US20070160942A1

US20070160942A1 - Chip lighter actuation mechanism

Info

Publication number: US20070160942A1
Application number: US11/322,000
Authority: US
Inventors: Peter Chen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-12-28
Filing date: 2005-12-28
Publication date: 2007-07-12

Abstract

A lighter includes a lighter casing, a gas valve, an ignition nozzle, a piezoelectric unit, and an actuation mechanism which includes a chip actuator and an actuating arm. The lighter casing, which is shaped and sized to form a stack of chips, includes an outer chip wall, and an opposed guiding wall. The chip actuator is sized and shaped corresponding to the chip wall, and is slidably mounted on the guiding wall of the lighter casing between an idle position and an ignition position. The actuating arm is extended from the chip actuator into the lighter casing through the guiding slot, in such a manner that when the chip actuator is at the idle position, it is coaxially aligned with the guiding wall that the chip actuator is overlapped with the stack of chips, and at the ignition position, the chip actuator is slid to ignite the lighter.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a lighter, and more particularly to a chip lighter comprising an outer casing and an actuation mechanism for forming a chip-shaped atheistic appearance of the lighter.
2. Description of Related Arts
A conventional lighter usually comprises a lighter casing, a fuel-storage chamber having a gas release nozzle provided in the lighter casing for storing liquefied gaseous fuel and releasing the gaseous fuel when the has release nozzle is uplifted, a piezoelectric unit, and an ignition triggering device.
The piezoelectric unit comprises a fixed part and a movable part movably attached thereto wherein when the movable element is depressed with respect to the fixed element, a piezoelectric spark will be generated for ignition.
The ignition triggering device comprises a trigger button slidably mounted on the lighter casing and operatively communicated with the piezoelectric unit, and a lever pivotally communicating the gas release nozzle with the trigger button in such a manner that when the trigger button is slidably depressed, the lever will pivotally uplift the gas release nozzle so as to release the gaseous fuel. Simultaneously, the movable part of the piezoelectric unit is depressed wherein gaseous fuel coming out from the gas release nozzle is arranged to be ignited by the piezoelectric spark generate from the piezoelectric unit.
A major problem for this kind of conventional lighter is that it is aesthetically unsound. For example, the lighter casing is usually elongated in shape having a rectangular cross section, and is made transparent so that the user can usually observe the liquefied gas stored in the fuel-storage chamber. As a result, everyone sees the lighter will know that it is a lighter.
In some circumstances however, it is not desirable to let some people know that there is a lighter. For example, when a child notices that there is an unattended lighter placed on a table, the child may, driven by curiosity, get that lighter and tries to ignite it for fun. This is a very dangerous situation when one realizes that the child may carelessly burn something else or even his or her body when he or she has access to that lighter. On the other hand however, since lighters are commonly needed for igniting a cigarette, people may not be willing to place them in a locked location because doing so may induce great inconvenience for them when they wish to smoke.
As a matter of fact, there exist some lighters which are specifically shaped for providing a funny aesthetic appearance thereof. The problem with these lighters however, is that they are not specifically designed for avoiding recognition thereof so that although they are designed to have a funny appearance, everyone (including children) who comes to see the lighter will know that it is actually a lighter capable of being ignited for generating fire.
Another problem for these kinds of lighters is that when they are designed to possess special aesthetic appearance, they are usually difficult to be actuated because the actuation button and the lighter casing may be ergonomically unsound so that the user may feel inconvenient, uncomfortable, or even tired when they are using such kind of lighters.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

