EP3325885B1 - Lighter and method for lining such a lighter with a protective element - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a lighter and a method of covering the body of a lighter by means of a protective element.

STATE OF THE ART

A lighter conventionally comprises a lighter body provided with a reservoir and an igniter. The tank is a fuel tank. The igniter can be of different types, in particular being a piezoelectric type igniter, a friction igniter, or simply an electric igniter. A friction igniter has a thumb wheel that causes friction on contact with a spark stone. The lighting of a lighter involves in this latter case the manipulation of the wheel, generally with the thumb. When the thumb escapes from the manipulation of the wheel, it then presses, almost simultaneously, on a pusher of a valve which releases a fuel. The release of fuel occurs at the same time that the spark occurs, causing the flame.

In the context of piezoelectric ignitions, the valve valve is pressed by a finger of the user, generally the thumb. When the thumb is pressed on this pusher, a first movement of this pusher compresses a spring. The continuation of this support suddenly releases the spring. This then strikes a piezoelectric quartz which also produces a spark. The production of the spark is also simultaneous with the release of the fuel by the consecutive action on the pusher which opens the fuel valve.

Lighters are very common and often used as promotional items.

The type of film used for decoration (sleeve or label) is either glossy or matt. The disadvantage of this type of film is that it does not resist scratches well and that it can be torn off easily.

The document DE 84 08 596 U1 shows all the features of the preamble of claim 1.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention aims to remedy these drawbacks.

• un corps de briquet comprenant un réservoir de combustible avec une soupape pour en libérer le combustible ;
• un assemblage selon un système piézoélectrique, électrique, ou de roue à frottoir pouvant être tourné par un utilisateur pour produire des étincelles orientées sur le combustible libérée de ladite soupape, ledit assemblage de roue à frottoir étant monté sur ledit corps de briquet avec au moins une partie de celui-ci exposée pour la manipulation et la rotation par l'utilisateur ;
• un actionneur de soupape pouvant être abaissé pour actionner ladite soupape et libérer ledit combustible ;
• un élément de protection monté sur ledit corps de briquet ;

To this end, according to a first aspect, the present invention relates to a lighter comprising:

• a lighter body comprising a fuel tank with a valve for releasing the fuel therefrom;
• an assembly according to a piezoelectric, electric, or friction wheel system which can be turned by a user to produce sparks oriented on the fuel released from said valve, said friction wheel assembly being mounted on said lighter body with at least one part of it exposed for manipulation and rotation by the user;
• a lowerable valve actuator for actuating said valve and releasing said fuel;
• a protective element mounted on said lighter body;

The protective element is composed of a plurality of layers and has a thickness of between 25 and 200 μm and comprises an outer protective film composed of a plastic film to which is added by coating a layer of aliphatic polyurethane of thickness included between 10 and 75 µm, which contains between 30 and 100% solid depending on the degree of softness to the touch required.

The decoration of lighters of the prior art has a low resistance to scratching and the tearing of the protective film.

Thanks to these provisions, the protective film has better resistance to scratching, tearing and better softness to the touch.

According to one embodiment, the outer protective film comprises an adhesive material intended to hold the protective element on the body of the lighter.

According to another embodiment, the protective element comprises a support film positioned on a layer lower than the protective film, said support film comprises a first face on which an adhesive material is added to maintain the protective film on the support film.

In this way, the protective element is composed of two films (protective and support film) improving the scratch and tear resistance while retaining a better softness when touched.

In one embodiment, the support film has a second face comprising an adhesive material intended to hold the external protective element on the body of the lighter.

In one embodiment, the protective element has a thickness of between 30 and 60 μm.

In one embodiment, the plastic film has a thickness of between 10 and 40 μm.

In one embodiment, the support film has a thickness of between 15 and 125 μm.

In one embodiment, the coefficient of friction of the outer protective film is between 0.40 and 0.70.

In one embodiment, the tack of the outer protective film is between 100 and 140 mN.

In one embodiment, the protective element includes a retaining mechanism to resist removal of said protective element from the lighter body.

In one embodiment, the protective element comprises an area for decorating the lighter.

