JP4531214B2 - Liquid fuel combustion equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a liquid fuel combustion appliance such as a lighter for a smoking tool and an igniter that uses a liquid fuel mainly composed of alcohol and sucks and burns the liquid fuel stored in a fuel tank with a combustion wick.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general, as fuel for smoking equipment lighters, igniters, torches, lighting equipment, heating equipment, etc., liquefaction of alcohol fuels such as ethyl alcohol, petroleum benzine fuels including gasoline, butane gas, propane gas, etc. Gas fuel is used. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-88156 proposes a combustion appliance that uses a liquid fuel whose main component is alcohols.
[0003]
In the case of benzine fuel with a mixture of petroleum benzine hydrocarbon compounds, the fuel is a mixture of compounds with different boiling points, and the benzine component with a low boiling point is volatilized in the initial stage of use when the combustion appliance is ignited, and the boiling point becomes higher. Since the volatile components migrate to hydrocarbons, the fuel composition remaining in the combustion appliance changes according to the combustion time, which causes a change in flame length, which is the same for gasoline. In addition, benzine and gasoline are highly volatile, and a combustion appliance that uses them requires a sealed structure that reduces volatilization from the fuel reservoir and the core of the fuel. If this sealing is insufficient, the fuel will volatilize. The fuel is replenished frequently and is complicated.
[0004]
In the case of liquefied gas fuel, the gas pressure is high in the operating temperature range of the combustion appliance, and the container for storing the fuel requires a pressure-resistant structure. In addition, the flame length changes according to the change in the gas pressure, and particularly, the gas pressure has a characteristic that changes logarithmically with respect to the temperature. In order to reduce the change in the flame length, a special design measure for temperature compensation is required for the fuel supply mechanism of the combustion appliance, which makes the structure complicated and disadvantageous in terms of cost.
[0005]
On the other hand, in the case of alcohol fuel, liquid fuel mainly composed of alcohol such as lower monohydric alcohol such as ethyl alcohol, methyl alcohol and propyl alcohol is liquid at normal temperature and has a relatively low vapor pressure. There is no need for a pressure vessel, and the fuel tank and the combustion core may be sealed so that alcohol does not volatilize, which is advantageous in terms of simplification of the structure of the combustion appliance and cost.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, as a fuel tank and other parts in an igniter such as a lighter for smoking articles including the liquid fuel burning instrument as described above, it is made of a resin such as ABS or nylon from the viewpoint of ease of molding and cost, and a disposable lighter or the like. In some cases, the fuel is replenished and discarded without being reused, which is an obstacle to reducing the amount of waste.
[0007]
In addition, the use of refined petroleum products as fuel poses a problem in terms of resource saving. From this point, it is possible to save resources by using alcohol-based fuel as the liquid fuel, but there is a problem that the combustion flame is colorless and difficult to see.
[0008]
In order to improve this point, it has been proposed to use a liquid fuel in which a saturated hydrocarbon such as hexane is mixed with alcohol as in the above prior art. As a result, there is a problem of poor coloring. For example, in a disposable lighter for smoking equipment, when liquid fuel that can be used for 1000 times of ignition is stored, coloring failure occurs when the ignition is used for about 300 times.
[0009]
In view of the above circumstances, the present invention is intended to provide a liquid fuel combustion device that can reduce the amount of waste and save resources of petroleum-based fuels while allowing the coloration of flames to be used up.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The liquid fuel combustion device of the present invention that has solved the above problems is the liquid fuel combustion device that sucks up and holds the liquid fuel impregnated and held in the batting by the liquid absorbent fiber material accommodated in the fuel tank, and burns it at the tip combustion portion of the combustion core. The fuel is an alcohol-based fuel, and a biodegradable resin is used as a material for main parts.
[0011]
Specifically, a fuel tank that contains liquid fuel is composed of a tank body that contains a filling made of liquid absorbent fiber material impregnated and held with liquid fuel, and a tank upper lid that closes the upper portion of the tank body. A combustion wick for sucking up and burning the liquid fuel in the fuel tank is held, a spacer is disposed on the upper portion of the tank upper cover, and an ignition stone and a stone pushing spring of ignition means for igniting the tip of the combustion wick to the spacer. In the liquid fuel combustion instrument, further comprising a metal bracket provided on the upper portion of the spacer, and holding a cap for closing and opening the tip of the combustion core to the bracket and a file wheel of ignition means. The liquid fuel is an alcohol-based fuel, and the tank body, the tank top cover, and the spacer are formed of a biodegradable resin.