A main object of the present invention is to provide a lighter comprising an outer casing and an actuation mechanism for forming a chip stack aesthetic appearance for enhancing an actuation of the lighter and at the same time avoiding it from being recognized as a lighter.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lighter which is actuated by sliding a chip actuator with respect to a lighter casing in such a manner that the actuating operation fits naturally with the lighter casing for facilitating convenient actuation of the lighter. In other words, the operation of the present invention is not adversely affected by the specifically shaped lighter casing.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lighter which comprises a lighter casing substantially and realistically resembling a chip stack so as to avoid it from being recognized as a lighter when it is not in use.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lighter which does not involve complicated mechanical structure so as to minimize the manufacturing cost of the present invention.
Accordingly, in order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a lighter, comprising:
a lighter casing, which is shaped and sized to form a stack of chips, comprising an outer chip wall and an opposed guiding wall, wherein the lighter casing has a fuel-storage cavity formed between the chip wall and the guiding wall for storing liquefied gas and a guiding slot formed on the guiding wall;
a gas valve upwardly extended from the fuel-storage cavity for releasing the gas therein when the gas valve is uplifted;
an ignition nozzle supported in the lighter casing to communicate with the gas valve;
a piezoelectric unit disposed in the lighter casing for generating piezoelectricity, wherein the piezoelectric unit has a movable part and a spark generating tip which is extended towards the ignition nozzle and is arranged when the piezoelectric unit is compressed, a spark is generated at the spark generating tip for igniting the emitted gas through the ignition nozzle; and
an actuation mechanism, which comprises:
a chip actuator, which is sized and shaped corresponding to the chip wall, slidably mounted on the guiding wall of the lighter casing between an idle position and an ignition position; and
an actuating arm extended from the chip actuator into the lighter casing through the guiding slot at a position above the movable part of the piezoelectric unit, wherein at the idle position, the chip actuator is coaxially aligned with the guiding wall that the chip actuator is overlapped with the stack of chips, and at the ignition position, the chip actuator is slid on the guiding wall to drive the actuating arm to depress the movable part of the piezoelectric unit and to simultaneously lift up the gas valve so as to ignite the lighter.
These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lighter according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the lighter according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a sectional side view of the lighter according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating that the chip actuator is at the idle position.
FIG. 4 is a sectional side view of the lighter according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating that the chip actuator is at the ignition position.
FIG. 5 is a front view of the lighter according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a rear view of the lighter according to the above preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 of the drawings, a lighter according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, in which the lighter comprises a lighter casing 10, a gas valve 20, an ignition nozzle 30, a piezoelectric unit 40, and an actuation mechanism 50.
The lighter casing 10 is shaped and sized to form a stack of chips, and comprises an outer chip wall 11 and an opposed guiding wall 12, wherein the lighter casing 10 has a fuel-storage cavity 13 formed between the chip wall 11 and the guiding wall 12 for storing liquefied gas, and at least one guiding slot 14 formed on the guiding wall 12.
The gas valve 20 is upwardly extended from the fuel-storage cavity 13 for releasing the gas therein when the gas valve 20 is uplifted.
The ignition nozzle 30 is supported in the lighter casing 10 to communicate with the gas valve 20.
The piezoelectric unit 40 is disposed in the lighter casing 10 for generating piezoelectricity, wherein the piezoelectric unit 40 has a movable part 41 and a spark generating tip 42 which is extended towards the ignition nozzle 30 and is arranged when the piezoelectric unit 40 is compressed at the movable part 41, a spark is generated at the spark generating tip 42 for igniting the emitted gas through the ignition nozzle 30.
The actuation mechanism 50 comprises a chip actuator 51 and an actuating arm 52. The chip actuator 51, which is sized and shaped corresponding to the chip wall 11, is slidably mounted on the guiding wall 12 of the lighter casing 10 for sliding between an idle position and an ignition position.
On the other hand, the actuating arm 52 is extended from the chip actuator 51 into the lighter casing 10 via the guiding slot 14 at a position above the movable part 41 of the piezoelectric unit 40, wherein at the idle position, the chip actuator 51 is coaxially aligned with the guiding wall 12 that the chip actuator 51 is overlapped with the stack of chips, and at the ignition position, the chip actuator 51 is slid on the guiding wall 12 to drive the actuating arm 52 to depress the movable part 41 of the piezoelectric unit 40 and to simultaneously lift up the gas valve 20 so as to ignite the lighter.
According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the lighter casing 10, having a circular cross section, further has a surrounding wall 15 integrally formed between the outer chip wall 11 and the guiding wall 12 for enclosing the fuel storage cavity 13 within the chip wall, the guiding wall 12 and the surrounding wall 15. Moreover, the lighter casing 10 further has a plurality of chip grooves 16 peripherally and indently formed along the surrounding wall 15 of the lighter casing 10 for forming the stack of chips thereof, and an ignition opening 17 formed on the surrounding wall 15 of the lighter casing 10 for substantially aligning with the ignition nozzle 30 so that the lighter is adapted to be ignited at the ignition nozzle 30 to create controlled fire delivered through the ignition opening 17. It is worth noting that a distance between each two chip grooves 16 equals to a thickness of the chip actuator 51.
Referring to FIG. 2 of the drawings, the lighter body 10 further has two sliding slots 19 formed on the guiding wall 12, whereas the chip actuator 51 further comprises two sliding guiders 512 extended therefrom and are aligned with the two sliding slots 19 respectively so that when the chip actuator 51 is slid between the idle position and the ignition position, the two sliding guiders 512 are arrange to slide along the corresponding sliding slots 19 respectively so as to substantially guide the sliding movement of the chip actuator 51.
Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 of the drawings, the outer chip wall 11 is embodied as having an aesthetic appearance substantially resembling a real chip so that when the lighter is laid on a flat surface, the aesthetic appearance of the lighter body 10 resembles closely that of a chip stack.
The chip actuator 51 has an aesthetic appearance resembling much of a chip and slidably mounted on the guiding wall 12 of the lighter body 10 for moving between the idle position and the ignition position. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 of the drawings, the lighter body has two connecting holes 18 formed on the outer chip wall 11 wherein two connectors, such as two screws, are arranged to insert into the two connecting holes 18 respectively for connecting the lighter body with other elements stored within the fuel-storage cavity 13.
According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the guiding slot 14 is vertically formed on the guiding wall 12 so that the actuating arm 52 is arranged to vertically slide along the guiding wall 12 when the chip actuator 51 is moving between the idle position and the ignition position.
It is worth mentioning that the guiding slot 14 may alternatively have a curved cross section so that the chip actuator 51 is slid along the guiding slot 14 between the idle position and the ignition position following the curved locus of the guiding slot 14.
The lighter further comprises a refueling inlet 60 provided on the surrounding wall 15 of the lighter casing 10 to communicate with the fuel-storage cavity 13 thereof, wherein a user is able to inject liquefied gaseous fuel to the fuel-storage cavity 13 via the refueling inlet 60 for refueling the liquefied gaseous fuel so as to allow the lighter to be supplied with sufficient amount of fuel for generating ignition.
As a result, it is important to point out that the chip actuator 51 has an actuating surface 511 formed as an outer wall thereof for allowing a user to grip on the actuating surface 511 so as to slide the chip actuator 51 moving from the idle position to the ignition position. Since the chip actuator 51 is shaped and sized to have a chip's aesthetic appearance having a circular cross section, the user is able to conveniently and effectively grip the circular actuating surface 511 for sliding the chip actuator 51 moving from the idle position to the ignition position. The actuating surface 511 of the chip actuator 51 has a predetermined roughness formed as an outer side thereof for allowing a user to frictionally engage with the actuating surface 511 so as to slide the chip actuator 51 moving from the idle position to the ignition position.
Referring to FIG. 3 to FIG. 4 of the drawings, the actuating arm 52 comprises a pivot pusher 521 pivotally supported in the lighter casing 10 at a position on top of the movable part 41 of the piezoelectric unit 40 to control the gas valve 20, and a sliding arm 522 which is extended from the clip actuator 51 to slidably engage with the guiding slot 14 and is coupled with the pivot pusher 521 such that when the sliding arm 522 is driven to downwardly slide at the guiding slot 14 by the clip actuator 51, the sliding arm 522 pivotally drives the pivot pusher 521 to depress the movable part 41 of the piezoelectric unit 40 and to simultaneously lift up the gas valve 20 for ignition of the lighter.
The sliding arm 522, having a T-shape cross section, has an elongated arm portion 5221 sliding along the guiding slot 14 and an enlarged head portion 5222 extended from the arm portion 5221 to couple with the pivot pusher 521 so as to ensure the sliding arm 522 sliding along the guiding slot 14.
In order to retain the chip actuator 51 sliding on the lighter body 10, the guiding slot 14 has an upper elongated slot portion 141 having a width slightly larger than a width of the arm portion 5221 of the sliding arm 522, and a bottom enlarged slot portion 142 having a width slightly larger a width of the head portion 5222 of the sliding arm 522, so as to allow the sliding arm 522 slidably engaging with the guiding slot 14, wherein a length of the upper elongated slot portion 141 of the guiding slot 14 is longer than a depression distance of the movable part 41 of the piezoelectric unit 40, so that when the sliding arm 522 is driven to depress, the movable part 41 of the piezoelectric unit 40 can be completely depressed to produce the spark at the spark generating tip 42.
According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pivot pusher 521 has a first end pivotally mounted in the fuel-storage cavity 13, a second end extended to align with the actuating arm 52, and a depressing member extended from between the first end and the second end to align with the movable part 41 of the piezoelectric unit 40, in such a manner that when the chip actuator 51 is depressed from the idle position to the ignition position, the actuating arm 52 is driven to depress the first end so as to pivotally drive the depressing member to move downwardly for depressing the movable part 41 of the piezoelectric unit 40.
Moreover, the lighter further comprises a lever connecting between the movable part 41 of the piezoelectric unit 40 and the gas valve 20 so that when the movable part 41 is depressed, the gas valve is arranged to be uplifted by the lever.
The operation of the present invention is as follows: the chip actuator 51 is normally retained at the idle position so that the lighter substantially resembles a chip stack. When the user wishes to ignite the lighter, the user needs to slide downwardly the chip actuation 51 so that the actuating arm 52 is driven to slide downwardly along the guiding slot 14. When the actuating arm 52 is driven to slide downwardly along the guiding slot 14, it is driven to depress the movable part 41 of the piezoelectric unit 40 for generating spark at the spark generating tip 42 and at the same time lifting up the gas valve 20 for release gaseous fuel at the ignition nozzle 30. The released gaseous fuel is then ignited by the spark produced at the spark generating tip 42 so as to ignite the lighter of the present invention. When the user finishes using the lighter, the actuating arm 52 is automatically rebounded by the movable part 41 of the piezoelectric unit 40 via the pivotal pusher 521 so as to slide upwardly along the guiding slot 14 for drive the chip actuator 51 to return to the idle position. When the chip actuator 51 is at the idle position, the lighter casing 10 and the chip actuator 51 form the chip stack.
From the forgoing descriptions, it can be shown that the above mentioned objects have been substantially accomplished. The present invention provides a lighter comprising the outer casing 10 and the actuation mechanism 50 for forming the chip stack aesthetic appearance for enhancing an actuation of the lighter and at the same time avoiding it from being recognized as a lighter.
One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting.
It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. It embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A lighter, comprising:

