ES2243130A1 - Pocket lighter - Google Patents

Abstract

Pocket lighter comprising a main body (1) including a fuel reservoir (24), a valve (4) activated by a lever (9), a flint (5), an ignition wheel (6) located over said lever (9) and a windshield (11) that delimits a combustion chamber (3) and includes two side arms (12a, 12b) that cover the flanks of said ignition wheel (6) defining a projecting sector (16). It is difficult for a child to work the lighter according to the invention owing to the fact that it comprises a non-deformable protective element (13) that extends transversally to said side arms (12a, 12b) of windshield (11) above circumferential surface (7) of ignition wheel (6) and that the activating angle (27) of said ignition wheel (6) is greater than 10 DEG and less than 90 DEG .

Description

Pocket lighter.

Object of the invention

The present invention relates to a lighter pocket, of the type that incorporate a deposit of fuel, with its corresponding valve operable through a button, as well as a handle or wheel of teeth acting on a pyrophoric stone to produce sparks directed towards the cited valve and cause the fuel to ignite, usually  a liquefied hydrocarbon gas, leaving the ignition zone protected by a bezel that simultaneously has function structural and combustion chamber function.

The object of the invention is to achieve a degree of difficulty for the ignition maneuver, that makes said on very unlikely by users who might not be aware of the danger to people and assets of a use reckless or irresponsible lighter.

Especially the lighter object of the invention It is very difficult to activate by children under five years.

Background of the invention

A usual structure in a lighter pocket materializes in a body, which constitutes the deposit for fuel, such as the aforementioned liquefied hydrocarbon gas and pressurized, reservoir provided with a valve to regulate the opening and closing of the same, as well as the flow that from said tank is supplied to the flame, flow that emerges abroad of an outlet or burner that interacts with the element valve for the purpose described.

A pyrophoric stone is established in a housing, together with a spring that tends to project it out, pressing it against a carpet, consisting of a rotating wheel with teeth, so that the rotation of said wheel causes the generation of sparks that are directed towards the burner, causing the flame to ignite, which produced inside a combustion chamber caused by a trim that constitutes an upper extension of the body of the lighter.

Said trim also covers the supports sides of the moleta and substantial part of the latter, so that said moleta is directly accessible outside the beautifier, both above it and laterally, specifically in the area near the button that acts on the gas outlet valve.

More specifically, the carpet is exterior to the beautifier and consequently accessible through approximately half of its periphery, which makes it result quite easy to drive it by a child of young age, with the consequent lighting of the lighter, in an action uncontrolled, reckless or irresponsible, from which they can derive significant problems or risks.

Obviously the solution to this problem is hinder the activation maneuver of the lighter, so that it is virtually impossible for a young child, but without complementing it too complicated and unacceptable for regular users of The lighters.

In this regard, WO documents should be cited 97/01734 and EP 0 829 686 Al, which present safety mechanisms whose operation is based on particularities of geometry of the surface of the pushers in their contact area with the finger when the ignition maneuver is executed. The different solutions claimed in these documents have as objective to reduce the coefficient of friction between finger and pusher in this way, in order to get the pusher's turn it is necessary to increase the force that is applied radially with your finger on the ignition maneuver.

The realizations to which mention has been made, although they present solutions of economic and simple execution; They base security on increasing the strength of action, fundamentally radially, in order to achieve increase the tangential drag force component of the finger which causes the pusher to turn; logically, this force of minimum action required to cause the actuator to rotate, it will depend solely on the reaction force of the moleta on the stone, and being limited by the compression force of the dock; being also this force of limited value, both for space restrictions of the dock housing in the lighter, as for the life of the stone. In this situation, the mentioned minimum force of reaction of the drive train on the stone, will depend on the state of wear of the same, since the Spring compression stroke is limited by the stone itself; so, this minimum force will decrease with the use of the lighter, so the reliability of the safety mechanism will not remain guaranteed.

US 5 520 197 discloses a lighter with several safety mechanisms based fundamentally in the disposition of an element that is part of the bezel, and that hinders the contact between the finger and the pusher They base security on the minimum effort necessary to deform this structural element with your finger and access with this the pushers, also combining crutch locking systems associated with drive levers.

US 5 096 414 describes a lighter with a safety system in which the pushers rotate freely on a coaxial axis with the moleta. They base the security in the accessibility of the finger to the own carpet by the own one deformation of the finger by increasing the actuation force of this radially over the pushers.

US 4 717 335 describes a lighter on which security is based on the limitation of travel of the moleta by a mechanical stop arranged on it. This solution, In addition to the ergonomic problem involved, it does not make it difficult too much for children to get the flame, considering that they can have a lot of time, that the essays are especially attractive, and that the ignition maneuver being visually perceptible, it will be quickly assimilated by learning by mimicry.

