US2019432A - Lighter construction - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 29, 1935. 5;- J, LAGERHOLM 2.019,432

LIGHTER CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 4, 1928 IHIIIIIU ATTORNEY Patented oa. 29, 193s UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE LIGHTER CON STRUCTIQN to Evans Mass.,

Application August 4,

7 Claims.

This invention relates to lighting devices, and more specifically tothose in which a wick is ignited by sparks from pyrophoric metal.

One of the objects thereof is to provide a practical device of the above type of simple and durable construction. Another object is to provide a device of the above type in which the action is efficient and dependable. Another object is to` provide a device of the above type which shall be economical in the use of material and in which, nevertheless, the ignition is rendered certain in a manually convenient manner. Another object is to provide a device of the above type which shall be adapted to meet the most severe conditions of use without injury or loss of eiiectiveness. Other objects will be in part obvious'or in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the apparatus hereinafter described and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawing, in which is shown one of various possible embodiments of this invention,

Figure 1 is a sectional elevational taken substantially along the line I I of Fig. 4;

Fig.'2 is a sectional elevation taken along the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; y

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 3 3 of Fig. 4, it being understood that in Figs. l and 3 additional parts are shown which, for the sake of clearness, are omitted from Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is a sectional plan taken along the line 4 4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation taken along the line 5 5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. -6 is a detailed elevation shown in Fig. 3 and tion; and

Fig. '7 is a vertical sectional elevation taken along the line 1 1 of Fig. 1.

Similar reference characters refer to similar views throughout the several figures of the drawing.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, there is shown a fuel tank comprising the top wall I0, bottom wall I I, and side walls I2. This tank is provided with the customary filling of absorbent material I3, and its bottom wall has threaded therein a removable plug I4 covering an opening through which liquid fuel may be poured in when the tank is inverted.

Within the tank is mounted an absorbent wick of certain parts appearing in a different posiassignor Attleboro,

1928, Serial N0. 297,388 (Cl. 677.1)

I5 of asbestos or the like which passes through a constricted passage formed by a tube IB'extending downwardly for a substantial distance into the tank and upwardly through the upper Wall I0. A virtual continuation of the inner sur- 8 face of this tube is formed in a boss I'I which in turn is formed on the upper surface of the top wall I0 and provided with a stop shoulder I8 for a purpose hereinafter described. In this manner the wick, although adapted for excellent capillary l0 action to feedits upper exposed end I9, is nevertheless constricted so as to tend to prevent the passage of liquid fuel therethrough when the tank is inverted and lled. Furthermore, when this filling action takes place with the'tank inverted 13 and the plug I4 removed, there is often an excess of liquid fuel accumulating adjacent the top wall I0 (then the bottom wall). This `liquid fuel, due to inevitable supersaturation of the mass I3, would tend to flow out through the wick and 20 cover the parts adjacent its upper end tending to reduce their eiiiciency in action and possibly causing the device to catch re for a short time until this coating of fuel is exhausted. With this arrangement, however, when the tank is inverted, 25 the tube I6 extends upwardly to such a distance that no ordinary accumulation of liquid fuel can overflow its top edge and tend to pass downwardly toward the free end I9 of the wick.

Formed upon the upper surface of the top wall a0,

I0 are a pair of webs 20 and 2|. Journaled in these webs is a shaft 22 having loose thereon a pinion 23 and having loosely mounted thereon a cam wheel 24 fixed to an abrasive wheel 25, the latter being intermediate the pinion and cam 5 wheel, as shown in Fig. 7 of the drawing. Forced upwardly against the lower surface o1 the friction or abrasive wheel 25 is a short cylindrical piece of pyrophoric metal 26 which is urged toward the wheel by a long spiral spring 21 resting within the tube 28, the lower end of which is closed by a removable plug 29 threaded into the tube and passing through the bottom wall II'. Thus, upon the wheel being rotated in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1, its teeth formed for abrasive action in operation throw a shower of sparks upwardly toward the left, it being understoorl that the member 26 is slightly displaced toward the left with respect to the axis of the wheel.

A snuier member 30 is provided with a pair of 50 i depending ears 3| and 32 journaled upon the shaft 22, and the latter of which has fixed thereto the pinion 23 The cap 33 of the snuier fits tightly at its lower end the shoulder I8 and thus seals in the exposed wick end I9, preventing evap- "LV: i apra-isa oration or waste of fuel therefrom. The member 30, however, can swing upwardly to the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1 of` the l drawing upon rotation of the pinion 23.

5 The snuifer member 30 is provided with a cross-pin 34 having ilxed thereon a dog 35, and and a small spiral spring 33 about the pin 34 tends to swing the dog downwardly and toward the right so as to hook into engagement with the lo teeth of the cam wheel 24 as best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing. The action of these teeth and related parts will later be described in detail.

