Combustion – Flame holder and fuel tank assembly
Patent
1982-07-23
1985-12-24
Green, Randall L.
Combustion
Flame holder and fuel tank assembly
F23D 1304
Patent
active
045603456
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a liquid gas-operated lighter, particularly pocket lighter, comprising a burner tip, a fuel tank and, arranged therebetween, a non-adjustable control device for the flame height which is provided with a fuel-permeable proportioning disk of microporous film. On its side facing the fuel tank, the proportioning disk is tightly braced in its border region by means of a bracing disk which is provided with a passage for the fuel and, on its side facing the burner tip, the proportioning disk rests against a structural component having a gas-permeable layer.
In pocket lighters, particularly in those having no adjustable flame regulator, manufacturing inconsistencies lead to a great problem with respect to keeping the flame height constant, particularly with respect to achieving a uniform burning of the flame. Moreover, due to the fact that the vapor pressure of the fuel depends upon the temperature, the amount of gas discharged and, therefore, the flame height change as the temperature changes. For example, assuming a normal flame with a height of 25 mm at 25.degree. C., a temperature change of about 10.degree. C. results in a change of the flame height of about 10 mm, about 1 milligram fuel per second being consumed at a flame height of 25 mm when using, for example, isobutane gas. When the temperature influences are compounded with the manufacturing inconsistencies, unexpectedly high flames may frequently occur, which represent a safety risk.
In lighters having a wick or an ascending pipe, and in lighters in which the fuel tank contains air whose pressure is higher than the vapor pressure of the liquid gas, a decrease of the liquid level with increasing consumption also leads to a change of the flame height. Experience has shown that in known lighters even the aging in the unused state leads to a change of the originally adjusted flame characteristic. This is particularly true when the lighters are subjected to changing or extreme ambient conditions.
Also, a flickering of the flames can be frequently observed. This is particularly true for pocket lighters which are subjected to very different temperatures, on the one hand, and which are frequently in a completely undefined carrying position immediately prior to being used.
In these devices, the relative constancy of the flame height is also primarily a safety problem because unexpectedly high flames may lead to burns or to the unintentional igniting of objects. Because of the importance of this problem, even non-refillable lighters, or so-called disposable lighters, practically without exception have adjustable flame regulators, which substantially increases their manufacturing costs. Nevertheless, the problem of exceeding the permissible maximum flame height is not satisfactorily solved in this manner. Therefore, several countries are considering introducing legal limitations for such products.
A vast majority of the conventional gas lighters are provided with porous bodies serving as flow-control elements for the fuel. These flow-control elements are simultaneously used for regulating the flame height. Inasmuch as they are bodies made of fibers, the amount of fuel passing therethrough can be regulated by an appropriate compression of the body; the stronger the body is compressed, the lower becomes the amount flowing through. If the flow-control bodies consist of rigid, porous materials, such as, sintered material, the amount flowing through is regulated by covering the surface of the portions of the body exposed to the fuel by elastically deformable elements. However, it is also known to conduct the fuel through a narrow bore of a rubber-elastic element toward the burner tip and to regulate the amount flowing through by radially deforming the rubber body by applying an axial pressure, thereby reducing the diameter of the small bore serving as passage.
In these cases, the compression is adjusted during the manufacture of the lighters in such a way that the flame has a permissible height. It is left to the us
REFERENCES:
patent: 3695819 (1972-10-01), Tricot
patent: 3761221 (1973-09-01), Stillions
patent: 3766946 (1973-10-01), Corarg
patent: 3854862 (1974-12-01), Webster
patent: 3895905 (1975-07-01), Nissen
patent: 3963413 (1976-06-01), Lockwood et al.
patent: 4101262 (1978-07-01), Neyret
patent: 4332549 (1982-06-01), Fuller
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