US3180117A - Cigarette lighters - Google Patents

Description

April 27, 1965 H. LOWENTHAL CIGARETTE LIGHTERS 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Sept. 27. 1961 I n venlor #2175 L o wen Z /la/ M M A ttomeya APril 27, 1965 H. LOWENTHAL CIGARETTE LIGHTERS 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed Sept. 27, 1961 /////m J m rw April 27, 1955 H. LOWENTHAL CIGARETTE LIGHTERS 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed Sept. 27. 1961 I nvenlor fians lower; zfia/ By Z L fl Attorneys United States Patent 3,186,117 CEGARETTE LKGHTERS Hans Lowenthal, London, England, assignor to Colibri Lighters Limited, London, England, a British company Continuation of abandoned applications Ser. No. 141,182, Sept. 27, 196i, and Ser. No. 259,246, Feb. 18, 1.963. This application Apr. 29, 1964, Ser. No. 353,655

Claims. (Cl. 67-71) This application is a continuation of my prior applications Ser. No. 141,182, filed September 27, 1961, and Ser. No. 259,246, filed February 18, 1963, both of which have now been abandoned.

The most common kind of igniting mechanism provided on cigarette lighters is one in which a spark is produced by a movable abrasive element from a flint which is carried in a guide and is pushed against the abrasive element, which is usually a wheel.

In the past, a helically coiled compression spring has generally been used for pushing the flint against the elenent. This spring is housed in the flint guide, which is generally tubular, on the side of the flint remote from the abrasive element. the flint abuts against a screw which is screwed into the end of the tubular guide. Instead of a coiled spring a cantilever spring has sometimes been used. This spring is mounted outside the guide and mayextend through a notch in the wall of the guide so that it can engage with the first and press it against the abrasive element. In both cases, as the tlint is worn away, the end of the spring which acts on the flint moves along the guide and the spring force in consequence decreases. The spring force acting on the that must be maintainedwithin comparatively close limits becauseif it is too great the abrasive element will bind against the flint so that it cannot be moved satisfactorily and if it is too small, no satisfactory spark will be produced. To ensure that the spring force does not vary too greatly it has always been necessary to use a comparatively short flint. This flint wears away usually in the course of a few weeks average use and has to be replaced.

The tendency among lighters, particularly of the gasburning kind, has been for the fuel supply in the lighter reservoir to become greater and greater so that the reservoir only has to be replenished at considerable intervals, sometimes of as much as six months for pocket lighters, when the lighter is in average use. It is obviously desirable, therefore, to be able to provide a flint which will last for at least a similar period and preferably even longer so that the lighter can be used for this time without any attention at all. With existing flint spring arrangements, however, this has not been possible.

According to the present invention, in a cigarette lighter having an igniting mechanism of the kind described, the hint is pushed against the abrasive element by an abutment which is slidably mounted in the guide and is pulled towards the element by a flexible member under tension which is connected to the abutment and extends beside the guide.

This arrangement makes it possible to use a flint of millimeters or more in length which will, with average inside of the guide in a direction away from the flint and the flexible member may be attached to the end of this The end of the spring remote from Patented Apr- 27, 1965 rod. Preferably, however, the guide is longitudinally slotted and the flexible member is connected to the abutmerit through the slot or slots. The flexible member is preferably maintained under tension by a laminated, spirally coiled tension spring which exerts a tangential pull.

This type of spirally coiled tension spring which has its l inner end rotatably mounted, preferably on a rotatable core, so that the spring unwinds as the outer end is. pulled, exerts its tension by being preformed into a spiral so' that it has a natural tendency to coil up again on its own accord after it has been unwound. The tension is thus exerted by the tendency of the spring to bend again at the position where it. is straightened out as the end of the spring leaves the spiral approximately tangentially. This tendency to wind up remains substantially constant regardless of the amount by which the spring is initially unwound, and therefore the tension exerted by the spring'on the abutment also remains substantially constant as the flint is gradually used up. It has, however, been found that with such laminated spring constructions there was a tendency for the spring to buckle after it was unwound. This buckling impeded the rewinding of the spring and so reduced the pull which it produced or even sometimes caused it to stick and produce no pull at all when it had wound up as far as the place at which it buckled.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, therefore, a laminated spirally coiled tension spring arranged in the manner described is provided to pull the abutment along the guide towards the abrasive element, but all the laminations of the spring are con-.

strained against longitudinal movement relativelyfto one another adjacent to both their ends and are arranged to lie in continuous contact with one another when the spring is fully coiled.

