JPH0618030A - Gas lighter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To produce a gas lghter which can not be ignited when a small child tampers with the operating lever. CONSTITUTION:To a main casing 1 a flint 2, a file wheel 5, an operating lever 6, and a nozzle 11 are attached. A control rod 20 which can be slid in the axial direction is provided inside a hollow part 18 in the main casing 1. A control knob 22 is formed at one end of the control rod 20. A locking member 23 and a stopping ring 25 are provided on the control rod 20. The control rod 20 is pushed by means of a spring 25 in such a manner as to put the stopping ring 25 against the wall 21 at the outer fringe of the casing. Since usually the locking member 23 is positioned directly under a projecting piece 17, the operating lever 6 can not be flicked properly. By pushing back the control knob 22 with sliding of the control rod 20 backward the locking member 23 can be displaced out of contact with the projecting piece 17; then the control lever 6 becomes operable.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gas lighter, and more particularly to a gas lighter having a safety mechanism that does not ignite even when a child operates it carelessly.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a disposable gas writer, a cylindrical nozzle for ejecting gas by sliding it to the tip side against a spring pressure; the tip part is locked to this nozzle, and the central part is a fulcrum. Operation lever to slide the nozzle to the tip side by pressing the base end downward as
And a main body case to which the nozzle and the operating lever are assembled;

[0003]

In the conventional gas lighter described above, since the operation lever is exposed to the outside,
Children may inadvertently operate the operation lever,
In this case, the gas may be ignited to cause burns or a fire.

The present invention has been made in view of the current situation, and even when a child or the like carelessly operates the operation lever,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a gas writer which has no possibility of being ignited by gas and which can be surely ignited when necessary.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a gas lighter which can improve the operability and reliability of the safety mechanism.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a gas lighter which can simplify the structure of the safety mechanism.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a guide lighter which can be easily applied to an existing gas lighter by simply replacing the operating lever.

[0008]

As a means for achieving the above object, the present invention provides a cylindrical nozzle for ejecting gas by sliding it toward the tip side against a spring pressure; And a main body case to which the nozzle and the operation lever are assembled; and an operation lever that slides the nozzle toward the tip side by pressing the base end portion downward with the center portion as a fulcrum. In the gas lighter, a safety mechanism in which at least one of the main body case and the operation lever can be switched between a locked state in which the operation lever cannot be operated and an unlocked state in which the operation lever can be operated. Is provided.

In the present invention, the safety mechanism is
It is preferable to switch to the locked state by the spring pressure.

Further, a safety mechanism is provided on the main body case so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and an operation rod having a base end portion protruding outside the main body case; A lock member that takes a position close to or in contact with the lower surface of the operation lever base end and a position apart from the lower surface; and a spring that constantly urges the operation rod in the axial direction;
It is preferable to be composed of

Further, a safety mechanism is provided on the main body case so as to be rotatable about its axis, and a base end portion of the operation rod is projected to the outside of the main body case; A lock member that takes a position close to or in contact with the lower surface of the operation lever base end and a position away from it by rotation; and a spring that biases the operation rod toward the lock side. Is preferred.

Further, the safety mechanism is provided with a lock member which is axially movable below the operating lever by a predetermined amount and is swingable up and down about the tip side as a fulcrum; A spring for urging the lock lever; a pair of holding pieces provided on the lower surface of the operating lever and hung on both sides of the lock member to hold and lock the lock member at the lower end when the lock member is swung downward. The lock member has a protrusion on the lower surface side located on the peripheral edge of the recess of the main body case, is prevented from swinging downward, and is moved in the axial direction. It is more preferable that the projecting portion is disengaged from the peripheral edge of the concave portion and is allowed to swing downward.

[0013]

In the gas lighter according to the present invention, by switching the safety mechanism to the locked state, the operation lever cannot be operated, and the gas is ignited even when a child carelessly operates the operation lever. There is no fear and it is safe.

On the other hand, if the safety mechanism is switched to the unlocked state, the operation lever can be operated and the gas can be ignited without any trouble.

Here, the ignition of the gas is prevented by disabling the ignition operation (for example, disabling the rotation of the file wheel) instead of disabling the operation lever operation. However, in this case, the raw gas is ejected from the nozzle, which is not always a sufficient safety mechanism.

