US2512104A - Cigarette lighter - Google Patents

Description

T. E. lKolsTz CIGARETTE LIGHTER June 20, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 1, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 @mwN T. E. KOETZ CIGARETTE LIGHTER i June 20, 1950 Filed Augl" 1946 June 20, 1950 T. E. KoETz CIGARETTE LIGHTER 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. l, 1946 rrrrrrrrr/ June 20, 1950 T. E. KoETz CIGARETTE LIGHTER Filed Aug. 1, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented June 20, 1950 UNITED S'IATIES PATENT OFFICE l 2,512,104

Y CIGARETTE LIGHTER f Theodore E..Koetz`, Rochester, N. Y. Application August 1, 1946, serial No. 687,676

, rette or cigar lighter.l While the cigarette lighter of myinvention has been'shown and will be described as apocketlighten it will be understood that the principlesl thereof maybe incorporated in table or other models of such lighters.'

An object ofV- my invention is to provide a practical and dependable iinger operated lighter which may be manufactured at a reasonable cost. Another object of invention is to incorporate in a 'cigarette or 'cigar lighter, whichl may be operated with the fingers of one'hand, a dual ignition unit to thus render the lighter' more reliable inuse.

A further object of my invention is to provide a dual ignition lighter'wherein means are provided vfor protecting the dualA flames thereof against being extinguished by the wind thereby to render the lighter suitable and reliablefo'rfuse while driving orengaged in other outdoor*` activities under which` conditions many conventional types of lighters areunreliable inuse My invention further contemplatesv the provision of a'dual ignition lighter yin which means are provided for creating a forced ldraft 'which carries. the sparks from the pyrophoricvvelemen'ts to the wicks and facilitates ignition thereofto the end that the .lighteri's positively ignited and is thus more reliable in operation. y Other objects and advantages ofthe novel' cigarettelighter of my invention will be particularly set forth in the claims and will be apparent from the following description, whentakenin connection with the accompanying drawingsinwhich:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the lighter of my invention vshowing the yparts in non-operating position; 4 y

Fig'. 2-is a view similar `to Fig. 1 .somewhat enlarged and showing the position of the parts when the lighter hasbeen actuated to ignitethe same Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. 2 butwith the casing in section which houses the fue 1the feeding elements for the ints andthe wicks;

Fig. 44 is an end elevation of -Fig. 3; .Y y

Fig. v5 is a vertical sectional view showing` the dual ignition unit of my invention with the parts in their inactive position; f

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view of the lighter of my invention ,showing the parts in the positionwhich they occupy in the inactive position of Fig. 5; i 1 Fig.'v 7L is a view similar to Fig. .5y showing the parts in their actuated' position;

Fig.- 8I is asectional y'view taken-"substantially 55 wheels.

6 Claims. (Cl. 67--7.1)

on the-line 8--3 of Fig. 5' in the direction indicated by the arrows; 1

Fig. 9 is'a sectional view taken substantially on the line 9-9 of Fig. 5 in the direction indicated by the arrows; v

Fig. 10 is a side elevation showing the scratch Wheel and the clutch for operating'the same;

' Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line |I'-II of Fig. 10; v 'f Fig. 12 is a side elevation of one of the nger actuatedelements for operating the lighter;

Fig. 13 is a top plan View of Fig. 12;

Fig. '14 is a side elevation of the xed part of the lighter in which the sliding parts operate;

Fig. 15 is a top plan view of Fig. 14;

Fig-"16 is a side elevation ofthe lighter with the wall of the outer casing removed to show the operating mechanism forfcontrolling the opening and closing of the wind shields, theparts being yshown in inactive position; I

Fig. 17'is a view similar to Fig. 16 with the' parts shown infactuated position; f

Fig. 1 8 is a side elevation of one of the wind shields; t r Y I Fig. 19 is a bottom View of Fig. 18; and

Fig. 20 is an end viewof Fig. 18. As shown most rclearlyin Fig-'3,' the' lighter ofmy invention comprisesa casing, generally indicated by the numeral? 26, and a casing 21 which is secured to the casing 26 in any suitable manner as'by solder 28 (Fig. 8).? The casing 26 houses the usual cotton 4or other material 2!!l which is saturated withthe usual lighter fuel. The bottom of the casing 26 is open, as shown at 3|, and is closed lby a cover 32 which is telescoped over the side walls of the casing 26. Any suitable means such as an annular bead 33 may be provided'to indicate the level to which fuel should be placed in the cover 3.2 prior to inserting the body of the lighter yin the cover. This method of filling the lighter prevents the flints from gettingv wet and the wicks from being loversaturated with fluid. y