a lighter casing, which is shaped and sized to form a stack of chips, comprising an outer chip wall and an opposed guiding wall, wherein said lighter casing has a fuel-storage cavity formed between said chip wall and said guiding wall for storing liquefied gas and a guiding slot formed on said guiding wall;

a gas valve upwardly extended from said fuel-storage cavity for releasing said gas therein when said gas valve is uplifted;

an ignition nozzle supported in said lighter casing to communicate with said gas valve;

a piezoelectric unit disposed in said lighter casing for generating piezoelectricity, wherein said piezoelectric unit has a movable part and a spark generating tip which is extended towards said ignition nozzle and is arranged when said piezoelectric unit is compressed, a spark is generated at said spark generating tip for igniting said emitted gas through said ignition nozzle; and

an actuation mechanism, which comprises:

a chip actuator, which is sized and shaped corresponding to said chip wall, slidably mounted on said guiding wall of said lighter casing between an idle position and an ignition position; and

an actuating arm extended from said chip actuator into said lighter casing through said guiding slot at a position above said movable part of said piezoelectric unit, wherein at said idle position, said chip actuator is coaxially aligned with said guiding wall that said chip actuator is overlapped with said stack of chips, and at said ignition position, said chip actuator is slid on said guiding wall to drive said actuating arm to depress said movable part of said piezoelectric unit and to simultaneously lift up said gas valve so as to ignite said lighter.

2. The lighter, as recited in claim 1, wherein said guiding slot is an elongated slot vertically formed on said guiding wall to guide clip actuator to move downwardly so as to ignite said lighter.

3. The lighter, as recited in claim 1, wherein said actuating arm comprises a pivot pusher pivotally supported in said lighter casing at a position on top of said movable part of said piezoelectric unit to control said gas valve and a sliding arm which is extended from said clip actuator to slidably engage with said guiding slot and is coupled with said pivot pusher such that when said sliding arm is driven to downwardly slide at said guiding slot by said clip actuator, said sliding arm pivotally drives said pivot pusher to depress said movable part of said piezoelectric unit and to simultaneously lift up said gas valve for ignition.

4. The lighter, as recited in claim 2, wherein said actuating arm comprises a pivot pusher pivotally supported in said lighter casing at a position on top of said movable part of said piezoelectric unit to control said gas valve and a sliding arm which is extended from said clip actuator to slidably engage with said guiding slot and is coupled with said pivot pusher such that when said sliding arm is driven to downwardly slide at said guiding slot by said clip actuator, said sliding arm pivotally drives said pivot pusher to depress said movable part of said piezoelectric unit and to simultaneously lift up said gas valve for ignition.