The constraint may be provided by, for example, welding, riveting or clamping the laminations together. Alternatively the inner ends of the laminations on the coil may be constrained'merely by the frictional contact of their overlapping layers.

Because the laminations lies in contact with one an other when the spring is fully coiled there is virtually no tendency for the spring to buckle after it has been unwound.

Because the spirally coiled spring of this type has a large travel with only a small variation in the applied force, longer fiints than have previously been practicable may be used and will be pressed against the abrasive element by a force which will only decrease slightly during the course of the use of the whole flint. The guide is preferably mounted in a casing which also contains the fuel reservoir and the guide may then eX- tend along substantially the whole length of one side of'the reservoir. Since the guide only has to house a flint and an abutment of small length, the flint may then be made '25 mm. or more in length.

The abutment may be connected to themovable end of the spring by a flexible member which lies alongside the guide but preferably the spring itself, when uncoiled lies alongside the guide, thus saving space which is always at a premium in the construction of a cigarette lighter. Either the free end or the coil of the coiled spring may be anchored relatively to the guide, It the free end of the spring is anchored, the coil of the spring which is preferably wound on a rotatable core is connectedto the abutment'and moves backwards and forwards beside the guide as it uncoils glean? and recoils. Alternatively and preferably the outer end of the spring is connected to the abutment and the coil of the spring is housed in the lighter in such a way that it is immovable linearly relatively to the guide so that the coil unwinds as the abutment is moved along the guide away from the abrasive element. In the usual case in which the abrasive element is a rotatable wheel, the spring is preferably mounted with the axis of its core parallel to and adjacent the abutment to the end of the guide remote from the abrasive element and displacing the abutment transversely from the guide so that the guide is unobstructed and a newflint can be inserted into the guide from that end.

Several examples of lighters constructed in accordance with the invention and also some modifications of these examples are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional front view of one lighter; FIGURE 2 is an underneath plan of the lighter shown in FIGURE 1 with the cover removed;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-section, as seen in the direction of the arrows on the line III-III in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is another cross-section, as shown in the direction of the arrows on the line IVIV in FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional front view of a second lighter;

FIGURE 6 is a horizontal section, as seen in the direction of the arrows on the line VI-VI in FIG- URE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a vertical section taken along the line 'VII--VII through the flint assembly of the lighter shown in FIG. 1;

FIGURE 8 is a vertical section through a modified flint assembly;

FIGURE 9 is a vertical section of still another modified flint guide and spring arrangement; and

FIGURE 10 is a section taken along the line XX of FIGURE 9.

The present invention is applicable both to gas-burning and liquid fuel-burning lighters and they may be eitherof the fully automatic type, the semi-automatic type or the simple type in which a burner cover is removed by hand and after this has been done, the abrasive wheel is rotated manually.

The first example illustrated in FIGURES 1 to 4 of the drawings is a fully automatic gas-burning cigarette lighter. It comprises an outer casing, whichis made in two halves which are joined together on the central section line, which is the plane of the section shown in FIGURE 1. Within the outer casing 1 is a partial internal. casing, part of which is shown at 2, and which supports the mechanism of the lighter. The lighter has a removable gas reservoir 3 with a burner 4 and a refilling inlet valve 5. The igniting mechanism has a flint wheel 6 which is rotatably supported on a pin 7, which is supported at each end onthe inner casing 2.

A flint 8 is mounted within a guide tube 9, which is molded from a tough synthetic resin, in this example nylon, although Delrin, melamine or polycarbonate may be used instead, and is pressed against the periphery of the flint wheel 6 by an abutment 10', which is part of a wire loop 11. The. abutment 10 extends diametrically across the guide tube 9 and the parts of the loop 11 adjacent the abutment 10 pass through diametrically opposite slots 12 and 13 in the tube 9. The part of the loop 11 remote from the abutment 10 is pivotally connected to a bracket 14 which is L-shaped and has two arms 15 and 16. The arm 15 is fixed to the end of a laminated spiral tension spring 17, the coiled end of which is fixed on a core 18, which is in turn supported on a fixed abutment in the form of a pin 19 fixed at its ends to the inner casing 2.

The spring 17 has four separate laminations each of which is a spring steel sheet, three thousandths of an inch thick. As best seen in FIG. 7 these four laminations are fixed together in the position in which they are all fixed to the arm 15.