Further, in the present invention, the safety mechanism is switched to the locked state by the spring pressure, so that there is no problem of forgetting to return the safety mechanism to the locked state, and the safety is further improved. Is possible.

Further, the safety mechanism is composed of an operating rod slidable in the axial direction, a lock member provided on the operating rod, and a spring for urging the operating rod in the axial direction. By comprising a rotatable operation rod, a lock member provided on the operation rod, and a spring for biasing the operation rod to rotate toward the lock side, the structure of the safety mechanism can be simplified. Become.

Further, the safety mechanism is composed of a lock member attached to the operation lever, a spring for urging the lock member, and a pair of holding pieces provided on the operation lever. The safety mechanism can be incorporated by simply mounting the existing operation lever in place of the conventional operation lever, and can be easily applied to the existing gas lighter.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 show a gas writer according to a first embodiment of the present invention, which is equipped with a main case 1 in which a liquefied gas tank (not shown) is incorporated,
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a rectangular cylindrical housing portion 4 for housing the flint 2 and the flint pressure spring 3 is provided at the center of the upper surface of the main body case 1, and the housing portion 4 is provided. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a pair of support pieces 7, 7 for supporting a file wheel 5 and an operation lever 6 which will be described later are provided at both side positions of each. Then, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, guide pieces 8, 8 shorter than the support pieces 7, 7 are respectively extended from the respective support pieces 7, 7 toward the tip side. These guide pieces 8 and 8 together with the support pieces 7 and 7 are the main case 1
Windproof cover 9 attached to the upper part of the tip side (see Fig. 1)
It is designed to be attached and held.

The upper surface of the body case 1 on the tip side is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, a cylindrical nozzle 11 having a flow rate adjusting member 10 is arranged, and the nozzle 11 is an operation lever.
6, the gas is ejected by pulling it upwards against the spring pressure, and by releasing the pulling force by the operation lever 6, it is lowered by the spring pressure and the gas ejection is stopped. ing. In addition, as shown in FIGS.
Is installed so that the gas flow rate can be adjusted from the outside.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the file wheel 5 is composed of large diameter guide wheels 5a on both sides and a small diameter filer 5b at the central portion, and protrudes outward from each guide wheel 5a. The rotating shaft 13 is rotatably supported by the pair of supporting pieces 8 and the flint 2 is pressed against the lower surface of the file 5b.

On the other hand, the operation lever 6 has a slit 14 as shown in FIGS.
The fulcrum portion 6b includes a locking portion 6a on the distal end side, a fulcrum portion 6b at the central portion having the fitting hole 15 of the accommodating portion 4, and an operating portion 6c on the proximal end side. The fulcrum shaft 16 projecting to both sides of is supported by the pair of support pieces 8 so as to be swingable.

As shown in FIG. 2, a U-shaped projecting piece 17 that opens forward and downward is integrally provided on the lower surface of the operating portion 6c. This projecting piece 17 is the main body case. It is fitted in a recess 18 provided on the upper surface of the base 1 on the base end side.
A safety mechanism 19 for disabling the operation lever 6 is assembled in the recess 18.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the safety mechanism 19 is provided with an operating rod 20 slidable in the left and right directions in the drawing, and the base end portion of the operating rod 20 has the concave portion. An operation knob 22 is provided at a base end portion of the main casing 1 so as to penetrate the outer edge wall 21 of the casing 18 and protrude to the outside of the main body case 1.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a lock member 23 having a diameter larger than that of the operating rod 20 is provided at the central portion of the operating rod 20, and the distal end portion of the operating rod 20 has a lock member 23. A spring 24 that biases the operation rod 20 toward the base end side is mounted, and the sliding position is regulated by the contact of the stop ring 25 with the outer edge wall 21. In this state, the lock member 23 is located immediately below the projecting piece 17, so that the operation lever 6 cannot be operated. This will be described later in detail.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
The safety mechanism 19 is in the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 in the normal state. In this state, the lock member 23 is located immediately below the projecting piece 17, and therefore, the operating portion 6c
Even if the button is pressed downward, the operation lever 6 cannot be operated. That is, the operation lever 6 is locked.

