Lighter, door assembly therefor, and method for providing a protected flame

Abstract

A lighter includes a casing and a door panel assembly with two abutting door panels being operative to move the door panels away from each other to expose a burner head by retracting outwardly and downwardly into an ignition cover.

1 . A lighter, comprising: 
 a casing;    a burner head extending from said casing;    a flame nozzle disposed in said burner head;    a manually operable ignition switch mounted on said casing;    an ignition cover extending from said casing and disposed around said burner head, said ignition cover defining an enclosure in which said burner head is disposed, and defining an opening generally in alignment with said flame nozzle; and    a door panel assembly operative to move from a first disposition closing the ignition cover opening to a second disposition exposing the ignition cover opening and said flame nozzle upon manual manipulation of said ignition switch by a user, and operative to move from the second disposition to the first disposition upon release of said ignition switch by the user.    
   
   
       2 . The lighter of  claim 1 , wherein said door panel assembly comprises opposed first and second doors movable away from each other from the first disposition to the second disposition exposing the ignition cover opening.  
   
   
       3 . The lighter of  claim 1 , comprising a second flame nozzle disposed in said burner head.  
   
   
       4 . The lighter of  claim 1 , wherein said ignition switch is slidably movable on said casing.  
   
   
       5 . The lighter of  claim 1 , wherein said ignition cover comprises an end wall and an endless side wall, said end wall defining the opening.  
   
   
       6 . The lighter of  claim 1 , wherein a linkage is disposed in said casing and interconnects said ignition switch and said door panel assembly, such that the linkage is adapted to activate a flame at said flame nozzle and to activate movement of said door panel assembly towards the door panel assembly second disposition.  
   
   
       7 . A lighter, comprising: 
 a casing for housing a flammable fuel reservoir, a fuel conduit extending from the fuel reservoir, a fuel valve for controlling flow of fuel from the fuel reservoir, and an ignition initiator;    a burner head extending from said casing;    a flame nozzle disposed in said burner head;    a manually operable ignition switch mounted on said casing;    an ignition cover extending from said casing and disposed around said burner head, said ignition cover defining an enclosure in which said burner head is disposed, and defining an opening generally in alignment with said flame nozzle;    a door panel assembly operative to close the opening in said ignition cover and further operative to expose the opening and thereby expose said flame nozzle;    said ignition switch being operative, upon the manual manipulation thereof by a user, to activate the flow of fuel to said flame nozzle and to activate the ignition initiator; and    said ignition switch being further operative upon the manipulation thereof by the user, to simultaneously activate movement of said door panel assembly to expose said flame nozzle and a flame supported by said flame nozzle.    
   
   
       8 . The lighter of  claim 7 , wherein said door panel assembly comprises opposed first and second doors movable away from each other from the closed disposition to the disposition exposing the ignition cover opening.  
   
   
       9 . The lighter of  claim 7 , comprising a second flame nozzle disposed in said burner head.  
   
   
       10 . The lighter of  claim 7 , wherein said ignition switch is slidably movable on said casing.  
   
   
       11 . The lighter of  claim 7 , wherein said ignition cover comprises an end wall and an endless side wall, said end wall defining the opening.  
   
   
       12 . The lighter of  claim 7 , wherein a linkage is disposed in said casing and interconnects said ignition switch and said door panel assembly, such that the linkage is adapted to activate a flame at said flame nozzle and to activate movement of said door panel assembly towards the disposition exposing the ignition cover opening.  
   
   
       13 . A lighter, comprising: 
 a casing;    a burner head extending from said casing;    a flame nozzle disposed in said burner head;    a manually operable ignition switch mounted on said casing;    an ignition cover extending from said casing and disposed around said burner head, said ignition cover defining an enclosure in which said burner head is disposed, and defining an opening generally in alignment with said flame nozzle; and    a door panel assembly comprising opposing retractable and abutting door panels;    wherein upon manual manipulation of said ignition switch by a user, the door panel assembly is operative to retract the door panels away from each other to expose the burner head and to ignite a flame in said burner head, and upon release of said ignition switch by a user, is operative to extinguish the flame and to return the door panels to an abutting position.    
   