At their other ends they lie freely on the core 18 and are assembled so that the lengths of the four laminations between the spot weld and their permanently overlapping layers on the core are dilferent and increase successively from the lamination 17a closest to the core 18 of the spring to the lamination 17b remote from the .core 18. Once they have been assembled in this position the frictional contact between the overlapping layers on the core is sufiicient to prevent relative longitudinal movement between the inner ends of the laminations. The dilferenles between the lengths of the laminations are arranged so that all the laminations lie continuously in contact with each other when the' spring is fully wound on to the core 18. When the spring is almost fully uncoiled as shown in FIGURE 7, the outer laminations bow away from the inner lamination 17a because of the differences in their lengths. When the spring is coiled the excess lengths of the laminations which cause the bowing are taken up in the layers of the laminations around the core .18 for the circumferences of these layers increase in an outward radial direction from layer to layer.

It the four laminations were all the same length before assembly on the core of the spring, their extreme inner ends would be staggered circumferentially around the core of the assembled spring to allow for the bowing of the laminations and the increased lengths of the coiled laminations from the inner lamination to the outer lamination. In the present case, however, the inner lamination is shorter and the outer lamination is longer both by the distance which the ends of successive equal. length laminations would be staggered around the core. As a result, the extreme ends of the inner two laminations are at the same position on the core as are the extreme ends of the outer two laminations. These length variations are quite independent of the increasing lengths of the laminations, from the inner to the outer lamination, which is produced during assembly outwards of the place where the frictional overlapping contact of the laminations prevents their relative longitudinal movement.

The arm 16 of the bracket 14 has a central circular hole in which a rod 2% is slidable. The rod 20 has a head 21 on its upper end which, when the rod is moved downwards, comes into contact with the arm 16 and thereafter causes the bracket 14 to move with the rod 20. The lower end of therod 20 extends through a hole in the bottom of the inner casing 2 and below this has fixed to it a knurled fingerpiece 22.

The fingerpiece 22 is located in a hole 23 in the outer casing 1. The fingerpiece is normally covered by a cover 24 which is held-against the bottom of the casing 1 by a screw 25; The cover 24 has a recess 26 in which the fingerpiece 22 fits. The cover is thus normally prevented from rotating on the screw 25. On loosening the screw 25, however, the cover 24 can be moved downwards so that the fingerpiece 22 is disengaged from the recess 26 and then the cover 24 can be rotated so that the fingerpiece 22 and also the bottom of the guide tube are exposed.

To insert a flint in the guide tube 9, the rod 24) is pulled downwards by the fingerpiece 22 after the cover 24 has been removed, as already described, and when the head 21 comes into contact with the arm 16, the bracket 14 also moves downwards until the abutment ll) passes downwards through slots 27 and 28 formed in the bottom of th inner casing 2 and is therefore 21C? cessible at the bottom of the lighter. The abutment it is then moved along the slots 27 and 28 so that the bottom of the tube 9 is unobstructed. The flint 8 is then exerted and the abutment it; is pushed back until it is in engagement with the slots and 1:3. The abutment 1%? then slides up these slots under the pull exerted on it by the spring 17. When this operation has been completed, the rod 29 is pushed upwards and the cover 24- replaced.

The flint wheel 6 is rotated to produce a spark by a fully automatic mechanism which has a fingerpiece The fingerpiece 29 forms one link of a four-bar chain, in which there are two pairs of levers 3t? and St. The levers 3d are pivoted on the pin 7 and the levers 31 are pivoted on the pin 29, which is the pin which carries the spring 17. The portion of the inner casing 2 between the pins 7 and 15* form the second link of the tour-bar chain. One of the levers St? is connected to the flint wheel 6 through a ratchet mechanism 36a which is so arranged that when the lever 3t rocks in a clockwise direction, as shown in HGURE l, the fiint wheel 6 rotates with it and a spark is produced, and when the lever 36 is rocked back again in a counter-clockwise direction, as shown in FIGURE 1, the ratchet slips and the lever moves by itself. The tour-bar chain automatic lighting mechanism is not in itself new and does not, therefore, need to be described in complete detail. In this particular example, however, the levers 31 both have second arms 32, whichare acted upon by a coiled compression sprin 33 which is mounted on a guide pin 34.

The spring 33 forms the return spring of the automatic igniting mechanism and returns the fingerpiece Z9 and its associated parts to their initial positions upon release after they have been displaced by pressure on the fin erpiece.