On the other hand, when the operation knob 22 is pressed and the operation rod 20 is slid against the urging force of the spring 24, the lock member 23 moves to the tip side as shown in FIG.

When the operating portion 6c is pressed downward in this state, the projecting piece 17 does not come into contact with the lock member 23 and the operating lever 6 swings clockwise in the figure, as shown in FIG. As a result, the nozzle 11 is pulled upward, and gas is ejected from the nozzle 11. Then, by operating the file wheel 5 at the same time as the operation lever 6 is operated, the nozzle 11
The gas ejected from is ignited.

When the pressing of the operating portion 6c is released, the nozzle 1
The pressure of the spring (not shown) incorporated in the No. 1 operation lever
6 automatically returns to the state of FIG. 1, and the safety mechanism 19 automatically returns to the locked state shown in FIG. 1 by the urging force of the spring 24.

However, a child or the like carelessly operates the lever 6
Even if is operated, the gas is not ignited, and it is possible to reliably prevent burns or fires. Moreover, since the safety mechanism 19 has a structure that disables the operation of the operation lever 6 itself, the ejection of the gas itself from the nozzle 11 can be prevented. Therefore, even if there is a fire nearby, there is no possibility of catching fire, and high reliability can be obtained.

Further, since the structure of the safety mechanism 19 is simple, the cost increase due to the provision of the safety mechanism 19 can be minimized, and it is particularly effective when applied to a disposable writer. .

In the first embodiment, the case where the operating rod 20 is pushed into the main body case 1 to release the lock has been described. On the contrary, the operating rod 20 is placed outside the main body case 1. The lock may be released by pulling.

FIGS. 4 to 6 show a second embodiment of the present invention, in which a safety mechanism 29 is used instead of the safety mechanism 19 in the first embodiment.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the safety mechanism 29 is provided with an operating rod 30 provided in the recess 18 so as to be rotatable about its axis, and the base end of the operating rod 30 is The main case 1 penetrates the outer edge wall 21 of the recess 18.
An operating knob 32 is provided on the protruding portion, which protrudes to the outside.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, at the central portion of the operating rod 30, there is provided a hook-shaped locking member 33 having a diameter larger than that of the operating rod 30 and having a cut surface 33a. A spring 34 that urges the operation rod 30 to rotate about an axis is attached to the tip of the rod 30, and the axial position of the lock member 33 is restricted by a stop ring 35.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, an initial position stopper 36 and a rotation position stopper 37 are provided on the peripheral surface of the lock member 33, and the spring 34 urges the rotation. The operating rod 30 is
As shown in FIG. 5, when the initial position stopper 36 contacts the bottom surface of the recess 18, the initial position is restricted, and when the operation rod 30 is rotated against the urging force of the spring 34, As shown in FIG. 6, at the position where the rotation position stopper 37 is in contact with the bottom surface of the concave portion 18, further rotation is prevented. And at this time, the lock member 3
The cut surface 33 a of No. 3 faces the projecting piece 17. The other points are the same as those of the first embodiment.

In the above structure, in the normal state, the lock member 33 is in the state shown in FIG. 5, and in this state, the arcuate surface of the lock member 33 approaches the protrusion 17. Therefore, even if the operation portion 6c is pressed downward, the operation lever 6 cannot be operated.

On the other hand, when the operation rod 30 is rotated while holding the operation knob 32, the rotation position stopper 37 causes the recess 18 to move.
6, the cut surface 33a of the lock member 33 faces the projecting piece 17 at the position where the cut surface 33a abuts the bottom surface of the lock member 33. Therefore, a large gap is formed below the projecting piece 17, and the operation lever 6 can be operated.

Therefore, even if the safety mechanism 29 is used, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be expected.

In both of the above embodiments, the operating knobs 22 and 32 are directly operated to lock the safety mechanism 1 at the lock position.
Although the case of switching 9, 29 to the unlocked position has been described, for example, the operation rod 2 is provided on the outer surface of the body case 1.
A lever that interlocks with 0 and 30 is provided, and this lever is gripped together with the main body case 1 to provide a safety mechanism 19,
29 switching may be performed.

