US2070232A - Pocket lighter - Google Patents

Description

L. LENFANT POCKET LIGHTER Feb. 9, 1937.

Fiied Feb. 1a, 193s u EE /NVEN TOD Lerlfanf BY M lf/L Patented Feb. '9, 1937 UNITED-.STATES PATENT ori-ICE POCKET LIGHTER Louis Lcnfant, Paris, France, assigner to Cartier, Societe Anonyme, Paris, France, a company oi' France Application February 18, 1933, Serial No. 857,374

In France May 14, 1932 Y 9Claims.

'The object of the present invention is to provide a lighter that fully solves that problem since it occupies but a little space While permitting an efficient and accurate adjustment of the ilint.

The essential feature of the lighter according to my invention lies in the fact that the spring that pushes the iiint against the spark wheel is not disposed horizontally as in known lighters but vertically, that is to say in a direction parallel to the head of the lighter. Said spring acts on the flint through a pivoting bell crank lever.

According to another important feature of my invention, a removable reservoir is iitted inside the casing of the lighter, said reservoir being intended to receive the supply of fuel, and being provided with one or several capillary orices which permits a -continuous flow of said fuel from said reservoir to the wick. According to an embodiment of my invention said capillary orifice may consist of a slight clearance provided in the thread of the screw that closes the opening through which the reservoir is lled. Said orifice might also consist of a groove.

A preferred embodiment of `my invention will be hereinafter described-with reference to the accompanying drawing, given merely by Way of example, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the lighter according to my invention on the line I-l of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of said lighter, the lid thereof being opened;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional viewof the lighter on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a part sectional view on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a sectional View of the fuel reservoir removed from the lighter;

Fig. 6 is a plan View of said reservoir thus removed from the lighter;

Figs. '7 and 8 are perspective views oi the lighter with its lid closed, and its' lid open respectively.

. The lighter shown in the accompanyi drawing comprises an elongated prismatic casing I,

closed at its upper part by a lid 2, hinged at 3 on said casing. On casing Ivand under the lid thereof, there is xed the horizontal plate 5 supporting the tube 6 that is intended to receive the wick. Said plate also supports a 5 vertical spindle 1 on which are mounted milled wheel 8 and spark wheel 9. Finally, supporting member I 0 including a horizontal guide Il for ilint I2 is also provided on said plate 5.

Inside said supporting member I dispose a 104 lever I3 pivoted about a pin Il fixed on said supporting member, the end I3 of said lever I3 bearing against flint I2. Said lever I3 is also provided with a lug I3h adapted to co-act with a sloping surface I5 oi a vertical rod I 6 guided 15 inside supporting member I0. Said rod I6 is provided with a shoulder I'I against which is applied the end of a spiral spring I8 which is compressed in a vertical tube I9 fixed to the casing of the lighter. Said spring is held in position by a screw 20 which is screwed into the lower part, of tube I9, and which permits by suitably screwing or unscrewing it, to modify the tension of I8.

It should be understood that under the action of said spring, rod I6 is pushed upwardly and tends through its inclined surface I5 to cause lever I3 to pivot in the direction of arrow F, in such manner as to apply end I3" of said lever against flint I2 and to produce a good contact 30 of said flint and spark wheel 9. The lever I3 thus constitutes a bell crank lever, the work arm I3 of which engages and bears against the int I2 and the power arm I3b of which is engaged and actuated by the inclined vcamming 35 surface I5 of the spring actuated rod IB. Lever I3 is so devised that the strength of spring I8, transmitted through the crank bell, may produce a substantially uniform pressure on the flint whatever the state of wear and tear of said ilint may be. 'I'he ratio of lever arm I3b to lever arm I3 and the shape of the levers and of sloping surface I5 are suitably calculated for this purpose. The adjustment of the compressing strength of spring I8 is made once and for all by means of screw 20. Adjacent to tube I3, I provide inside the casing a second tube 2l which receives a small leaf spring 22, the further end 23 of which bears against a small lever 24 integral with the lid. Said lspring 22 serves to open said lid, the displacement of which is limited by hinged stops 2a.

The lower part of casing i is open so as to permit introducing thereinto a small reservoir 4, intended to' contain the supply of fuel. Said reservoir l is stopped by screw 2'5, 'and I provide either a slight clearance space between the 'threads of said screw andi-those of the opening for said screw, or oneor several lateral grooves 2B, so as to create capillary ducts through which the fuel ows to a pad of cotton 21, which surrounds the lower end of the wick. 'Said reservoir is given a particular shape which can be seen in Fig. 3, so as to fit on tubes I9 and 20 containing springs I8 and 22 respectively, disposed inside the casing.

The fact that spring I8 that serves to apply 'the .'Hint against the spark wheel is disposed in thel casing of the lighter, clears the upper part of said lighter and makes it possible to utilize a hinged lid such as 2,*and not merely a cap not connected with the casing as in some known lighters. Said lid is of a special cutaway shape as shown in Figs. 'I and 8. It forms the three faces of a cube to wit faces a, b, c shown in solid lines in Fig. 8. Two of the faces of the cube that are missing from the lid, to wit faces d and e shown in dotted lines in Fig. 8 are provided on the casing of the lighter at d1 and e1. They form a kind of guard permitting no contact of the fingers with the spark wheel and the wick holder,.slot 88 however being provided in said faces for allowing the milled edge of wheel 8 to project from the casing.