It is also necessary to make the lighter fully automatic for a valve in the burner 4 to be opened when the fingerpiece 29 is depressed. The valve is opened by upward movement of the burner 4 and this is brought about by rocking a lever 35, shown in chain-dotted lines, in a clockwise direc ion, as seen in FEG RE The lever 35 is rocked about its pivot by engagement therewith. of the tip of the arms 32 each of the levers 3t and 31. Upon release of the fingerpiece 29 and the return of each arm 32 to its initial position under the action or" the spring 33, the lever 35 is also returned to its initial position by a closure spring in the valve of the burner 4.

When the gas reservoir 3 is empty, it can be refilled through the valve 5 from a gas refill cartridge and for this purpose the outer casing l is provided with a pivoted trap door 37 which is normally held shut by a coiled torsion spring 35. This trap door is opened by a neck on the refill cartridge which is long enough to reach the inlet non-return valve 5 when it is inserted through the spring-loaded trap door 37. This spring-loaded trap door is described and claimed in our co-pending application Serial No. 171,846, filed February 8, 1962.

The automatic igniting mechanism which is returned to its initial position after operation by the coiled compresson spring 33, is described and claimed in our co- .pending application Serial No. 171,845, filed February 8, 1962, now abandoned, and the arrangement of the fingerpiece 29, movement of which not only rotates the flint wheel 6, but also uncovers an opening in the top of the casing l to provide access to the flame from the burner 4, is described and claimed in our co-pending application Serial No. 171,844, filed February 8, 1962, now abancloned.

The lighter. illustrated in drawings is of the liquid fuel-burning kind and is non- 1 automatic and extremely simple in construction. it does,

FIGURES 5 and 6 of a e V however, have a reservoir of very large capacity and as this reservoir therefore only needs refilling at infrequent intervals, it is desirable that the lighter should have a flint which also only needs replacing at infrequent intervals so that maintenance of the lighter is cut down as far as possible. 7

The lighter comprises an inner casing 51 and an outer casing 52, which is a close sliding fit around the inner casing. Within the inner casing is a reservoir space 53 which contains a wicl: 5-4; and a mass of cotton wool filling (not shown) for absorbing liquid fuel. The wick 54 extends upwards through an opening 55 in the top wall 56 of the inner casing 1. The exposed end or" the wick 54 is surrounded by a perforated storm guard 57 and when the lighter is not in use is enclosed by a cover 58 which is attached to the inner casing 1 by a hinge 55?. The cover 58 is normally held closed by a pivoted lug 60 which is acted upon by a leaf spring 61. This lug presses against the inside wall of an internal pocket 62 fixed within the cover 58. By pushing on the bulging portion 63 of the cover, the cover can be rocked back into the position shown in chain-dottedlines in FIGURE 5 at 58'. When this happens, the pivoted lug 6% is rocked in a counterclockwise direction about its pivot so that the leaf spring 51 moves out of engagement with the flat bottom face of the lug and then holds the lug in its rocked position. When the cover 58 is closed again manually the lug 69 is rocked back again into the position shown in full lines in FTGURE 5.

The igniting mechanism in the lighter comprises 'a flint wheel 64 which is rotatably mounted on a pin 65, the ends of which are fixed to the storm guard 57. The flint wheel 64 is rotated by the thumbafter the cover 58 has been opened. Below the flint wheel 64 is a guide tube es, the top of which is screwed into a tapped opening 67 in the top wall 56 and is held in position by a screwed cap 68.

The tube 66 is formed with two diametrically opposite longitudinal slots d? and 7t VJithin the tube 66 is a flint 71 and this flint is held against the flint wheel 64 by an abutment 71a which is attached to a crosspiece 72 which is part of a wire loop 73. The wire loop is bent in such a shape that it has portions 74 and 75 which can easily be gripped between the finger and thumb for moving the crosspiece 72 and with it the abutment 71a upwards and downwards within the grooves 69 and 79. The portion of the loop 73 away from the cross-piece 72 is fixed to a bent lug 7 5 which is in turn riveted to the end ofa laminated spring 77.

The coiled part of the spiral tension spring 77 is wound on a core 78 which is rotatably supported on a pin 79 fixed at its ends to the opposite sides of'the inner casing 51. The spring 77 is similar to the spring 17 described in the first example.

