WO2016019473A1

WO2016019473A1 - Electronic candle lighter

Info

Publication number: WO2016019473A1
Application number: PCT/CA2015/050749
Authority: WO
Inventors: Shahnawaaz MOHAMEDALI
Original assignee: Mohamedali Shahnawaaz
Priority date: 2014-08-08
Filing date: 2015-08-07
Publication date: 2016-02-11
Also published as: US20160040877A1

Abstract

A battery powered electronic candle lighter that generates an arc of electricity across electrodes to ignite a candle wick. The candle wick is positioned within the arc gap and the lighter is activated to generate an arc. The arc can be maintained by holding the arc generation button depressed. The very high temperature of the electrical arc ignites the materials within the candle wick to cause combustion. The electronic candle lighter of the present invention also has safety functionality to prevent accidents and misuse.

Description

ELECTRONIC CANDLE LIGHTER

Related Applications

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 14/454,819, filed August 8, 2014, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Field of the Invention

[0002] This invention generally relates to portable hand held lighters, and more particularly, to battery powered lighters for candles.

Background of the Invention

[0003] Existing candle lighters generally use an onboard fuel source to produce a flame. When the fuel source is depleted the conventional lighter must be refueled or discarded. Refueling a conventional lighter requires a canister of pressurized fuel, and the storage and transfer of such a canister can be dangerous and inconvenient.

[0004] Some fuel based lighters use a spark from other material such as flint to ignite the fuel.

Some fuel based lighters use a momentary electrical arc to ignite the fuel. This momentary electrical arc is generated by a piezoelectric igniter. The igniter uses a mechanical means to deform a material which can exhibit a piezo electric effect. Typically a single motion of depressing a spring loaded trigger creates an impact on the piezo material. This deformation creates a high voltage in the material and results in a single spark (arc). This single spark is timed with the release of fuel and therefore ignites the fuel, producing a maintained flame at the end of the lighter.

[0005] Another type of lighter that has become more common is a battery powered lighter that uses electrical power to heat a wire by means of ohmic heating. These lighters are convenient as they replace the need for combustible fuel; however they also have drawbacks associated with the heating wire which must have direct contact with the material it is lighting. This repetitive contact can cause damage to the wire and ultimately failure of the lighter. Additionally the wire expands with heat and this physical property also produces mechanical fatigue and ultimately failure of the lighter. [0006] It is desirable to have a candle lighter that overcomes the limitations of the previous art such that no fuel or heating wires would be required.

Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present invention provides a battery operated candle lighter that uses a maintained electrical arc to directly ignite a candle wick. The electrical arc is created between two electrodes located at one end of the lighter housing. The other end of the lighter housing is used for holding and operating the lighter by hand. A switch is located within reach of the hand held end of the housing.

[0008] As the wick of a candle can be located down within a candle holder it may be desirable to have an extended length of the lighter. In one embodiment of the present invention the candle lighter has an extended length between the handheld end and the electrode end of the lighter. This extended length makes it easy and safe for the operator of the lighter to access and light otherwise hard to reach wick locations.

[0009] An embodiment of the invention includes a housing, an electric circuit having a switch, a power source, electrodes, electronic components, and conductors. The purpose of the electric circuit is to produce an electrical arc between the electrodes. There are multiple circuit designs that can produce an electric arc. Some designs are based on oscillators, resonant circuit or power inverter, step-up transformer, and diode-capacitor voltage multiplier to name but a few. These circuit designs achieve an alternating high-voltage discharge or a continuous direct current discharge. The circuit may be powered by one or more batteries, capacitors, or super capacitors.

[0010] The internal electrical power source of the present invention may be rechargeable and therefore a means of recharging may be provided. In one embodiment of the present invention the hand held end of the lighter has two contact terminals exposed that can be contacted when the unit is put into a charging base. The base is electrically coupled to a supply source of electric power. When the lighter is inserted into the base the contact terminals on the base create a conductive connection with the contact terminals on the lighter. The contact terminals on the lighter are operatively coupled to the internal circuitry of the lighter so that electric power from the charging base is conducted into the lighter and charges the batteries, capacitor, or super capacitor within the lighter.

