GB1234412A - - Google Patents

Abstract

1,234,412. Gas-fuelled lighters. MANSEI KOGYO K.K. 5 Aug., 1968 [3 Aug., 1967; 26 Aug., 1967], No. 37205/68. Heading F4F. In a gas-fuelled smokers' lighter the gas, which issues from the valve nozzle 3a of a valve 3 on opening of a hinged cap 8 at the top of the lighter, is ignited by a spark passing between electrodes 23 and 24 which are in electrical connection with a piezo-electric assembly 17 energized by a spring-loaded striker 20 which is accommodated in a sheath 19, a reciprocable finger-piece 25 being depressible to stress a spring 28 interposed between the finger-piece 25 and the striker 20 so that striker 20 is driven into impact with assembly 17. A valve control member 14 engages a telescopic twoport cylinder 12 situated laterally of valve nozzle 3a and one end of the cylinder is pivoted to the cap 8 on a bracket 9 and the other end is slidably mounted in a pocket 5a<SP>1</SP> in arm 5a of a U-shaped support 5 for electrodes 23 and 24, which support 5 is fitted above a fuel reservoir 2. The piezo-electric assembly 17 is located at the base of the lighter and the striker 20 is normally held in spaced relationship above the assembly 17 by a catch 29 which projects through an aperture 19c in the sheath 19. The finger-piece 25 has a stop 25a positioned to limit travel thereof away from assembly 17 by abutment of the stop against the base 5c of electrode support 5. In operation of the lighter (Fig. 3, not shown), the cap 8 is swung into its open position thereby telescoping cylinder 12 and simultaneously unstressing a leaf spring 15 fixed to control member 14, thereby allowing the valve 3 to open and gas to flow between electrodes 23 and 24. As the cap 8 is swung open, fingerpiece 25 is exposed and to give an igniting spark finger-piece 25 is depressed and spring 28 is thereby stressed until catch 29 is disengaged from the striker 20 by the downward movement of the finger-piece 25, whereupon the striker 20 is spring driven into impact with the assembly 17. A spring 27 returns the striker 20 to its inoperative position on cessation of the depressive force upon the finger-piece 25. In a modification (Figs. 4 and 5, not shown), the striker is provided with a transverse pin and the sheath, which may be of insulating synthetic resin material, has a pair of diametrically opposed L-shaped slots, each having a leg extending circumferentially of the sheath from the upper end of the other leg which extends longitudinally of the sheath and the circumferential legs are engaged by opposite ends of the pin. When the finger-piece is depressed parallelogram shaped apertures in the finger-piece, into which apertures the pin projects, impart a rotary movement to the striker until it is spring-driven down the sheath with the pin ends in the longitudinal legs of the L-shaped slots.