[0012]
The liquid fuel alcohol is methanol-modified ethanol and preferably contains 5 to 30% turpentine oil.
[0013]
【The invention's effect】
According to the liquid fuel combustion appliance of the present invention, the biodegradable resin is used as the material of the main parts, so that the biodegradable resin is decomposed by microorganisms in the soil even if discarded after use with a disposable lighter or the like. As a result, the generation of waste is suppressed, and the substantial amount of waste can be reduced. In addition, the use of alcohol-based fuel for liquid fuel saves resources because it does not use fuel from petroleum refined products, and those containing turpentine oil can be colored with flames, making it easier to use. It is less volatile than saturated hydrocarbons such as, and can keep the flame colored until the contained fuel is used up.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a liquid fuel combustion apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid fuel combustion device. In the following description, the left side in FIG. 1 is represented as the front and the right side as the rear, based on the usage mode of the liquid fuel combustion device.
[0015]
The liquid fuel combustion instrument 1 includes a fuel tank 2 that stores liquid fuel, a spacer 4 and a bracket 5 that are disposed above the fuel tank 2, and a combustion core 6 that sucks up and burns the liquid fuel in the fuel tank 2. The cap 7 that closes the tip of the combustion wick 6 so as to be openable and closable, and the ignition means 10 that ignites the tip of the combustion wick 6 are provided.
[0016]
The fuel tank 2 includes a tank main body 21 formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape and a tank upper lid 22 fixed to the upper end opening of the tank main body 21. Inside the tank main body 21, a batting 3 made of a liquid absorbent fiber material (pulp fiber 86% + PP fiber 14%) impregnated and held with liquid fuel is disposed.
[0017]
The tank top cover 22 has a peripheral wall that matches the shape of the peripheral surface of the tank main body 21 around a horizontal wall, and a fitting wall portion to be inserted into the upper end opening of the tank main body 21 is located below the peripheral wall. It is extended and formed. A tubular combustion core holding portion 22a extending in the vertical direction is formed on the front side of the tank upper lid 22, and the upper end of the combustion core holding portion 22a protrudes upward. Inside the combustion core holding part 22a, a rod-shaped combustion core 6 made of porous polyester is inserted and supported through a sleeve 61 made of a liquid crystal polymer. The lower part of the combustion core 6 protrudes into the fuel tank 2 and comes into contact with the filling 3 to suck up the fuel. The upper part protrudes above the upper end of the combustion core holding part 22a and burns the fuel. An air passage (air vent hole) is formed on the outer periphery of the sleeve 61. Further, a cylindrical recess extending downward is provided on the rear side of the tank upper cover 22, and a firing stone storage portion 41 of the spacer 4 described later is inserted.
[0018]
The spacer 4 has a flat plate portion fixed to the upper part of the peripheral wall of the tank upper lid 22 and a rear side provided with a cylindrical ignition stone storage portion 41 extending in the vertical direction, and the upper end of the ignition stone storage portion 41 protrudes upward. The lower end extends into the recess of the tank upper lid 22 and has a bottomed storage hole formed therein to store the ignition stone 11 and the stone pushing spring 12 of the ignition means 10.
[0019]
A bracket 5 formed of a metal plate is mounted on the spacer 4. The flat plate portion of the bracket 5 penetrates the combustion core holding portion 22a of the tank upper lid 22 together with the spacer 4, and rotatably supports the rotating shaft 15 of the file wheel 13 of the ignition means 10 on both the left and right sides on the rear side. A support column 51 in which an inclined groove (not shown) is formed is erected, and a pivotal support portion 52 that pivotally supports the cap 7 is erected on both the left and right sides on the front side. The ignition stone storage part 41 penetrates the flat plate part between the column parts 51.
[0020]
The ignition means 10 has a ring-shaped file wheel 13 having a peripheral surface formed as a file surface. A side wheel 14 is provided on both sides of the file wheel 13 so that the outer periphery is provided with an uneven shape and is rotated when ignition occurs. The two are fixed together and rotate together, and a rotating shaft 15 projects from the center of the outer surface of the side wheel 14 on both sides. The rotating shaft 15 is supported by the support column 51 of the bracket 5, and the tip of the ignition stone 11 is provided on the peripheral surface of the file wheel 13 by the urging force of the stone pushing spring 12. The sparks fly toward the combustion core 6 by the rotation operation.