Document US 5,769,098 presents a solution based on preventing the user's finger from reaching the train of drag since this is partially covered by a band metallic or other material that is part of the element beautifying or not. In any case the invention is based on the fact that the user has to exert enough pressure to warp this band and reach only in that case the drive train whose rotation in solidarity with the wheel will cause the spark and consequent ignition. Once the resistance of this element the user has a normal access to the ignition as the I would have in any other lighter. Fatigue, after successive deformations, of the element that hinders access to the train of drag, previously named as band, can cause variations in the characteristics of ignition difficulty that He intends this invention. On the other hand it is obvious even for young children, whose use it intends to restrict, which for to get an ignition you just have to press harder, whether or not these accidental users able to exert pressure enough.

Description of the invention

The pocket lighter that the invention proposed has been conceived and structured in order to overcome the inconveniences noted above, so that it allows prevent, or at least hinder extraordinarily, your use by children.

The invention provides a lighter of the type previously described, characterized in that it fulfills its function hindering or preventing the possibility of igniting it by part of young children, without the incorporation of any additional mechanism, and keeping the conditions of difficulty acting as a security element, not depending these of no deformable or fungible element. The system is reliable, inviolable, constant action and without intervention of the Username.

More specifically the invention affects from the structural point of view exclusively to the element trim, whose special design restricts the access angle manual to the ignition mechanism, that is to say the generator mechanism of the spark, constituted by the drag train, that is to say by the Moleta and its classic side pushers.

Since the spark that allows the ignition of the gas is obtained by friction of the moleta on the stone or pyrophoric component, and this friction has its origin in the turn that the user causes on the drive train of which it forms said moleta part, a certain pressure is required between  two elements, which is obtained by the quoted quay that press the stone against the moleta, and of a certain speed of turn. In other words, the movement has to be enough abrupt enough to produce enough sparkle, since another This way is not capable of causing the ignition of the gas and is not produces the flame, that is, the lighter activation.

Well, the restriction on the access angle manual to the train of drag, on the part of the user, forces to exercise a greater force of the finger on the pushers, and a greater intentionality of the gesture necessary to obtain the spark Enough for ignition. Both conditions make the use of the lighter successfully by children  age at which mention has been made repeatedly, with the objective pursued by the invention to prevent misuse of lighter.

An advantage of the invention is that the difficulty mentioned is constant throughout the life of the lighter for being a feature of its design and not be affected by wear Own use. You do not need any additional parts, but the special form and arrangement of the pieces that would be common to any other lighter; therefore the required investments to incorporate this invention are not elevated. There is none piece that has to be deformed to activate the lighter or spring to be compressed, whose fatigue due to use would have to be provided to ensure its stability during the expected life of the lighter, which is especially interesting in the case of rechargeable lighters where it is difficult to predict how many utilization cycles will be exposed. Another advantage of the invention is that it is usable in almost all of the stone lighters with slight design modifications, basically of the beautifying element, and its industrialization does not it also does not involve fundamental changes over that of any other stone lighter of similar characteristics.

It is also noteworthy that this impediment to inappropriate users, not based on any mechanical interlocking whose release, normally hidden or concealed must be held taken into account by the user before attempting to activate the lighter. In the case at hand the lighter is activated in a only movement that should have determination and the intentionality referred to to achieve its purpose, which very it will hardly be available to children under 5 years old cited in to the federal order of the United States and regulatory proposals analogous to the European community, and is nevertheless comfortable for adult users On the other hand the evidence of this system It is dissuasive for these children, whose access is wanted restrict, which prevents accidental activations that they could find systems of less obvious difficulty.

The aforementioned impediment or restriction in the angle available to act on the moleta can be carried out in two forms, well covering the upper area of the moleta with the beautifying, as already mentioned, so that only the lateral part of it is accessible, which is adjacent to the valve opening button, with an angle of user activation or intervention greatly reduced, considerably less than 90 ° and consequently much less than what is conventional, forcing a short and large maneuver speed to get the ignition, or you can set a substantially greater application angle, close to 90 °, in in which case the bezel must wrap the drive train in a intermediate zone between the latter and the button, so that the finger transition from push button drive train is not continues, also forcing a very fast maneuver, specifically in this case to pass from the drive train to button and to achieve the valve opening synchronously with the generation of the spark, which implies as in the internal case an intentionally considerably greater than that necessary to Activate a conventional lighter.

In accordance with another practical embodiment of the invention, the restriction of the angle of rotation of the train of drag is obtained by a modification on the button, specifically oversizing said push button in height let it be the one that limits the travel angle at which the finger It can give direction and speed of rotation to the wheel.

Description of the drawings

To complement the description that is being performing and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred example of practical realization of it, is accompanied as part member of that description, a set of drawings where with illustrative and non-limiting nature, what has been represented next:

Figure 1.- Shows a side elevation view of a conventional pocket lighter, for analyzing comparatively with the lighter of the invention.

Figure 2.- Shows a lighter plant of the previous figure.

Figure 3.- Shows a side elevation view of a lighter similar to that of figure 1, but modified from according to the object of the invention.

Figure 4.- Shows a plan view of the lighter of figure 3.

Figures 5 and 6.- They show in turn representations similar to those in figure 3, corresponding to two variants or practical embodiments of the invention.

Figure 7.- Shows a partial detail in cross section of the lighter of figure 3.

