Lighter

Abstract

Sorption means are placed in position in a container for lighter fluid and/or in a conduit of the container so as to make contact with at least a portion of the fluid to remove therefrom fats and oils.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENTS & APPLICATIONS

Reference is had to the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,712,788; 3,602,622; 3,533,719; 3,610,793; 3,458,765.

Reference is had to the following copending patent applications assigned to the assignee of record of the instant application: Ser. No. 22,954, filed Feb. 2, 1972 entitled "Magnetic Ignitor" in the name of H. Schindler; Ser. No. 113,914, filed Feb. 9, 1971 entitled "Lighter With Mounted Ignitor" in the name of H. Schindler, et al.; Ser. No. 171,306, filed Aug. 12, 1971 in the name of H. Ross; Ser. No. 23,842, filed Mar. 30, 1970 entitled "Pocket Lighter" in the name of C. Cobarg; Ser. No. 102, 218, filed Dec. 28, 1970 entitled "Cigarette Lighter" in the name of C. Cobarg, et al.; and Ser. No. 220,817, filed Jan. 26, 1972 entitled "Magnetic Ignitor" in the name of H. Schindler.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to cleansing lighter fuel and is more particularly concerned with the removal of fats and oils from the lighter fluid. Fats and oils in, for example, the magneto-electrically ignited gas lighter can cause a detrimental contamination of the burner valve and electrodes of the lighter.

Cleanliness of the burner valve and the electrodes plays a decisive role throughout the life of the lighter in ensuring its ignition reliability. Contamination of the burner valve by the penetration of fatty and oily impurities in the gas anc lead to obstruction of the gas channels in the burner valve. Moreover, these impurities in the gas do not necessarily remain in the gas channels of the burner valve but can be carried along in the gas stream issuing through the burner valve and then be deposited on the electrodes which project into the gas stream or the gas flame. The deposition of the impurities on the electrodes can eventually result in the formation of a continuously increasing resistance at the ends of the electrodes and thereby degrade the reliable production of the igniting spark.

Rings of elastomeric material are inserted for sealing purposes in the burner valve, and the filler valve of the lighter. In addition, the rings are used in the replenishment valve of a refill container. The material of the sealing rings is selected to be resistant to the combustion gas but is usually not resistant to oils or fats which may be present in the lighter container or refill container. The oils and fats may attack the sealing rings and thereby reduce the effectiveness of the sealing by the rings.

Generally, the oils and fats are principally the residues of the materials used as mould release agents or drawing oils during the manufacture of a lighter container or of a refill container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide for the removal of fats and oils from the lighter fluid.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following specification and in part will be obvious therefrom without being specifically referred to, the same being realized and attained as pointed out in the claims hereof.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter. The devise invention accordingly comprises features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in a construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

The method invention accordingly comprises the several steps and the relationship of one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others, all as exemplified in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

With a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section of a lighter;

FIG. 2 is a large scale longitudinal section of a burner valve projecting into a container of another lighter; and

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section through a refill container having a replenishment valve.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Generally, sorption means are placed in position in a container for lighter fluid and/or in a conduit of the container so as to make contact with at least a portion of the fluid to remove dirt from fats and oils. The term "sorption means" includes both chemical and physical sorption means. The sorption means may be activated carbon, hydrated silica, finely provided silica such as kieselguhr or a naturally occurring absorbent silicate such as bentonite or montmorillonite. Other suitable materials for the sorption means are well known to people in the art.

It is convenient to incorporate the sorption means into a functional part of a lighter. For example, the prevaporiser and the burner valve of the lighter may be formed from the sorption means. Or, the flame height stabiliser may be formed from the sorption means.

A volumetrically small quantity of the sorption means can not only bind the impurities in the lighter container produced during its manufacture, but it is also able to absorb any impurities which are introduced into the lighter container upon refilling thereof.

It is advantageous to include sorption means in the refill container used to replenish the lighter container so that at least some of the fats and oils from the lighter fluid are removed before the lighter fuel enters the lighter. In the case of a lighter having a wet valve, an additional advantage is obtained by replacing the normal flame height stabilizer consisting of, for example, a foam material, felt or a wick by a flame height stabilizer which includes the sorption means and a gas-permeable material surrounding the sorption means.

An advantage is obtained by locating the sorption means and a conduit provided in the burner valve above the burner valve regulation means formed by the regulator, wick, height, and regulating washer as the sorption means acts as a prevaporiser in addition to its removal function, so that uninterrupted vaporisation of the lighter fluid is ensured. The lighter shown in FIG. 1 includes a casing, and operating element 2 connected to a torsion rod which engages the leaf spring 4 of a magneto-electric igniter 3, and a container or a container member such as reservoir 5 for storing the lighter fluid. The reservoir 5 is provided with a filler valve located immediately above the bottom 6 of the reservoir 5. A burner valve 7 open under the pressure of a spring 8 acting on a valve lifter 9, after a guide element 10, which is connected to the valve lifter 9, has been released by manual operation of the operating element 2.