[0021]
The cap 7 covers the front half of the upper part of the liquid fuel combustion appliance 1 excluding the ignition means 10 so as to be openable and closable. The cap 7 (outer cap) formed with a metal plate (SPCC) has a combustion core on the inner surface thereof. An inner cap 71 made of zinc die cast is attached to close the front end of 6. The lower end of the front end of the cap 7 opposite to the file wheel 13 is rotatably supported by the pivotal support portion 52 by a support shaft 72, and is urged in the opening direction by an opening / closing spring 73 by a torsion spring. The lower end peripheral portion of the inner cap 71 attached to the inner surface of the cap 7 is crimped to the upper surface portion of the annular member 23 fitted to the outer peripheral portion of the combustion core holding portion 22a, and includes the tip portion of the combustion core 6. The tip outer peripheral part of the combustion core holding part 22a is surrounded and sealed.
[0022]
Although not shown, stoppers are provided on both sides of the rear end portion of the cap 7, and the front end can be locked to the end portion of the rotary shaft 15. The rotating shaft 15 is supported so as to be movable between a locking position and a releasing position in accordance with the contact with the stopper in the closing operation of the cap 7, and maintains the closed state of the cap 7, while linking with the ignition operation of the side wheel 14. With the operation in the pushing direction, the stopper 7 is released and the cap 7 is released.
[0023]
And in the liquid fuel combustion appliance 1 of the said structure, biodegradable resin is used for the material of the said tank main body 21, the tank upper cover 22, and the spacer 4 which are main parts. The biodegradable resin is formed by injection molding or the like using a known material that is decomposed by microorganisms in the soil.
[0024]
The liquid fuel is an alcohol fuel, and an alcohol fuel containing 5 to 30% turpentine oil is particularly preferable. For example, a mixture of 85% methanol-modified ethanol and 15% turpentine oil. If the turpentine oil is less than 5%, flame coloring will be poor, and if it exceeds 30%, the ignition rate at low temperatures will decrease.
[0025]
When the liquid fuel combustion appliance 1 is used, if the side wheel 14 is pushed and operated for ignition, the cap 7 is opened by the biasing force of the opening / closing spring 73 by the movement of the rotary shaft 15 by the first depression, Subsequently, a spark is generated by the rotation of the file wheel 13, and the tip of the combustion core 6 is ignited by a spark, and a flame colored with turpentine oil is generated and burned. When the fire is extinguished after the use is finished, the cap 7 is covered with the flame by the closing operation of the cap 7 to extinguish the fire.
[0026]
According to this embodiment, the tank main body 21, the tank upper cover 22, and the spacer 4 which are main parts are formed of biodegradable resin, so that even if discarded after use, they are decomposed by microorganisms in the soil and returned to the soil. Therefore, it does not remain as waste, and the substantial amount of waste can be reduced. In addition, the use of alcohol-based fuels for liquid fuels will lead to resource savings, and the inclusion of turpentine oil will make it easier to use because it can be colored into flames. Colorability can be maintained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid fuel combustion apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Liquid fuel combustion instrument 2 Fuel tank 3 Filling 4 Spacer 5 Bracket 6 Combustion core 7 Cap
10 Ignition means
13 File car
14 Horizontal car
21 Tank body
22 Tank top cover
71 Inner cap

Claims (3)

A fuel tank that contains liquid fuel is composed of a tank body that contains a filling made of liquid absorbent fiber material impregnated and held with liquid fuel, and a tank upper cover that closes the upper part of the tank body, and a spacer is provided on the upper part of the tank upper cover. In a liquid fuel combustion instrument that is disposed and sucks up and holds the liquid fuel impregnated and held in the batting with the liquid absorbent fiber material at the tip of the combustion core,
A liquid fuel combustion apparatus, wherein the liquid fuel is an alcohol-based fuel containing turpentine oil , and a biodegradable resin is used as a material for the tank body, the tank top cover, and the spacer . A fuel tank that contains liquid fuel is composed of a tank body that contains batting made of a liquid absorbent fiber material impregnated and held with liquid fuel, and a tank upper lid that closes the upper portion of the tank body. A combustion wick for sucking up and burning the fuel is held, a spacer is disposed on the upper portion of the tank upper lid, and the ignition means for igniting the tip of the combustion wick and a stone pushing spring are held in the spacer. In the liquid fuel combustion appliance, wherein a metal bracket is provided on the upper part of the spacer, and a cap for closing the tip of the combustion core so as to be opened and closed and a file wheel of ignition means are held on the bracket.
The liquid fuel is an alcohol fuel containing turpentine oil , and the tank main body, the tank upper cover, and the spacer are formed of a biodegradable resin. The liquid fuel combustion apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the alcohol of the liquid fuel is methanol-modified ethanol and contains 5 to 30% of the turpentine oil.

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