Abstract
A lighter (1) has a container (16) of gas, a first gas circuit (26) intended to produce a first type of flame (2) and a second gas circuit (24) intended to produce a second type of flame (3). The lighter (1) further has a driver (6) associated with a mechanism (14, 15) for producing sparks, activation in rotation of said driver (6) generating sparks. The driver (6) is mounted in the lighter (1) to be mobile in translation between a nominal first position in which it holds the first circuit (26) open in order to allow the gas from the container (26) to pass through the first circuit (26) and thus to obtain the first type of flame (2). A second position is provided in which it blocks the first circuit (26) in order to allow the gas from the container (16) to pass through the second circuit (24) and thus to obtain the second type of flame (3).
Claims
1. Lighter comprising: a container of liquid fuel, a first gas circuit intended to produce a first type of flame and a second gas circuit intended to produce a second type of flame, said lighter further comprising a driver associated with a mechanism for producing sparks, activation in rotation of said driver generating sparks, wherein the driver, acting as a switch, is mounted in the lighter to be mobile in translation between a nominal first position in which it holds the first circuit open allowing the liquid fuel from the container to pass through said first circuit and thus to obtain the first type of flame and, after translation, a second position in which it blocks said first circuit switching to said second circuit, allowing said liquid fuel to pass only through the second circuit and thus to obtain the second type of flame.
2. Lighter according to claim 1, wherein the first circuit comprises a blocking member including at least part of the first circuit and mobile between a position opening and a position closing said first circuit, and in that the driver is in contact with said blocking member so that by default in the nominal first position the driver holds the blocking member in the opening position and so that movement in translation of said driver to its second position generates movement of the blocking member of the same amplitude to the closing position.
3. Lighter according to claim 2, wherein the blocking member is associated with a preloaded spring enabling said blocking member to be held by default in the opening position and consequently the driver to be held by default in its first position.
4. Lighter according to claim 3, wherein movement of the driver from its nominal first position to its second position generates movement of the blocking member to its closing position accompanied by compression of the spring.
5. Lighter according to claim 1, wherein the maximum travel of the driver (6) between the first position and the second position is between 0.5 mm and 3 mm inclusive.
6. Lighter according to claim 1, wherein the driver is an elongate cylindrical member and in that the movement in translation of said driver in the lighter is affected along at revolution axis.
7. Lighter according to claim 1, wherein the first type of flame is a yellow flame and the second type of flame is a flame other than said yellow flame.
8. Lighter according to claim 7, wherein the first circuit terminates at a first diffusion element at the level of which the yellow flame is produced and in that the second circuit terminates at a second diffusion element at the level of which the flame, other than said yellow flame, is produced, said two elements emerging from the same face of the lighter, said second element emerging at a height greater than that of said first element.
9. Lighter according to claim 8, wherein the first diffusion element has two distinct orifices able to produce a yellow flame in two continuous parts and in that one of the two parts of said yellow flame has an orientation enabling it to initiate the flame, other than said yellow flame.
10. Lighter according to claim 8, wherein the height difference between the first diffusion element and the second diffusion element is between 1 mm and 3 mm inclusive.
11. Lighter according to claim 1, wherein the container of liquid fuel is blocked by a closing element and in that the lighter includes a pivoting cap connected to said closing element by a relay member, opening the cap driving movement of the closing element via said relay member to release the gas to the first circuit or the second circuit.
12. Method of using a lighter according to claim 1, wherein said method comprises the following steps, a step of filling the container of the lighter with a liquid fuel, a step of opening the cap in order to release the gas to the first and second circuits of the lighter, a step of rotating the driver so as to produce sparks and to obtain the first type of flame, a step of movement of the driver in translation between the first position and the second position in order to block the first circuit and to activate the second circuit in order to obtain the second type of flame.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) A detailed description of a lighter according to a preferred embodiment of the invention is given hereinafter with reference to the following figures:
(2) FIGS. 1A and 1B are two perspective views of a lighter according to the invention when open, respectively in a yellow flame configuration and in a turbo flame configuration,
(3) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the lighter from FIGS. 1A and 1B in a closed configuration,
(4) FIG. 3 is a simplified side view of a lighter according to the invention in a closed configuration,
(5) FIG. 4 is a side view of the operating mechanism of a lighter according to the invention in a yellow flame open configuration,
(6) FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C are respectively a perspective view, a side view and an enlarged view of the second circuit of a lighter according to the invention in a blue flame open configuration,
(7) FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a zone of a lighter according to the invention including a yellow flame burner and a blue flame burner,
(8) FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the mechanism of a lighter according to the invention showing in particular the opening of the gas container,
(9) FIGS. 8A and 8B are two views in section of a first circuit able to produce a yellow flame and a second circuit able to produce a blue flame, respectively.
