US2070053A

US2070053A - Highway flare

Info

Publication number: US2070053A
Application number: US750441A
Authority: US
Inventors: Smith M Johnson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1934-10-29
Filing date: 1934-10-29
Publication date: 1937-02-09
Anticipated expiration: 1954-02-09

Description

Feb. 9, 1937. I s. M. JOHNSON HIGHWAY FLARE Filed OCT 29, 1934 INVENTOR.

BY om .M

ATTORNEYJ- Patented Feb. 9, 1937 UNITED STATES amass PATENT FEEQE 7 Claims.

This invention is an improved highway flare, especially adapted for use by operators of automotive vehicles to mark at night the location of a vehicle if, for any reason, the same has to be stopped for a protracted period of time along the road in a position jeopardizing the safety of other vehicles. Usually three flares are required, one beyond each end, and one at the side, of the parked vehicle.

The objects of the invention are to provide a highway flare of sturdy construction, capable of withstanding the rough handling and abuse so frequently accorded such devices; to provide a highway flare of compact design so that it may be stored in limited space, or so that a set may be nested together and carried in a relatively small case; to provide a device of the foregoing nature having an elongated burner sleeve that keeps the flame well spaced from the oil containing body of the flare to avoid possible overheating as well as undue deposit of smudge on said body; to make such sleeve retractible for protection and compactness, and to so construct it that when projected it may be used as a filling spout for the device; to provide a closure for sealing the opening through which the sleeve operates so that when the closure is in place the flare may be handled and stored without regard for its having to be held upright or arranged in any particular position to avoid leakage, and to provide means for automatically projecting the sleeve when said closure is removed or opened,

While the device is intended primarily as a warning signal, it is adapted for use as an emergency light in making night repairs along the road, and a single one, because of its strong, compact and leak-proof construction, may be carried conveniently and with safety in the tool compartment or other space of an automobile.

Further and more general objects are the provision of a highway flare that is thoroughly dependable; that will operate satisfactorily under all conditions encountered in its. intended range of service, and that is very convenient of use.

The foregoing objects, with others hereinafter appearing, are attained in the embodiments of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one form of the invention, showing it in condition for storage; Fig. 2 is a similar view of the same in condition for use; Figs. 3 and 4 are central vertical sections through the device, the former showing the burner sleeve projected and the wick in lighting position, while in Fig. 4 the burner sleeve is retracted and held in such posi tion by the cap that is applied to the neck of the container body, the wick being omitted for clearness; Fig. 5 is a sectional detail through the burner sleeve and wick tube, on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 shows a set of three flares nested 5 in a carrying or storage case that is illustrated in central section; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a modified form of the invention, and Fig. 8 is a sectional detail on a somewhat larger scale through the burner sleeve and wick tube thereof. 10

Referring to the parts by reference characters,

I designates a container body that is preferably drawn from sheet metal with an upwardly tapering peripheral wall that is curved inwardly at its upper end and merges with a depressed 15 top wall 2. Seamed at its lower end within an opening of the top wall is a threaded neck 3 whose upper end is turned inwardly to provide a flange 4, the plane of the upper end of the neck being slightly below that of the edge portion of 20 the wall 2 where the latter joins the peripheral wall l. A bottom wall 5 is attached to the peripheral wall by an interlocking seam 6, and in such manner as to inset said bottom wall a material distance above the plane of the lower edge of the seam.

Attached, as by rivets l, to one side of the container body, is a plate 8 whose ends are curled over to form eyes in which the inwardly extending terminals of wire handles ii] are journaled 0 so that the handles may be swung from ineffective position against the container body, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 6, to efiective position, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

A burner sleeve !2 is reciprocable within the neck 3. Near its inner end said sleeve is formed with a shoulder I3 and therebeyond with a groove for the reception of the convolution at the smaller end of a conical spring 54 whose larger end bears upon the bottom wall 5. The spring I 4 tends to project the burner sleeve until it is stopped by the engagement of the shoulder [3 with the flange 4 of the neck 3. A wick tube 15 is located within the sleeve l2 in spaced relation to the wall thereof so as to leave a passage- 45 way It between said tube and wall. The wick tube is preferably constructed of a piece of sheet metal bent into cylindrical form with its vertical edges turned outwardly, as shown at ll in Fig. 5, and suitably attached, as by welding or brazing, 50 to the wall of the sleeve l2. A wick l3 extends through and is supported by the tube 5 with its upper end spaced a suitable distance above the upper edge of the sleeve 12 and its lower end reposing within the container body where it is 55 confined to a generally central location therein by the spring l4 so as to better insure its dipping into a quantity of oil that may be poured into the body through the passageway N5 of the burner sleeve when the latter is in projected position.