   
       14 . The lighter of  claim 13 , wherein the door panels retract downwardly into the ignition cover.  
   
   
       15 . A door panel assembly for a lighter, the assembly comprising: 
 an ignition cover disposed at one end of the lighter and having an opening in an end wall thereof, side walls of said ignition cover surrounding a burner head portion of the lighter having a flame nozzle therein;    a door panel for disposition in the ignition cover opening and movable to a position removed from the opening and within said ignition cover;    an ignition switch mounted on the lighter and operative, when manipulated by a user, to initiate a flame which extends from the nozzle in the burner head in said ignition cover; and    a linkage assembly in the lighter operative, upon the manipulation by the user to initiate the flame, to substantially simultaneously move said door panel from the disposition in the ignition cover opening to the position removed from the opening and within said ignition cover.    
   
   
       16 . The door panel assembly of  claim 15 , wherein said ignition switch is slidably mounted on a wall of the lighter and is spring biased in a first direction, said ignition switch having a projection extending through a slot in the lighter side wall, and said linkage assembly comprising a pivotally mounted lever engageable by the projection and pivotally movable thereby, said door panel being mounted on a first leg of a pivotally mounted angle piece and said lever being adapted to move a second leg of said angle piece, such that said angle piece is caused to pivot and the first leg of the angle piece is caused to move said door panel to uncover the opening.  
   
   
       17 . The door panel assembly of  claim 14 , wherein said door panel comprises a first door panel and the panel assembly further comprises a second door panel opposed to said first door panel, and said second door panel is mounted on a first leg of a second pivotally mounted angle piece and said lever is adapted to move a second leg of said second angle piece, such that said second angle piece is caused to pivot and the first leg of the second angle piece is caused to move said second door panel in a direction away from said first door panel to uncover the opening.  
   
   
       18 . The door panel assembly of  claim 15 , wherein said pivotally mounted lever is engageable with the pivotally mounted angle pieces and operable to move the angle pieces and thereby the first and second door panels simultaneously.  
   
   
       19 . The door panel assembly of  claim 16 , wherein said ignition switch is spring biased in a first direction and the manipulation by the user to initiate a flame and to cause said first and second door panels to move away from each other to expose the flame is directed in a second direction, said spring bias being operative upon release of said ignition switch, to reverse the movements of said linkage assembly to cause said first and second door panels to move toward each other and close the opening in the ignition cover end wall.  
   
   
       20 . A method for providing a protected flame, the method comprising the steps of: 
 providing a lighter having a casing, a burner head extending from the casing, a flame nozzle disposed in the burner head, an ignition cover defining an enclosure in which the burner is disposed and defining an opening generally in alignment with the flame nozzle, a door panel assembly operative to move between a first disposition closing the opening and a second disposition exposing the opening, and an ignition switch mounted on the casing and operable to activate and deactivate a flame supported by the flame nozzle, and to initiate movement of the door panel assembly;    manually operating the ignition switch to activate a flame at the flame nozzle and, simultaneously, to cause the door panel assembly to move to the second disposition, such that the flame is exposed and accessible through the opening but is shielded by the ignition cover; and    releasing the ignition switch, to deactivate the flame, and simultaneously, to cause the door panel assembly to move to the first disposition, such that the opening defined by the ignition cover is closed.    
   
   
       21 . The method in accordance with  claim 20  wherein the ignition switch is slidably mounted on the casing and is spring biased in a first direction, and operating the ignition switch to activate a flame comprises the step of manually pushing the slidable switch in a second direction against the spring bias.  
   
   
       22 . The method in accordance with  claim 21  wherein the step of releasing the ignition switch to cause the door panel assembly to close the opening comprises the step of releasing the slidable switch to permit the spring bias to move the switch in the first direction.