US20090098493A1

US20090098493A1 - Child resistant flint lighter with free wheel

Info

Publication number: US20090098493A1
Application number: US11/907,541
Authority: US
Inventors: Xinhua Huang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-10-15
Filing date: 2007-10-15
Publication date: 2009-04-16

Abstract

A child resistant flint lighter having a body on which a pair of brackets are formed, a pivotal means being of bar-shaped and installed on the pair of brackets, a free wheel rotatably installed on the pivotal means, a flint wheel covering on the pivotal means, a fixed wheel covering on the pivotal means and fixed with respect to the flint wheel, a flint with respect of which the flint wheel and fixed wheel is able to rotate, and a flint spring pressing the flint on the flint wheel. In this invention, there is only one bar-shaped pivotal means needed in stead of the complex shafts in the conventional lighter. It will significantly reduce the complexity and time of manufacturing and assembling the pivotal means to the lighter.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a child resistant gas lighter with a free wheel a diameter of which is a certain larger than a fixed wheel thereof and being able to both prevent child from using and lower a cost of manufacturing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Flint gas lighters having child resistant mechanism have long been developed. One conventional such kind of lighter is disclosed in a Chinese utility model patent bearing a patent number of “ZL 200620055328.4” and published on Feb. 28, 2007. As shown in FIG. 1, the gas lighter 90 has two shafts 91, 91′ installed on a pair of brackets 92, 92′, which is fixed on a body of the lighter, a fixed wheel 93 forming on one shaft 91′ and a free wheel 94 forming on the other shaft 91, a flint wheel 95 formed on the two shafts 91, 91′, a flint 96, and a flint spring 97 pressing the flint 96 on the flint wheel 95. The free wheel 94, a diameter of which is a certain larger than the fixed wheel 93, is freely rotatable with the shaft 91, which makes a child, whose thumb is smaller than an adult human, be not able to rotate the free wheel 94 and the fixed wheel 93 at the same time to spark and ignite the lighter.
A drawback of such lighter is that its structure is complex and a cost of manufacturing thus becomes high.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main object of the invention is to provide a child resistant flint gas lighter with a free wheel a diameter of which is a certain larger than a fixed wheel thereof and being able to both prevent child from using and lower a cost of manufacturing.
In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a child resistant flint lighter having a body on which a pair of brackets are formed, a pivotal means being of bar-shaped and installed on the pair of brackets, a free wheel rotatably installed on the pivotal means, a flint wheel covering on the pivotal means, a fixed wheel covering on the pivotal means and fixed with respect to the flint wheel, a flint with respect of which the flint wheel and fixed wheel is able to rotate, and a flint spring pressing the flint on the flint wheel.
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 partially cross-sectional view of a conventional child resistant flint gas lighter;

FIG. 2 is a perspective schematic partial view of an embodiment of the child resistant flint lighter of the invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded schematic partial view showing the child resistant flint lighter shown in FIG. 2; and,

FIG. 4 is a partially cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, a child resistant flint lighter with free wheel of the invention is shown. The lighter 1 has a body 10 on which a pair of brackets 11, 11′ are firmly formed, a pivotal means 12 being of bar-shaped and installed on the pair of brackets 11, 11′, a free wheel 15 rotatably installed on the pivotal means 12, a flint wheel 14 covering on the pivotal means 12, a fixed wheel 13 covering on the pivotal means 12 and fixed with respect to the flint wheel 14, a flint 16 with respect of which the flint wheel 14 and fixed wheel 13 is able to rotate, and a flint spring 17 pressing the flint 16 on the flint wheel 14. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pivotal means 12 is one integral bar 121. As shown in FIG. 4, it can be two basically identical shorter bars 122 having the same function as the integral bar 121.
Generally, a radius of the free wheel 15 is of 0.1 to 1.0, and preferably 0.5, millimeter greater than a radius of the fixed wheel 13. A thickness of the free wheel 15 is 0.8 to 1.2, and preferably 1.0 millimeter. The flint wheel 14 and the fixed wheel 13 are able to be either loose- or close-fitted to the pivotal means 12. In the loose fit, the pivotal means 12 is able to either fixed or rotatable with respect to the brackets 11, 11′, and in the close fit, the pivotal means 12 must be able to rotatable with the brackets 11, 11′.
In use, an adult human is able to hold the lighter with his hand and rotate the free wheel 15, the flint wheel 14 and the fixed wheel 13 together to spark the flint 16 with his thumb. Generally, there will be enough skin of his thumb that contacts the flint wheel and he is able to spark and ignite the lighter. However, when a user is a child, whose thumb is smaller than the adult user, there is not so much skin contacting the flint wheel 14 so when his thumb moves, only the free wheel 15 rotates and he is not able to spark and ignite the lighter.
It could be seen from above description, there is only one bar-shaped pivotal means needed in stead of the complex shafts in the conventional lighter. It will significantly reduce the complexity and time, thus cost, of manufacturing and assembling the pivotal means to the 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. Its 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 body on which a pair of brackets are formed, a pivotal means being of bar-shaped and installed on said pair of brackets, a free wheel rotatably installed on said pivotal means, a flint wheel covering on said pivotal means, a fixed wheel covering on said pivotal means and fixed with respect to said flint wheel, a flint with respect of which said flint wheel and fixed wheel is able to rotate, and a flint spring pressing said flint on said flint wheel.

2. The lighter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said pivotal means is two basically identical shorter bars.

3. The lighter as claimed in claim 1, wherein a radius of said free wheel is of 0.1 to 1.0 millimeter greater than a radius of said fixed wheel.

4. The lighter as claimed in claim 2, wherein a radius of said free wheel is of 0.1 to 1.0 millimeter greater than a radius of said fixed wheel.

5. The lighter as claimed in claim 1, wherein a thickness of said free wheel is 0.8 to 1.2 millimeter.

6. The lighter as claimed in claim 2, wherein a thickness of said free wheel is 0.8 to 1.2 millimeter.

7. The lighter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said flint wheel and said fixed wheel are loose-fitted to said pivotal means.

8. The lighter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said flint wheel and said fixed wheel are close-fitted to said pivotal means.