US3471679A

US3471679A - Electric cigarette lighter

Info

Publication number: US3471679A
Application number: US735862A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kurt Ohnborn
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1968-02-28
Filing date: 1968-06-10
Publication date: 1969-10-07
Anticipated expiration: 1986-10-07
Also published as: DE6609112U

Description

Oct. 7, 1969 K. oHN oRN 3,471,679

ELECTRIC CIGAR ET'I'E LIGHTER Filed June 10, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

UR? 0H BORN Oct. 7, 1969 K. OHNBORN 3,471,679

ELECTRIC CIGARETTE LIGHTER Filed June 10, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheefi I N VE N TOR KURT O HNBORN 1 BY 4 225Z%' United States Patent US. Cl. 219-469 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An electric cigarette lighter which may be connected to an A.C. electric main having a base in'a' metal supporting means. The base receives a removable lighter section having a handle portion by which the section may be removed. An insulated electric conductor within the supporting means is connected to one end of a low voltage winding of a transformer energized from the A.C. main. The other end of the low voltage winding'is connected to the metal supporting means. A fuse may be connected in series with the low voltage winding.

The metal supporting means may include a'fastening means by which the lighter may be attached to a table or desk. Alternatively, the metal supporting means may form part of an ashtray. Furthermore, the removable lighter section may contain a lamp which illuminates a symbol or advertisement provided in the handle portion.

The present invention relates to an electric cigarette lighter with a base part and a lighter part removably attached to said base part, said base part being provided with contacts and said lighter part being further provided with contact means cooperating with the contacts in said base part and with a lighter filament connected between said contact means. Such cigarette lighters are already known and they are extensively used for example in cars.

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple and reliable electric cigarette lighter which is intended to be connected to the electric A.C. mains so as to be supplied with energy from said mains, said cigarette lighter being simple, rigid and safe. A cigarette lighter according to the present invention is intended for use primarily in hotel rooms, restaurants, offices, homes and in transport means such as ships, trains and aircrafts, and the intention is to provide a cigarette lighter which combines the obvious advantages of not needing to be filled with any lighter fuel and of always to be near at hand and to be operated with the safety which comes from the principle of that the lighter under operation is disconnected from the A.C. mains. The latter characteristic is very important in view of eliminating fire risks.

Acording to the present invention, said advantages are achieved mainly because the socket is fastened to a supporting means of metal, within which an electric conductor insulated from said supporting means is located and that the cigarette lighter includes two conductors connected to the low voltage winding of a mains transformer, one of said conductors being the said insulated conductor and the other conductor being said supporting means of metal, and that said mains transformer has a fuse connected in series with its low voltage winding, said fuse being preferably a replaceable thermo fuse.

The cigarette lighter according to the invention has preferably a supporting means which comprises an adjustable, preferably bendable, tubular metal arm of the kind which, for instance, is used as supporting arm for a desk lamp and which at one end carries said base and at its other end is provided with a fastening means for fastening said supporting means to the edge of a desk or the like.

A cigarette lighter according to the invention may also include a block in the shape of a heavy, e.g., as an ash tray formed metal member which is provided with fastening means for said supporting arm.

In the following, the invention will be described more in detail, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which- FIG. 1 is a diagrammatical view, partly in section, showing a cigarette lighter according to the invention, said cigarette lighter being mounted on a bendable, tubular metal arm,

FIG. 2 illustrates a longitudinal section through a metal member shaped as an ash tray and intended to carry a cigarette lighter according to the invention, and

FIG. 3 illustrates a different type of fastening means for the cigarette lighter.

The arrangement according to FIG. 1 comprises an outer sleeve 1 which surrounds a base 2 provided with an electrical contact 3, said contact being adapted to cooperate with a contact surface 4 of a lighter part 5 removably mounted in said sleeve. The lighter part 5 is provided with a filament 6 and with a handle part 7. In the handle part 7 there is an electric lamp 8 which may be connected in parallel with the filament 6 by means of conductors which are not shown in the figure. In front of said lamp there is a screen 28 in the hollow handle part 7, said screen being of transparent material. In front of the screen 28 there is a space intended to receive some transparent advertisement or the like, said advertisementbeing indicated as a disc 9. The disc 9 may be covered by an outer plate 10 of transparent material which, for example, in case the handle part 7 is made from a plastic material, may be snapped into place in a groove 11. An electric conductor 12 is connected to the contact 3 in the base 1 and located in a bendable arm 13, said bendable arm being suitably of the type which is constituted by a helically wound, metal strip. An intermediate connecting means 14 is provided for connecting the arm 13 to the bottom 15 of the sleeve 1. The bottom end of the arm 13 is provided with a suitable connecting means 16 fastened to one shank of a mainly U-shaped fastening means 17. The other shank of said fastening means 17 is provided with a screw 18 by means of which said fastening means in a manner known per se can be clamped to the edge of a desk plate 19 or a corresponding furniture. The electrical conductor 12 is connected to one pole of the secondary winding 21 of a transformer 20 and the metallic fastening means 17 is connected to the other pole of said secondary winding 21 by means of another conductor. In series with said secondary winding 21 there is connected a thermo fuse 22, which preferably is displaceable. The primary winding 23 of the transformer may or may not be provided with a fuse. said primary winding is connected to the A.C. mains.

