Butane lighter assembly

Abstract

A lighter assembly especially suitable for burning butane gas as a fuel is provided in modular form which consists essentially of two unitary subassemblies which may be detachably mounted together to form the assembled lighter. The lighter assembly, which features low cost and structural simplicity, is constructed with the first subassembly comprising a hollow body defining a chamber for storing the fuel, an inlet valve assembly for inserting fuel into said chamber, a burner valve assembly for controlling emission of the fuel from said chamber, and a burner valve actuating arm for opening and closing the burner valve. The second subassembly, which is configured to form a cover member for the first subassembly, comprises an integrally formed body portion having operatively mounted thereupon a spark mechanism including flint means for igniting the fuel as it is emitted from the burner assembly, and a manually operable spring-loaded actuator button for engaging the actuating arm to effect opening of the burner valve assembly. Means are provided for detachably mounting the first and second subassemblies together for operation of the lighter and for enabling manual detachment thereof for refueling and reflinting the lighter.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the construction of lighters of the type employing butane gas as a fuel, and, more particularly, to a refillable lighter having a simplified modular construction wherein operative elements of the lighter assembly are combined in two unitary subassemblies and wherein the total number of individual parts required for the overall assembly is reduced.

Butane lighters are normally manufactured and sold as pocket-sized, relatively inexpensive items. Accordingly, reduction in the structural complexity and manufacturing costs of such items provides a significant economic advantage enhancing the commercial success thereof. Furthermore, reduced complexity can improve the operating characteristics and performance reliability of such lighters.

In the present invention, functional or protective devices normally found on refillable butane lighters are structurally combined to reduce the total number of parts required for the lighter assembly without impairing or reducing the functional features of the lighter. As a result, manufacturing costs are reduced and a simpler, more reliable lighter assembly is provided.

Lighters of the type to which the present invention relates normally include a hollow body or shell portion adapted to contain a flammable fuel such as butane, a burner valve for effecting controlled emission of the fuel during operation of the lighter, an inlet valve permitting refilling of the fuel chamber, and a flint assembly for striking ignition of the emitted butane gas. A release mechanism is also provided for opening the burner valve at the time that the flint mechanism is struck and for enabling valve closure extinguishing the lighter flame. Other detailed structural elements are also normally provided to equip the lighter to include additional functional features, as may be desired.

The ligher of the present invention is formed with a top modular subassembly incorporating into a single unitary element most of the operating elements of the lighter. This top subassembly is removably mounted upon the body of the lighter, which is structured as another unitary subassembly, and the top subassembly may be manually detached and to permit refueling and reflinting. As a result, many of the individual parts of the lighter which would otherwise be separately structured may be formed as a single element capable of performing all of the functions previously performed by the plural parts. Thus, structural simplicity may be provided at reduced cost without elimination of functional features which would otherwise be provided with greater expense and structural complexity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, the present invention may be described as a lighter assembly consisting essentially of a first and a second unitary modular subassembly detachably mounted together; with said first modular subassembly comprising a hollow body defining a chamber for storing flammable fuel, an inlet valve assembly for inserting fuel into said chamber, a burner valve assembly for controlling emission of fuel from said chamber, and a burner valve actuating arm for opening and closing said burner valve assembly; and with said second modular subassembly comprising a spark mechanism including flint means for igniting the fuel as it is emitted from the burner valve assembly, a manually operable actuator button for engaging the actuating arm to effect opening of the burner valve assembly, and an integrally formed body portion having said spark mechanism and said actuator button operatively mounted thereupon. The overall lighter assembly includes means for detachably mounting together said first and said second modular subassemblies during operation of the lighter and for enabling manual detachment of said subassemblies for refueling and reflinting the lighter.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be better understood by reference to the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof and to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a sectional elevation of the overall lighter assembly showing its two modular subassemblies in their attached position; and