In one embodiment, the protective element is in the form of a sleeve adapted to the shape of the lighter.

According to a second aspect, the present invention relates to a method of dressing the body of the lighter according to the first aspect of the invention by means of a protective element.

The advantages, aims and particular characteristics of this process being similar to those of the lighter which is the subject of the present invention, they are not repeated here.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

• la figure 1 représente un schéma de principe des mesures,
• les figures 2 à 4 représentent des courbes de la mesure de l'adhérence,
• les figures 5 à 7 représentent des courbes de mesure du coefficient de frottement,
• la figure 8 représente la construction de l'élément de protection.

Other advantages, aims and characteristics of the present invention emerge from the description which follows, given for explanatory purposes and in no way limiting, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

• the figure 1 represents a schematic diagram of the measurements,
• the figures 2 to 4 represent curves of the grip measurement,
• the Figures 5 to 7 represent curves of measurement of the coefficient of friction,
• the figure 8 represents the construction of the protective element.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLES OF EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

The purpose of the following description is to demonstrate the resistance and the improvement in the feel of the protective film compared to a glossy film and a matt film. For the rest, the protective film will be called soft touch film ("soft touch" trademark for "soft touch" in French).

The protective film comprises a plurality of layers (multilayer) and comprises on the last layer, called the outer layer, the soft touch film.

The soft touch film tested corresponds to the protective element whose thickness is 47 µm.

The glossy film has a thickness is 30 µm and the matt film has a thickness is 20 µm.

The three films compared are composed of the association of an opaque printed adhesive plastic film associated with one or two transparent films depending on the finishes.

The measurement protocol is as follows and is used to carry out the friction measurement and the adhesion measurement.

• en terme sensoriel,
• en terme de toucher orthogonal (aspect pégueux ou collant),
• en terme de toucher tangentiel (glissant/bloquant), voire de rayure (transition déformation plastique/rayure).

The system used makes it possible to carry out qualifying measurements:

• in sensory terms,
• in terms of orthogonal touch (tacky or sticky appearance),
• in terms of tangential touch (sliding / blocking), or even scratching (plastic deformation / scratching transition).

In addition, the system allows, for transparent materials, a precise observation of the actual indentor / sample contact area using an inverted microscope.

The figure 1 shows a block diagram of the measurements. This figure shows an indenter 20, a sample 21 to be tested and a camera 22. The indentor is used in the technique of indentation for measuring the hardness of a material.

• d'appliquer à l'échantillon un déplacement ou une force longitudinale,
• de mettre en contact l'échantillon avec un antagoniste de contact,
• d'observer l'aire de contact entre les deux surfaces en présence,
• de qualifier la force normale et la force tangentielle résultante.

The system consists of a measurement bench whose motors are controlled in order to:

• apply a longitudinal displacement or force to the sample,
• putting the sample in contact with a contact antagonist,
• observe the contact area between the two surfaces present,
• to qualify the normal force and the resulting tangential force.

The entire system is characterized by force measurement as a function of displacement in ranges which start from a few thousand Newtons up to fifty newtons and with micrometric displacement precision.

This device is intended to measure normal and / or tangential forces applied to samples via the indenter 20 as a function of a relative displacement, normal or tangential.

All cycles are controlled by the same software (Tribolog, registered trademark) and are able to carry out several types of measurements depending on the sensors and actuators in place on the basic mechanical structure.

The motorization of the transverse axis opens the possibility of carrying out friction tests (tribometer) or scratch tests as well as transverse force ramps.

In order to analyze the rough / rough side of the different films, a characterization of their surface condition is carried out.

So that the characterization of the surface condition in terms of feel is independent of the different surface coatings (transparent layer, adhesion primer) an impression is taken on each film.

These footprints are then mapped using a 3D scanning roughness meter.

The system is equipped with a contactless optical sensor. The mapping is performed on a 1x1 mm surface with a 2 µm step.

The sensor used has a measurement range of 200 µm with a vertical resolution of 7nm as well as a spot size with a diameter of 2 µm.

The films are previously cut and glued onto a glass slide (laboratory microscope glass) for each film and each type of measurement.

