Combustion – Correlation of fuel or power supply with component movements...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-18
2002-10-22
Bennett, Henry (Department: 3743)
Combustion
Correlation of fuel or power supply with component movements...
C431S255000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06468070
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to generally to utility lighters and more specifically to utility lighters which contain a safety feature making the lighter child-resistant.
2. Background Art
Utility lighters are very useful and have become quite prevalent in modern times. Utility lighters of the type described herein generally contain a handle and an elongated lighting rod. The shape and operation of utility lighters allow for several advantages over normal means of producing a flame. Most significantly, due to the elongated nature of the lighting rod, utility lighters enable the operator to stand a safe distance away from the object to be ignited before actuating the lighter, thus avoiding a large number of potential accidents. In addition, utility lighters allow a flame to be produced in hard-to-reach or narrow places, where the human hand holding a match would not normally fit. Still, in the hands of children, or others who do not know how to safely and properly operate the lighter, such lighters are as dangerous as any other spark and/or flame-producing device. Therefore, a need has been realized to equip utility lighters with safety features that minimize accidental or improper use by inexperienced persons, especially young children.
Many inventions have been created to address this safety-related concern. Generally, these inventions have sought to introduce safety mechanisms that disable automatic operation of either the spark-generation and/or the fuel-release function of the lighter. For example, some utility lighters provide for a blocking mechanism, where the actuating trigger (
33
) (
FIGS. 6 and 7
) is blocked from moving the required distance for a spark to be generated. In these lighters, the locking mechanism is normally deactivated by sliding an “on/off” (
32
) switch to the “on” position, or by other means, so as to remove the impediment from the actuating trigger's operating path.
Although utility lighters of the type described above provide some level of safety, there is much room for improvement. Specifically, in these lighters, once the locking means (e.g., the on/off switch) is disabled, the lighter remains in the unlocked state until the locking mechanism is activated again. Therefore, if the operator disables the locking mechanism in order to use the lighter, and then forgets to re-lock the lighter, the safety feature of the lighter is rendered useless, until the locking mechanism is again activated.
Other inventions have attempted to address the safety-related issues by impeding, not the operation of the trigger, but that of the fuel-release mechanism. Of course, a utility lighter containing such a mechanism would inhibit flame generation in the locked position as no fuel would be released until the locking mechanism has been deactivated. However, in these types of lighters, nothing prevents a spark from being generated. As such, the safety goals are only partially met in these types of lighters since young children handling the lighter could still create fires by operating the lighter in close proximity to a source of fuel or near carpets, paper, or other flammable material.
In order to address the above problems, some inventions have introduced locking mechanisms that are activated automatically after each use of the lighter. As such, in these lighters, two states of operation exist: the locked state and the operable state. In the locked state, neither a spark nor a flame can be generated. In contrast, in the operable state, the lighter is no longer locked, so that a flame can be generated.
Therefore, there is a need for a device that not only achieves the stated safety goals in generating a flame, but also makes it difficult for inexperienced users and/or young children to sustain the flame. The invention described herein offers such a combination. The invention requires that a safety button, protruding generally from the top portion of the lighter housing shell, be depressed simultaneously with a trigger before a flame can be produced.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The primary object of this invention is to provide a safety mechanism for utility lighters so that children or inexperienced users will be less likely to inadvertently activate the lighter. Such a safety feature is especially important because young children often play with lighters as toys and because lighters have mechanically moveable parts that make them attractive to children as toys.
Another object of the present invention is to prevent the generation of not only a flame, but even a spark. As noted previously, in a lighter where only the fuel-release mechanism is inhibited in the locked state, young children playing with the lighter can still use the lighter to create sparks. Depending on the child's surroundings, this can lead to the start of accidental fires if the child is operating the lighter near paper products or any other source of flammable material.
A further object of the invention described herein is to provide an improved device for maximizing safety in utility lighters without compromising ease of use. To this end, the addition of a safety button creates a simple additional step which, for the intended user, leaves the operation of the utility lighter as simple as it has always been to operate a regular utility lighter with no safety feature, yet, creates an additional mental step which acts as a deterrent for non-intended users.
Another object of this invention is to reduce the risk of unintended fires, especially by young children, by making it impossible for the flame to continue to burn unless two (2) separate functions are performed simultaneously and operation of a trigger is continued without interruption.
A final object of the present invention is to meet all of its safety goals while, at the same time, it maximizes ease of manufacturing and minimizes costs associated with manufacturing of parts.
The invention meets its objectives by providing a cam mechanism that integrates several structural elements. In the preferred embodiment, the cam mechanism consists of a cam lever, a fuel-release lever, and a return spring. Most significantly from a safety standpoint, the cam mechanism contains a cam lever that acts to lock the trigger in the inoperative position. Typically, a young child will attempt to activate the lighter by depressing the trigger only. However, when this is done, the trigger will not move at all or significantly, so that neither a spark nor a flame will be generated. Since the trigger is locked in this position, repeated operation of the trigger by a child will yield the same unsuccessful results.
The only way to activate the lighter is to depress the safety button. When this is done, the cam lever is moved out of the path of the trigger, so that the trigger can now be depressed. Depression of the safety button also causes the fuel-release lever to move, so that, depending on the extent of pressure placed on the safety button, the fuel-release valve may be opened and fuel released. As such, a second significant safety-related feature of the present invention is that a small amount of pressure on the safety button will release the trigger lock. However, such pressure will not release sufficient fuel for a flame to be produced. That is, the most that can happen when the user presses the safety button slightly, and then depresses the trigger, is that a spark would be generated. To ignite the spark, the user would have to continue pressing the safety button further than is required to release the lock, so that sufficient fuel is released before the trigger is activated and a spark and flame are generated.
The above procedure ensures that even if a child were to be able to momentarily press the safety button to release the lock, he or she would still have trouble creating a flame, as doing so would require further pressure on the safety button. This is a simple, yet effective concept. Nevertheless, it is a concept that a young child operating the lighter must recognize and grasp before he or she can succe
Bennett Henry
Calico Brands, Inc.
Cocks Josiah C.
Trojan Law Offices
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