Toreplace the flint '71 the outer casing 52 is drawn downwards off the inner casing 51 and the parts 74 and 75 of the loop 73 and with them the abutment 71a are drawn downwards until the abutment 71a is moved out of the bottom of the slots 69 and 70. The flint is then replaced and the abutment is inserted back again in these slots. The portions 74 and 75 are released and the abutment is then drawn up the slots 69 and by the spring 77 and again presses the top of the flint 71 against the flint whee164. p

- In the modification shown in FIGURE 8, the free end of the spring is fixed to the casing of the lighter by a rivet 13%} which passes through the ends or" all the laminations and fixes them relatively to each other. In this case the core 18 of the spring moves up and down beside the guide 9, as the spring is coiled and uucoiled. The ends of the laminations' which lie against the core :18 are fixed relatively to each other against longitudinal movement simply bythe frictional contact of their overlapping layers as before. As before'the lengths of the laminations' increase from the inner lamination 17a to the outer lamination 17b between the rivet 130 and the place where the inner ends of the laminations are prevented from moving longitudinally relatively to one another. In fact the absolute lengths of the laminations increase successively outwards, by the amount by which the extreme inner ends of equal length laminations would be staggered around the core, so that the extreme inner ends of the laminations all abut a radially extending shoulder on the periphery of the core. A loop 134 of wire of circular section passes through a central axial bore of the core 18 of the spring so that the core 18 can rotate as the spring is coiled and uncoiled. The arms of the loop extend on each side of the guide 9 and the abutment portion 10a of the loop extends through the diametrically opposite longitudinal slots, 12 t in the flint guide. The abutment 10a in this modification engages the end of the flint and is withdrawn transversely from the end of the guide 9 by means of fingerpieces similar to 74 and 75 of FIGURE 6 which are formed by bent portions of the loop 134 and which extend outwards through slots in the lighter casing to allow the guide to be recharged in a similar manner to that shown in FIG- URE 6. Because the spring 17 tends always to coil up and the free end of the spring is fixed to the lighter casing by the rivet 13%), the core 18 of the spring always produces an upward tension on the loop 134 and hence on the flint 8.

The modification shown in FIGURES 9 and 10 differs from that shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 principally in the abutment which is connected to the bracket 413 for pulling the flint 8 up the guide 9. In this case the abutment is an enlarged bead 436 which is a close sliding fit within the guide '9. The bead 436 is connected to the bracket 413 by an arm 437 of circular section which passes through a single longitudinal slot 438 in the guide 9. The other end of the arm 437 passes through a central circumferential slot 439 in the curved portion of the bracket 413 and is connected to a pin 440 which is retained within the curved portion. The guide is recharged in this modification in a similar way to that in the modification in FIGURE 1 by pulling the rod 20 down through the bottom of the casing and moving the bead 436 from obstructing the end of the guide 9 into a lateral cut away portion 441. The slot 439 extends sufficiently far around the circumference of the curved portion of the bracket 413 to allow the arm 437 to pivot so that the bead 436 enters the portion 441.

This embodiment also differs from that of FIGURE 1 in that the absolute lengths of all the laminations is the same so that their extreme inner ends are staggered around the core'18.

In all the examples and the modifications illustrated in the drawings the abutments are all shown as separate parts to which the springs or other flexible members are attached, the abutment'm'ay, however, be an integral-end partyofthe spring or other flexible member.

What is claimed is: t

1. In a cigarette lighter of the type comprising a fuel reservoir, and an igniting'mechanism for producing a r spark to ignite fuel from said reservoir, said igniting mechanism including a movable abrasive element, means for guiding and urging a flint into contact with said abrasive element,- and means for leading fuel from said reservoir to a point adjacent the point ofwcontact between said flint and abrasive element so as to be ignited by sparks produced by movement of said abrasive element when in contact with a flint, the improved flint guiding and urging means which comprises a longitudinally slotted elongated flint-receiving guide extending substantially the full length of one side of said reservoir and terminating at one end adjacentsaid-abrasive ,element, a flint follower mounted for translational sliding movement within said guide between a first position near one end of said guide leaving room between said follower and abrasive element for a flint nearly as long as the guide and a second position near the other end of said guide, a spiral tension spring being attached to said follower and exerting a pull thereon from a point at the end of said guide nearest said abrasive element which urges said follower toward said abrasive element with a pressure which is substantially constant for the greater part of the path of travel of said follower along said guide, and said follower being mounted for lateral movement clearing said guide means so as to permit insertion of a flint into said guide means through the end thereof remote from said abrasive element.