The casing 26 also houses a pair of tubular elements 34 which are'rigidly Isecured, as shown at 36, to the top wall 310i the housing 26. A pyrophoric element 38 is carried'in each of the tubes 34 and each is urged by a' spring 39 into pressure frictional engagement with a toothed scratch wheel 4I (Figs. 5, 6, 8 and 10). The lower ends of the tubesl are threaded'to receive plug screws 42 through which `pressure is applied on the springs 39 to urge thepyrophoric elements 38 into pressure 'engagement with the scratch The casing 26 also encloses a pair of Wicks 43 which are preferably intertwined through the casing so as to absorb fuel from the saturated cotton. The wicks extend through openings 44 in the top wall 31 of the casing into the casing 21, as shown most clearly in Fig. 5. Upon removal of the cover 32 the parts within the casing 26, including the wicks are accessible and ease of filling the casing with fuel is obtained.

The casing- 21 5')- has side-.walls 41 and .a top wall 481 While the casing 21` mayl be rectangular in Vertical section, I prefer to form the casing in the shape shown. ends of the casing are open, as shown ated-9', and the top wall has an enlarged opening l, the purpose of which will later appear.

Mounted within the casingv v2 1 is a. fixed sup.- porting and guiding member 52 which is secured by means of screws 55 to the top wall 31- of the casing 26. The xed guide member '52 is shown dearly' Fics. 1li` and' 115.' and comprises the bottom wall 53 and side WaIlsSL. 'The' side walls .here ai plurality et. airfopenings .5% therein.. the ionetiening or which will Later appear The side Walls 54 further have guide slots 511:, openings 58; and-eutfoutnertiens 591. thel purposes of which will also presently appear..

The bottom and to the position shown in Fig 5, the springs seating on the seat elements 63 (Fig. 15) and bearing against the end walls 16 of the actuators 13.

As shown most clearly in Fig. 6, the pins 84 are adapted to be received in openings in a slide 815. The slides I8G ride on the upper surface of the xed guide 52 (Figs. 14 and 15). Each slide has an elongated s1ot181 which extends vfrom the forward edge 88 thereof to enable the slide to clear the pyrophoric elements; the screws `55 and the wicks as shown most clearly in Fig. '7. The slides are further provided with racks 189 adapted to mesh with the pinions 61 which drive the scratch Wheels (Fig. 8). It will be appreciated that uponoperation of the actuators by the ngers, the slidesare driven toward each other to rotate Vthe -piniona and the-scratch wheels.

bottom wad. 53` of the fixed guide. inA ,addif tion to the openingso1',the Ascrews. 5:5, has openities Et ier the psmciiericfelements and .openings 6.1 through whieh .the wicksvestend. The ends of the flxedgude are provided seat elemente 53 ,for the `reception v0i SpringsA '64 (Eig. 5ft- Referring-210.49 Fiss. 8.,. .10. and 11,. a pair' 0f shafts 68 are earrieeirigidls the openings 58 ostile iixed guide 52- with respect t0 the Shaft: iS a. Sleeve: 5&- yAgefi-r ei pinierisfl are rigidwith reseeetto the Sleeve whereby' upon rotation of the pinions f1i, the. spider 68, integral with. the sleeve 65,:of ,a @liuto-h; illustrated infiss- 10 and 11 is rotated.,v Each of the; clutch-esy inetudes a plurality et .spring pnessedprcllers' which lie in wedge shaped openings 1| between the spider and en annuler eine 1,2: which carries the scratch wheel The, clutches are of a conventioneltyoe.. Well known in the art. te@ enable the scratch Wheels to be rotated the. direction indicated. by the arrow A.. Fia 1.01 and upon reverse rotation ofthe pinions Si the drive between@ thespiilerl 68 and the annular ring 12 is disconnected Seas to per-.mit reverse rotation: of the minions 61 withouty rotatingK the 'Scratch wheels, 4I. v v