Two types of analysis are carried out :

• a measurement of the adhesion strength using a silicone hemisphere (RHODIA 4511, registered trademark) having a tacky character according to the following protocol:
  • ▪ indentation depth 500 µm,
  • ▪ equivalent indentation force (for silicone 4511) 60 mN,
  • ▪ stabilization time before takeoff 60 seconds.
  • ▪ detachment.
• a linear friction measurement using a hemispherical silicone indenter (RTC 141, registered trademark) of shore 0 hardness equal to 54, coated with an optical cleaning cloth with a normal force of 1.5N on a 10mm stroke.

A characterization of the surface conditions of the various finishes produced and summarized in the table below. criteria Glossy film Matte film Soft touch film unit Ra 0.21 0.57 0.55 microns Rsk 0.79 0.36 0.18 Rku 15.9 3.24 2.92

The criterion Ra is the arithmetic mean roughness of the profile. Ra is used as an overall assessment of the amplitude of the profile roughness but does not provide any information on the spatial distribution of the profile irregularities or the shape of the profile. Ra is useful for random rough surfaces (stochastic) machined with tools that do not leave too many marks on the surface, such as sanded, milled or polished surfaces.

The Rsk criterion is the asymmetry of the profile: asymmetry of the height distribution. This parameter is important because it provides information on the morphology of the surface condition. A negative value of Rsk corresponds to a surface with peaks and protrusions protruding above the surface, while a positive value corresponds to a plateau surface with stripes or deep pores. It is therefore an important parameter for characterizing contact or lubrication functions. This parameter, however, says nothing about the amplitude of the roughness, unlike Ra.

The criterion Rku is the flattening of the profile. This criterion characterizes the width of the height distribution.

It can be seen in the table that the glossy finish has a very low roughness.

Matte and soft touch films are very close neighbors in terms of amplitude.

The three films also have an absence of graining.

Given the values measured in terms of sensory touch, the associated descriptor is smooth (and not rough / rough) whatever the finish produced.

The figure 2 represents the adhesion measurement for the glossy film.

The figure 3 represents the adhesion measurement for the matt film.

The figure 4 represents the grip measurement for the soft touch film.

The different average values of the two tack tests carried out on each sample are grouped in the following table: Movie : Fa (mN) bright 74.6 mast 67.6 soft touch 120.6

We immediately see that the soft touch finish is clearly different from the other two finishes, in particular the matte finish with an almost similar surface roughness. The soft touch film has a tack almost twice as high as the others.

The measurement of the dry friction coefficient on the different films is presented to Figures 5 to 7 . The figure 5 represents a measurement curve of coefficient of friction for the glossy film. The figure 6 represents a curve for measuring the coefficient of friction for the matt film. The figure 7 represents a curve for measuring the coefficient of friction for the soft touch film. The reference F corresponds to the static coefficient F.

The measurement is made by applying a constant normal load of 1.5N and moving the sample.

On the figure 5 , the start of the curve obtained corresponds to a tangential tensioning between the indenter and the sample defining the initial force ramp at the start of the measurement.

When this force reaches the ratio Ft / Fn of the coefficient of static friction sample / indentor, there is relative sliding indentor / sample until reaching the value (lower) of the dynamic coefficient of friction. The assembly therefore oscillates between these two values of coefficient of friction. We then observe a jerky displacement called stick-slip (stick-slip in English terminology or "glued-slipped" in French).

We see, on the figure 6 , the same type of movement on the matt film.

Contrary to the previous remark, on the soft touch film the absence of this phenomenon under the same experimental conditions (see figure 7 ) is immediately noticeable.

Concerning the average coefficients of friction, it can be seen (see following table corresponding to the average friction) that those of the glossy and matt films are close neighbors and weak whereas those of the “soft touch” film is twice higher. Movie : Medium friction bright 0.29 mast 0.26 soft touch 0.54

The measurements carried out make it possible to differentiate in a relevant way the different types of film.

It appears that the protective film with the “soft touch” coating has characteristics very clearly different from other films in terms of orthogonal touch with a coefficient of friction twice as high as the other films analyzed.

