Chip lighter actuation mechanism

• US 20070160942A1
• Filed: 12/28/2005
• Published: 07/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Peter P. Chen
• Original Assignee: Peter P. Chen
• Inventors: Chen, Peter
• Application Number:
  US11/322,000
• Publication Number:
  US 20070160942A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 431/153
• CPC Class Codes: F23Q 2/287 piezoelectric

Abstract

A lighter includes a lighter casing, a gas valve, an ignition nozzle, a piezoelectric unit, and an actuation mechanism which includes a chip actuator and an actuating arm. The lighter casing, which is shaped and sized to form a stack of chips, includes an outer chip wall, and an opposed guiding wall. The chip actuator is sized and shaped corresponding to the chip wall, and is slidably mounted on the guiding wall of the lighter casing between an idle position and an ignition position. The actuating arm is extended from the chip actuator into the lighter casing through the guiding slot, in such a manner that when the chip actuator is at the idle position, it is coaxially aligned with the guiding wall that the chip actuator is overlapped with the stack of chips, and at the ignition position, the chip actuator is slid to ignite the lighter.

Claims

1. A lighter, comprising:

a lighter casing, which is shaped and sized to form a stack of chips, comprising an outer chip wall and an opposed guiding wall, wherein said lighter casing has a fuel-storage cavity formed between said chip wall and said guiding wall for storing liquefied gas and a guiding slot formed on said guiding wall;

a gas valve upwardly extended from said fuel-storage cavity for releasing said gas therein when said gas valve is uplifted;

an ignition nozzle supported in said lighter casing to communicate with said gas valve;

a piezoelectric unit disposed in said lighter casing for generating piezoelectricity, wherein said piezoelectric unit has a movable part and a spark generating tip which is extended towards said ignition nozzle and is arranged when said piezoelectric unit is compressed, a spark is generated at said spark generating tip for igniting said emitted gas through said ignition nozzle; and

an actuation mechanism, which comprises;

a chip actuator, which is sized and shaped corresponding to said chip wall, slidably mounted on said guiding wall of said lighter casing between an idle position and an ignition position; and

an actuating arm extended from said chip actuator into said lighter casing through said guiding slot at a position above said movable part of said piezoelectric unit, wherein at said idle position, said chip actuator is coaxially aligned with said guiding wall that said chip actuator is overlapped with said stack of chips, and at said ignition position, said chip actuator is slid on said guiding wall to drive said actuating arm to depress said movable part of said piezoelectric unit and to simultaneously lift up said gas valve so as to ignite said lighter.

2. The lighter, as recited in claim 1, wherein said guiding slot is an elongated slot vertically formed on said guiding wall to guide clip actuator to move downwardly so as to ignite said lighter.

3. The lighter, as recited in claim 1, wherein said actuating arm comprises a pivot pusher pivotally supported in said lighter casing at a position on top of said movable part of said piezoelectric unit to control said gas valve and a sliding arm which is extended from said clip actuator to slidably engage with said guiding slot and is coupled with said pivot pusher such that when said sliding arm is driven to downwardly slide at said guiding slot by said clip actuator, said sliding arm pivotally drives said pivot pusher to depress said movable part of said piezoelectric unit and to simultaneously lift up said gas valve for ignition.

4. The lighter, as recited in claim 2, wherein said actuating arm comprises a pivot pusher pivotally supported in said lighter casing at a position on top of said movable part of said piezoelectric unit to control said gas valve and a sliding arm which is extended from said clip actuator to slidably engage with said guiding slot and is coupled with said pivot pusher such that when said sliding arm is driven to downwardly slide at said guiding slot by said clip actuator, said sliding arm pivotally drives said pivot pusher to depress said movable part of said piezoelectric unit and to simultaneously lift up said gas valve for ignition.

5. The lighter, as recited in claim 3, wherein said sliding arm, having a T-shape, has an elongated arm portion sliding along said guiding slot and an enlarged head portion extended from said arm portion to couple with said pivot pusher so as to ensure said sliding arm sliding along said guiding slot.