Mounted on opposite sides of the lighter, as shown in Figs. 1 andV 3,k ane a pairA o atuators 13, which aref adapted to. bemoved invii-ard,l as illustrated in; Fig. 2 uponbeing pressed;V by the thumb and forenger of the user;y Each of the actuators. es Shown in Fiss- 1.2` emi 13.inc1-udes e top weibl; 14;. an end wall 16| and Side walls H and 1d.. The side wall 111i is cut of; at an angle, as shown at 19 and the side wall thasA an extension' Sil which; is toothed as: shown at- 8 2.- The actuators are rie-ht and letti1-land and eppesitelr arranged to enable the extensions 8d toy clear each other' when the parts Aare in the postion shownzin Eig. 7*., The, actuator illustrated in Figs. lf2: and; 13; is` for the rightside of; the:- li'ghter, as viewed in Fis. 5. The actuators; are provided with. openings 8:3; for the` reception of guide pins sli adapted to.v ride in the; slots 51-v of' the fixed guides: 5.2 (Figs- 5. and i4). Springs 64, norurge .ti-ie actuators in an outward direction away from each; @their The lighter is provided with a pair of wind shields 9| which are pivoted on pins 92 carried by the casing 21. They pins 92 extend through the cut-outsy 59mv the fixed guide 52 (Fig. 14) and' through openings formed in the side walls of the casing 2-1.. The construction of the wind shields` isshownJ-niost clearlyin Figs. 18, 19, and 2o: and each includes a top wall 93 which forms the closure for the lighterA openings and a. pair of side walls. 94 and 95. Each of the. side walls is provided with aA plurality of airV openings 91 and the sidewall 94 is extended on the are of a circle, as` shown at 98e. lThis extended portonis, provided with. teeth` 99 adapted toVA mesh with the teeth V82:01 the extension .8l (Figs. 12 and 13),.

In Figs.` 16 and 17 the outer wall of the casing 21 has been removed to show the operation of the wind shields. lit,y will be appreciated that the wind shields are. right and left and that-la corresponding structure. appears on the other side. of the lighter reversed from lthe position shown in Figs. lfand 17V.,

It will bg. apparent, upon. operation of theac.-4 tuatorsy by the, thumb, and forenger,l that the teeth of the extension. 18.1, through their engagement theteeth 19,9.` of the wind shields. causes the wind. shields to sluit lfrom the position shown in Fig. 16 to that shown in Fig. 11 to enable the user tor .extenda cigar or @cigarette between the wind shields into proximity tothe names of burning. gases above the wicks.

It will be appreciated that the wind shields,.to gather with the yadjacent parts of the casing protect the. ,llames against being extinguishedby .the wind, the Openings. 91 inthe wind Shields and the casing side walls, permitting. access of enough air to. support combustion. y

Froml Fig.6 it will be apparent that the side walls 911 and Vlili of the wind shields lie between the outer walls of the casing and the xed guide 52. The extensions Bl carrying the teeth 82 which mesh with the. teeth 99 of the wind shields also operate in these spaces. At will be clear from an examinationof Fig. 16, the air openings 91 in the sidewalls of the casing 21 and the air openings 56' in the xed guide register with each other. However when the wind shields are closed, communication between the two sets of openings is lcut off as indicated irl-Fig. 16. When the parts areA moved from the' position shown in Fig. 16l to that shown in Fig. 17, the openings in the casing and in thexed guide register with each other to enable access of some air to the Haines through these openings and also through the openings in the wind shields.

One. of' the;v important. features of the lighter of my invention the fact' thata dual ignition syst-erin,Y is provided. Upon inwardV pressing of the animos sf; actuators and 'actuation of the scratch wheels two sparks are thrown inward toward the wicks so that; either V`or both wicks are lighted. If,desired, a single `wick might be employed, the sparks from bothscratch wheelsrbeing directed toward y,the wickj* whicnwould then, beA preferably centrally located with respect to the .scratch wheels.L With dual ignition the reliabilityof the `lighterirl-yoperation is `assured. l l

'.,f Another feature of the lighter of my invention lies in the factthat the casing 21 is substantially closed at its ends and the wind shields are closed whenthe parts are in theposition shownv in Fig.-

'.: The ends of the casingaresubstantially'closed bythe actuators 13 and the slides i86. Thuswhen the :actuators are pressed inward, the air space within the casing 21 is decreased so astcforce a blast of air from both sides inwardly over the pyrophoric elements and toward the wicks. This materially aids in enabling the wicks to be ignited by the sparks and aids in directing the sparks toward the wicks. During the initial portion of the actuation, the wind shield is substantially closed. As it gradually opens, it permits a ow of air over the wicks and out through the wind shields. However, during the initial blast of air across the wicks, the opening through the wind shields is somewhat restricted so as to increase the effectiveness of the blast of lair directed upon the wicks.