-In the embodiment now described, the filament 6 of the lighter part 5 is adapted to be connected to the secondary winding of the transformer by pressing down said lighter part in the socket 1 from the position shown in FIG. 1 so that the contact means 3 and 4 will make contact with each other. The contact means 3 is adapted to lock the lighter part in the in-pushed position until the temperature of the filament has risen to sufficient value for lighting a cigarette. The invention is, however not limited to this type of lighters but it may of course also be adopted to a lighter, in which the base or the lighter part are provided with switching means. Also such lighters are known per se.

A cigarette lighter according to the invention may also be mounted in a mainly cylindrical bore 24 in a metal member 25, which may be shaped, for example, as an ash tray. In that case, the insulated conductor 12', corresponding to the conductor 12, passes through an aper- 3 ture 26 in the bottom of the bore 24 and the other secondary conductor from the transformer 20 may be connected to the metal in the base part in any suitable way.

According to FIG. 3, the fastening means by which the lighter can be clamped to the edge 19 of a desk or the like is composed of an I-shaped member 17'. A screw 18 is threaded in one of the flanges of said I-shaped member so as to clamp the fastening means 17' to the edge of the desk 19. A connecting means 16' corresponding to the connecting means 16 in FIG. 1 is attached to the upper flange 17 of said I-shaped member. The transformer 20' here illustrated only as a block, is by means of a conductor connected to the lower flange of said I- shaped member as shown. The connections between the conductor from the transformer and the connecting means 16 are arranged between the two flanges as shown. Said connections are covered by a cap 30 which is re movably attached between the upper and lower flange of said I-shaped member 17'.

What I claim is:

1. An electric cigarette lighter with a removable lighter part located in a base (2) which is provided with a contact (3), said lighter part being provided with contact means (4) cooperating with the contact (3) in said base part, said lighter part having also an electric filament (6) connected between said contact means, characterized by the fact, that the base (2) is provided with a supporting means (13, 25) of metal within which an insulated electric conductor (12, 12) is located, the arrangement further comprising two conductors connected to the low voltage winding (21) of a mains transformer (20), one of said conductors being said insulated conductor (12, 12') and the other constituted by said metal supporting means (13, 25), and said mains transformer being further provided with a fuse in series with the low voltage winding thereof, said fuse being preferably a replaceable thermo fuse (22).

2. A cigarette lighter according to claim 1, characterized by the fact, that the supporting means (13) is formed by an adjustable, preferably bendable hollow metal arm (13) which carries said 'base at the one end thereof and which at the other end thereof is provided with a fastening means (17) for clamping the device to the edge of a furniture (19) or the like.

3. A cigarette lighter according to claim 1, characterized by the fact, that the supporting means comprises a heavy, for example as an ash tray shaped metal member (25) provided with a recess (24) for receiving the lower end of said bendable arm (13).

4. A cigarette lighter according to claim 1 characterized by the fact, that the lighter part is provided with a handle part in which an electric lamp (8) is located and that the frontportion of said handle part is transparent and that an advertisement or the like is insertable in front of said lamp so that it will be illuminated from behind by said lamp.

5. A cigarette lighter according to claim 4, characterized by the fact, that the lamp is connected in parallel to said filament.

6. A cigarette lighter according to claim 4, characterized by the fact, that said transparent part is covered at the front by a removably attached transparent sheet.

7. A cigarette lighter according to claim 6, characterized by the fact, that said transparent part is provided with portions of difi'erent transparencies or different colours, e.g., in the shape of a symbol or an advertisement.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,037,027 4/1936 Jackson 219262 2,270,564 1/1942 Schroeder 219269 X 2,386,168 10/1945 Pattberg 219262 2,648,758 8/1953 Kroll et a1. 219269 VOLODYMYR Y. MAYEWSKY, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 219264, 267, S17