Further, in the above-mentioned both embodiments, the case where the safety mechanisms 19 and 29 are automatically switched to the lock position by the urging force of the springs 24 and 34 has been described.
Switching between lock / unlock may be performed manually.

7 to 14 show a third embodiment of the present invention. Instead of the operation lever 6 and the safety mechanisms 19 and 29 in each of the embodiments, the operation lever 46 and this operation lever 46 are shown. The safety mechanism 39 incorporated in the is used.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, the operation lever 46 has a slit 47 and a distal end side engaging portion 46a which is engaged with the nozzle 11 and a fitting hole of the accommodating portion 4. A fulcrum portion 46b at the central portion having 48 and an operation portion 46c at the base end side are provided.
The fulcrum shaft 49 projecting to both sides of is supported by the pair of support pieces 8 so as to be swingable.

The lower surface of the operating portion 46c is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 10, a C-cylindrical holding part 50 and a pair of left and right holding pieces 51, 51 are integrally provided, which constitute a safety mechanism 39 together with a lock member 52 described later. There is.

The lock member 52 is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.
As shown in FIG. 5, the retaining portion 52a is provided at the front end, the cutout portion 52b is provided at the middle, and the operation portion 5 protruding from the operation portion 46c at the base end.
2c is formed in a rod shape and has the retaining portion 52.
The a is fitted and locked in the holding portion 50 so as to be movable by a predetermined amount in the axial direction, and the lock member 52 can swing up and down with the retaining portion 52a as a fulcrum.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a spring 53 for biasing the lock member 52 toward the base end side is interposed between the tip of the lock member 52 and the holding portion 50. In this state, the cutout portion 52b has a pair of holding pieces 51, 5 as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11.
It is located between 1 and 1, and is not in contact with the holding pieces 51, 51. The other points are the same as those of the first embodiment.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
In the normal state, as shown in FIG. 10, the notch 52b is disengaged from the outer edge wall 21 of the recess 18 by the urging force of the spring 53, and the lock member 52 is provided above the outer edge wall 21. The bottom surface is approaching. For this reason,
Even if the operation portion 46c is pressed downward, the operation lever 46 cannot be operated. That is, the operation lever 46 is locked by the safety mechanism 39.

In order to unlock the safety mechanism 39, first, the lock member 52 is slid toward the tip side against the urging force of the spring 53, and the operation portion 52c is pushed down to swing the lock member 52 downward. Let Then, as shown in FIG. 12, the lock member 52 swings downward with the notch 52b corresponding to the peripheral wall 21.

By the way, at this time, the operation section 52c is operated as shown in FIG.
And as shown in FIG. 13, a pair of holding pieces 5 from both sides.
Since it is sandwiched and fixed by 1, 51, the lock member 52 is held in the state shown in FIG.

In this state, when the operating portion 46c is pressed downward, the operating lever 46 is not locked by the lock member 52 and swings clockwise in FIG. That is, the lock is released.

When the operating lever 46 is operated in the state shown in FIG. 12, the upper end portion of the lock member 52 on the tip side is pushed down by the lower surface of the operating portion 46c, and the lock member 52 is, as shown in FIG. The upper surface is parallel to the lower surface of the operation portion 46c. And thereby, the pair of holding pieces 51, 51
The holding and fixing by is released. Therefore, the operation unit 46c
If the operation lever 46 is automatically returned to the original state by releasing the pressing to the lock member 52, the lock member 52 also returns to the state shown in FIG. 10, and the safety mechanism 39 is automatically switched to the lock position.

However, simply by swinging the lock member 52 downward, the safety mechanism 39 is switched to the unlocked position, and when the operation lever 46 is operated, the safety mechanism 39 automatically returns to the locked position. Therefore, the operation is easy and the operation is reliable.

Further, since the safety mechanism 39 is incorporated in the operation lever 46 and there is no need to modify the main body case 1 and the like, it is easy to replace the operation lever 46 with an existing gas writer. Can be applied to.

[0054]

As described above, the present invention is based on the main body case.
At least one of the operation lever and the operation lever is provided with a safety mechanism that can be switched between a locked state in which the operation lever cannot be operated and an unlocked state in which the operation lever can be operated. Even if a child carelessly operates the operation lever, the gas is not ignited and the gas is not likely to be ejected, so that the safety can be improved.