It will be appreciated that the springs 64 restore the actuators to the position of the parts shown in Fig. 5 upon release of the actuators from manual control. At the same time, the

pinions are rotated without rotating the scratch wheels and the wind shields are moved to the closed position shown in Fig. 5. Upon closing, air is substantially excluded from gaining access to the wicks and the wind shields during this period act as snuffers for the wicks.

While I have shown and described the preferred form of my invention, it will be appreciated that various changes and modifications may be made, particularly in the form and relation of parts, without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A lighter comprising, in combination, a casing having open ends, a pair of actuators slidable in said casing and substantially closing said open ends, spring means for normally moving said actuators away from each other, a pair of pyrophoric members mounted in said casing, wick means mounted between said pyrophoric members and arranged to receive sparks therefrom, a pair of friction elements movable in frictional engagement with said members upon pressing said actuators toward each other with the ngers, said casing and actuators forming an enclosure which upon pressing the actuators inward forces a draft of air over both pyrophoric members toward the wick means, and means-above the wick means for confining the air adjacent the wick means during the initial portion of the movement of the actuators.

2. A lighter comprising, in combination, a casing having open ends, a pair of actuators slidable in said casing and closing said open ends, spring means for normally moving said actuators away from each other, a pair of pyrophoric members mounted in said casing, wick means mounted between said pyrophoric members and arranged to receive sparks therefrom, a pair v`of friction elements movable in frictional engagement with said members upon pressing said actuators toward eachnothen l"with .r the ngers, :said casingy andn actuators forming an enclosure which uponpress-z saidopenf ends, spring means for normally moving-said actuators away from each other, a pair ofpyrophoricelementsmounted in said casing,`

means operated by said actuators'for scratching said pyrophoric elementswwick means mounted between said pyrophoric elements and: arranged to receive 'sparks therefrom upon movement of said actuators by the fingers toward each other against the action of said spring means, said casing;v andv actuators forming an enclosure which upon pressing the actuators inward forces la'draft,

of air over both pyrophoric elements toward the wick means, and shield means arranged above said wick means and operated upon actuation of Said actuators for conning the air adjacent the wick means during the initial portion of the movement of said actuators, said shield means moving to a fully open position upon further movement of said actuators.

4. A lighter comprising, in combination, a casing having open ends, a pair of actuators closing said open ends, said actuators being in telescopic relation to said casing, spring means for normally moving said actuators away from each other, a pair of pyrophoric elements mounted in said casing, means operated by said actuators for scratching said pyrophoric elements, wick means mounted between said pyrophoric elements and arranged to receive sparks therefrom upon movement of said actuators by the iingers toward each other against the action of said spring means, and shield means arranged above said wick means and operated upon actuation of said actuators for conning the air adjacent the wick means during the initial portion of the movement of said actuators, said shield means moving to a fully open position upon further movement of said actuators to enable access to said wick means.

5. A lighter comprising, in combination, a casing having open ends, a pair of actuators closing said open ends and movable telescopically with respect thereto, spring means for normally moving said actuators away from each other, a pair of pyrophoric elements mounted in said casing in the same longitudinal plane, means operated by said actuators for scratching said pyrophoric elements, a pair of wick elements mounted between and in the same plane with said pyrophoric elements and arranged to receive sparks therefrom upon movement of said actuators by the fingers toward each other against the action of said spring means, said casing and actuators forming an enclosure which upon pressing the actuators inward forces a draft of air over both pyrophoric elements toward said wicks, and shield means arranged above said wicks and operated upon actuation of said actuators for confining the air adjacent said wicks during the initial portion of the movement of said actuators, said shield means moving to a fully open position upon further movement of said actuators.

6. A lighter comprising, in combination, a, casing having open ends, a pair of actuators closing said open ends and movable telescopically with respect thereto-,- spring means' fol:f` normally'mmv"I ingfsaid. animators away from each. other, a: paair of? pyrophoni'c elements mounter in. saidv` casingin. thefv same longitudinali plane, means operated: said' actuators for scratching; said pynophoricreiements;y apair of wick elements mounted between and in the. same. piane- Wth said pyrophoric: elements. anniV arranged toV receive sparks therefrom upon movement of said actuators by theingersY toward each other` against the. action ofA said spning. means, and. shield means arranged.k abtxvef saidz wicks. andi.. operated` upon actuation of: said aetuators: for confining. the air' adjacenty said Wicksl during the` initial portion ofi the movement o said actuators, said' shieldmeans'. moving. to. a.. fully open position upon further movement; of said. actuators.

REFERENCES CITED vThe following references arel of record in the file of this patent:

Number" j 1391654110 139213355 zgiozgsssf

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