5. The lighter, as recited in claim 3, wherein said sliding arm, having a T-shape, has an elongated arm portion sliding along said guiding slot and an enlarged head portion extended from said arm portion to couple with said pivot pusher so as to ensure said sliding arm sliding along said guiding slot.

6. The lighter, as recited in claim 4, wherein said sliding arm, having a T-shape, has an elongated arm portion sliding along said guiding slot and an enlarged head portion extended from said arm portion to couple with said pivot pusher so as to ensure said sliding arm sliding along said guiding slot.

7. The lighter, as recited in claim 5, wherein said guiding slot has an upper elongated slot portion having a width slightly larger than a width of said arm portion of said sliding arm and a bottom enlarged slot portion having a width slightly larger a width of said head portion of said sliding arm, so as to allow said sliding arm slidably engaging with said guiding slot, wherein a length of said upper elongated slot portion of said guiding slot is longer than a depression distance of said movable part of said piezoelectric unit.

8. The lighter, as recited in claim 6, wherein said guiding slot has an upper elongated slot portion having a width slightly larger than a width of said arm portion of said sliding arm and a bottom enlarged slot portion having a width slightly larger a width of said head portion of said sliding arm, so as to allow said sliding arm slidably engaging with said guiding slot, wherein a length of said upper elongated slot portion of said guiding slot is longer than a depression distance of said movable part of said piezoelectric unit.

9. The lighter, as recited in claim 1, wherein said lighter casing further has a surrounding wall, having an ignition opening aligning with said ignition nozzle, integrally extended from said outer chip wall to said guiding wall to enclose said fuel storage cavity, wherein said surrounding wall has a plurality of chip grooves evenly formed thereon to form said stack of chips.

10. The lighter, as recited in claim 4, wherein said lighter casing further has a surrounding wall, having an ignition opening aligning with said ignition nozzle, integrally extended from said outer chip wall to said guiding wall to enclose said fuel storage cavity, wherein said surrounding wall has a plurality of chip grooves evenly formed thereon to form said stack of chips.

11. The lighter, as recited in claim 8, wherein said lighter casing further has a surrounding wall, having an ignition opening aligning with said ignition nozzle, integrally extended from said outer chip wall to said guiding wall to enclose said fuel storage cavity, wherein said surrounding wall has a plurality of chip grooves evenly formed thereon to form said stack of chips.

12. The lighter, as recited in claim 9, wherein a distance between each two chip grooves equals to a thickness of said chip actuator.

13. The lighter, as recited in claim 10, wherein a distance between each two chip grooves equals to a thickness of said chip actuator.

14. The lighter, as recited in claim 11, wherein a distance between each two chip grooves equals to a thickness of said chip actuator.

15. The lighter, as recited in claim 1, wherein said lighter body further has two sliding slots spacedly formed on said guiding wall at a position that said guiding slot is located between said sliding slots, wherein said chip actuator further comprises two sliding guiders which are spacedly extended therefrom and are slidably engaged with said two sliding slots so as to substantially guide said chip actuator sliding between said idle position and said ignition position.

16. The lighter, as recited in claim 8, wherein said lighter body further has two sliding slots spacedly formed on said guiding wall at a position that said guiding slot is located between said sliding slots, wherein said chip actuator further comprises two sliding guiders which are spacedly extended therefrom and are slidably engaged with said two sliding slots so as to substantially guide said chip actuator sliding between said idle position and said ignition position.

17. The lighter, as recited in claim 14, wherein said lighter body further has two sliding slots spacedly formed on said guiding wall at a position that said guiding slot is located between said sliding slots, wherein said chip actuator further comprises two sliding guiders which are spacedly extended therefrom and are slidably engaged with said two sliding slots so as to substantially guide said chip actuator sliding between said idle position and said ignition position.

18. The lighter, as recited in claim 1, wherein said chip actuator has an actuating surface having a predetermined roughness formed as an outer side thereof for allowing a user to frictionally engage with said actuating surface so as to slide said chip actuator moving from said idle position to said ignition position.

19. The lighter, as recited in claim 14, wherein said chip actuator has an actuating surface having a predetermined roughness formed as an outer side thereof for allowing a user to frictionally engage with said actuating surface so as to slide said chip actuator moving from said idle position to said ignition position.

20. The lighter, as recited in claim 17, wherein said chip actuator has an actuating surface having a predetermined roughness formed as an outer side thereof for allowing a user to frictionally engage with said actuating surface so as to slide said chip actuator moving from said idle position to said ignition position.