[0011] In another embodiment of the invention, the lighter has an electric connection port and a wire with a jack can be inserted into the port. The wire with jack is electrically coupled to an electric power supply. The rechargeable power sources within the candle lighter can thus be charged via this means.

[0012] An apparatus for igniting candles is provided, including an electrical power source; an electronic circuit; a first switch; and first and second electrodes at a first end of a housing, wherein the electrical power source, the switch, and the first and second electrodes are operatively coupled to the electronic circuit; whereby activation of the electronic circuit by actuating the first switch produces an electrical arc between the first and second electrodes. The electrical power source and electronic circuit may be positioned in the housing, and the housing may have an elongated shape.

[0013] The housing may be sufficiently elongated to be held by hand and to extend the first and second electrodes safely into a candle with a wick in a recess while the hand remains outside the recess. The electrical power source may be rechargeable. The apparatus may include an electrically illuminated status indicator operatively coupled to the electronic circuit.

[0014] The apparatus may also include contact terminals at a second end of the housing, and a charging base having an opening to receive the second end of the housing and thereby charge the power source via the contact terminals.

[0015] The apparatus may include an electric connection port for receiving a wire electrically coupled to a power supply to recharge the power source. The apparatus may further include a second switch, wherein both the first and second switches are actuated to produce the electrical arc. The heat generated by the electric arc should be sufficient to light a candle wick. After actuation of the first switch, the electrical arc may be switched off after a predetermined time. [0016] The first switch may need to be actuated a predetermined number of times before the second switch will operate. After the first switch is actuated the predetermined number of times the second switch may be actuatable for a predetermined period of time.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017] Figure 1 is an isometric view of an embodiment of an electronic candle lighter according to the invention, including a candle lighter, a charging base, and a charging base power cord.

[0018] Figure 2 is an isometric view of an embodiment of an electronic candle lighter according to the invention, including a candle lighter, a charging base, and a charging base power cord operatively coupled for charging.

[0019] Figure 3 is an elevation view of an embodiment of an electronic candle lighter according to the invention, including an enlarged view the electrode end thereof.

[0020] Figure 4 is an elevation view of an embodiment of an electronic candle lighter according to the invention, oriented to show the bottom of the electronic candle lighter.

[0021] Figure 5 is a top view of an embodiment of a charging base for use with an electronic candle lighter according to the invention.

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0022] A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the invention is provided below along with accompanying figures that illustrate the principles of the invention. The invention is described in connection with such embodiments, but the invention is not limited to any embodiment. The scope of the invention is limited only by the claims and the invention encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalents. Numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. These details are provided for the purpose of example and the invention may be practiced according to the claims without some or all of these specific details. For the purpose of clarity, technical material that is known in the technical fields related to the invention has not been described in detail so that the invention is not unnecessarily obscured. [0023] The term "invention" and the like mean "the one or more inventions disclosed in this application", unless expressly specified otherwise.

[0024] The terms "an aspect", "an embodiment", "embodiment", "embodiments", "the

embodiment", "the embodiments", "one or more embodiments", "some embodiments", "certain embodiments", "one embodiment", "another embodiment" and the like mean "one or more (but not all) embodiments of the disclosed invention(s)", unless expressly specified otherwise.

[0025] A reference to "another embodiment" or "another aspect" in describing an embodiment does not imply that the referenced embodiment is mutually exclusive with another embodiment (e.g., an embodiment described before the referenced embodiment), unless expressly specified otherwise.

[0026] The terms "including", "comprising" and variations thereof mean "including but not

limited to", unless expressly specified otherwise.

[0027] The terms "a", "an" and "the" mean "one or more", unless expressly specified otherwise.