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the upper part of the bottom subassembly with the various elements of the top subassembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the various figures thereof, the lighter assembly of the present invention is shown as essentially comprising a top modular subassembly 1 and a bottom modular subassembly 2 with the overall lighter assembly being shown in its attached operating condition in FIG. 1. The subassembly 2 includes a shell or body portion 10 defining an interior chamber 12 within which a flammable fuel, such as butane, may be stored. A centrally located web 14 is integrally formed interiorly of the shell 10 to impart structural rigidity thereto. An integrally formed top plate member 16 is attached to the upper interior surface of the shell 10, preferably by ultrasonic welding, to form the upper enclosure for the hollow chamber 12. A burner valve assembly 18 is fixedly mounted within the top plate 16 and operates to effect controlled emission of the flammable fuel from within the chamber 12 when the lighter ignition is desired. An inlet valve assembly 20 is also fixedly mounted within the top plate 16 and when the chamber 12 becomes emptied, additional fuel may be inserted therein through the inlet valve assembly 20 for refilling the chamber 12. The burner valve assembly 18 includes an adjusting wheel 22 which extends through an opening 24 formed in the upper front surface of the shell 10 above the top plate 16 to enable manual adjustment of the burner valve opening controlling the quantity of fuel emitted from the chamber 12. The burner valve assembly 18 also includes a retainer clip 26 and a retainer spring 28 both of which are located above the top plate 16. The burner valve assembly 18 and the inlet valve assembly 20, including their various component parts are structured in a conventional manner and their mode of operation is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art. Accordingly, further details and description thereof will not be provided inasmuch as they are not necessary for an understanding of the present invention. The burner valve assembly 18 and the inlet valve assembly 20 are both secured within the top plate member 16 during manufacture of the lighter and removal thereof from their connected positions is neither necessary nor appropriate during the life of the lighter.

The subassembly 2 also includes a lifting arm 30 which is connected at one end to the burner valve assembly 18 in order to effect opening and closing thereof. The lifting arm 30 is formed with a frontal burner valve engaging portion 32 having formed therein an opening 34 through which the body of the burner valve extends. The lifting arm 30 is retained in place relative to the burner valve assembly 18 by the retaining clip 26 which is engaged by upward pivotal motion of the frontal portion 32 to open the burner assembly 18 for emission of fuel therefrom.

The lifting arm 30 is integrally formed and includes at the rear portion thereof a generally rectangularly shaped frame section 36 defining an opening 38 through which a portion of the top modular assembly 1 extends, as will be more clearly defined hereinafter. The frame section 36 is configured to define a rearwardly positioned abutment face 40 and includes a pair of dependent flanges 42 located on opposite sides of the frame section 36, with one only of the flanges 42 being visible in the view of FIG. 1. The flanges 42 are shaped in a generally triangular configuration including a lowermost pivot nose 44 which is arranged to abut the bottom surface 46 of a recess 48 formed in the upper side of the top plate member 16. Because of the engagement of the pivot nose 44 with the surface 46, the flanges 42 operate as fulcrums enabling pivotal motion of the lifting arm 30 about the point of abutment of the pivot nose 44. Thus, when a downward pressure is exerted on the abutment face 40, the lifting arm 30 will pivot about the nose 44 to elevate the frontal burner valve engaging portion 32 thereby opening the burner valve 18 to enable emission of fuel therefrom.

The top subassembly includes a main body or frame member 50 which is preferably integrally formed from cast metallic material and which is shaped with a depending cylindrical portion 52 within which is mounted a flint mechanism including a flint 54 and a flint retaining spring assembly 56. The assembly 56 includes a bottom plug 59 which is threadedly releasably engaged within the cylindrical portion 52 and which may be removed to enable replacement of the flint 54 in a conventional manner. The spark mechanism of the lighter is composed of the flint mechanism operating in conjunction with a striker wheel 58 rotatably mounted upon the frame member 50 by a pin 60 to enable ignition of the emitted fuel in a conventional manner.

The top plate member 16 includes a depending cylindrical portion 62 defining an inner cylindrical concavity 64 within which the depending cylindrical portion 52 will extend when the lighter is in the assembled condition. With the lighter in the assembled condition shown in FIG. 1, the cylindrical portion 52 will pass through the opening 38 defined in the frame section 36 of the lifting arm 30 and extend therefrom into the concavity 64.

A fuel release actuator button 70 is located to extend through an opening 72 formed through the frame member 50 wherein it is held in position to enable a lower abutment nose 74 to be brought into engagement with the abutment face 40 of the lifting arm 30. The actuator button 70 is integrally formed, preferably of molded plastic material, with an upper platform section 76 positioned to be manually engaged to depress the actuator button 70 against the action of a return spring member 78 which is engaged between the underside of the platform 76 and the bottom surface 80 of a recess 82 formed in the frame member 50.

The top subassembly 1 includes a metallic shroud 90 which surrounds the frame member 50 with the inner surface of the shroud 90 being generally conformed to the outer surface of the frame member 50. The shroud 90 includes a detent portion 92 which is deformed to engage a recess 94 formed beneath the rear side of the frame member 50 to retain the shroud 90 and the frame member 50 fixed together.

The shroud 90 and the frame member 50 are formed to define therethrough an upper opening 96 through which the flame caused by burning fuel emitted from the burner assembly 18 may extend when the lighter is in use. During burning of the fuel, an inner wall section 98 of the frame member 50 operates as a fixed windshield protecting the flame caused by the burning fuel.