A pivot pin 31 is mounted in the webs 20 and 2| spaced fromand substantially parallel to the l5 vpin-22. Upon this pivot pin is loosely mounted an actuating device 38 provided with an extension 33 which rests within a recess 40 formed in the top wall i 0 and terminates in a short curved rack 4l provided with internal gear teeth suitably 20 meshing with the pinion 23. Normally, the actuating device 33 is urged upwardly by a heavy spiral spring 42 coiled about the pin 31 and compressed between the top wall of the tank and the under surface of the channel-shaped finger grip 25 43 formed at the end of the actuating device. This spring tends to swing downwardly the rack 4I and likewise press against itsseat the snuffer cap 33, a stop being expressly omitted so as to insure a tight iit of the snuer cap. If, however,

30l the finger portion 43 is pressed downwardly, the

upward movement of the rack 4I whirls the pinion 23 and swings upwardly the snuer cap. In depressing the part 43 to cause this movement, any tendency of the thumb or nnger to slip off 35 the end of this part is precluded by its upwardly curved upper surface. Furthermore, the upwardly curved lower surface, as indicated at 43,

permits an additional angie of movement of the actuating device before it is stopped by engage- 40 ment with the upper surface of the top wall I0.

Thus both of these curved surfaces perform an important benecial function.

As the snuffer cap is swung upwardly, as above described, the dog 35 pullsupwardly upon the 45 teeth of the cam wheel 24 with which it is interlocked, as shown in Fig. 3. This movement is retarded by a resilient member 45, here shown in the form of a fiat spring having a flat portion 46 secured to the top wall I and an extension 50 held in place between the boss l1 and the adjacent portion of the web 20. This spring member is provided with a crimp or sharp bend 48 which presses strongly against the surface of the adjacent teeth of the cam wheel 24. This action 55 retards the rotation of the wheel, permitting the accumulation of greater pressure upon the iinger piece 43 until the wheel reaches the position shown in Fig. 6 of the drawing. At such instant all opposition to the rotation of the wheel is re- -60 moved, and simultaneously therewith the portion 49 of the bend 48 exerts a. cam action on this tooth, kicking it forward in conjunction with the rotary force received from the rack 4i. By this action there is a short but extremely rapid move- 65 ment of the cam wheel 24 and of the spark wheel 25 fixed thereto. There is thus the short but unusually intense shower of sparks against the exposed end I9 of the wick rendering its ignition certain. In this action the abrasion of the metal 70 member 26 is reduced to a minimum due to the short time of action thereon, but, on the other hand, the heating eiect on the wick, although short in point of time, is abnormally intense.

The termination of this action leaves the wheel 75 24 in a position shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

and as the neger piece u is released and pressed upwardly by the spring 42 the snuii'er member is pressed home against the seat Il and the dog 35 takes its grip upon the following teeth ofthe wheel 24, as shown in Fig. 3. It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which the various objects of this invention are achieved and that the same is well adapted to meet the usual conditions of practical use.

As many possible embodiments may be made 10 of the above invention and as many changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In a lighter, a casing, a wick extending therefrom, pyrophoric material positioned adjacent said wick, a rotatably mounted friction wheel, a spring forcing said material into engagement with said friction wheel, a nger piece, means effecting rotation of said friction wheel on movement of said finger piece, a spring yieldingly resisting movement of said finger piece, and means independent of the friction wheel for interpcsing an additional abruptly increasing and suddenly yielding resistance to the movement of the iinger piece during the latter portion of its movement.

2. In a lighter, in combination, a. fuel receptacle having a. top wall, a. wick projecting above said top wall, an abrasive wheel mounted on a horizontal axis above a portion of said top wail,

a pyrophoric member spring-pressed against said abrasive wheel, a snuii'er to cover said wick,

a member carrying said snuffer mounted on the same axis as said abrasive wheel, said snuffercarrying member having a vertical cross-section substantially like an inverted U and thereby hav- 40 ing a substantially horizontal upper wall portion and substantially vertical side wall portions depending therefrom, said side wall portions extending downwardly on each side of said abrasive wheel and extending downwardly about said snuier, a separable finger piece mounted above said top wall and on the other side of said wheel from said wick and adapted to actuate the member carrying the snuffer and the wheel, a gear mounted on the same axis as the abrasive wheel, a connection between the gear and the abrasive wheel whereby the abrasive wheel may be rotated by the gear, and a rack on that side of said gear nearest the wick to operate the gear, said rack having a portion passing under the axis of the 5.5 wheel and integral with the nger piece.