The term "plurality" means "two or more", unless expressly specified otherwise. The term "herein" means "in the present application, including anything which may be incorporated by reference", unless expressly specified otherwise.

[0028] The term "e.g." and like terms mean "for example", and thus does not limit the term or phrase it explains.

[0029] Where two or more terms or phrases are synonymous (e.g., because of an explicit

statement that the terms or phrases are synonymous), instances of one such term/phrase does not mean instances of another such term/phrase must have a different meaning. For example, where a statement renders the meaning of "including" to be synonymous with "including but not limited to", the mere usage of the phrase "including but not limited to" does not mean that the term "including" means something other than "including but not limited to".

[0030] Neither the Title (set forth at the beginning of the first page of the present application) nor the Abstract (set forth at the end of the present application) is to be taken as limiting in any way as the scope of the disclosed invention(s). An Abstract has been included in this application merely because an Abstract of not more than 150 words is required under 37 C.F.R. Section 1.72(b) or similar law in other jurisdictions. The title of the present application and headings of sections provided in the present application are for convenience only, and are not to be taken as limiting the disclosure in any way.

[0031] Numerous embodiments are described in the present application, and are presented for illustrative purposes only. The described embodiments are not, and are not intended to be, limiting in any sense. The presently disclosed invention(s) are widely applicable to numerous embodiments, as is readily apparent from the disclosure. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the disclosed invention(s) may be practiced with various modifications and alterations, such as structural and logical modifications. Although particular features of the disclosed invention(s) may be described with reference to one or more particular

embodiments and/or drawings, it should be understood that such features are not limited to usage in the one or more particular embodiments or drawings with reference to which they are described, unless expressly specified otherwise.

[0032] No embodiment of method steps or product elements described in the present application constitutes the invention claimed herein, or is essential to the invention claimed herein, or is coextensive with the invention claimed herein, except where it is either expressly stated to be so in this specification or expressly recited in a claim.

[0033] Referring now to the drawings and more particularly Figure 1, there is shown a

perspective view of a candle lighter (10) according to the invention. Lighter (10) has a housing (11) having a generally elongated and slender shape. Lighter (10) has two distinct ends: electrode end (12) and hand held end (14) where the operator can grip lighter (10) with a hand.

[0034] Lighter (10) has two switches, power on switch (16) and arc on switch (18). Although lighter (10) requires only a single switch, this embodiment uses a combination of switches and switch pressing patterns to improve safety and help prevent accidental generation of an arc during handling and storage.

[0035] When the proper pattern of button presses occurs to actuate power on switch (16), lighter (10) illuminates a Light Emitting Diode (LED) for status indicator (20). The illumination of status indicator (20) indicates to the user that lighter (10) is active and only requires a single press and hold action of arc on switch (18) to generate and maintain an electrical arc at the electrode end (12) of candle lighter (10). When the user releases arc on switch (18) then internal lighter (10) circuitry terminates the electrical arc generation. The pattern can be as simple as one press of power on switch (16), or a more complicated pattern, for example, in an embodiment of the invention, power on switch (16) is pressed five times, thereby providing arc on switch (18) control for a three second period, during which arc on switch (18) can be pressed and held to initiate the arc.

[0036] Again referring to Figure 1, charging base (30) is depicted for use with candle lighter (10). Charging base (30) requires an electrical power supply and power cord (36) is shown for this function. In the embodiment shown, power cord (36) is adapted to plug into charging base (30) at one end, and then plug into a computer port, such as a USB port, at the other end. Alternatively, power cord (36) can plug into other electrical sources by changing the plug on the cord end.

[0037] Figure 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention configured for charging and

storage. Hand held end (14) of candle lighter (10) is placed into charging base (30). As seen in Figure 1, the charging base has a receiving opening (32) similar in profile to lighter (10), and shaped to receive hand held end (14). Stable charging base (30) rests solidly on flat surfaces and holds candle lighter (10) firmly via the receiving opening (32). Charging base (30) may then be connected to a suitable power source via power cord (36).