The striker wheel 58 and the platform section 76 extend upwardly exteriorly of the lighter assembly through a rear opening 100 defined through the shroud 90. The platform section 76 of the actuator button 70 includes a pair of outwardly extending lateral flanges 102 located on opposite sides thereof which engage the underside of the inwardly directed walls 104 of the shroud 90 thereby to maintain the actuator button 70 in position within the top subassembly 1. The spring face of the return spring member 78 maintains the flanges 102 in abutment with the inwardly directed walls 104 of the shroug 90 when the actuator button 70 is not depressed.

In the operation of the lighter, the user's thumb is applied to rotate the striker wheel 58 with the thumb thereafter falling upon the platform section 76 of the actuator button 70 thereby depressing the button 70 against the bias of the spring 78 to bring the nose 74 into abutment with the face 40 of the lifting arm 30. When the face 40 of the lifting arm 30 is depressed, the arm 30 will pivot about the point 44 thereby maintaining the burner valve assembly 18 in the open condition so long as pressure is applied to the actuator button 70. Escaping fuel will be ignited by the spark cause due to frictional engagement between the striker wheel 58 and the flint 54.

Release of the button 70 will automatically effect closure of the valve 18 thereby extinguishing the flame and returning the button 70 to its uppermost position by the action of the spring 78.

The body of the frame member 50 is formed with an integral wall 106 which extends between the striker wheel 58 and the inlet valve assembly 20. The wall 106 operates as a shielding member to block the entry of dust particles or other deleterious material from the striker wheel 58 into the area of the inlet valve assembly 20. Thus, flint dust created when the lighter is ignited is prevented from clogging or rendering inoperative the valve assembly 20.

The shell 10 is formed to include an upper tapered wall 108 which includes a pair of indentations 110 formed on the inner sides of the wall 108 on opposite sides of the lower sub-assembly 2. A pair of detents 112 are formed on opposite sides of the frame member 50, and with the lighter in the assembled condition shown in FIG. 1, the detents 112 are releasably engaged within the indentations 110 to simply and effectively maintain the subassemblies 1 and 2 in their attached condition.

When refilling of the lighter with fuel becomes necessary or when reflinting is required, the subassembly 1 may be readily snapped out of engagement with the subassembly 2 merely by manually pulling the subassembly 1 to disengage the detents 112 from the indentations 110. With the subassemblies 1 and 2 separated, the inlet valve assembly will be exposed to enable refilling of the lighter therethrough with a flammable fuel. Additionally, the removable plug 59 may be removed from within the cylindrical portion 52 to enable replacement of the flint 54.

With the lighter in the assembled condition, it will be apparent that the top subassembly 1 operates as an overall cover member extending across the entire upper end of the lower subassembly 2 to enclose the burner valve assembly and the inlet valve assembly thereby protecting them from damage.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the lighter assembly of the present invention may be conveniently and simply formed in two modular subassemblies which are readily detachable to enable reflinting and refueling of the lighter. Furthermore, the entire assembly may be shaped in an esthetically attractive configuration without involving undue structural or operational complexity or increased cost. The top plate 16 may be ultrasonically welded within the shell 10 thereby eliminating visible seams that would otherwise need to be trimmed, grooved or hidden by additional decorative parts. The entire top subassembly 1 may be readily manually removed without necessitating inclusion of complicated or expensive clips or other retaining devices. The top subassembly 1 combines in a single unitary structure a cover for the lighter operatively housing the entire spark mechanism as well as the actuator button. Inclusion of the partition wall 106 preventing flint dust from entering the inlet valve area eliminates the need for a separate dust cap to cover the inlet valve and protect it against clogging. The shell 10 and the top plate member 16 are preferably formed of molded plastic material and they may be conveniently shaped to cooperate with other elements of the device to enable reliable and efficient operation of the lighter.

Although in the foregoing the present invention has been described by reference to a specific structural embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that modifications and variationa of the structure described may be effected by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A lighter assembly consisting essentially of a first and a second unitary modular subassembly detachably mounted together; said first modular subassembly comprising a hollow body portion defining a chamber for storing flammable fuel, an inlet valve assembly for inserting fuel into said chamber, a burner valve assembly for emitting fuel from said chamber, and a burner valve actuating arm for opening said burner valve assembly to effect emission of fuel therefrom; said second modular subassembly comprising a spark mechanism including flint means for igniting said fuel emitted from said burner valve assembly, a manually operable actuator button engaging said actuating arm to effect opening of said burner valve assembly and extending to the outer extremity of said lighter to be engaged by the thumb of a user, spring means for biasing said actuator bottom out of engagement with said actuating arm, and an integrally formed body portion having said spark mechanism and said actuator button operatively mounted thereupon, said second subassembly being formed to extend across said first subassembly to provide a cover member therefor; said lighter assembly including means for detachably mounting said first and second subassemblies together during operation of said lighter to enable said subassemblies to be manually detached to permit access to said inlet valve assembly and to said spark mechanism for refueling and reflinting said lighter, said detachable mounting means including detent means formed on one of said subassemblies and means located to cooperatively releasably engage said detent means formed on the other of said subassemblies.