(10) It is to be noted that the circuits shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B are as they generally appear in a lighter, but are not entirely reproduced in this form in a lighter 1 according to the invention. Only their principles of operation are retained in a lighter according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(11) Referring to FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2, a lighter 1 according to the invention is able to produce alternately a classic yellow flame 2 and a blue flame 3 also known as a turbo flame or a torch flame. As a reminder and broadly speaking, the yellow flame or diffuse flame results from partial combustion of a fuel present in the lighter 1 with an oxidizer which is oxygen from the air, the air/gas mixture being formed after the gas has left the orifice of a burner. The blue flame is produced with a higher gas velocity and results from the total combustion of the fuel with the oxidizer, the air/gas mixture being formed before the gas exits the orifice of said burner.
(12) The lighter 1 comprises a body 4, a pivoting cap 5 and a rotary driver 6. The body 4 is of substantially parallelepiped shape and encloses the operating mechanism of the lighter 1, said body 4 having in particular a face 7 through which the yellow flame 2 or the blue flame 3 is emitted. The cap 5 comprises four lateral walls 8 delimiting a rectangle and an upper wall 9 covering said four lateral walls 8. The cap 5 is able to pivot from a closed position, like that shown in FIG. 2 for example, to an open position like those shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B for example, the amplitude of the angular rotation to pass from one position to the other being less than 90. The trainer 6 takes the form of a solid elongate cylindrical member delimited by an external surface having a plurality of parallel longitudinal ribs 10. The object of these ribs 10 is to increase the roughness of the external surface of the driver 6. The driver 6 is mounted in the body 4 of the lighter 1 at the level of an edge between two successive faces 11, 12 of said body 4 so that said driver 6 is flush with said two successive faces 11, 12. In other words, the driver 6 is completely included in the body 4 of the lighter 1 without adding to the dimensions of said body 4.
(13) Referring to FIG. 2, the driver 6 is placed in the body 4 and mounted around an axis 19 of said body 4 so that said driver 6 extends perpendicularly to the cap 5 when the latter is in a closed position on the lighter 1. This axis 19 is its revolution axis and is parallel to a longitudinal axis of the driver 6.
(14) Referring to FIG. 7, the principal function of the driver 6 is to enable the generation of sparks at the level of a burner 13 intended to produce the yellow flame. The driver 6 is connected to a thumbwheel 14 that is in contact with a flint 15. In this way, sudden rotation of the driver 6 by means of a brief stroke with the thumb leads to rotation of the thumbwheel 14 which, in contact with the flint 15, generates sparks by friction with said flint 15.
(15) Referring to FIG. 2, when the cap 5 is in a closed position on the lighter 1, it ideally extends the body 4 without introducing any difference of level therewith, improving the visual appearance of the lighter 1 and improving the feel for a user.
(16) Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the body 4 of the lighter 1 comprises a container 16 of liquid fuel, provided with an opening 18 through which said fuel is introduced from outside of lighter 1. The liquid fuel may for example be constituted of a mixture of butane gas, isobutane and propane. This container 16 comprises an elongate closing member 17 able to slide between a closing position that retains the liquid fuel in said container 16 and an opening position allowing said liquid fuel to be released to circuits of the lighter 1 able to produce the different flames. The sliding of this closing member 17 between the closing and opening positions is effected by means of the cap 5.
(17) In fact, referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and 7, the cap 5 is connected in an articulated manner to a first pivot member 20 able to pivot about a first axis 21, said first pivot member 20 being in contact with a second pivot member 22 fixed at a level of one end of the closing member 17. In this way, when the cap 5 is opened from its closing position shown in FIG. 2, it causes the two pivot members 20, 22 to pivot in accordance with a particular kinematic that is perfectly controlled, enabling the closing member 17 to slide between its closing position and its opening position. The liquid fuel can then circulate in the various flame production circuits of the lighter 1. The movement of the cap 5 is reversible, because return of said cap 5 into its closing position on the lighter 1 drives sliding in the opposite direction of the closing member 17, which finally blocks completely the fuel liquid container 16. In this way, the lighter 1 can function only when the cap 5 reaches its open position. In reality, by design, it is already able to function just before this open position is reached.