In addition, the “soft touch” protective film reduces the stick-slip phenomenon when it is observed on the other films under the same experimental conditions.

Another measure is taken to improve the protection of the lighter: scratch resistance.

The conditions are as follows: a scratching stylus is used of which it has a spherical tip with a diameter of 1 mm which can apply a force between 0 and 30 N.

The test is conducted on the decorated lighter (with the different versions of films possible) at each defined load, the stylus moves over a distance between 40 and 50mm, at a speed of about 45mm / s.

1. 1 - Aucune marque
2. 2 - Présence d'un trait (légère déformation)
3. 3 - Film abîmé, transpercé
4. 4 - Film arraché

The result is interpreted by the following levels:

1. 1 - No brand
2. 2 - Presence of a line (slight deformation)
3. 3 - Damaged, pierced film
4. 4 - Film torn off

The result is interpreted according to the level of observation above after control by microscope with 8-fold magnification. Strength bright Mast Soft touch 1N 2 1 1 5N 3 2 1 20N 3 4 2 30N 4 4 2

The soft touch film has a scratch resistance twenty times greater than glossy film and four times greater than matt film. In addition, at 30N, the Soft Touch finish only exhibits deformation (presence of a line) while the other two films are torn off.

• Film brillant : entre 20 à 70 µm.
• Film mat : entre 20 à 70 µm.
• Film soft : entre 25 à 200 µm.

The thickness of the film types is as follows:

• Glossy film: between 20 to 70 µm.
• Matt film: between 20 to 70 µm.
• Soft film: between 25 to 200 µm.

The figure 8 represents the construction of the protective element.

A roll of support film 23 is unwound to be assembled with the protective film 24. A layer of adhesive material 25 is disposed between the support film 23 and the protective film 24. The arrow shows the direction of manufacture.

NOMENCLATURE

20

indenter

21

sample

22

camera

23

support film

24

outer protective film

25

adhesive material

26

protective element

Claims (13)

1. Lighter comprising:

   - a lighter body comprising a fuel tank with a valve to release the fuel from it;

   - an assembly according to a piezoelectric, electric, or friction wheel which could be rotated by a user to produce sparks oriented over the fuel released from said valve, said friction wheel assembly being mounted on said lighter body with at least one portion of it exposed for handling and rotation by the user;

   - a valve actuator which could be lowered to actuate said valve and release said fuel;

   - a protective element (26) mounted on said lighter body, and composed of a plurality of layers and comprising an outer protective film (24) composed of a plastic film, characterised in that

   - the protective element (26) has a thickness of between 25 and 200µm and in that

   - on the plastic film is added, by coating, an aliphatic polyurethane layer of thickness of between 10 and 75µm, which contains between 30 and 100% of solid according to the softness-to-the-touch degree required.
2. Lighter according to claim 1, wherein the outer protective film (24) comprises an adhesive material provided to hold the protective element (26) on the body of the lighter.
3. Lighter according to claim 1, wherein the protective element (26) comprises a support film (23) positioned on a layer lower than the outer protective film (24), said support film (23) comprises a first face on which is added an adhesive material (25) to hold the outer protective film (24) on the support film (24).
4. Lighter according to claim 3, wherein the support film (23) comprises a second face comprising an adhesive material provided to hold the outer protective film (24) on the body of the lighter.
5. Lighter according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the protective element (26) has a thickness of between 30 and 60µm.
6. Lighter according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the plastic film has a thickness of between 10 and 40µm.
7. Lighter according to one of claims 3 to 4, wherein the support film (23) has a thickness of between 15 and 125µm.
8. Lighter according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the friction coefficient of the outer protective film (24) is of between 0.40 and 0.70.
9. Lighter according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the tack of the outer protective film (24) is of between 100 and 140mN.
10. Lighter according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the protective element (26) comprises a retaining mechanism to resist the removal of said protective element (26) of the lighter body.
11. Lighter according to one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the protective element (26) comprises a decorative zone.
12. Lighter according to one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the protective element (26) is of the shape of a sleeve adapted to the shape of the lighter.
13. Method for covering the body of the lighter according to one of claims 1 to 12, by means of an outer protective film (24).

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