US3581155A - Electromagnetic make-and-break ignition device for a pocket lighter - Google Patents

Abstract

A make-and-break magneto especially for a pocket lighter having a substantially rectangular shape and comprising a permanent magnet forming at least a part of one side of the rectangle, magnetic conductors secured to and carrying the magnet, at least a part of one of the conductors forming a core which forms the opposite side of the rectangle and carries coil windings, and an armature pivotably connected by a bearing to the end of the magnet-carrying side; the upper end of the magnet itself or of one of the magnetic conductors forming an extension of the magnet being bent obliquely upwardly in the direction toward the axis of the core, and the upper ends of the core and of the extensions forming contact surfaces which are obliquely inclined to the axis of the core and extend within a common plane, and the armature having corresponding contact surfaces which are likewise inclined to said axis and extend within a common plane. The armature is pivotably mounted in such a position that, when the magnetic circuit is closed by said armature, the two planes of the associated contact surfaces coincide with each other and these contact surfaces engage fully with each other.

Description

United States Patent [72] Inventor Richard I-lalm 7061 Battmannsweiler Kreis, Schorndorfer Strasse 8, Esslingen Am Nekan, Germany 1211 Appl. No. 808,261 [22] Filed Mar. 18, 1969 [45] Patented May 25, 1971 [32] Priority Mar. 21, 1968 [33] Austria [31] 2,839

[54] ELECTROMAGNETIC MAKE-AND-BREAK IGNITION DEVICE FOR A POCKET LIGHTER 7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 317/81, 315/218, 317/96, 336/178, 431/255 [51] Int. Cl F23g 3/01 [50] Field of Search 317/81, 79, 93-2, 96-7;43l/13,256, 255; 336/105, 178; 123/149; 310/66, 69, 70, 152; 322/91; 315/218 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,424,950 l/l969 Halm... 317/93 3,444,435 5/1969 Halm 317/81 3,449,636 6/1969 Wosylus 317/81 3,458,765 7/1969 Schindler Primary Examiner-Velodymyr Y. Mayewsky AttorneyWatson, Cole, Grindle and Watson ABSTRACT: A make-and-break magneto especially for a pocket lighter having a substantially rectangular shape and comprising a'permanent magnet forming at least a part of one side of the rectangle, magnetic conductors secured to and carrying the magnet, at least a part of one of the conductors forming a core which forms the opposite side of the rectangle and carries coil windings, and an armature pivotably connected by a bearing to the end of the magnet-carryingside; the upper end of the magnet itself or of one of the magnetic conductors fonning an extension of the magnet being bent obliquely upwardly in the direction toward the axis of the core, and the upper ends of the core and of the extensions forming contact surfaces which are obliquely inclined to the axis of the core and extend within a common plane, and the armature having corresponding contact surfaces which are likewise inclined to said axis and extend within a common plane. The armature is pivotably mounted in such a position that, when the magnetic circuit is closed by said armature, the two planes of the associated contact surfaces coincide with each other and these contact surfaces engage fully with each other.

PATENTED was I9?! Fig. 7

5 Fig.4

ELECTROMAGNETIC MAKE-AND-BREAK IGNITION DEVICE FOR A POCKET LIGHTER The present invention relates to a make-and-break igniting magneto especially for a pocket lighter which is provided with a substantially rectangular magnetic circuit which may be opened and closed and comprises a permanent magnet and several magnetic conductors one of which carries at least one coil, and in which two adjacent magnetic conductors at the end of one side of the rectangle are divided into a fixed conductor and a pivotable conductor or armature which is provided near its opposite ends with contact surfaces which, when the magnetic circuit is closed, respectively engage with the fixed magnetic conductor at the mentioned side of the rectangle and with the other fixed magnetic conductor which carries I the coil windings.

The prior art discloses a make-and-break igniter magneto of the type as above described and also for a lighter, in which the movable magnetic conductor or armature is provided with contact surfaces which are disposed at an angle to each other and one of which, when the magnetic circuit is closed, engages upon the fixed conductor, which is located at the same side of the rectangle on which the armature is mounted, while the other contact surface engages upon the conductor which car ries the coils. This device has the disadvantage that, since unavoidable tolerances occur in the production of the magnetic conductors, the associated contact surfaces usually do not engage fully with each other so that the resulting airgaps cause an undesirable transfer resistance which considerably reduces the ignition power of the magneto. For attaining a make-andbreak igniting magneto of the smallest possible dimensions it is therefore necessary especially because of the different angularity of the contact surfaces to expend considerable time and effort so as to finish the associated contact surfaces so that they will engage so fully with each other that the airgaps between them will be as'small as possible. For reducing the transfer resistance, it has also already been proposed to increase the width of the end of the fixed coil-carrying magnetic conductor which is to engage with the movable armature so as to have a shape similar to a pole shoe. This increase in the width of the end of the coil-carrying conductor requires, however, not only the low-tension winding but also the high-tension winding of the coil to be wound separately on this conductor which requires a considerable length of time and does not permit the high-tension winding to be produced as a separate coil by a separate automatically operating winding machine.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a makeand-break igniting magneto of a simple construction which may be easily and accurately produced and has the highest possible igniting power by preventing transfer resistances in the magnetic circuit as much as possible.

