Electric heating – Heating devices – Resistive element: igniter type
Reexamination Certificate
2003-05-16
2004-09-21
Jeffery, John A. (Department: 3742)
Electric heating
Heating devices
Resistive element: igniter type
C219S220000, C219S263000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06794613
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic lighter assembly. More specifically, the present invention relates to an automatic lighter for use in connection with a lighter receptacle, the lighter receiving an item along at least one longitudinal axis.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional electric cigarette lighters have existed for many years. Many types of conventional lighters have been incorporated into vehicle dashboards. Many lighters are of the pop-out variety. Pop-out lighters are actuated by an operator depressing the lighter and contacting the vehicle's wiring harness. During use, electrical resistance heats a heating element and an operator removes the pop-out lighter to light a cigarette. This type of system may require custom pop-out elements different between vehicle models. Commonly, a user cannot easily switch a pop-out lighter between different vehicle models, since each vehicle model may employ different sized receptacles.
The pop-out type lighter system is also dangerous, as a user must handle the hot lighter in an unsecured manner. Through inadvertence or accident, hot pop-out lighters may be dropped on the floor of a car causing a fire or injury to a user. Pop-out lighters are also constructed to unexacting standards, allowing the pop-out mechanism to easily fail, leaving the heating element to become progressively hotter damaging the vehicle or the user. Pop-out designs also provide no way to vent excess heat buildup around a lit item. In sum, while pop-out lighters have been used frequently in recent years due to their low cost, they have many detriments.
Other conventional lighters are built into a vehicles dashboard at a factory or custom shop and cannot be interchanged between vehicles without rewiring the vehicle. Limited types of conventional removable lighters exist which require a generally L-shaped construction pivotably about a pivot point. These conventional lighters extend dangerously and inconveniently into a vehicle's user space risking easy breakage or damage to other items such as drink glasses, music players, and storage bins etc.
The non-linear and non-rigid conventional lighter designs cause stress concentrations about the pivot point or fixed junction in the L-shaped design. In sum, while L-shaped designs may still pivot about the axis of the receptacle they easily break, are unnecessarily expensive to manufacture and are more likely to mechanically or electrically fail during transport.
Conventional lighters also fail to provide convenient and transportable light sources for user convenience and safety. In some designs a light source is mounted on a dashboard in proximity to the lighter, in others a light is provided to illuminate the knob of a conventional lighter to make the knob visible at night or in the darkness to obviate the need for the driver to search for the lighter while driving.
Another difficulty presented with conventional designs is that little provision has been made to ease cleaning tasks and allow ash removal. In fixed conventional designs the unit had to be disassembled or vacuumed out. In removable designs, the ash was removed by shaking the device upside down.
Another difficulty with conventional designs is the lack of provision for efficient combustion. Efficient combustion requires access to an oxygen source and removal of smoke. Conventional designs do not allow easy air circulation and this may decrease the rate of ignition and generate incomplete combustion products dangerous to a user.
In summary, the problems of commercially available cigarette lighters include, but are not limited to:
1. Non-transferable between vehicles.
2. High manufacturing and replacement costs.
3. Low visibility and difficulty of use while operating a vehicle.
4. Limited smoke and ash escape limit unit lifespan and effectiveness.
5. Large size and interference with vehicle operation.
6. Fragile construction.
7. Safety risks through breakage and misuse.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF SELECTED EMBODIMENTS
An object of the present invention is to provide at least one invention that overcomes the detriments of conventional lighter assemblies discussed above.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a robust lighter assembly that is easily portable and transferable between vehicles.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lighter assembly that is easily accessed and used in sub-optimal visual conditions.
Another object of the present invention allows easy removal of ash for cleaning and exhaust of smoke during use.
The present invention relates to a lighter assembly for use in a receptacle. A rigid elongate body is frictionally retained in the receptacle and an engaging arm projects into an axial passage way. An item to be lit engages the engaging arm completing a switch and actuating a heating element to ignite the item. An insulator block supports the heating element and protects the heating element from damage during use. Vents allow smoke and ash to escape the lighter assembly and a lens assembly actuated by the engaging arm lights up for easy location
According to an embodiment of the present invention there is provided a lighter assembly, for use in conjunction with a lighter receptacle, comprising: a rigid elongate housing, the housing defining at least one central axis and being dimensioned to be engageably received within the receptacle, the housing having a first contact intermediate axial ends of the assembly for contacting one electrical pole of a power supply connectable to the assembly during a use, and a second contact at one axial end of the assembly for contacting another polarity of the power supply connected to the receptacle during the use, a lens assembly at the other axial end of the assembly, the lens assembly defining an axial passageway dimensioned to at least partially receive an item to be lit for passage through the other axial end towards the one axial end, a light source proximate the lens assembly, a heating means arranged to ignite a received end of the item when inserted through the axial passageway and moved to a predefined axial position relative to the housing, switch means responsive to movement of the item into the axial passageway, and the switch means electrically connecting the heating element and the light source to the first and second contacts only when the item is sufficiently inserted into the axial passageway, whereby the heating element and light source are energized when the item is inserted into the lighter assembly and positioned within the receptacle to ignite the received end and illuminate the lens assembly.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lighter assembly, wherein: the light source is at least one of a miniature incandescent element, a LED element, an LCD element, and an electro luminescent element.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lighter assembly, further comprising at least a sloped rim on the lens assembly, the sloped rim coaxial with the axial passageway, and the sloped rim being at least one of a curved surface and an angular surface, whereby the sloped rim guides the item to be lit into a substantially axial alignment with the axial passageway and minimizes damage to the item during the insertion.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lighter assembly, further comprising: at least a centering guide sleeve in the lens assembly, the guide sleeve being coaxial with the sloped rim, and a centering wall of the centering guide sleeve in smooth contact with a contact surface of the sloped rim, whereby both the sloped rim and the centering guide sleeve guide the item to be lit into the axial alignment with the axial passageway and prevents damage during the insertion.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a lighter assembly, further comprising: at least a first annular cavity defined in the lens assembly, the lens assembly b
Greenspan, Esq. Myron
Jeffery John A.
Lackenbach & Siegel LLP
Liteglow Industries, Inc
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