Gas lighter equipped with a safety lock

• US 4,784,602 A
• Filed: 01/20/1988
• Issued: 11/15/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Tokai Corporation
• Original Assignee: Tokai Corporation
• Inventors: Nitta, Tomio
• Primary Examiner(s): Green, Randall L.
• Application Number:
  US07/146,157
• Time in Patent Office: 300 Days
• Field of Search: 251/95, 251/319, 251/102, 251/105, 251/106, 431/255, 431/277, 431/267, 431/131, 431/153, 431/253, 222/153, 222/402.11, 222/384
• US Class Current: 431/153
• CPC Class Codes: F23Q 2/164 Arrangements for preventing undesired ignition
• CPC Class Codes: F23Q 2/46 Friction wheels; Arrangement of friction wheels

Abstract

Disclosed is a gas lighter equipped with a safety lock, which is an L-shaped slidable stopper so slidably fitted in the re-entrancy of the thumb-push gas lever that its vertical pin may be above a hole of the lighter housing when its horizontal slide is pushed in the re-entrancy of the gas lever, thus permitting the descent of the gas lever for lighting, and that its vertical pin may be off from the hole of the surface of the lighter housing when its horizontal slide is drawn backward, thus preventing the descent of the gas lever for lighting. A gas lighter according to the persent invention assures in its locking condition that an accident which may be caused when a child plays with the device, such as a burn or an accidental fire is prevented.

Claims

1. A gas lighter comprising a housing having a gas well contained therein, a gas valve fixed to the inside of the housing and communicating with the gas well, a gas ejection nozzle connected to the gas valve and fixed to the top of the housing, a fire-striking wheel rotatably fixed to the top of the housing in the vicinity of the gas ejection nozzle, a thumb-operated gas lever movably fixed to the top of the housing in the vicinity of the fire-striking wheel and operatively connected to the gas valve, the thumb-operated gas lever being responsive to thumb-push for descending and opening the valve, thereby permitting the ejection of gas from the gas ejection nozzle, and a windshield fixed to the top of the housing and surrounding the gas ejection nozzle, characterized in that the gas lighter further comprises a stopper which is composed of a horizontal slide slidably connected to the gas lever and a vertical pin integrally connected to and extending downward from the horizontal slide, the top of the housing having a hole made in such a position that the vertical pin may be permitted to enter the hole when the slide is brought in the push-in working position, thus permitting the descent of the gas lever for lighting, the vertical pin being prevented from descending for lighting when the slide is brought in a position other than the push-in working position.

2. A gas lighter as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thumb-operated gas lever has a re-entrancy opening on the side of the gas lever opposite to the windshield, the re-entrancy opening having slots made on its opposing side walls and the slide having ridges on its opposite edges, and being slidably fitted in the re-entrancy opening of the gas lever with the ridges of the opposite edges inserted in the slots of the re-entrancy opening.

3. A gas lighter as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thumb-operated gas lever has a re-entrancy opening on the side of the gas lever opposite to the windshield, the re-entrancy opening having ridges on its opposing side walls and the horizontal slide has slots made on its opposite edges, said slide being fitted in the re-entrancy opening of the gas lever with the ridges of the opposing side walls of the re-entrancy opening inserted in the slots of the slide.