According to the invention, this object is attained by designing the contact surfaces of the pivotable conductor or armature so as to be disposed within a common plane, and the operatively associated contact surfaces on the fixed magnetic conductor at one side of the rectangle and on the coil-carrying conductor or core to be likewise disposed within a common plane, and by pivotably mounting the armature so that, when the magnetic circuit is closed, the two planes of the contact surfaces coincide at least substantially with each other and thus form a single common plane.

When designing the magneto in this manner, it is very easy to finish the contact surfaces of the armature very accurately, since they lie within the same plane. The contact surfaces of the fixed conductor at one side of the rectangle and of the coil-carrying conductor or core at the opposite side may likewise be finished very easily and accurately when the parts of the magnetic circuit are assembled with the exception of the pivotable armature which is subsequently installed. Since the contact surfaces on the armature and those on the fixed magnetic conductors lie within common planes, there is no need to fit the associated surfaces so as to engage properly with each other. The difiicult and timewasting finishing and fitting operation as was previously required is therefore no longer required. Furthermore, the associated contact surfaces may be easily finished so as to engage fully and very accurately with each other and to avoid practically any airgap between them since such a gap now merely depends upon the surface quality of the associated contact surfaces which may be made ofa high order by grinding these surfaces.

According to another feature of the invention, the fixed magnetic conductor on the side of the rectangle on which the movable conductor or armature is pivotably mounted is preferably designed so that the planes which are determined by the contact surfaces extend at an oblique angle to the core axis of the coils, and so that the end of the fixed magnetic conductor at the side of the rectangle on which the armature is mounted also extends at an oblique angle to the core axis but in the opposite direction to the angle of the contact surfaces and thus at an angle toward the core axis. This permits the armature to be made of a simple shape and to be pivotably mounted in a very simple manner in a position which is sufficiently space from the adjacent contact surface without increasing the dimensions of the magneto.

In order to insure that the two planes which are formed by the associated contact surfaces coincide with each other when they fully engage with each other, the bearing bores in the armature and in the supporting element of the fixed parts of the magnet should be drilled so as to be coaxial. The same result may also be attained by providing the bearing of the armature with a sufficient amount of play. In either case, the associated contact surfaces will then fully engage with each other and undesirable airgaps between them will be avoided as much as possible. If the bearing for the armature is made so as to have a sufficient play, the associated contact surfaces will automatically adapt themselves so as to engage fully with each other when the magnetic circuit is closed.

lf the bearing part which is provided on one end of the pivotable armature which is spaced from its two contact surfaces is disposed between two bearing parts of a nonmagnetic supporting element of a U-shaped cross section which connects the permanent magnet to the adjacent fixed magnetic conducting element, and if this bearing part on the armature is also spaced from the free end of this fixed conducting element, the entire magneto may be made very compact and a conductive engagement between the fixed parts of the magneto and the armature will be rendered impossible when the armature is pivoted away from the contact surfaces on the fixed magnetic conductors. Thus, there will he no reduction in power of the magneto due to any conductive engagement of any parts other than the associated contact surfaces.

Another feature of the invention for attaining a make-andbreak magneto of a construction which may be easily produced and which avoids transfer resistances within the magnetic circuit as muchas possible consists in providing the inclined contact surface on the outwardly enlarged end of the coil-carrying magnetic conductor or core. This end is made of a radial size so as to permit a high-tension coil to be applied on the low tension coil. The diameter of this outer end of the core should be made only sightly smaller than the inner diameter of the high-tension coil. The high-tension coil may then be slipped in its axial direction over the enlarged end of the core and then over the low-tension coil on the core itself. This has the considerable advantage that the high-tension coil which has a very large number of windings may be produced very economically together with a series of other coils in an automatically operating winding machine in which the individual layers of windings of this coil may also be very accurately wound and properly insulated from each other.

All of the magnetic conductors of the magneto according to the invention including the pivotable armature and the coilcarrying core are preferably made of laminated sheet metal, the individual laminations of which are insulated from each other, and it is another feature of the invention to provide the inclined contact surface, on the end of the core by making the two opposite outer laminations of this core of a thicker material than the. inner laminations and of a greater length, and by bending the projecting ends at right angles to the axis of the core and also to the desired inclined plane in accordance and in alignment with that of the end of the inner laminations of the core so as to form the inclined contact surface. The diametrically outer edge surfaces of these flangelike ends are rounded so as to have a diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the high-tension coil.

