JP2009024926A - Gas lighter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gas lighter having an ignition lever which is locked in an inoperative state when it is not used, brought into an operative state by a simple operation, and easily returned to an inoperative position after use. <P>SOLUTION: In this gas lighter incorporated with a piezoelectric unit and a gas valve, an oscillating member having a pressing portion 5a capable of pressing a head of the piezoelectric unit is incorporated into a lighter body, the ignition lever energized in the projecting direction from the lighter body by an energizing means is slidably supported to the oscillating member, and a manually-operable lock button for retaining the ignition lever at a concealed position in the lighter body withstanding the energizing means by being engaged by the ignition lever is energized by an energizing spring and disposed in the lighter body. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a gas lighter for smoking, and more particularly to a gas lighter that prevents inadvertent ignition when not in use.

As is well known, a discharge ignition type gas lighter used for smoking has a piezoelectric unit and a gas valve built in the lighter body, and the piezoelectric unit and the gas valve are usually operated by manual operation of the ignition lever. There is a danger of ignition if the ignition lever is accidentally operated incorrectly.
For this reason, conventionally, as shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-65865, a structure for blocking the ejection of fuel gas after use, or as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-024145, There has been proposed a structure that prevents malfunction of the ignition lever during injection.
JP 2001-65865 A JP-A-2005-024145

However, the conventional improved structure as described above is vulnerable to accidental operation of the ignition lever in a pocket or the like, or to the risk of incorrect operation by infants. Leak of flammable gas due to these careless operations. The risk of burns is inevitable.
In view of the problems of the conventional gas lighter as described above, the object of the present invention is that the ignition lever is locked in an inoperative state when not in use, and can be operated by a simple operation. It is to obtain a gas lighter that can easily return the ignition lever to the inoperative position.

  According to the present invention, in the gas lighter incorporating the piezoelectric unit and the gas valve, according to the present invention, an oscillating member having a pressing part capable of pressing the head of the piezoelectric unit is incorporated in the lighter body, and the biasing means is used. An ignition lever urged in a protruding direction from the lighter body is slidably supported by the swing member, and the ignition lever is held in a retracted position in the writer body against the urging means by engagement with the ignition lever. This is accomplished by a gas lighter attached to the lighter body by biasing a manually operable lock button with a biasing spring.

  According to the present invention, when not in use, the ignition lever is locked in an inoperative state, and can be operated by a simple operation, and after use, the ignition lever can be easily returned to the inoperative position. The risk of misoperation of the ignition lever when not in use can be avoided.

1) The structure in which the biasing means is a coil spring interposed between the swinging member and the ignition lever,
2) A structure in which the ignition lever is slidably supported with respect to the swing member by a long hole and a slide pin provided between the swing member and the swing member;
3) The lock button has an engaging claw that can be engaged with an engaging hole formed in the lower part of the outer end of the ignition lever that can be pushed by a fingertip, and manually applies the finger hook exposed on the outer surface of the lighter body. A structure capable of removing the engaging claw from the engaging hole against the biasing spring by operating;
4) A structure is proposed in which a valve-opening lever having a fulcrum supported by an intermediate part by a fulcrum member inside the lighter body is arranged between the head of the piezoelectric unit and the gas valve.

Hereinafter, the details of the embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the drawings, reference numeral “1” indicates a lighter body 1 having a crater 1a and a vent hole 1b, reference numeral “2” indicates a piezoelectric unit 2 built in the lighter body 1, and reference numeral “3” indicates a nozzle 3a. Each gas valve 3 is shown.

  In FIG. 1, a swing member 5 pivotally supported by a swing shaft 4 is incorporated in a lighter body 1 to be molded with resin, and a pressing portion 5 a of the swing member 5 is attached to a head 2 a of the piezoelectric unit 2. The head 2a of the piezoelectric unit 2 is pushed down by the rocking of the rocking member 5 in the clockwise direction around the rocking shaft 4 in FIG. Further, a stopper 6 is disposed inside the lighter main body 1, and the position of the swing member 5 in the counterclockwise direction is controlled by the stopper 6.

A resin-molded ignition lever 7 is slidably supported on the upper portion of the swing member 5, and the manually operable ignition lever 7 includes a slide pin 8 provided between the swing member 5 and a long hole 9. The sliding range is regulated by the engagement.
A coil spring 11 is interposed between the spring receiver 10 of the swing member 5 and the ignition lever 7, and the ignition lever 7 is attached to the swing member 5 in the right direction in FIG. Be forced.

A thumb can be applied to the upper surface 7d of the ignition lever 7 that can be retracted into the lighter body 1 by placing the fingertip on the right surface of the outer end 7c when the ignition lever 7 is in an operable state as shown in FIG. In this state, when the ignition lever 7 is pushed downward, the head portion 2a of the piezoelectric unit 2 is lowered via the pressing portion 5a of the swinging member 5, and an electrode (not shown) at the tip position of the nozzle 3a is ignited. Discharge can be performed.
On the other hand, the ignition lever 7 has a shutter portion 7a at the left end thereof, and this shutter portion 7a covers the inside of the crater 1a when the ignition lever 7 is in the retracted position of FIG. 1, and prevents foreign matter from entering from the crater 1a. it can.

  An engagement hole 7b is formed in the lower surface of the outer end 7c of the ignition lever 7, and the lock of the lighter body 1 facing the engagement hole 7b is urged upward by an urging spring 12 on the side wall. The button 13 is supported so as to be movable up and down. That is, the lock button 13 is provided with an engaging claw 13a that can be dropped into the engaging hole 7b. By pulling the finger hook 13b exposed to the outside of the lighter body 1 downward, the engaging claw 13a is engaged with the engaging hole 7b of the ignition lever 7. Deviate from.

