of the gas container 6, passes the inside of gas container 6, pierces through the fore end plate 7 and further passes through the valve opening plate 32 or 88 to reach a position close to the ignition nozzle 11 to form a dis-charge electrode 25A. 95 is an insulating support member for said lead wire 94 passed through the valve opening plate 32 or 88, and 96 is a pipe enclosing the lead wire 94 that passes through the gas container 6. As shown in Fig. 30, both ends of said pipe 96 are secured to the fore end plate 7 and rear end plate 18, respectively, of the gas container to prevent gas leak.
I the just described high voltage generating means is used, the parts such as current conducting terminal 28 and ' 30 contactor 55 in Fig. 6 provided on the lead wire are no longer 1 necessary, making the construction simple and the assembling easy. Also, since the portions which the lead wire passes through are provided in the fore cylinder 2, the required space is diminished allowing.a reduction in the size of the cylinder assembly 1.
In Fig. 30, numeral 97 indicates an externally threaded portion provided at the end of the ignition nozzle 11, with the stopper ring ~OA being th~eadedly fitted on the portion.
It is possible to quicken or slow down the opening time of the gas valve 10 by the valve opening plate 32 or 88 so that such valve opening coincides with emission of discharge sparks from the discharge electrode 25 by moving said stopper ring 40A in pitches by said threaded portion 97 to adjust the distance between said stopper ring and the valve opening plate 32 or 88. 98 is an air vent for letting out the air amassed in the gas container 6 when gas is supplied into said gas container through the feed valve 82. 99 is a discharge needle inserted into the top end of the ignition nozzle 11 so that the pointed end of said needle projects out from ~eend of the ignition nozzle 11. In the portion o~ needle 99 inserted into the ignition nozzle 11 is provided : a space 100, defined by said portion and the inner wall of the ignition nozzle 11, for allowing passage of gas therethrough as shown in Fig. 31. If no such discharge needle 99 is provided in the ignition nozzle 11, the ignition rate may be reduced.
While many discharge sparks are produced between the discharge electrode 25 and the portion of the ignition nozzle positioned close to the electrode, there are less discharge sparks flying across the gas ejection from the end oE the ignition nozzle 11.
If said discharge needle 99 is provided in the ignition nozzle 1l., the discharge sparks flying across the gas flow from the ignition --lg 1 no~zle encl are increased to greatly improve the iynition rate.
~ s descxibcd above, according to the device of the present invention, it is possible to accomplish ignition, stifling of flames, and exposure and concealment of the flame adjusting portion and ~eed valve by a simple operation of merely pushing or turning the fore cylinder of the device. Also, since the feed valve and other internal parts are co~ered up within the casing, the external appearance of the device is not impaired and the feed valve is protected against external impact. Further, 0 since the feed valve is secured directly to the gas container, the re~uired space can be minimized, thus realizing an ideal pencil-shaped gas lighter which is small in size and very handy to carry.

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Claims (15)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In a pencil type gas lighter having:
(a) a cylindrical casing 1 consisting of a fore cylinder 2 provided with a flame port 4 at the front end and a rear cylinder 3 separably joined with said fore cylinder;
(b) a gas container 6 in said fore cylinder housing, an ignition nozzle with a gas valve 10 disposed on the fore cylinder front end side of said gas container in communication with said gas container through said gas valve 10;
(c) a discharge electrode 25 positioned within the range of gas ejection from the ignition nozzle, and a feed valve disposed on the rear end side of said gas con-tainer corresponding to the rear end side of the fore cylinder for supplying gas into said gas container; with (d) a high voltage generating means 47 in said rear cyl-inder, electrically connected to said discharge elec-trode 25, said high voltage generating means having a valve opening member 32 and a lever, said valve opening member 32 being adapted for opening the gas valve in cooperation with the lever operable to gener-ate a high voltage in said high voltage generating means; the improvement therein, wherein the ignition nozzle is provided at the front end of a hollow valve shaft the rear end of which is connected to the gas valve provided in the gas container, and a coupling is provided at the rear end of the gas container, said gas container being slidably fitted into said fore cylinder, said coupling of the gas container being separably joined to the counterpart provided in the
1. Claim 1 continued...
   inside of the joining end of the rear cylinder, said fore cylinder being provided at its rear end with said lever adapted to act on the high voltage generating means when a pushing force is applied during sliding movement of said fore cylinder to generate a high voltage and also provided to move the ignition nozzle to the open position of the gas valve when said fore cylinder slides forwards.
2. 2. A pencil type gas lighter according to claim 1 wherein a pipe is provided extending through the gas container, said pipe having therein a current conducting terminal electrically connected to the discharge electrode, and wherein the coupling disposed at the joining end of the rear cylinder is provided with a contactor contacted with said terminal, said contactor having one end electrically connected to the high voltage generating means and having the other end inserted into said pipe.
3. 3. A pencil type gas lighter according to claim 1 wherein a valve box is threadedly fitted into the gas container from the rear end of the coupling provided at the rear end of the gas con-tainer, said valve box being provided with a feed valve for supplying gas into said gas container, and wherein a cylinder housing a pressure reducing packing is provided on the gas inlet side of the gas valve, with one end of a hollow piston being fitted into said cylinder and a conduit having a hole com-municating with the inside of said gas container connecting the other end of said hollow piston and the end of said valve box inserted into said gas container.
   