3. In a lighter, in combination, -a fuel receptacle having a top wall, a wick projecting above said top wall and extending into said receptacle, an abrasive wheel mounted on a horizontal axis above a portion of said top wall, a pyrophoric member, means pressing said pyrophoric member against said abrasive wheel, a snuier to cover the otherwise exposed end of said wick, a nger piece mounted on a horizontal axis above said top 05 wall, said axis being on the other side of said wheel from said wick and connected to raise said snuffel' when the operating portion of said finger piece is depressed. a gear mounted on the same axis as the abrasive wheel, a connection between the gear and the abrasive wheel whereby the abrasive wheel may be rotated by the gear,

a rack in engagement with said gear on that side of the latter nearest the wick for operating the gear, said rack having a portion passing under the axis of the wheel and integral with the linger piece the abrasive wheel being thereby operated to throw sparks upon the wick when the operating portion of the linger piece is manually depressed, said linger piece being substantially U- shaped in vertical cross-section to provide a top wall portion and depending vertical side wall portions, and spring means urging the operating portion of the nger piece upwardly, said spring means being accommodated substantially within and being substantially enclosed by said top wall portions and side wall portions of said linger piece, and the aforesaid connection during such upward movement being inoperative to rotate the abrasive wheel.

4. In a lighter, in combination, a fuel receptacle having an elongated top wall, a wick at one end of said top wall, an abrasive wheel mounted on a horizontal axis over said top wall, a pyrophoric member engaging an under portion of said wheel, means pressing said pyrophoric member into engagement with said wheel, a snuier to cover said wick, aseparate linger piece member mounted aboves id top wall and having its linger-engaging portion\extending entirely to that side of said wheel opposite from the wick, means forming a well extending downwardly below said top wall in a portion of the latter adjacent to and below said wheel, a toothed member lixed coaxially to rotate with said wheel, a toothed member engaging with said rst-mentioned toothed member on that side the of wheel axis toward said wick and having a range of movement such that it is accommodated in said Well during a portion of its path of travel and adapted upon actuation to rotate said llrst-mentioned toothed member and said wheel, and means whereby said second-mentioned toothed member is moved in response to actuation of said linger piece member and including a portion of the latter having a path of movement into said well.

5. In a lighter, a fuel casing having a wick, an abradant wheel rotatably mounted adjacent said Wick and having pyrophoric material related thereto, a snuler arm pivotally carried by said casing and having a snuier cap to cover said wick, a one-way driving connection between said snuler arm and said wheel whereby the latter is rotated only when said snuler arm moves in a wick-uncovering direction, manually movable means having operative connection with said snuffer arm lor actuating the latter in wick-uncovering direction, a member having peripheral pro trusions thereon and connected to partake of rotation only when said wheel rotates, and spring means positioned in the path of movement of the 'protrusions of said member for interposing a yielding resistance to movement of said wheel.

6. In a lighter, a casing having a wick extending through a wall thereof, an abradant wheel mounted to rotate about an axis parallel to said snuler cap for covering over said wick, said snuf- 6 fer arm carrying pawl means for coacting with said ratchet wheel to rotate the abradant wheel when said snulfer member moves in wick-uncovering position, a linger piece vmovably mounted on said casing and having operative connections l0 i whereby, upon manual actuation of said linger piece, said snuiler arm is moved in wick-uncovering direction and said pawl and ratchet means drive said abradant wheel, and spring means carried by said receptacle and projecting into the 15 path of movement of the cam portions of said cam wheel, thereby yieldingly to resist rotation of said abradant wheel.

7. In a lighter, in combination, a fuel receptacle having an elongated top wall, a wick extending 20 through said top wall at one end thereof, a downwardly depressible sheet metal linger piece over the other end of said top wall and having a vertical cross-section substantially like that of an inverted U and thereby having a horizontal top 25 portion substantially parallel to said top wall for engagement by a linger and having depending substantially vertical side wall portions, said linger piece falling within and overlying that end of the top Wall over which it extends, an abrasive 30 wheel mounted on a horizontal axis over said top wall and intermediate of the wick and linger piece member, means mounting said finger piece member for downward swinging movement, a snuler for said wick, means comprising a sheet 35 metal member having a top wall portion and depending vertical side wall portions and forming a complement substantially to said linger piece member in that said linger piece overlies that portion of the one side of the wheel axis and said sheet metal member overlies that portion of the top wall to the other side of said wheel axis, the side Wall portions of said means being pivoted on a horizontal axis over the casing top wall and with the 45 top wall portion thereof extending over said wick and supporting said snuffer, said sheet metal member having its top wall portion extending over said wheel and its side wall portions extending downwardly each to one side of said 50 wheel, a pyrophoric element projecting into contact with said wheel, and means operatively connecting said linger piece member and said sheet metal means and said abrasive wheel whereby, in response to swinging movement of said linger piece member by manual movement of its top wall portion toward said top wall of said receptacle, said sheet metal means with the snuler is swung upwardly about the axis of said wheel and said wheel is rotated against said pyrophoric 00 element.

CARL JULIUS LAGERHOLM.

topwall of the fuel receptacle to 40

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