  A fulcrum member 14 located between the gas valve 3 and the piezoelectric unit 2 is located inside the lighter body 1, and a valve opening lever 15 made of a leaf spring is supported on the fulcrum member 14. The right end portion 15a of the valve opening lever 15 faces the lower surface of the head portion 2a of the piezoelectric unit 2, and the left end portion 15b of the valve opening lever 15 faces the lower surface of the collar of the gas valve 3. When the right end portion 15a of the valve opening lever 15 is lowered by the head portion 2a, the left end portion 15b of the valve opening lever 15 is raised with the fulcrum member 14 as a fulcrum, the gas valve 3 is opened, and combustible from the tip of the nozzle 3a. Gas will be ejected.

Since the gas lighter according to the illustrated embodiment has the above-described structure, each member when not in use is in a state as shown in FIG. That is, the crater 1 a of the lighter body 1 is covered with the shutter portion 7 a of the ignition lever 7, and the ignition lever 7 is locked in the retracted position by the engagement of the lock button 13.
Therefore, foreign matter is prevented from entering the inside of the lighter body 1 and the ignition lever 7 is held in the inoperative position fully retracted into the lighter body 1. It is impossible to operate 7 from the outside, which can prevent inadvertent operation of the ignition lever 7.

In order to use the gas lighter, as shown in FIG. 2, a fingertip may be applied to the finger hook 13 b of the lock button 13 and the lock button 13 may be pushed down slightly.
By operating the lock button 13, the engaging claw 13 a is disengaged from the engaging hole 7 b of the ignition lever 7, so that the outer end of the ignition lever 7 is applied to the lighter body 1 by the force of the coil spring 11 as shown in FIG. Extruded to the outside. As a result, the shutter portion 7a of the ignition lever 7 is detached from the crater 1a of the lighter body 1, and preparation for ignition is completed.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, when the outer end portion 7c of the ignition lever 7 is pushed downward, the swinging member 5 supporting the ignition lever 7 is swung clockwise around the swinging shaft 4, The head 2 a of the piezoelectric unit 2 is pushed down by the pressing portion 5 a of the swing member 5. In this case, as the ignition lever 7 is pushed down, the coil spring 11 is bent into a “U” shape, and the restoring force of the swing member 5 in the counterclockwise direction is stored. At the same time, the right end portion 15a of the valve opening lever 15 is pushed down by the lowering of the head portion 2a of the piezoelectric unit 2, the gas valve 3 is opened by the left end portion 15b of the valve opening lever 15, and combustible gas is discharged from the tip of the nozzle 3a. And the combustible gas is combusted by the discharge of the piezoelectric unit 2.

  When the fingertip is released from the ignition lever 7 after use, the ignition lever 7 and the swinging member 5 are brought to the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 3 by the restoring force of the head 2a of the piezoelectric unit 2 and the accumulated restoring force of the coil spring 11. Therefore, when the outer end portion 7 c of the ignition lever 7 is pushed into the lighter body 1 with the fingertip, the ignition lever 7 is locked into the lighter body 1 by the engaging claw 13 a of the lock button 13.

  In the illustrated gas lighter, the ignition lever 7 when not in use is placed in the lighter body 1 and the ignition lever 7 is locked by the lock button 13. It is possible to avoid ignition by careless operation and to provide a highly safe gas lighter.

  In the above-described embodiment, the structure in which the ignition lever 7 is urged by the coil spring 11 is exemplified. However, the coil spring 11 can be replaced by other urging means, and the slide pin 8 is replaced by the swing member 5. Although the example which formed the long hole 9 in the ignition lever 7 was illustrated, the long hole 9 may be provided in the slide pin 8, and the slide pin 8 may be provided in the ignition lever 7. FIG. The valve opening lever 15 may be a seesaw member having another structure.

It is a partially broken front view of the gas lighter of this invention. It is a partially broken front view in the state where a lock button was pushed down. It is a partially broken front view of the state which opened the ignition lever. It is a partially broken front view of the state which pushed down the ignition lever.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lighter body 2 Piezoelectric unit 3 Gas valve 4 Oscillating shaft 5 Oscillating member 6 Stopper 7 Ignition lever 11 Coil spring 12 Energizing spring 13 Lock button 15 Valve opening lever

Claims (6)

  In a gas lighter with a built-in piezoelectric unit and gas valve, a rocking member having a pressing part that can press the head of the piezoelectric unit is incorporated in the lighter body, and biased in the direction of protruding from the lighter body by the biasing means. An urging spring is provided with a manually operable lock button that slidably supports the ignition lever on the swing member and holds the ignition lever in a retracted position in the lighter body against the urging means by engagement with the ignition lever. A gas lighter characterized by being attached to the lighter body after being energized with   2. The gas lighter according to claim 1, wherein the biasing means is a coil spring interposed between the swinging member and the ignition lever.   The said ignition lever is supported so that it can slide with respect to a rocking | swiveling member with the long hole and slide pin provided between the said rocking | swiveling members. Gas lighter.   The lock button has an engagement claw that can be engaged with an engagement hole formed in the lower portion of the outer end of the ignition lever that can be pushed by a fingertip, and manually operates the finger hook exposed on the outer surface of the lighter body. The gas lighter according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the engagement claw can be removed from the engagement hole against the biasing spring.   5. A valve opening lever having an intermediate portion supported by a fulcrum member inside a lighter body is disposed between the head of the piezoelectric unit and the gas valve. Gas lighter as described in any one. 6. The gas lighter according to claim 1, wherein the ignition lever includes a shutter portion that covers the crater at the top of the lighter body from the inside when the ignition lever is in the retracted position.