Fireworks safety lighter

Abstract

A fireworks safety lighter includes a housing, an energy source such as a battery to selectively power an ignition source in communication with an ignition area. The ignition source may include a motor which turns a spark wheel in contact with a flint or a filament heater. A fuse guide directs an inserted fuse of a firework into the ignition area. Sparks from the flint or heat from the filament heater ignite the fuse in the ignition area.

Description

The present invention relates generally to lighters and, in particular, to a fireworks lighter which is safe to use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Setting off fireworks accompanies many celebrations throughout the year, especially Independence Day and New Years. Firecrackers and other fireworks commonly include a fuse and a casing which houses the charge. The firework is set on the ground and the fuse is lit with a lighter, matches or a punk. Each of these methods of lighting the fuse is inherently dangerous. Sparks emitted from the fuse may bum the user. Lighters and matches present an open flame which may ignite other combustibles or bum the user, and the lighter and matches remain hot immediately after use. A punk, although safer than a lighter and matches, is always burning and may bum the user or inadvertently ignite other fireworks. Additionally, it is often difficult to locate the fuse in the dark.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A fireworks safety lighter is provided which includes a battery-powered ignition source in a handheld unit. The fireworks safety lighter is configured with a funnel-shaped fuse guide at the end of the lighter which guides the end of the fuse of a firework to the ignition source. An ignition area, chamber or point retains the initial sparks from the fuse and helps protect the user lighting the firework. The fuse guide and end cap is clear or translucent to permit the user to see into the ignition area to observe the lighting of the fuse and which emits light for the user to see the firework and fuse.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an embodiment of the fireworks safety lighter of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of FIG. 1 along line 5-5.

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view of FIG. 1 along line 6-6.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a fireworks safety lighter of the present invention is generally indicated by reference numeral 10. The fireworks safety lighter 10 includes a housing 12, a front end cap 14 and a rear end cap 16. Housing 12 may be assembled from two halves 18 and 20, which are snapped together and held with a fastener 22.

Front end cap 14 includes a fuse guide 24 and a built-in spare flint retainer 26. Front end cap 14 is releasably secured to the housing 12 with a twist lock. A momentary spring switch 28 may be pressed to operate an internal motor (discussed hereinbelow). A flint release 30 may be rotated to release and replace a flint (discussed hereinbelow).

Referring to FIGS. 4-6, the housing 12 accommodates four batteries 32 such as AA or AAA, which may be connected in series. Batteries 32 are secured within housing 12 by rear end cap 16 which is press-fit into the end of the housing 12. A conductive plate 34 is secured to the inside of the rear end cap 16 to provide electrical contact between adjacent batteries 32. Spring clips 36 and 38 are made of a conductive material such as copper and help hold the batteries 32 together and in contact with the conductive plate 34 when the rear end cap 16 is in place.

Spring clip 38 is electrically connected to lead 40 of a DC motor 42 mounted in housing 12 and lead 41 of lamp 43. Lead 44 of motor 42 and lead 45 of lamp 43 are electrically connected to a spring clip 46 of the contact switch 28. Spring clip 46 makes contact with contact plate 48 to complete the electrical circuit to activate motor 42 and illuminate lamp 43 when button 50 is pressed. Lamp 43 may be an incandescent lamp or an LED. Contact switch 28 may be arranged to provide a two position switch with the first position to illuminate the lamp 43, and the second position to power the lamp 43 and the motor 42.

A spark wheel coupler 52 and an abrading or spark wheel 60 are secured to the shaft 54 of motor 42. Spark wheel coupler 52 and spark wheel 60 extend through an aperture 56 in a spark shield and flint guide 58. Lamp 43 extends through an aperture 59 in the spark shield and flint guide 58.

A flint 62 fits within a groove 64 in the spark shield and flint guide 58 and is biased against the spark wheel 60 by a spring 66. The flint 62 may be released by rotating the flint release 30 which engages and lifts spring 66 away from the flint 62. Additional flints 68 may be stored within the front end cap 14 in the spare flint container 26.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, when the momentary switch 28 is operated by pressing button 50, spring clip 46 is forced into electrical contact with contact plate 48. The electrical circuit is closed with the series batteries 32 and the motor 42 in parallel with the lamp 43. As the motor shaft 54 turns the spark wheel 60 and coupler 52, sparks from the flint 62 are directed into the spark or ignition area 70 beside the aperture 56 in the spark shield and flint guide plate 58. The lamp 43 illuminates the end cap 14 to provide light for the user in addition to the sparks from the flint 62.

When a fuse 72 of a firework 74 is placed in the fuse guide 24 the stream of sparks from the flint 62 which are directed into the ignition area 70 ignites the fuse 72. The sparks are fully contained within the ignition area 70 to protect the user. When the button 50 is released, the circuit is opened, the motor 42 stops turning and the lamp 43 is turned off.

As the flint 62 is worn down the spring 66 continues to apply a bias to the flint 62 to maintain a constant pressure against the spark wheel 60 and provide a consistent spark for the life of the flint 62. Once the flint 62 is consumed, the front end cap 14 may be removed and the flint release 30 rotated to lift the spring 66 and release any remaining portion of flint 62. Another flint 68 may be inserted into the groove 64 in the spark shield and flint guide plate 58. The flint release 30 may then be released to re-apply the spring bias to the newly installed flint 68.