2. A cigarette lighter as claimed in claim 1 in which the turns of said spring are tightly coiled and in contact with each other and rotatable on pulling of the outer end of said spring.

3. In a cigarette lighter of the type comprising a fuel reservoir and an igniting mechanism for producing a mechanism to ignite fuel from said reservoir, said igniting mechanism including a movable abrasive element, means for guiding and urging a flint into contact with said abrasive element, and means for leading fuel from said reservoir to a point adjacent the point of contact between said flint and abrasive element so as to be ignited by sparks produced by movement of said abrasive element when in contact with a flint, the improved flint guiding and urging means which comprises an elongated flint receiving guide extending substantially the full length of one side of said reservoir and terminating at one end adjacent said abrasive element, said guide having a pair of opposite parallel slots extending along the length thereof, a flint follower mounted for translational sliding movement within said guide between a first position near one end of said guide leaving room between said follower and abrasive element for a flint nearly as long as the guide and a second position near the other end of said guide, said follower having parts projecting through each of said slots, a rotatably mounted spiral tension spring positioned outside said guide, the outer end of said spiral tension spring being attached to both of the projecting parts on said follower and said spring exerting a pull on said follower from a point at the end of said guide nearest said abrasive element which biasses said follower toward said abrasive element with a pressure which is substantially constant for the greater part of the path of travel of said follower along said guide, said follower being mounted for lateral movement clearing said guide means so as to permit insertion of a flint into said guide means through the end thereof remote from said abrasive element.

' 4. A cigarette lighter according to claim 3 in which the parts of said follower which project through said slots in said guide constitute finger pieces for withdrawing said follower against said spring to the end of said guide remote from said abrasive element for charging said guide with a new flint.

' 5. A cigarette lighter as claimed in claim 3 comprising a casing enclosing said guide and spring, said casing having wall portions defining opposite parallel slots which register with those in said guide, so that said follower parts projecting through said casing slots as well as the slots in said guide.

6. In a cigarette lighter of the type comprising a fuel reservoir and an igniting mechanism for producing a spark to ignite fuel from said reservoir, said igniting mechanism including a movable abrasive element, means for guiding and urging a flint in contact with said abrasive element, and means for leading fuel from said reservvoir to a point adjacent the point of contact between said flint and abrasive element so as to be ignited by sparks produced by movement of said abrasive element when in contact with a flint, the improvedfiint guiding and urging means which comprises a longitudinally slotted elongated flint receiving guide extending substantially the full length of one: side of said reservoir and terminating at one end adjacent said abrasive, element, a flint follower mounted for translational sliding movement within said guide between a first position near one end of said guide leaving room between said follower and abrasive element for a flint nearly as long as the guide and a second position near the other end of said guide, a rotatably mounted spiral tension spring positioned outside said guide, the outer end of said spiral tension spring being attached to said follower and exerting a pull thereon from a point at the end of said guide nearest said abrasive element which biasses said follower toward said abrasive element with a pressure which is substantially contant for the greater part of the path of travel of said follower along said guide, and a rod extending parallel to said guide and slidably connected with said abutment and follower engaging means at the end of said rod adjacent said abrasive element whereby upon withdrawal of said rod, said follower engaging means will carry said follower to the end of said guide remote rom said abrasive element, said follower being mounted for lateral movement at said remote end clearing said guide means so as to permit insertion of a flint into said guide means through said remote end.

7. A cigarette lighter as claimed in claim 6 comprising means to retain said follower in a laterally displaced position adjacent the remote end of said guide during the insertion of said flint into said guide.

8. In a cigarette lighter comprising a fuel reservoir having upper and lower ends connected by two sides, and an igniting mechanism for producing a spark to ignite fuel from said reservoir, said igniting mechanism including a movable abrasive element positioned beyond the upper end of said reservoir and means for holding the flint and guiding it against said abrasive element, the improved flint holding and guiding means which comprises an elongated guide for slidably receiving a flint, said guide having an upper end adjacent said abrasive element and extending substantially the full length of one side of said reservoir, said guide being formed with at least one slot extending longitudinally therealong, an abutment slidably mounted in said guide for translational movement between a first position near one end of said guide leaving room between said follower and abrasive element for a flint nearly as long as said guide and a second position near the upper end of the guide, a fixed abutment positioned adjacent the upper end of said guide, a spirally coiled tension spring extending between said abutments, and a core carried by said fixed abutment, one end of said spring being coiled about and rotatable on said core about said fixed abutment while the other iii? end of said spring is fixed to said slidable abutment, said spring exerting a substantially constant tension on said slidable abutment regardless of the position'thereof.