The filler valve 11 and burner valve 7 are arranged so that an absorption means 12, which is surrounded by a gas-permeable material, can be placed in the reservoir 5 in the space formed by the filler valve 11 and the burner valve 7, the bottom 6, and the case 1. The absorption means 12 may be activated carbon or the like for removing fatty and oily impurities from the lighter fluid which comes in contact therewith.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the invention in which a burner valve is secured in a bore 52 in a reservoir housing 51. The burner valve includes a cap 53 which has a screw-threaded engagement in the bore 52 and which has a flange which bears against a seal contained in a groove in the housing. A discharge conduit member such as discharge conduit 55 is present in the closure cap 53. At the container or reservoir end of the discharge conduit 55, a threaded bore portion 56 is provided into which is screwed a regulator 57. Among other things, the regulator 57 results in an annular shoulder 58 of the discharge conduit 55 to bear against the closure cap 53. Two openings 59 and 60 disposed opposite one another are provided in the discharge conduit 55 above the regulator 57 with a wick 74 passing through them. The wick 74 is pressed by the regulator 57 to a greater or lesser extent against a disc 62 of hide provided underneath a regulating washer 61, so that restriction of the quantity of lighter fluid passing through the opening in the washer is achieved.

The discharge conduit 55 contains a valve passage 63 which is normally kept closed by a valve element 65 under the pressure of a spring 64, with the interposition of a seal 66.

The valve element 65 is provided with an axial bore 67 into which open a radial bore 68 so that, when valve passage 63 is open, lighter fuel can pass out of the reservoir via a chamber 69 through valve element 65. A spring 64 acts, on the one hand, on the valve element 65 and, on the other hand, through a washer 70 and a seal 71 on the closure cap 53. A chamber 72 of discharge conduit 55 between the valve passage 63 and the regulating washer 61 is filled with sorption means 73 such as activated carbon, hydrated silica, kiesilguhr or a naturally occurring absorbent silicate such as bentonite or montmorillonite.

FIG. 3 shows an upper portion of a refill container having the casing 80, a nozzle 81 and a cap 82. A recess 83, in which the filler valve assembly is arranged, is formed in the central part of the cap 82. The filler valve assembly includes a discharge conduit member such as discharge conduit 83 divided into two chambers 85 and 86. The chamber 85 communicates with the interior 87 of the refill container by one or more bores 94, and with the chamber 86 by one or more bores 88.

In chamber 86, there is arranged a spring 89 which acts on the end portion of the nozzle 81 which end portion constitutes a valve element 90 which is pressed against a seal 91 provided in the recess 83, so that bores 92 in the valve element 90 and the bores 93 in the nozzle 81 are closed by the seal 91. If the nozzle 81 is moved against the pressure of the spring 89, the bores 92 and 93 are displaced from the seal so that the lighter fluid can pass out from a container member 87 of the refill container to the channels provided therein. A suitable material for the removal of fats and oils from the lighter fluid such as sorption means 95 is located in chamber 85.

The sorption means 95 can also be located within the container member 87 or alternately in container member 87. The location of sorption means 95 is guided by the principle that the sorption means 95 must contact at least a portion of the lighter fluid in order to serve its function of removing fats and oil from the lighter fluid. Then, the sorption means 95 can be in a loose granular form or a shaped part in the container member 87. Similarly, the granular form or shaped form may be used in connection with a lighter.

OPERATION

Generally, the operation of the above described embodiments of the invention is as follows: the cleansing of lighter fluid is obtained by placing at least a portion of the fluid in contact with sorption means located in a discharge conduit member and/or a container member of a device.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Claims

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. In a lighter device including burner valve means and electrode means, means for storing and discharging lighter fluid, having a container for storing the fluid and a discharge conduit for the discharge of the fluid from the container,

in combination,

sorption means for the removal by binding of fats and oils from the fluid being in communication with the fluid for contact with at least a portion of the fluid, thereby preventing detrimental contamination of said burner valve means and said electrode means.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sorption means is located within said container.

3. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sorption means is in granular form.

4. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sorption means includes a jacket of a gas-permeable material.

5. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sorption means is selected from the group consisting of activated carbon, hydrated silica, kieselguhr, and naturally occurring absorbent silicates.

6. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the device is a lighter and said sorption means is located within said discharge conduit.

7. The device as claimed in claim 6, wherein said discharge conduit forms a part of a burner valve of said lighter.

8. The device as claimed in claim 7, wherein said sorption means is in the form of a prevaporiser for said burner valve.

9. The device as claimed in claim 7, wherein said sorption means is in the form of a flame height stabilizer.

10. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the device is a refill container and said sorption means is located within said discharge conduit.

11. The device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the discharge conduit is divided into two chambers, one of which contains said sorption means and the other of which contains a spring-loaded valve closure element.

12. A method of cleansing lighter fluid in a device including valve means, and a container member for storing the fluid and a discharge conduit member for the discharge of the fluid from the container member,

the step comprising placing at least a portion of the fluid in contact with sorption means for the removal by binding of fats and oils from the fluid portion by locating said sorption means in at least one of said members, thereby preventing detrimental contamination of said valve means.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the device is a lighter and said sorption means is located in said discharge conduit member.

14. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the device is a refill container and said sorption means is located in said discharge conduit member.