US2449314A

US2449314A - Cigar lighter

Info

Publication number: US2449314A
Application number: US669876A
Authority: US
Inventors: Warren I Nissen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1946-05-15
Filing date: 1946-05-15
Publication date: 1948-09-14
Anticipated expiration: 1965-09-14

Description

Sept. 14, 1948. w. 1. NlssEN CIGAR LIGHTER Filed May 15,` 1946 @EL .d

Patented Sept. 14, 1948 ENT @iF-HCE 7 i clone LIGHTER Warren I. Nissen, Newark, J. i ApplicationMay 15, 1946, Serial No. 669,876

The invention relates to a cigar lighter of the cap operated type` i. e. the wick is exposed and a flame produced when the cap `swings from closed to open position, and the flame is` eX- tinguished as the cap moves back from open position to its closed position whereinit encloses the wick.` i

`The invention aims primarily to provide i a lighter construction of the above type wherein `the cap is so constructed and `mounted inrelation to the casing, as to provide a substantially balanced and symmetrical cap construction, which merges `or blends in symmetrically and smoothly with the side walls of: the lighter casing, avoiding.

the cap is opened, and when closed thecap affords a substantially tight seal against the ingress of tobacco crumbs, lint or the like, intotheworking parts of the lighter which are enclosed with-` i l 25 In another aspect the invention relates to an` in the cap.

adjustable closure `member for the `fuel `casing of the lighter, which closure may be readily adjusted without Vthe need offspecial tools, betweena casing sealing position whereinitfitsneatly and tightly into place against the adjacentwalls of the casing, and an open position wherein it affords convenient access to the `interior ofthe casing for fuel lling, orwick or flint adjusting` purposes.` Further objects and advantages of the invention will be in part obvious and in part` specifically referredto in the descriptionhereinafter contained which.` taken in .conjunction with the accompanying drawings, 4discloses a lighter constructed to operate in accordance with the invention; the disclosure howevershould `be considered as merely illustrative of the invention in its broader aspects. In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a front elevation, with certain .parts cut away, of a lighter constructed inaccordancewith the invention. t h,

` Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the lighter shown in Fig. 1. Y l

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but `with other parts `cut away to show the interior construction.

Figs. 4, 5 and 7 are detail sections taken respectively on lines l-4, -5-5 and Tf1 of Fig. l'looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig.V 6 is a bottom plan of the lighter casing, showing the closure member `in open position.

a claims.` (el. 67.4711) s Fig.l8 is a fragmentary view similarlto lthe bottom portionr of Fig'. 1, `but showing the closure member in partially open position. x i u l Fig. 9 is a view illustrating-,themanual manipu-- lation ofthelighten A i f In` accordance with the rstzabove mentioned.`

phase of the invention, the lighter isfprovided with a cap member which is pivotally` mounted at the central portion of the space abovetheiuel receptacleend provided with al top wall which archesover'rthetop of-the casing' substantially from `one side edgeof the casing tot theother.` In closedposition the cap merges intofand'constitutes `a smooth extension'of the side walls of` the casing, and 'when the cap is tilted to producea light, onequadrant `thereof tilts upwardly to expose-the wick and the otherquadrant thereofmoves downwardly within the side .walls of the casing. The invention is illustrated as applied tov a lighter casing which is elongated'in horizontal crosssection, having sidewalls I? and end lwalls! which surround a fuel chamber 3which may be understood as icontaining cotton or similar absorptivamaterial for volatile liquid lighter-fuel such` as isusually employed. The top 3wall 4` (Fig. 3)of the fuel chamber is depressed to provide a well 5 for purposes hereinafter mene tioned, and wick tube` 6 which receives awick' l, is mounted` in the top wall `i near one ofthe end wa1ls.;2, in `the mannerv shown` in Fig.. `3. A flint tube 8, carrying a flint 9 pressed by a spring IB, `also projects through the top wall as shown inFigQS` l As shown best in Figs. l'and, the `cap mem-r ber of the lighter is` provided with a` top wall Il which arches over thetcp of the casingsubstantially `from one side edge of the` casing to the'other side edge thereof, the caplfiaving` side walls, lf2 which mate withthe sidewalls `I` of the lighter casing., A` snuffer` member i3 (Fig. \3) carried bythe cap, encloses the exposed portionof thefwick 'I andjits against the wicktube E; whenthe `cap `member is in closed position.