The housing 12 may be constructed of an injection molded plastic or other suitable material. Front end cap 14 may be constructed of a clear or translucent plastic material to allow the user to see when the fuse is lit and to allow light from the sparks and optionally the lamp 43 to escape and thus use the fireworks safety lighter 10 as a flashlight to provide lighting for the user to locate the fuse. The spark shield and flint guide plate 58 may be made of metal or other heat tolerant material such as a high temperature plastic.

Referring to FIG. 7, another embodiment of the present invention is generally indicated by reference number 100. Reference numerals used previously are reused to indicate elements that are the same as previously disclosed.

Fireworks safety lighter 100 includes a housing 12, a front end cap 102, and a rear end cap 16. Front end cap 102 includes a fuse guide aperture 104 and is releasably secured to housing 12 with a twist lock. When the momentary switch 28 is operated by pressing button 50, spring clip 46 is forced into electrical contact with contact plate 48. The electrical circuit is closed with batteries 24 and a filament heater 106 and optionally a lamp 43. Filament heater 106 may be separated from the end of the fuse guide 104 by a screen 108 to protect the filaments of the heater 106. A fuse 72 of a firework 74 may be inserted into the fuse guide 104 until it is in contact with the filament heater 106, with the screen 108, or extends through the filament heater to stop 110. The heat from filament heater 106 will ignite the fuse almost instantly. The end caps 102 may be made of a clear plastic material so that the user may instantly see when the fuse is ignited. Additionally, the clear end cap 102 allows light from the glow of the filament to provide illumination for the user to locate the firework and fuse in addition to the light from lamp 43.

Over time, debris may accumulate on the screen 108 from the by-products of ignition of the fuses. End cap 102 may be removed to access screen 108 for cleaning or replacement. The filament heater 106 may also be replaceable.

It is to be understood that while certain now preferred forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims.

Claims

1. A fireworks safety lighter comprising:

a housing;

an energy source mounted in said housing;

an ignition area within said housing;

an aperture extending from an outside surface of said housing to said ignition area;

an ignition source coupled to said energy source and in communication with said ignition area; and

a manually operable switch to selectively energize said ignition source whereby to ignite a firework fuse inserted into said aperture and extending to said ignition area.

2. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 1 wherein said energy source is a battery.

3. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 1 wherein said aperture is generally conical.

4. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 1 wherein said ignition source includes a motor having a shaft and mounted in said housing, an abrading wheel mounted on said shaft, and a flint having one end in communication with said abrading wheel, whereby operation of said manually operable switch energizes said motor to rotate said shaft and abrading wheel in communication with said flint, and whereby sparks are generated by said rotation and said communication and are directed to said ignition area.

5. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 4 wherein said flint is replaceable.

6. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 1 wherein said ignition source includes a filament heater.

7. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 6 further comprising a screen separating said filament heater from said ignition area.

8. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 7 wherein said screen is removable.

9. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 1 wherein said housing includes an end cap which covers said ignition area.

10. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 9 wherein said light from said ignition source escapes from said end cap to provide illumination.

11. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 1 further comprising a lamp directed to said outside surface of said housing and coupled to said energy source and manually operable switch, whereby said lamp is illuminated when said manually operable switch is selectively operated.

12. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 11 wherein said manually operable switch includes a first position to energize said lamp and a second position to energize said ignition source.

13. A fireworks safety lighter comprising:

a housing;

a motor having a shaft and mounted in said housing;

an abrading wheel mounted on said shaft;

a flint having one end in communication with said abrading wheel;

an area within said housing, said abrading wheel extending into said area;

an aperture extending from an outside surface of said housing to said area;

an energy source connected to said motor;

a manually operable switch to selectively energize said motor to rotate said abrading wheel in communication with said flint whereby sparks are generated by said rotation and said communication and are directed to said area to ignite a firework fuse inserted into said aperture.

14. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 13 wherein said energy source is a battery.

15. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 13 wherein said aperture is generally conical.

16. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 13 wherein said flint is replaceable.

17. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 13 wherein said housing includes an end cap which covers said area.

18. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 17 wherein said end cap permits light from said sparks to escape.

19. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 13 further comprising a lamp directed to said outside surface of said housing and coupled to said energy source and manually operable switch, whereby said lamp is illuminated when said manually operable switch is selectively operated.

20. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 19 wherein said manually operable switch includes a first position to energize said lamp and a second position to energize said motor.

21. A fireworks safety lighter comprising:

a housing;

an energy source mounted in said housing;

an ignition area within said housing;

an aperture extending from an outside surface of said housing to said ignition area;

a filament heater coupled to said energy source and in communication with said ignition area; and

a manually operable switch to selectively energize said filament heater whereby to ignite a firework fuse inserted into said aperture and extending to said ignition area.

22. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 21 wherein said energy source is a battery.

23. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 21 wherein said aperture is generally conical.

24. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 21 further comprising a screen separating said filament heater from said ignition area.

25. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 24 wherein said screen is removable.

26. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 21 wherein said housing includes an end cap which covers said ignition area.

27. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 26 wherein light from said filament escapes from said end cap to provide illumination.

28. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 21 further comprising a lamp directed to said outside surface of said housing and coupled to said energy source and manually operable switch, whereby said lamp is illuminated when said manually operable switch is selectively operated.

29. The fireworks safety lighter of claim 28 wherein said manually operable switch includes a first position to energize said lamp and a second position to energize said filament heater.