US1859881A

US1859881A - Combined cigarette case and lighter

Info

Publication number: US1859881A
Application number: US348582A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frank J Nankivell
Original assignee: CHARLES MCC CHAPMAN; CLARK W PARKER
Current assignee: CHARLES MCC CHAPMAN; CLARK W PARKER
Priority date: 1929-03-20
Filing date: 1929-03-20
Publication date: 1932-05-24
Anticipated expiration: 1949-05-24

Description

y I F. J. NANKYIVELLI 1,8 9,

COMBINED CIGARETTE CASE AND LIGHTER Filed March 20, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l May 24, 1932. F. J. NANKIVELL- 1,859,881

COMBINED CIGARETTE CASE AND LIGHTER Filed March 20, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 MW; 8 U 177054098 Patented May 24, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FRANK J. NANKIVELL, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T CLARK PARKER AND CHARLES MCC. CHAPMAN, BOTH OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

COMBINED CIGARETTE CASE AND LIGI-ITER Application filed March 20, 1929. Serial No. 348,582.

This invention relates to a pocket cigarette case in which is incorporated a-lighter simithe usual way in a fiat 'layer or pile. The

' lighter which resembles, in its main features, an ordinary flame lighter, occupies a part of the case adjacent and in the same plane as the cigarettes, a preferred arrangement being one in which the flame of the lighter will be located in close proximity to the end of the top cigarette of the pile. t

A further feature of the invention relates to means for oscillating air through the top cigarette after the flame of the lighter is lit so as to cause the ignition of the tobacco in the end of the cigarette. The air is pumped through the cigarette by a bellows operated by a finger button projecting through the .25 case, and in a preferred form the bellows button is placed on the opposite end of the case from the igniter button which also projects through the case. The buttons will be convenient to be simultaneously operated, by the thumb and fingers, in their natural position when grasping the case.

Another feature relates to means for releasing end flaps or lids of the case to expose the top cigarette, this being accomplished by the nitial movement of the igniter button; Another feature relates to means 'for pushing the top cigarette a short distance longitudinally toward the igniter so that it alone will be ignited, and this movement is also relied upon to insure proper and tight contact between the rear of the top cigarette and the nozzle of the bellows.

Other features relate to providing resilient holding means for said nozzle,a hood surrounding the nozzle to receive and limit the upward movement of the cigarettes, and means for shielding the top cigarette so that it can only be taken hold of at the right place in removing it" by the fingers from its hold ing means.

Other features will be described in connection with an embodiment of my invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the combination case closed.

Figure 2 is a similar View with the case opened at one edge.

Figure 3 is a bottom View of the case. Figure 4 is a side elevation of the case with one side open to expose the mechanism.

Figure 5 is an end view of the open case.

Figure 6 is a sectional View showing the nozzle of the bellows. y

Figure 7 is a transverse view through the bellows and. operating ,button on line 77 of Figure 4.

Figure 8 is a side view on a larger scale partially in section showing the details of the igniter mechanism, and

Figure 9 is a View of the plunger holding spring.

The case 1 is'formed of stamped metal or r other material in the usual manner of cigarette case, the case being formed of two principal halves hinged together at the base, by a longitudinal hinge 2. The free edge of each side of the case is provided with an additional hinged lid or cover 3 so that when the two sides of the case are closed together and the two lids 3 also closed together, the case will be completely closed in, as shown in Figure 1. The hinges 4 that hinge the lids 3 to the sides of thecase are preferably made with springs tending to throw the lids open when released, as described below." One part of the case indicated at 5 is intended to be used as a repository for a pile of cigarettes laid fiat in one plane. The rest of the case is filled on the'right by a flat cigarette lighter 6 made of such dimensions as to fit snugly within the case, and at the other end with a bellows 7 made of a hollow rubber tube. In the part 5 of the case, a sliding follower 8 guided by a rod 9 and forced out by a coil spring 10 acts as a pusher to push the pile of cigarettes outward. The follower 8 may be pushed down and made to engage ina notch 11 in the rod 9 so as to hold thespring in its compressed position whilelOO the case is being filled with cigarettes. When the case is' so filled, the follower 8 may be released from the catch 11 and will then tend to force the cigarettes upward out of the case. The end or top cigarette, however, shown at 12, is held yieldingly by spring clips 13 at the end next to the lighter, while at the other end, they are held by a bonnet 14 so that they will be securely held until taken hold of and pulled out. Since the clips 13 are open to the top while the bonnet 14 is not, it is desirable to lift the cigarette at the outer end, and in order vto make sure that the cigarette is taken hold of near the outer end, I provide ashield 15 which shrouds one side of the cigarette throughout its length except near its forward end. By lifting the cigarette at its forward end, it may be drawn out from the bonnet 14 after it is free of the clips 13 Withoutanyinjury. The lighter itself is of the ordinary construction and comprises a reservoir for oil or spirits shown at 16 which may be filled from the bottom of the case through a stoppered orifice, the stopper being shown at 17. On top of the fuel tank 16, brackets 18 carry a pivot 19 on which {are journalled a ratchet wheel 20 attached l the finger or the thumb of the user.