The features and advantages of the present invention will become further apparent from the following detailed description thereof which is to be read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 shows a side view partly in section of an ignition device according to the invention for a pocket lighter;

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the upper part of FIG. I, but with the elements thereof shown in a different position;

FIG. 3 shows an end view of the ignition device as seen in the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows a top view of the ignition device according to FIG. 1, from which, however, the upper parts are omitted;

FIG. 5 shows a cross section which is taken along the line V-V of FIG. 4; while FIG. 6 shows a circuit diagram of the ignition device.

As illustrated in the drawings, the ignition device according to the invention comprises a permanent magnet 1 which is located between laminated magnetic conducting elements 2 and 3 which are secured to the magnet 1 by means of a connecting and supporting element 4 of a U-shaped cross section. The adjacent contact surfaces of magnet l and of the conducting elements 2 and 3 are ground in accordance with each other. The connecting element 4 is substantially L-shaped, as seen from the side according to FIG. 1, and consists of a nonmagnetic material which may be welded to the conducting elements 2 and 3. The U-shaped part of this element 4 embraces the permanent magnet l and the adjacent parts of the magnetic conducting elements 2 and 3 on three sides.

The conducting element 3 has an arm 5 forming a core upon which a low-tension coil 6 is wound upon which, in turn, a high-tension coil 7 is slipped in its axial direction. The free end of this conducting element 3 is enlarged in width by laterally projecting flanges 8 and 8' which have an outer diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of the low-tension coil 6 so as to permit the high-tension coil 7 to pass over these flanges when being slipped over the winding 6.

The core 5 on the conducting element 3 has a circular cross section and is composed like the remainder of this conducting element 3 and like the conducting element 2 of iron laminations which are insulated from each other. The remainder of the conducting element 3 and the conducting element 2 have a square or rectangular cross section. The two outer laminations of the core 5 consist of a thicker material than the inner laminations and project beyond the latter. These projecting ends are bent outwardly so as to form the flanges 8 and 8 the outer ends of which are rounded in accordance with the outer diameter of the low-tension coil 6.

The connecting element 4 is provided with extensions which project beyond the conducting element 2 and on which an armature 9 is pivotably mounted which likewise consists of sheet iron laminations which are held together by and are secured to a lever part 10 which adjacent to the connecting element 4 has a U-shaped cross section. The armature 9 has a width substantially equal to the outer diameter of the flanges 8 and 8'.

The pivotable armature 9 has a contact surface 11 which is adapted to engage upon a corresponding contact surface 11 on the free end of the core 5 including the outer surfaces of the flanges 8 and 8', and it has a further contact surface 12 which is adapted to engage upon a contact surface 12' on the upper side of the fixed conducting element 2. The two contact surfaces 11 and 12 of the armature 9 are disposed within a common plane and the contact surfaces 11' and 12 of core 5 which are associated with the contact surfaces 11 and 12 likewise lie within a common plane which extends at an acute angle to the axis of the core 5. The upper part of the conducting element 2 likewise extends at an acute angle to the axis of core 5, but in the opposite direction so that the axis of this part of the element 2 intersects at an acute angle with the contact surface 12 on this element.

The armature 9 is pivotably mounted in such a position on the projecting ends of the connecting element 4 that within this area the armature will in any position of its movement be spaced from the fixed conducting element 2 so that no magnetic shunt will occur in this area between the armature 9 and the conducting element 2. For attaining an accurate engagement of the contact surfaces 11 and 12 with the associated contact surfaces 11' and 12', the bearing hole of the armature 9 may be drilled while the contact surfaces 11 and 12 are in engagement with the associated contact surfaces 11 and 12', whereupon a bearing pin 13 is inserted into this hole or the armature may be mounted with such an amount of bearing play on the pin 13 that when the contact surfaces 11 and 12 move toward the associated contact surfaces 11' and 12', they will automatically adapt themselves to each other and will fully engage with each other.

The contact surfaces 11 and 12 then engage fully with the associated contact surfaces 11' and 12' so that the transfer resistance which would otherwise occur at these surfaces will be considerably reduced. Due to the particular shape of the flanges 8 and 8 which also serve for reducing the transfer resistance and permit the core 5 to be made ofa small cross-sectional size, a finished high-tension coil may be slipped in its axial direction over the low-tension coil which is wound directly upon the core. The high-tension winding may therefore by produced very economically in a separate automatic winding machine.

For actuating the armature 9, an angular control lever (not shown) is connected thereto, which may either be of a resilient construction or be actuated by a spring so that the armature 9 may be easily pulled off the contact surfaces 11' and 12' on the magnet core 5 and the conducting element 2.