' The cap member is pivotally mounted at the central `portion of the space` above the fuel re.-` ceptacle upon a transverse 4spindle I g extending,`

between thesidewalls I2 of the cap, and pref-` erably mounted as hereinafter described.. VThe side endend 'Walls of the lighter casingv are preferably provided with upwardly `projecting portions Ia'.and 2a respectively, withirhwhich` the lower edge portions of the cap are received when the cap is in `closed position. Thus in-closed position the cap,` effectively seals the entire space above the .lighter .against the ingress of tobacco 3 crumbs, dirt; and the like, and the cap construction merges smoothly into the side walls of the lighter casing. When the cap member is tilted in a clockwise direction, as the parts appear in Fig. 3, the quadrant of the cap which is at the left of spindle I 4 and above wick I swings angularly upward to expose the wick, and the quadrant of the cap which is at the right of spindle I4 in Fig.y 3, swings downwardlyto nest into. the, well 5. In this w-ay a sufficiently. wide opening of the cap is secured, to clear wick 1 adequately,

and yet the construction, both in closed and in within the cap above described consists of aV sparking wheel I5 which in the illustrated form of the invention is journaled coaxially with the cap on spindle I4. Flintl 9 is pressed against the roughened surface of wheel I5', Aandthe 1atter`is rotatedv by movement of the cap from-closed to. open position so'as to. ignite wick I as the cap swings to open position. Preferably the sparking wheel I5 is connected to the cap throughr an appropriete pawl andv` ratchet mechanism in such manner that the wheel remains stationary when the cap moves from. openito closed position. In the particular form 'shown (see Figs; 3 and 4) the -Wheel 'I5 is provided with side ratchet teeth I=6 which are engageable by spring nger I`I on a pawl lever I8 (Fig. 3') which is pivotally mounted onspindle I4 and has its outer end engagingwith a stud I9 extending between the side walls I2 of the cap. rIihus the pawl lever I8 is rocked back andforth as the cap moves between closed and openposition, and wheel I5 is turned during the opening movement to project sparks on to the wie Preferably the top assembly consisting of the cap and the spark producing mechanism enclosed thereby, is detachably mounted in position uponv the top wall 4. In the form shown in Fig. 3, this assembly is carried by a bracket 2B detachably secured to the upper surface of top wall 4 by a screw 2| which is accessible within fuel chamber 3. The bracket 2D is provided with ears 2 2 which support the spindle I4 which in turn carries the'sparking wheel I 5 and the cap. Thus the above parts may be assembled with respect to each otherbefore the bracket is placed in position o n Wall 4, and the assembly issecured in position by inserting the screw 2l from the bottom of fuel chamber 3 as hereinafter described.

The illustrated form of the invention is of the manually actuated type, i.V e. the lighter may be nested in the operators hand as shown in Fig.V 9, and with thecap in closed position the operator may convenientlyA engage his thumb With the quadrant of the cap which is above the wick l, as,

indicated bythe dotted lines in theupper part of Fig, 3. From the above position the thumb may -be readily moved through an arc as indicated by the dotted arrow at the-'top' of Fig; 3, to move the t cap through theI requisite4 substantial angle asl'is nr ucl scribed construction fulfills these requirements in a simple and effective manner, without requiring motion multiplying connections or awkwardly protruding levers, finger-pieces or the like, or awkward finger movements by the operator. After the cap has been'opened and the llame produced as above described, the operator moves his thumb in the reverse direction through the path described, to close the cap and extinguish the flame. This: movement also` is simple and natural, and as above stated effectively seals the space above the lighter against the ingress of dirt, and produces a cap construction which blends or mergeswell into the general configuration of the lighter casing.

When the invention is employed in connection witha manually actuated lighter as above described, I prefer to provide a spring construction which will assist in holding the cap member both in closed and in open position. As shown in Fig. 3, a bowed spring 23 is provided for this purpose, the ends of the springbeing tensioned between the ears 2?.'` of bracket 20, with which one end of spring 23 engages, and the stud i 9 with which the other end `of spring 23 engages. In the position shown in Fig, 3, spring 23 urges the snuffel" I3= into seating position against the wick tube 5; when the cap member 'is tilted to open position as above described, the stud I9 swings down to a position where it is on the other side of a central line passing through spindle I4 and the other end of the spring 23 which is engaged with 'ears 22; in this latter position, spring 23 tends to hold the cap I I in open position until the operator pushes the cap part way back toward closed position,

whereupon the spring 'assists in completing the closing movement.

It will be noted that in the above described construction, both the spindle III and the stud I9 are concealed by the upper side wall extensions Ia of the lighter casing, to' avoid marring of the exposed surfaces of the lighter.