(18) Referring to FIG. 4, the lighter 1 includes a first tube 23 connecting the liquid fuel container 16 to an upstream zone of a second circuit 24 able to generate the blue flame 3 and a second tube 25 connecting said upstream zone of the second circuit 24 to a first circuit 26 able to generate the yellow flame, said two circuits 25, 26 being separate and parallel in the lighter 1. The inside diameter of the first circuit 26 is greater than the inside diameter of the second circuit 24 and so the liquid fuel at the exit from the first tube 23 will naturally be oriented toward the first circuit 26 intended to produce the yellow flame 2. As the two circuits 24, 26 do not have a constant diameter, it would be more rigorous to mention a mean inside diameter. The lighter 1 has an adjuster screw able to regulate the flow rate of liquid fuel arriving in the first tube 23.
(19) Referring to FIG. 8A, the first circuit 26 intended to provide the yellow flame 2 comprises from its upstream part to its downstream part an expansion valve 27, a gas channel 28 and the burner 13. The expansion valve 27 conventionally comprises an evaporator 29 and a mechanical obturator 30. The expansion valve 27 provided with the evaporator 29 has the function of changing the state of the fuel from liquid to gas by expansion. By altering the pressure ratio of the evaporator 29, it will be possible to regulate the expansion and therefore the flow rate of gas in the gaseous state, which is typically between 0.3 and 4 mg/s. The mechanical obturator 30, placed at the top of the expansion valve 27, controls the gas opening and allows the expansion process. The explosivity limits of the fuel (gaseous mixture of butane+isobutane+propane) in air (oxygen from the air being the oxidizer) depend on its composition, typically for butane between 1.8 and 8.4%.
(20) The input of energy (a few millijoules are needed) to bring about the ignition of the fuel +oxidizing mixture is effected:
(21) either with the aid of the steel thumbwheel 14 which rubs on the lighter flint 15 that is generally constituted of an alloy mixture iron+cerium+rare earths and generates a shower of sparks,
(22) or with the aid of a piezoelectric crystal which, as a result of an impact, generates a spark judiciously disposed between an electrode and the burner 13.
(23) On leaving the obturator, the gas is conducted to the burner 13 by the channel 28 or a pipe. The fuel is then mixed with the oxidizer (oxygen from the air) at the level of the burner 13.
(24) In the case of the yellow or diffuse flame, the combustion of the fuel with the oxidizer is partial.
(25) Referring to FIG. 8B, the second circuit 24 intended to provide the blue flame 3 comprises from its upstream part to its downstream part the expansion valve 27 conventionally including the evaporator 29 and the mechanical obturator 30, a gas channel 31 and a diffusion element 32 for diffusing the blue flame 3. The gas channel 31 comprises an injector 33 and a segment 34 shaped to produce a Venturi effect. The injector 33 is a small chamber surmounted by a metal plate, this metal plate being pierced by a hole 35 the diameter of which is between 70 m and 80 m inclusive, typically 75 m. The objective of the injector 33 is to accelerate the velocity at which the fuel escapes at the outlet of the 75 m diameter hole 35. The escape velocity of the fuel will depend on the adjustment of the gas flow rate in the circuit 24. The fuel previously accelerated on passing through the injector 33 will create a reduced pressure on passing through the segment 34, shaped to produce a Venturi effect. This reduced pressure enables aspiration of surrounding air through the holes 37 disposed at the perimeter of the segment 34 adapted to produce the Venturi effect. This brings about premixing between the fuel and the oxidizer.
(26) Referring to FIGS. 6 and 8B, the fuel+oxidizing mixture is conducted to the diffusion element 32, which is a burner having a central hole 38 and a ring of peripheral holes 39 disposed at the perimeter of the burner 32. The central hole 38 of the burner 32 makes it possible to obtain a blue flame in the form of a cone and the ring including the peripheral holes 39 makes it possible to obtain a pilot blue flame, which makes it possible to support the combustion in the cone.
(27) Referring to FIG. 8B, an igniter device comprising for example a piezoelectric crystal 40 associated with an electrode 41 can supply the spark that will make it possible to obtain the blue flame at the level of the diffusion element 32.
(28) In the case of the blue flame, the combustion of the fuel with the oxidizer is total.