Preferred Embodiment of the Invention

In view of the figures outlined you can Observe how the lighter object of the invention comprises such as the conventional lighter of figures 1 and 2, a tank (1) for fuel, with its corresponding outlet valve (2) towards a combustion chamber (3) in which the gas outlet nozzle (4), on which the sparks generated by a pyrophoric stone (5), established in a Small housing (6) of the lighter body and permanently pressed by a spring (7) against the cogwheel or wheel (8), which is part of a drag train in which two participate discoidal and lateral pushers (9), this group of drag established on an axis (10), which allows its rotation in the breast of a pair of partitions or lateral supports (11), between that the sparks are directed to the gas outlet nozzle (4), precisely when the valve (2) opens when manually operated on a button (12) that the finger of the user after its movement in the operating maneuver of the drive train (8-9), and the chamber being combustion (3) defined by a trim (13), which closes said chamber (3) laterally but defining an upper opening (14) for the exit to the outside of the flame, and lateral openings for combustion air inlet.

In a conventional lighter, like the represented in figures 1 and 2, the drive train (8-9) substantially emerges from the bezel (13), both superiorly and in its lateral zone next to the button (12), so that the angle of action (15) on said train of drag, represented in the cited figure 1, is substantially greater than 90 °, which considerably facilitates the ignition maneuver

In accordance with the object of the invention and such as shown in figures 3 to 6 the activation angle (16) is seen remarkably restricted, which forces, as previously said, to an extremely fast and controlled ignition maneuver, difficult to perform for a young child.

In practice this can be done by according to the embodiment of figures 3 and 4, in which either the drive train (8-9) is lowered approaching the button (12) or in which the bezel (13) increase its height in any case covering the upper area of the drive train (9), substantially, as observed especially in figure 4, which limits very considerable area of said drive train (8-9)  accessible with the user's hand, and consequently the route what that finger can do, dragging the train, from the beginning of the maneuver until reaching the button (12).

In a variant embodiment as shown in figure 5 both the relative situation between the drive train (8-9) and the push button (12) as the effective height of the trim (13), but in this case said trim (13) is provided with a projection or protuberance (17) which generates a discontinuity between the drive train (8-9) and the button (12), as shown perfectly in figure 5, so that in this case the angle of activation (16 ') is greater than the angle (16) of the previous case, although without reaching the conventional angle (15), but the difficulty of the maneuver occurs because it is prominence (17) makes the arrival of the finger to the button (12), so that the output of the fuel before the spark is lost, if not carried out quickly and totally intentionally.

The possibility has also been foreseen, shown in figure 6, that the reduction of the activation angle (16 '') is carried out by means of a marked over-elevation of the button (12 '), so that it is the latter that makes inaccessible a important part of the periphery of the trawler (8-9).

In accordance with the above, the lighter object of the invention, in addition to the force of resistance to rotation generated by the stone 6 in its contact with the wheel teeth 8, when stone 6 is pushed against the wheel 8 by an antagonistic force generated by spring 7, is incorporates the difficulty mentioned and explained above, that the bezel design and the special arrangement of the involved components offer limited angular travel for the gesture necessary to generate the spark. Therefore, the originality of this system, is that it can be applied to any stone lighter, does not imply the inclusion of any additional piece, and nevertheless supposes a difficulty of ignition based strictly on the available angle of application of the torque

In addition, and unlike other systems of existing security in the market, it is reliable, stable and permanent, not based on the force necessary to overcome the pair resistant, which can be considered variable, if not in the gesture that The design implies.

Claims (4)

1. Pocket lighter, comprising a body (1) constituting a fuel tank, a valve (2) that regulates the opening and closing of said tank and which is provided with an outlet (4) towards a chamber combustion (3); a pyrophoric stone (6) on which a moleta or rotating and cogwheel (8) acts, capable of producing sparks directed towards the valve (2) and which is actuated by two also rotating rotary side pushers (9), a push button ( 12) opening the valve (2) and a trim (13) that configures said combustion chamber (3), characterized in that the free area of the drive train (8-9) left by the trim (13) and / or the button (12), for manual operation thereof of the ignition maneuver, is substantially restricted, and consequently limited in angle (16), (16 '), (16'') in which the train can be printed of drag (8-9) the necessary rotation to generate the spark of sufficient magnitude for the ignition of the fuel, until a value inferior to 90 °. 2. Pocket lighter, according to claim la, characterized in that the restriction of the said angle of activation of the drive train is determined by an approach of the drive train (8-9) to the push button (12) or by an increase in the height of the trim (13), with concealment in any case of a substantial and upper part of the drive train (8-9) and with a marked limitation in the activation angle (16). 3. Pocket lighter, according to claim 1, characterized in that the restriction of said driving angle of the drive train is determined by a prominence (17) in the trim (13), located between the drive train (8-9) and the button (12), which determines a discontinuity in the ignition maneuver for the passage of the finger of the drive train (9) to the button (12), which also generates a substantial reduction in the activation angle. 4. Pocket lighter, according to claim P, characterized in that the restriction of the said angle of activation of the drive train is determined by a marked over-elevation of the push button (12 '), which covers the drive train (9) laterally and substantially, limiting sharply the angle of activation (16``).