Further, in the present invention, the safety mechanism can be switched to the locked state by the spring pressure, so that there is no problem of forgetting to return to the locked state and the safety can be further improved.

Further, the safety mechanism may be composed of an axially slidable operating rod, a lock member provided on the operating rod, and a spring for urging the operating rod in the axial direction. By constructing a rotatable operation rod, a lock member provided on the operation rod, and a spring for biasing the operation rod to rotate toward the lock side, the structure of the safety mechanism can be simplified and the cost can be reduced. Can be planned.

Further, the safety mechanism is composed of a lock member attached to the operation lever, a spring for urging the lock member, and a pair of holding pieces provided on the operation lever, whereby the lock member is provided. The safety mechanism can be incorporated by simply mounting the existing operation lever in place of the conventional operation lever, and can be easily applied to the existing gas lighter.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a gas writer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which an operation lever is unlocked.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an essential part of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a gas writer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a partial cross-sectional view of a portion of the safety mechanism as viewed from the right side of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 5 showing the unlocked state of the safety mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a gas writer according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of an operation lever in which a safety mechanism is incorporated.

FIG. 9 is a bottom view similar to FIG.

FIG. 10 is a main-part configuration diagram showing a cross section of a locked state of the safety mechanism.

11 is a sectional view taken along line XI-XI of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a view corresponding to FIG. 10 showing the unlocked state of the safety mechanism.

13 is a sectional view taken along line XIII-XIII in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a view corresponding to FIG. 10 showing an operating state of the operating lever.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 main body case 2 flint 5 file wheel 6,46 operation lever 6a, 46a locking part 6b, 46b fulcrum part 6c, 46c, 52c operation part 11 nozzle 18 recessed part 19, 29, 39 safety mechanism 20, 30 operation rod 21 outer edge wall 22,32 operation knob 23,33 locking member 24,34,53 spring 25,35 stop ring 33a cut surface 36 initial position stopper 37 turning position stopper 50 holding part 51 holding piece 52 locking member 52a retaining part 52b Notch

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A cylindrical nozzle that ejects gas by sliding it toward the tip side against spring pressure; the tip portion is locked to this nozzle, and the base portion is pressed downward with the center portion as a fulcrum. A gas writer comprising: an operation lever for sliding the nozzle toward the tip side; and a main body case to which the nozzle and the operation lever are assembled.
At least one of the main body case and the operation lever is provided with a safety mechanism capable of switching between a locked state in which the operation lever cannot be operated and an unlocked state in which the operation lever can be operated. Gas writer characterized by. 2. The gas lighter according to claim 1, wherein the safety mechanism is switched to a locked state by spring pressure. 3. A safety mechanism, which is provided on the main body case so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and has a base end portion which projects outside the main body case; and a safety rod provided on the operation rod, which slides the operation rod. According to the present invention, a lock member that takes a position close to or in contact with the lower surface of the operation lever base end portion and a position apart from the lower surface; and a spring that constantly biases the operation rod in the axial direction are provided. Item 1. A gas writer according to item 1 or 2. 4. A safety mechanism, which is provided on the main body case so as to be rotatable about its axis, and whose base end portion projects outside the main body case; and a safety mechanism provided on the operation rod. A lock member which takes a position close to or in contact with the lower surface of the operation lever base end portion and a position apart from each other by rotation, and a spring which urges the operation rod to rotate toward the lock side. The gas lighter according to claim 1 or 2. 5. The safety mechanism includes a lock member which is axially movable below the operating lever by a predetermined amount and which is attached so as to be vertically swingable about a tip side as a fulcrum; A spring for urging the lock lever; a pair of holding pieces provided on the lower surface of the operating lever and hung on both sides of the lock member to hold and lock the lock member at the lower end when the lock member is swung downward. The lock member has a protrusion on the lower surface side located on the peripheral edge of the recess of the main body case,
3. The downward swing is prevented, and by moving in the axial direction, the projecting portion is disengaged from the peripheral edge of the concave portion, and the downward swing is allowed.
The described gas lighter.