(29) Referring to FIG. 6, the burner 13 making it possible to obtain the yellow flame 2 and the diffusion element 32 making it possible to obtain the blue flame 3 are on the same face 7 of the lighter 1. There is a height difference between the burner 13 and the diffusion element 32, said diffusion element 32 emerging at a greater height than the burner 13. This height difference is typically between 1 and 3 mm. To be more precise, the burner 13 has two distinct orifices adapted to constitute two gas outlets for forming a yellow flame 2 in two parts, one of the two parts of said yellow flame 2 having a particular orientation enabling it to initiate the turbo flame 3. In this way the yellow flame is divided into two separate but continuous parts, said parts being judiciously disposed to enable the reversibility of the yellow flame 2 and the turbo flame 3. The two orifices of the first diffusion element 13 are preferably placed at 75 to one another. The part of the yellow flame 2 intended to initiate the turbo flame 3 and vice versa is advantageously disposed at 45 to said turbo flame 3.
(30) Referring to FIGS. 3, 4, 5A and 5B, in a lighter 1 according to the invention the expansion valve 27 and the gas channel 28 of the first circuit 26 are produced in a blocking member 42 mounted to be mobile in translation in the body 4 of the lighter 1 by means of a preloaded spring 43. The driver 6 is not only mounted to rotate about its axis 19 in order to produce sparks but is also mounted to move in translation along said axis 19 in order to open or to close the first circuit 26. This blocking member 42 and the driver 6 are arranged in said body 4 so that the driver 6 is in contact with said blocking member 42 and so that by default, because of the preloaded spring 43, the blocking member 42 is in a position opening the first circuit 26 and pushes the driver 6 along its axis 19 into a first position. Consequently, movement in translation of the driver 6 from this first position drives movement in translation of the same amplitude of the blocking member 42 until the latter reaches the position closing the first circuit 26. The closing position of the blocking member 42 corresponds to a second position of the driver 6 along its axis 19. The movement in translation of the driver 6 to its second position requires some force, namely that necessary to compress the spring 43.
(31) The driver 6 of a lighter according to the invention therefore has the benefit of two degrees of freedom: one in rotation to produce sparks in order to obtain a flame and the other in translation to move the blocking member 42 between a position opening the first circuit 26 and a position closing the latter in order to switch between the two circuits 24, 26.
(32) A method of using a lighter 1 according to the invention comprises the following steps, assuming that the container 16 is already filled with a liquid fuel and that the cap 5 is in a closed position on the lighter 1:
(33) an opening step by pivoting of the cap 5 in order to release the fuel liquid to the first tube 23. Since the diameter of the first circuit 26 is greater than that of the second circuit 24, and since by default, because of the preloaded spring 43, the blocking member 42 is in a position opening said first circuit 26, the fuel liquid will pass through the second tube 25 before entering said first circuit 26. In other words, the liquid fuel coming from the container 16 passes entirely through the first circuit 26. This step is shown in FIGS. 4 and 7.
(34) A step of rotating the driver 6 about its axis 19, thanks to a rapid movement of the thumb on the rough surface of said driver 6, to obtain a diffuse yellow flame 2, produced at the level of the burner 13 placed at the outlet of the first circuit 26. This step is shown in FIGS. 1A and 4.
(35) A step of moving the driver 6 in translation along its axis 19 to pass from the first position to the second position, thanks to simply pushing it with the thumb, this step being reflected in movement in translation of the blocking member 42 to a position closing the first circuit 26, since said driver 6 is in contact with said blocking member 42. The movement of the blocking member 42 requires a small force, that necessary to compress the preloaded spring 43. The closing of the first circuit 26 obliges the fuel liquid coming from the first tube 23 to pass through the second circuit 24. In this way, the yellow flame 2 initially formed and in the process of being extinguished (because the first circuit 26 is closed) makes it possible, before being extinguished, to initiate combustion of the blue flame 3 coming from the second circuit 24. In a lighter 1 according to the invention the blue flame 3 is therefore formed from the yellow flame 2 and it is not necessary to produce specific sparks to produce the blue flame 3. This step is shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B.
(36) A step of maintaining the driver 6 in its new translated position for the time of using the blue flame 3.
(37) A step of the thumb releasing the driver 6, reflected by an automatic return of said driver 6 to the first position because of the spring 43 associated with the blocking member 42, which has a natural tendency to expand. This step makes it possible to return instantaneously to a yellow flame 2, thanks to the blue flame 3 that is not yet extinguished.
(38) The foregoing steps may be reproduced as many times as the user wishes, so long as there remains liquid fuel in the container 16 of the lighter 1.
(39) Only closing the cap 5 onto the lighter 1 interrupts the supply of liquid fuel to the first or second circuit and stop the formation of the flames 2, 3.