   4. A pencil type gas lighter according to claim 1, further including spring means acting to automatically open the gas valve when the pushing force on the fore cylinder is released, and
4. Claim 4 continued...
   
   means for automatically returning said fore cylinder and valve opening member to the closed position of the gas valve.
5. 5. A pencil type gas lighter according to claim 1, wherein the valve opening member is provided with holes through which the valve shaft projecting from the front end of the gas container and connected to the ignition nozzle and support of the dis-charge electrode are passed respectively, said valve opening member being secured to an inner wall of the front end of the fore cyl-inder, and a stopper ring is provided around the front end of the ignition nozzle such that when the fore cylinder slides, the valve opening plate abuts against said stopper ring to raise the igni-tion nozzle to the open position of the gas valve.
6. 6. A pencil type gas lighter according to claim 3, wherein a flame adjusting hole is provided in the side surface of the coupling which is exposed when the fore cylinder slides, said flame adjusting hole being designed to adjust compressibility of the pressure reducing packing by turning the valve box which houses a feed valve therein.
7. 7. A pencil type gas lighter according to claim 1, wherein a pipe member is slidably fitted between the fore cylinder and the gas container, with a valve opening member being secured to the end of said pipe member, and an ignition ring is slidably fitted around the joint of the fore and rear cylinders, said ignition ring being provided on its interior surface with a protuberance which passes through openings provided in said fore and rear cylinders to abut against the rear end of said pipe member and which forces the pipe member to slide with sliding movement of said ignition ring to actuate the valve opening member to open the gas valve.
8. 8. A pencil type gas lighter according to claim 1, wherein two slots arranged axially on the fore cylinder are provided at a position corresponding to a switch portion of the high voltage generating means and at a position spaced a certain angle from said switch portion position, both positions being situated on the side surface of the coupling provided at the rear end of the gas container, both slots being connected by a connecting opening and a lever provided at the rear end of the fore cylinder, said lever passing in said connecting opening to move into either of said slots and slidable along either of said slots, said lever being also provided with a switch pressing lobe which depresses the switch of the high volt-age generating means to conduct a high voltage to the discharge electrode when said lever is moved to the position corresponding to the switch portion of the high voltage generating means and slides into either of said slots.
9. 9. A pencil type gas lighter according to claim 8, wherein a feed valve for supplying gas into the gas container and a flame adjusting portion are provided on the side face of the coupling which is bared when the fore cylinder slides forward.
   
   10. A pencil type gas lighter according to claim 8, wherein the valve opening member is provided with holes through which the valve shaft projecting from the front end of the gas container and connected to the ignition nozzle and a support of the dis-charge electrode are passed respectively, the valve opening mem-ber being further provided with an opening formed by enlarging the holes in conformity to a range of turn of the fore cylinder equivalent to the distance between both said slots in said coupling, said opening being provided with an engaging edge which engages with the ignition nozzle to open the gas valve when the fore cylinder is turned toward the slot corresponding to the switch
10. Claim 10 continued...
    of the high voltage generating means, and a disengaging edge which releases the engagement with the ignition nozzle when the fore cylinder is turned in the opposite direction from said position of turn.
11. 11. A pencil type gas lighter according to claim 8, in-cluding a lever having a switch pushing lobe which pushes the switch of the high voltage generating means to conduct a high voltage to the discharge electrode when said lever is moved, and a valve opening member having a cam for moving the ignition nozzle to the gas valve opening position.
12. 12. A pencil type gas lighter according to claim 1, wherein a high voltage lead wire extends out from the high voltage gener-ating means is passed through the inside of the gas container and the valve opening member to reach a position close to the ignition nozzle so as to form a discharge electrode.
13. 13. A pencil type gas lighter according to claim 1, wherein a stopper ring adapted to engage with the valve opening member is fitted around the fore end of the ignition nozzle.
14. 14. A pencil type gas lighter according to claim 1, wherein a discharge needle is set in the ignition nozzle.
15. 15. A pencil type gas lighter according to claim 8, wherein a flame port is provided at an eccentric position in the front end of the fore cylinder, said flame port being turnable with turn of the fore cylinder to move to the position corresponding to the ignition nozzle when flame is produced.