6. The lighter, as recited in claim 4, wherein said sliding arm, having a T-shape, has an elongated arm portion sliding along said guiding slot and an enlarged head portion extended from said arm portion to couple with said pivot pusher so as to ensure said sliding arm sliding along said guiding slot.

7. The lighter, as recited in claim 5, wherein said guiding slot has an upper elongated slot portion having a width slightly larger than a width of said arm portion of said sliding arm and a bottom enlarged slot portion having a width slightly larger a width of said head portion of said sliding arm, so as to allow said sliding arm slidably engaging with said guiding slot, wherein a length of said upper elongated slot portion of said guiding slot is longer than a depression distance of said movable part of said piezoelectric unit.

8. The lighter, as recited in claim 6, wherein said guiding slot has an upper elongated slot portion having a width slightly larger than a width of said arm portion of said sliding arm and a bottom enlarged slot portion having a width slightly larger a width of said head portion of said sliding arm, so as to allow said sliding arm slidably engaging with said guiding slot, wherein a length of said upper elongated slot portion of said guiding slot is longer than a depression distance of said movable part of said piezoelectric unit.

9. The lighter, as recited in claim 1, wherein said lighter casing further has a surrounding wall, having an ignition opening aligning with said ignition nozzle, integrally extended from said outer chip wall to said guiding wall to enclose said fuel storage cavity, wherein said surrounding wall has a plurality of chip grooves evenly formed thereon to form said stack of chips.

10. The lighter, as recited in claim 4, wherein said lighter casing further has a surrounding wall, having an ignition opening aligning with said ignition nozzle, integrally extended from said outer chip wall to said guiding wall to enclose said fuel storage cavity, wherein said surrounding wall has a plurality of chip grooves evenly formed thereon to form said stack of chips.

11. The lighter, as recited in claim 8, wherein said lighter casing further has a surrounding wall, having an ignition opening aligning with said ignition nozzle, integrally extended from said outer chip wall to said guiding wall to enclose said fuel storage cavity, wherein said surrounding wall has a plurality of chip grooves evenly formed thereon to form said stack of chips.

12. The lighter, as recited in claim 9, wherein a distance between each two chip grooves equals to a thickness of said chip actuator.

13. The lighter, as recited in claim 10, wherein a distance between each two chip grooves equals to a thickness of said chip actuator.

14. The lighter, as recited in claim 11, wherein a distance between each two chip grooves equals to a thickness of said chip actuator.

15. The lighter, as recited in claim 1, wherein said lighter body further has two sliding slots spacedly formed on said guiding wall at a position that said guiding slot is located between said sliding slots, wherein said chip actuator further comprises two sliding guiders which are spacedly extended therefrom and are slidably engaged with said two sliding slots so as to substantially guide said chip actuator sliding between said idle position and said ignition position.

16. The lighter, as recited in claim 8, wherein said lighter body further has two sliding slots spacedly formed on said guiding wall at a position that said guiding slot is located between said sliding slots, wherein said chip actuator further comprises two sliding guiders which are spacedly extended therefrom and are slidably engaged with said two sliding slots so as to substantially guide said chip actuator sliding between said idle position and said ignition position.

17. The lighter, as recited in claim 14, wherein said lighter body further has two sliding slots spacedly formed on said guiding wall at a position that said guiding slot is located between said sliding slots, wherein said chip actuator further comprises two sliding guiders which are spacedly extended therefrom and are slidably engaged with said two sliding slots so as to substantially guide said chip actuator sliding between said idle position and said ignition position.

18. The lighter, as recited in claim 1, wherein said chip actuator has an actuating surface having a predetermined roughness formed as an outer side thereof for allowing a user to frictionally engage with said actuating surface so as to slide said chip actuator moving from said idle position to said ignition position.

19. The lighter, as recited in claim 14, wherein said chip actuator has an actuating surface having a predetermined roughness formed as an outer side thereof for allowing a user to frictionally engage with said actuating surface so as to slide said chip actuator moving from said idle position to said ignition position.

20. The lighter, as recited in claim 17, wherein said chip actuator has an actuating surface having a predetermined roughness formed as an outer side thereof for allowing a user to frictionally engage with said actuating surface so as to slide said chip actuator moving from said idle position to said ignition position.