9. A cigarette lighter as claimed in claim 8 in which said spring comprises a plurality of laminations which A are free to slide relative to eachother intermediate their ends but the adjacent ends of said laminations are held against such relative sliding motion.

10. A cigarette lighter as claimed in claim 8 in which said spring biasses said slidable abutment toward said fixed abutment.

11. A lighter as claimed in claim 8 in which said core is fixed and tthe coiled portion of said spring is free to rotate thereon.

12. A lighter as claimed in claim 8 in which one end or said spring is fixed to said core and said core is rotatably mounted on the abutment which carries it.

13. A lighter as claimed in claim 9 in which the laminations of said spring are staggered in length with the shorter laminations wound inside the longer laminations.

14. A lighter as claimed in claim 9 in which both ends of each lamination are held against longitudinal movement relative to the adjacent ends of the outer lam nations.

15. A lighter as claimed in claim 8 comprising a movable rod extending parallel to said guide and slidably connected to said slidable abutment, and abutment engaging means at the end of said rod nearest said abrasive element, whereby when said rod is moved away from said abrasive element, said slidable abutment is carried with it to the end of said guide remote from said abrasive element to allow a new fiintto be inserted in said guide.

7 References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,490,121 12/49 Fankl 67-7.1 2,724,253 11/55 Morgan 67-7.1

FOREIGN PATENTS 49 8,957 9/ 3 8 Great Britain.

7 OTHER REFERENCES German printed application, August 1, 1957, 1,013,102.

EDWARD J. MICHAEL, Primary Examiner.

LLOYD L. KING, Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. IN A CIGARETTE LIGHTER OF THE TYPE COMPRISING A FUEL RESERVOIR, AND AN IGNITING MECHANISM FOR PRODUCING A SPARK TO IGNITE FUEL FROM SAID RESERVOIR, SAID IGNITING MECHANISM INCLUDING A MOVABLE ABRASIVE ELEMENT, MEANS FOR GUIDING AND URGING A FLINT INTO CONTACT WITH SAID ABRASIVE ELEMENT, AND MEANS FOR LEADING FUEL FROM SAID RESERVOIR TO A POINT ADJACENT THE POINT OF CONTACT BETWEEN SAID FLINT AND ABRASIVE ELEMENT SO AS TO BE IGNITED BY SPARKS PRODUCED BY MOVEMENT OF SAID ABRASIVE ELEMENT WHEN IN CONTACT WITH A FLINT, THE IMPROVED FLINT GUIDING AND URGING MEANS WHICH COMPRISES A LONGITUDINALLY SLOTTED ELONGATED FLINT-RECEIVING GUIDE EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY THE FULL LENGTH OF ONE SIDE OF SAID RESERVOIR AND TERMINATING AT ONE END ADJACENT SAID ABRASIVE ELEMENT, A FLINT FOLLOWER MOUNTED FOR TRANSLATIONAL SLIDING MOVEMENT WITHIN SAID GUIDE BETWEEN A FIRST POSITION NEAR ONE END OF SAID GUIDE LEAVING ROOM BETWEEN SAID FOLLOWER AND ABRASIVE ELEMENT FOR A FLINT NEARLY AS LONG AS THE GUIDE AND A SECOND POSITION NEAR THE OTHER END OF SAID GUIDE, A SPIRAL TENSION SPRING BEING ATTACHED TO SAID FOLLOWER AND EXERTING A PULL THEREON FROM A POINT AT THE END OF SAID GUIDE NEAREST SAID ABRASIVE ELEMENT WHICH URGES SAID FOLLOWER TOWARD SAID ABRASIVE ELEMENT WITH A PRESSURE WHICH IS SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT FOR THE GREATER PART OF THE PATH OF TRAVEL OF SAID FOLLOWER ALONG SAID GUIDE, AND SAID FOLLOWER BEING MOUNTED FOR LATERAL SAID MENT CLEARING SAID GUIDE MEANS SO AS TO PERMIT INSERTION OF A FLINT INTO SAID GUIDE MEANS THROUGH THE END THEREOF REMOTE FROM SAID ABRASIVE ELEMENT.

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