1"o'afl'ordy access to the fuel chamber'S, I prefer to provide the lighter with a slidably mounted wall section which normally is Ytightly held in sealing position, but may be `readily manipulated when desired to expose the interior of the casing without requiring the removal of screws or like` detachableparts. In the form shown, the'bottom Wall section 24 may be thus manipulated'. 'I 'hebottom portion of the lighter casingl is provided with a

transverse partition

2,5 through which eX- tends a ,collar 26 surrounding the flint tube 8 and receiving an adjusting `screw 2'I' (Fig. 1) for the flint spring I0. By adjustment ofthe wall section 24, ashereinafter described; access may be had to this screw 2'I v for the purpose of renewing the flint in the usualmanner.

The partition` 25 has therein a rectangular opening Z8 (Fig. 6) h'aving undercut opposite walls 259' (Fig. 7'). Within this opening 2.8 there is slidably fitted aj slide member 3Q which is connected to the Wall section 2,4 so that the latn ter may b e slid back and forth along opening 2 8 Preferably the slide 3E! includes a liner SI of spring metal which urges the wall sectionV 24 tightly into engagement with the lower edges1 of the casing side walls. In the form shown a` pin or projection 32 pivotally secures the wall section 24 to the. slide member abovey mentionedy and also.. secures in position a spring stop 33, With the parts in the position shown in Fig'. l, the wall,

section 2,4, is freeto slidev to the right until' the position shown in Fig.. 8 is reached,r wherein the stop 3U comes up against a lug 34 on Wall 2.' This movement exposes the screw 21 on the end of the ilint tube 8. If access to the interior of fuel chamber 3 is desired, the wall section 24 may be turned angularly from the position shown in Fig. 8, to the position shown in Fig. 6.` If it should be desired to entirely remove the wall section 24, as will rarely be necessary, a tool may he inserted through' the opening 23, with the parts in the position shown in Fig. 6, to depress the spring stop 33 down below lug 34, whereupon the closure assembly may be slid out bodily from normal position through the open end of the slot 26. The adjustable wall section 24 preferably has fixed thereto or integral therewith, a block 35 which interengages with the undercut walls 29 above mentioned, to hold the wal1 section 24 against angular movement when in closed position, but when the wall section 24 has been moved to the partially open position shown in Fig. 8, the block 35 is clear of walls 99 and thus the wall section 24 may be then turned to the position shown in Fig. 6. The end portion 24a of the wall section 24, which end portion lies between the adjacent end portions of the walls 29 when the wall section 24 is in closed position, preferably is enlarged as shown in Figs. l and 8 so as to completely iiil the space between the walls 29 when wall section 24 is closed.

When the wall section 24 is closed, it is held by spring member 3l intight engagement with the adjacent lower edges of the casing side walls I and 2 and mates therewith. For flint adjusting purposes the casing section 24 need only be slid to the position shown in Fig. 8, and to afford access to the fuel chamber 3, supplementary adjustment is made to the position shown in Fig, 6.

This application is a continuation in part of my prior copending application Serial Number 638,967, filed January 4, 1946, entitled Lighten which has been abandoned.

While the invention has been disclosed as applied to a lighter of the above described specific construction, it should be understood that changes may be made therein without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, Within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A pyrophoric lighter of the character described, includng a casing which is elongated in horizontal cross section, said casing having therein a fuel chamber, a sparking wheel mounted in the space above the fuel chamber and disposed substantially centrally between the side edges of the casing, a wick tube mounted on top of the casing at one side of the sparking wheel, the top of the casing having a well located at the other side of the sparking wheel, a cap member overlying substantially the entire space above said casing, said cap member being pivotally mounted substantially concentric with the sparking wheel and having a top wall which arches substantially symmetrically over the top of the casing substantially from one side edge of the casing to the other side edge thereof when said cap member is in closed position, to provide opposed quadrants of the cap member which overlie respectively the wick tube and well, which quadrants join together at a point above the sparking wheel and aiord opening movement of the cap member by manual engagement with the quadrant of the cap .member which overlies the wick tube, said cap member being tiltable between the aforesaid closed position and an angularly displaced position wherein the quadrant of the cap member which overlies the wick tube is lifted upwardly therefrom to expose the latter and the quadrant thereof on the opposite side of its pivotal axis moves downwardly into said well, means being provided whereby movement of the cap member from closed position to such' angularly displaced position produces rotation of said sparking wheel to project sparks therefrom toward the wick tube.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein the sparking wheel and cap member are mounted upon a bracket, said bracket being detachably clamped to the top wall of said casing by a clamping member which is accessible for adjustment from the space within said fuel chamber.

' WARREN I. NISSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,487,995 Wilkins Mar. 25, 1924 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 128,406 Austria May 25, 1932 140,155 Great Britain Mar. 25, 1920 240,048 Germany Oct. 24, 1911 464,187 Great Britain Apr. 13, 1937