[0038] Figure 4 shows lighter contact terminals (28) of the candle lighter (10). The charging base contact terminals (34) of the charging base (30) are shown in Figure 5. When the lighter (10) is placed into the charging base (30), the lighter contact terminals (28) come into contact with the charging base contact terminals (34). The mating of the contact terminals provides a conductive pathway for electrical power within the charging base (30) to reach the circuitry within the candle lighter (10).

[0039] Figure 3 includes an enlarged view labeled as 'Detail A' which shows clearly the two small electrodes (22), (24) at electrode end (12) of housing (11). The arc spans from electrode (22) to electrode (24) when lighter (10) is generating an arc. The space between electrode (22) and electrode (24) is the arc gap (26).

[0040] To ignite a candle wick, the wick should be positioned within arc gap (26). When a wick is placed within arc gap (26) and lighter (10) is generating an arc, the extremely high temperatures of the arc ignite the materials within the wick of the candle. Arc gap (26) and the area below arc gap (26) should be sized to provide sufficient clearance for the

combusting materials in the wick to avoid damage to electrode end (12) of candle lighter (10) during candle lighting.

[0041] The length of the lighter (10) and more specifically the distance between the hand held end (14) and the electrode end (12) has a relationship with how deep within a hole or recess a wick can be reached.

[0042] In another embodiment, the internal control circuitry of candle lighter (10) limits the time duration of arc generation regardless of the button state of the arc on switch (18). The time limit value can be predetermined at the time of manufacturing or may be set afterwards. This functionality provides further safety precautions for the unit to prevent overheating, accidental arc generation, and deter misuse.

[0043] Although a few embodiments have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications might be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The terms and expressions used in the preceding specification have been used herein as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the invention is defined and limited only by the claims that follow.

[0044] As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. Aspects of the present systems, methods and components can be modified, if necessary, to employ systems, methods, components and concepts to provide yet further embodiments of the invention. For example, the various methods described above may omit some acts, include other acts, and/or execute acts in a different order than set out in the illustrated embodiments. [0045] Further, in the methods taught herein, the various acts may be performed in a different order than that illustrated and described. Additionally, the methods can omit some acts, and/or employ additional acts.

[0046] These and other changes can be made to the present systems, methods and articles in light of the above description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the invention is not limited by the disclosure, but instead its scope is to be determined entirely by the following claims.

Claims

Claims I claim:

1. An apparatus for igniting candles comprising; a. an electrical power source; b. an electronic circuit; c. a first switch; and d. first and second electrodes at a first end of a housing, wherein the electrical power source, the switch, and the first and second electrodes are operatively coupled to the electronic circuit; whereby activation of the electronic circuit by actuating the first switch produces an electrical arc between the first and second electrodes.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the electrical power source and electronic circuit are

positioned in the housing.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the housing has an elongated shape.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the housing is sufficiently elongated to be held by hand and to extend the first and second electrodes safely into a candle with a wick in a recess while the hand remains outside the recess.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the electrical power source is rechargeable.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the apparatus further comprises an electrically illuminated status indicator operatively coupled to the electronic circuit.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising contact terminals at a second end of the housing.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 further comprising a charging base having an opening to receive the second end of the housing and thereby charge the power source via the contact terminals.

9. The apparatus of claim 5 further comprising an electric connection port for receiving a wire electrically coupled to a power supply to recharge the power source.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a second switch, wherein both the first and second switches are actuated to produce the electrical arc.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the heat generated by the electric arc is sufficient to light a candle wick.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein after actuation of the first switch, the electrical arc is switched off after a predetermined time.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the first switch is actuated a predetermined number of times before the second switch will operate.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the after the first switch is actuated the predetermined number of times the second switch is actuatable for a predetermined period of time.