The upper end of the burner tube is desirably spaced an appreciable distance below the corresponding edge of the sleeve I2 so that when the upper end of the wick is lighted the flame will be prevented from blowing out entirely in the event of a heavy gust of wind by its being protected at its base by the elevated surrounding portion of the sleeve. Also this feature provides a space within which the soft upper end of the wick may be compressed when the sleeve is retracted against the tension of the spring M, as in Fig. 4, and a closure 20, in the nature of a screw cap, is applied to the neck 3. The edge portion of a gasket 2i seals the joint between the cap and the outer end of the neck so as to prevent leakage of oil in case the device is tilted or inverted. When the device is conditioned for storage by the retraction of the burner sleeve and the application of the closure 20 to the neck of the container body, and by the folding of the handles l8 against said body, a set of the flares may be nested together by placing one upon another so that the top of one container body occupies the recess provided by the inset bottom of the body next above, as illustrated in Fig. 6, such nesting being made possible by the fact that the top wall 2 of each body is inset suificiently to accommodate the neck and closure within the cavity thus provided. Three flares so nested may be placed within a carrying or storage case, designated 22 in Fig. 6, the same having a cover 23 that is shown as connected by a hinge 24 to the case.

In the modified form of the invention illustrated in Figs. '7 and 8, the container body l is semi-spherical in form and hingedly connected to the neck 3 that rises from its top portion is a cover 2E1 that is adapted to be latched in closed position by any suitable form of catch, such as that shown. The burner sleeve l2 of the present modification is equipped with a dual burner tube 15 for the accommodation of flat wicks I8 each wick slot being produced by a chan nel member whose lateral edges are turned outwardly and flanged at I! for attachment to the wall of the burner sleeve I2 The dual burner tube is completed by a partition l5 whose edges are supported by and between the adjacent portions of the channel members. A collapsible handle Hi is attached to the side of the body l in the same manner described in connection with the former modification.

While I have disclosed herein but two shapes of container body, it will be clear that the same may assume various forms and sizes; and further it is understood that the invention is not only susceptible to changes of shape in the container body but that it embraces all structural modifications falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In combination, a container body having an opening, a burner sleeve slidable within said opening, a wick tube within the sleeve, the same being formed of a piece of sheet metal whose sides are flanged outwardly and secured to the wall of the sleeve so as to support the tube within the sleeve in spaced relation to the wall thereof, the sleeve being shiftable between a projected lighting position and a retracted inoperative position, a closure for the aforesaid opening that is adapted to be placed thereover when the sleeve is retracted, and a spring arranged to automatically project the sleeve when the closure is removed.

2. In combination, a container body that is smaller at top than bottom and having a part of its top depressed to form a cavity and an opening within said part, a burner sleeve movable within the opening between a projected operative position and a retracted inoperative position, a closure adapted to be placed over said opening when the sleevev is retracted, the container body having abottom wall inset an appreciable distance whereby a plurality of such container bodies are adapted to be nested together with the top of one received within the space provided by the inset bottom of the one next above.

3. In combination, a container body having an upwardly tapering peripheral wall and a top wall whose central portion is depressed to provide. a cavity, said top wall having an opening, a neck surrounding said opening and rising to a point slightly below the plane of the top edge of the peripheral wall, a closure for application to said neck, a burner sleeve slidable within the neck, a spring within the body cooperating with said sleeve to project the same when the closure is removed, a wick carried by the sleeve, the. bottom wall of the container body being inset above, and having its peripheral portion suitably secured to, the lower edge of the peripheral wall.

4. In combination, a container body having an upwardly tapering peripheral wall that is turned inwardly at its upper end and merges into a depressed top wall, said top Wall having an opening, a neck surrounding said opening, a closure for application to the neck and which, when applied thereto, has its top surface in substantially the plane of the upper edge of the peripheral wall, a bottom wall whose edge portion is connected by an interlocking seam to the lower edge of the peripheral wall and whose body portion is inset an appreciable distance above the lower edge of said seam, a burner sleeve slidable within the neck, a wick carried thereby, and a spring engaging the bottom wall of the container body and having its upper end connected to the inner end of the burner sleeve.

5. In combination, a container body having an opening, a burner sleeve movable therein between a projected operative position and a retracted inoperative position, the burner sleeve having a shoulder adjacent its inner end for engagement with a part surrounding the aforesaid opening to limit the outward movement of the sleeve, the sleeve also having a circumferential groove below said shoulder, a conical spring having its larger end engaging the bottom wall of the container body and the convolution at its smaller end en- 1 gaged within the aforesaid groove of the sleeve, a

wick carried by the sleeve whose inner end is confined by the spring, and a closure for the aforesaid opening adapted to be applied thereto when the burner sleeve is retracted.

6. In combination, a container body having an opening, a burner sleeve slidable within said opening, a dual wick tube within the sleeve, the same being formed of a partition and inwardly facing channel members on opposite sides thereof whose edges are flanged outwardly and secured to the wall of the sleeve, the sleeve being shiftable between a projected lighting position and a retracted inoperative position, a closure for the aforesaid being formed of a piece of sheet metal whose sides are flanged outwardly and secured to the wall of the sleeve so as to support the tube within the sleeve in spaced relation to the wall thereof, the

sleeve being shiftable between a projected lighting 5 position and a retracted inoperative position.

SMITH M. JOHNSON.