2. An assembly according to claim 1 wherein said integrally formed body portion is shaped to define shielding means extending between said spark mechanism and said inlet valve assembly to obstruct entry of deleterious material into the area of said inlet valve assembly.

3. An assembly according to claim 1 wherein said first subassembly includes upstanding wall means defining upon the inner surface thereof said means for engaging said detent means and wherein said detent means are operatively located for engagement with said engaging means upon an exterior portion of said second subassembly configured to fit within said wall means of said first subassembly.

4. An assembly according to claim 1 wherein said hollow body portion is shaped to define a concavity having an opening to the exterior of said first subassembly, wherein said spark mechanism is mounted within an elongated protruding portion of said integrally formed body portion of said second subassembly, and wherein said concavity and said protruding portion are shaped to be brought into interfitting relationship when said subassemblies are mounted together.

5. An assembly according to claim 1 including shroud means configured in substantial conformity to the shape of the outer surface of said integrally formed body portion and affixed thereto as an external cover member for said second subassembly.

6. An assembly according to claim 4 wherein said actuator arm is shaped to define an opening through which said elongated protruding portion of said integrally formed body portion may extend, said actuating arm being located in said first subassembly with said opening thereof positioned to overlie said opening of said concavity defined in said hollow body portion.

7. A lighter assembly consisting essentially of a first and a second unitary modular subassembly detachably mounted together; said first modular subassembly comprising a hollow body portion defining a chamber for storing flammable fuel, an inlet valve assembly for inserting fuel into said chamber, a burner valve assembly for emitting fuel from said chamber, and a burner valve actuating arm for opening said burner valve assembly to effect emission of fuel therefrom; said second modular subassembly being formed to extend across said first subassembly to provide a cover member therefor and comprising a spark mechanism including flint means for igniting said fuel emitted from said burner valve assembly, a manually operable actuator button engaging said actuating arm to effect emission of fuel from said burner valve assembly, an integrally formed body portion having said spark mechanism and said actuator button operably mounted thereupon, said integrally formed body portion being formed to define a recess configured to loosely receive said actuator button therein and to guide said actuator button for movement between a first position out of engagement with said actuating arm and a second position into engagement with said actuating arm to effect emission of fuel from said burner valve assembly, with portions of said body portion abutting said actuator button to limit movement thereof within said recess to between said first and said second positions, and spring means mounted in engagement between said actuator button and said body portion, said second subassembly including a shroud about said body portion, said spring means biasing said button against said shroud to said first position and enabling said button to be manually moved against said spring bias toward said second position to effect opening of said burner valve assembly and emission of fuel therefrom; said lighter assembly including means for detachably mounting said first and said second subassemblies together during operation of said lighter enabling said subassemblies to be manually detached to permit access to said inlet valve assembly and to said spark mechanism for refueling and reflinting said lighter.

8. An assembly according to claim 7 wherein said hollow body portion is formed from an open-ended cup-shaped member having an inner surface enclosing the major portion of said fuel storage chamber and a top plate member sealed to said cup-shaped member to form a closure for the open end thereof, said seal being restricted substantially in its entirety to portions of said inner surface of said cup-shaped member.

9. An assembly according to claim 8 wherein said burner valve assembly and said inlet valve assembly are mounted in said top plate member.

10. An assembly according to claim 7 wherein said actuating arm is formed as a generally elongated member extending for engagement therewith between said burner valve assembly at one end thereof and said actuator button at the opposite end thereof, said arm including pivoting means engaging said first subassembly to enable pivotal movement thereabout by said arm upon engagement of said arm by said actuator button.

11. An assembly according to claim 10 wherein said pivoting means comprise means integrally formed as part of said actuator arm having a generally pointed configuration located to abut said hollow body portion to therby act as a fulcrum effecting rocking motion thereabout of said actuator arm.

12. An assembly according to claim 7 wherein said integrally formed body portion is shaped to extend from adjacent said burner valve assembly to about the volume into which said fuel is emitted to provide a windshield for the flame produced when said fuel is ignited, said body portion being configured to define an opening permitting access to said flame from exteriorly of said lighter.