' with its efficiency.

fitted at its upper end over an elbow 34 that to a milled burr wheel 21, and gear wheels 22 attached to a rocking snufler arm 23 that has at its outer end'a snuifer, and carries pivoted at its mid-length a pawl 25. A reciproeating button 26 has a rack portion engaging with the pinions 22 and is held in an out-i ward position by means of a spring 27. This button'26 extends through the side of the cigarette case so as to be accessible either to pushed in, the rack on the button turning the pinion 22 rocks the snufl'er arm 23 backward, the pawl 25 at the same time dragging the ratchet 20 backward also which causes the burr wheel 21 to rotate. A stone 28 (see Figure 8) is pressed up against the burr wheel and the motion of the latter causes sparks to fly out and set fire to a wick 29 that draws fuel from the tank 16. The flame from the wick shoots up in front of the top cigarette and the second cigarette is shielded therefrom by a curved arm 30. At the other end of the casefrom the igniter, a button 31 protrudes through the case and inside the case has a longitudinal plunger 32 that acts against the rubber bellows 7, which on the other side is held in a concave abutment or seat.- 33. The side of the plunger 32 towards the bellows is made convex see Figure 7) as I have found that this gives a more complete evacuation of the bulb. As shown in

igures

7 and 9, a flat spring 42 is secured to the case at its lower end and to the back of the plunger at its upper end; \Vith the spring 42, the plunger is held against lateral movement that would otherwise interfere The bulb or bellows 7 is When has an orifice through it 35. The outer end of the elbow fits against or is attached to the hood 14, which hood has a hole 36 registering with the hole in the elbow. The hood 14 is carried on a flexible metal strap 37 which presents a concave face to the ends of the cigarett'es and exerts a gentle endwise pressure against them, so that as the cigarettes are shoved up into place by the action of the spring 10, the shielding abutment 37 will perform two functions, one of which is to maintain a close contact between the end of the cigarette and the bottom of the hood, so that very little air will leak by the same, the other function being to force the top cigarette forward towards the lighter, as clearly shown in Figure 4, so that it, and it alone, will be ignited by the flame. The bellows 7 is closed at the lower end and is intended by a repetitive operation on the button 31 to cause air to flow back and forth through the top cigarette, and at each indraft, to cause the flame of the igniter to flow into the end of the cigarette andlight the same. The button 26'has a vertical extension 38 with ahook portion 39 that is adapted to catch under bosses 40 on the inner lips of 'the covers 3 to hold the same in their closed position. \Vhen the button 26 howev r is pushed in in the act of lighting the lig ter, the said hook portion and bosses become disengaged and the covers are thrown open into the positionshown in Figure 2 by reason of springs 41."

The operation of the invention is as follows. The case being properly filled with cigarettes as before described and being closed up as shown in Figure 1, the operator grasps the case in the palm of his hand with one finger pressing against button 31 and the thumb against button 26. Pushing on the latter, the covers 3 fly open under the action of the springs 41 because of the release of the

catches

39, 40. At the same time the wick is lit, the flame passing up, as shown by dotted lines, in front of the top cigarette, the second cigarette being protected from the heat of the flame by the shield 30. lVith his finger, the operator now depresses the button 31 several times which results in sucking the flame in a series of puli's into the top cigarette, causing the same to become ignited. With thumb and finger, the top cigarette may now be removed from the case by taking hold of it near its lighted end and drawing it upward and outward.

While I have shown a specitic embodiment of my invention, there are many principles involved that I do not wish to have limited to the particular construction illustrated, as it will be obvious to'a person properly skilled to make various substitutes without departing from the scope of the invention.

1. A pocket cigarette case comprising two flat sides hinged together at one edge, each Lit] the end of the outer ci arette of the layer,

and means extending t rough the case for operating the said igniter and simultaneously opening the covers.

2. A construction according to claimll in which the said covers have latches for retaining them closed and the igniter means are provided with means for engaging said latches to hold the covers in their closed position and relhse the same and allow the covers to open when the igniter is operated.

3. A pocket cigarette case-comprisinginv combination a magazine for holding, a pile of cigarettes, means for feeding the o1 rettes toward the top of thema azine, aligg ing means adjacent the magazine so located that one end of the top cigarette willbe adjacent thereto and the other end of the top cigarette being adjacent a nozzle, suction.

means including said nozzle and a bellows communicating with the said nozzle, means projecting through the case at one side to operate the lighting means, and means projecting through the opposite side of the case whereby the bellows may be operated pulsatingly.

4. A construction a ording to claim 3 in which the means proje ing through the case to operate the lamp igniter are on one end of the case and the means projecting through the case to operate the bellows' are on the other end.

' 5. A construction according to claim 3 in which a hood is provided to hold the rear end of the top cigarette in place, said hood hav' ing flaring sides to act as guides for the cigarette.

6. A construction according to claim 3 in which a hood is provided for holding the rear end of the top clips for the other end. a

7. A construction according to claim 3 in which a hood is provided for holding the rear end of the cigarette and resilient means for holding the other end with a shield between the two holding means to prevent the handling of the cigarette except at'its forward end.

8. A construction according to claim 3 in which resilient guiding means are provided for sliding the top cigarette toward the lamp as the cigarettes are pushed upward.

9. A construction according to claim 3 in which resilient means are provided for forcing the cigarettesup. combined with means for locking said resilient means in its compressed position.

cigarette and resilient 10. A construction according to claim 3 in which the bellows is held in an elongated compartment between the said cigarette magazine and the end of the case, the said bellows being in the form of a tube and having a semi-cylindrical seat between it and the said magazine.

.11. A cigarette case having a cigarette magazine, cigarette ignition means, andcigarette suction means, the latter includin a bellowsheld in an elongated compartment tween the said cigarette magazine and the end of the case, the said bellows being inthe form of a tube and having a semi-cylindrical seat between it and the said magazine, and a plunger extending along the side of -the bellows opposite the said seat, the said plunger having an operating button extending through the. case and presenting a convex face to the said bellows.

12. A construction according to claim 3 in which the bellows is in the form of a tube in an elongated com artment between the magazine and the en of the case with a lunger lengthwise of the bellows between t e bellows and the case and a resilient spring having one end fastened to the back of the plunger and the other end secured to the case to prevent said plunger from throwing sidewise.

13. A construction according to claim 3 in which the bellows operating means includes a plunger extending along the side of the F ANK J. NANKIVELL.

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