Combustion – With repair – assembly or disassembly adjunct
Reexamination Certificate
2002-12-10
2004-04-27
Yeung, James C. (Department: 3749)
Combustion
With repair, assembly or disassembly adjunct
C431S143000, C431S323000, C431S130000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06726470
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a windproof lighter, and specifically to the type including liquid fuel, a wick, a strike-wheel, and a flint.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Windproof lighters are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,517,191 to Flickinger et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 2,032,695 to Gimera et al., which are incorporated by reference in this application.
A windproof lighter
10
, as shown in
FIG. 1
, has a case
12
and an inside unit
14
. The case
12
has a top section
16
and a bottom section
18
connected together by a hinge
20
. The inside unit
14
is removably secured, preferably snugly fit, within the bottom section
18
.
Turning to
FIG. 2
, the inside unit
14
has an interior chamber
36
and an exterior surface
38
. On the exterior surface
38
and the side
39
that projects beyond the bottom section
18
when the inside unit
14
is within the bottom section
18
, is, as shown at
FIGS. 2 and 4
, a chimney
22
, a wick opening
23
within the chimney
22
, a wick
25
, a flint wheel
24
connected to the chimney
22
, a flint
26
designed to be positioned below and contacting the flint wheel
24
, a tang
30
connected to the chimney
22
, and a second resilient member
32
for controlling the position of the tang
30
, which assists in the positioning of the top section
16
.
The exterior surface
38
also has side walls
35
that contact corresponding side walls of the bottom section
18
, and an opening
37
that is positioned opposite;the chimney
22
and allows a user to refill the lighter
10
with lighter fuel, not shown. The interior chamber
36
has a flint position apparatus
28
having a resilient member
42
contained within a tube
40
and a set screw
44
. The set screw
44
allows the user to apply sufficient force through the resilient member
42
to the flint
26
so the flint
26
contacts the flint wheel
24
.
The interior chamber also has packing material
60
that is designed to contain lighter fuel, and a felt pad
62
positioned at the opening
37
, as shown in
FIG. 3
, between the packing material
60
and the bottom section
18
. The felt pad
62
is secured into position by the set screw
44
.
The interior chamber also has a wick
25
positioned within the packing material
60
, and extending through the wick opening
23
.
Windproof lighter
10
operates with lighter fuel and is refillable. The instructions for refilling lighters typically call for (1) removing the inside unit from the case; (2) lifting the corner of the felt pad on the bottom of the insert to reveal the packing material in a fuel chamber, which is the interior of the inside unit; and (3) saturating the packing with lighter fluid by filling it slowly so the inside unit is not overfilled; and (4) inserting the inside unit back into the case; and (5) wiping the lighter and the user's hands dry before igniting the lighter.
Some lighters have permanent inside units with refill ports on the bottom or on the side of the lighter for refilling the liquid fuel reservoir in the inside unit. These designs have special refilling instructions as well.
Accordingly, there is a need for an easy and reliable way to refill windproof lighters.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention meets the above-described need by providing a disposable liquid fuel cell. The fuel cell is designed to fit within the interior chamber and to not interfere with the flint position apparatus, and the fuel cell has an opening that receives the wick. The wick extends into the interior chamber and has a component that is larger than the opening so that when the fuel cell is properly positioned within the interior chamber, the component secures the fuel cell in position and prevents accidental spillage of the lighter fuel.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2032695 (1936-03-01), Gimera et al.
patent: 2441242 (1948-05-01), Harkins
patent: 2517191 (1950-08-01), Flickinger et al.
patent: 2692492 (1954-10-01), Hepburn
patent: 2957328 (1960-10-01), Gellman
patent: 2557115 (1976-06-01), None
Hodgson & Russ LLP
Yeung James C.
Zippo Manufacturing Company
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