The fact that face d of the cube is not present on the lid further creates in said lid a. notch which in the open position thereof makes it possible to easily reach guide l2 in order to replace the flint.

Finally. face a of the lid carries cap 6a intended to cover the wick carrying tube when said lid is closed in order to prevent the wick becoming clogged by being impregnated with combustible matter. The wick is ventilated whenever the lid is opened owing to the provision of notch c1 of the casing corresponding to face c of the lid.

While I have disclosed in the above description what I deem to be a preferred embodiment of my invention, it should be well understood that I do not wish to be limited thereto, as there might be changes made in the arrangement, disposition and form of the parts without departing from the principle of my invention as comprehended within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A pocket lighter of the type described cornprising in combination, a vertical casing, a horizontal plate at the top of said casing, a vertical spindle carried by said plate, a spark wheel mounted on said spindle. a milled operating wheel also mounted on said spindle and operatively connected with said spark wheel, a flint, guiding means carried by said plate for holding said flint in a horizontal ,position juxtaposed with said spark wheel, a spiral spring vertically mounted in said casing, a stop for the lower end of said spiral spring, a sliding rod vertically guided in said casing and resting upon the upper end of said spring, a sloping surface at the upper end of said rod, and a bell crank journalled in said casing above said plate having one arm in contact with said sloping surface and the other arm in contact with said flint so as to hold it rmly against said spark wheel.

2. A pocket lighter embodying a spark wheel mounted for rotation, means for rotating said wheel, a flint, a int guide for holding the :dint in juxtaposed relation to the spark wheel, a bell crank lever mounted with its work 'arm in cooperative relation to the flint, and a spring pressed slide having an inclined camming surface bearing against the power arm of said lever to force its work arm against the flint for the purpose of holding said flint in firm frictional contact with the spark wheel.

3. A pocket lighter embodying a spark wheell mounted for rotation, means for rotating said wheel, a lnt, a flint guide for holding the iiint in juxtaposed relation to the uspark wheel, a bell crank lever mounted with its work arm in cooperative relation to the flint, 'and a spring pressed slide having an inclined camming surface bearing against the power arm of said lever to force its work arm against the flint for the purpose of holding said iiint in firm frictional contact with the spark wheel, said inclined camming surface of the spring pressed slide being shaped to automatically compensate for wearing away of the ilint whereby a substantially uniform frictional relation exists between the spark wheel and the flint throughout the life of the latter.

4. A pocket lighter embodying a spark wheel mounted for rotation, means for rotating said wheel, a flint, a flint guide for holding the flint in a position to extend substantially radially from one side of the spark wheel, a bell crank lever positioned with its work arm bearing against the outer end of said flint, a plunger mounted for sliding movement in a direction parallel to the axis of the spark wheel and provided with an inclined camming surface bearing against th power arm of said bell crank lever, a coil spring arranged with its axis parallel to the axis of the spark wheel and bearing against the plunger to forcev the inclined surface of the latter against the power arm of the lever, and thereby force the work arm of the .lever against the flint to hold said flint in to the walls of the casing, said cover being foldable into closed position to form between the cover and the said end plate a closed compartment, and sparking means housed within said compartment.

6. A pocket lighter comprising a casing provided near one end with anend plate and having a cover hinged to said casing along one of the sides of said plate, the walls of said casing extending above said plate along the side thereof opposite to the hinge and one of the adjacent sides, the lateral sides of the cover being complementally cut away to correspond in shape to the walls of the casing,V

said cover being foldable into closed position to form between the cover and the said end plate a closed compartment, sparking means housed within said compartment, and elastic means tending to open the cover.

7. A pocket lighter which comprises in combination, a vertical casing, a plate at the top of said casing, a spark wheel mounted on said plate for rotation on an axis perpendicular 75 spring mounted in said casing with its axis'l in parallel relation to the height of said casing,

said spring extending lunder saidvplate, a stop for the lower end of said spring`carried by said casing, and means for operatively connecting the upper end of said spring with said flint so as to keep said int in firm frictional contact with said spark wheel.

8. A pocket lighter which comprises in combination, a vertical casing, a plate at the top of vsaid casing, a spark wheel mounted on said plate for rotation on an axis perpendicular thereto, a milled 'wheel coaxial with and operatively connected to said spark wheel for imparting rotation to the latter, a flint, a flint guide carried by said plate for holding said illnt to extend substantially radially from one side of said spark wheel and in substantially parallel relation with said plate, a spiral spring mounted in said casing under said plate in substantially vertical position, a stop for the lower end of said spring carried by said casing, and means for operatively connecting the upper ,end of said spring with said flint so as to keep said int in lrm functional contact with sai spark wheel. 9; A pocket lighter which comprises in combination, a vertical casing', a plate at the top of said casing, a spindle carried by said plate at right angles thereto, a spark wheel mounted on said spindle, a milled operating wheel also mounted on said spindle under said spark wheel and operatively connected to said spark wheel for imparting rotation thereto, a int, a int guide carried by said plate for holding said iint to extend substantially radially from one side of said spark wheel and in substantially parallel relation with said plate, a spiral spring mounted in said lcasing under said plate in substantially vertical position, a stop for the lower end of said spring carried bysaid casing, and means for operatively connecting the upper end of said spring with said int so as to keep said int in firm functional contact with said sparkl Wheel.

' LOUIS LENFANT.

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