Two ends of the coil windings 6 and 7 are connected to each other, as shown in FIG. 6, while the other two ends of these coils are connected to electrodes 14 and 15, respectively. The point of connection between the two windings 6 and 7 is connected by a switch 16 which is bridged by a condenser 17 to the connecting line between the other end of the winding 6 and the electrode 14. The connecting line between the winding 6 and the electrode 14 is connected to ground at 18. When the armature 9 is being pulled off the magnet core 5, its movement will also be transmitted to the switch 16 so as to actuate the same. The electric tension which is produced by the electromagnetic system is thereby released so that a spark will jump over between the electrodes 14 and 15. As soon as the actuating member for the armature 9 is released by the operator of the lighter, the armature will return to its initial position, as shown in FIG. 1. The arrangement of the actuating lever, the switch, and other elements which are necessary for the operation of the lighter are described and illustrated, for example, in the German utility patents GM l,887,l32 and 1,902,271.

Although not particularly illustrated in the drawings, the permanent magnet 1 may also be made of a shape other than rectangular by extending it so as to include the shape of the fixed conducting element 2 so that the latter forms an integral part of the magnet. The contact surface 12 of the pivotable armature 9 and the contact surface on the permanent magnet are then directly associated with each other and no fixed conducting element is interposed between the armature 9 and the permanent magnet. This would permit the ignition device to be made of smaller dimensions than that as previously described without any loss in field intensity which is dependent upon the volume of the magnet, and thus also without any loss in ignition power.

Although my invention has been illustrated and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, I wish to have it understood that it is in no way limited to the details of such embodiments but is capable of numerous modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus fully disclosed my invention, what I claim is: l. A make -and-break ignition magneto especially for pocket lighters comprising an essentially rectangular magnetic circuit ducting element, a movable magnetic circuit element pivotally connected with the other of said conducting elements, said other conducting element and said core each having a contacting surface, said movable magnetic circuit element having a pair of contacting surfaces each complementary with each of said other conducting elements and said core contact surfaces, all of said contacting surfaces lying in a common plane obliquely to the axis of said core, means for opening and closing said magnetic circuit to effect a change in the magnetic flux conducted in the magnetic circuit and thereby to induce an electrical current in said electrical coil, a pair of electrodes forming a spark gap, an electrical circuit electrically connecting the spark electrodes to the electrical coil whereby a spark is generated across said spark electrodes when the magnetic circuit is opened after said complementary contacting surfaces have been fully in contact with one another.

2. A makeand-break igniting magneto as defined in claim 1, further comprising a connecting and supporting element for connecting said magnet to said magnetic conducting elements,

said movable magnetic circuit element being connected with said other conducting element by a bearing means which comprises bearing bores in one end of said movable magnetic circuit, element spaced from its contact surfaces and bearing bores in one end of said supporting element, said bearing bores being coaxial when said complementary contact surfaces are fully in engagement with one another, and a bearing pin extending through said bores.

3. A make-and-break magneto as defined in claim 1, further comprising a connecting and supporting element for connecting said magnet to said magnetic conducting elements, said movable magnetic circuit element being connected with said other conducting element by a bearing means which comprises the walls of bores in one end of said movable magnetic circuit element spaced from its contact surfaces and the walls of bores in one end of said supporting element, said bearing a bearing pin extending through said bores but having such an amount of bearing pin extending through said bores but having such an amount of bearing play relative to at least one of said bore walls that, when said movable magnetic circuit element is pivoted so as to close the magnetic circuit, said contact surfaces of said movable magnetic circuit element adapt themselves automatically to the associated contact surfaces of said other conducting element and of said core so as to engage fully thereon.

4. A make-and-break magneto as defined in claim 2, in

. which said supporting element consists of a nonmagnetic bores being substantially coaxial when said complementary contact surfaces are in full engagement with one another, and

material and has a U-shaped cross section having two arms embracing and connected to said permanent magnet and at least parts of said conducting elements, the free ends of said arms containing said bearing bores spaced from said contact surfaces, said one end of said movable magnetic circuit element being disposed between said free ends of said arms and spaced -at all times from said other conducting element, said bore in said one end being coaxial with said bores in said ends of said arms, said bearing pin extending through all of said bores.

5. A make-and-break magneto as defined in claim 1, in which said coil means comprises a low-tension coil, said free end of said core projecting entirely through said low-tension coil and being enlarged and forming said core contact surface and having an outer width not exceeding the outer diameter of said low-tension coil, and high-tension coil slipped in its axial direction over said core contact surface and over said low-tension coil. I

6. A make-and-break magneto as defined in claim 5, in

which each of said magnetic conducting elements including said core and said movable magnetic conducting element consists of a plurality of sheet iron laminations insulated from one another, the opposite outer laminations of said core being thicker than the inner laminations thereof and being bent outwardly at right angles to the axis of said core so as .to form a pair of flanges, the outer surfaced of said flanges being disposed within the same planeas the end of said core inner laminations and together forming one of said core contact surface.

7. A make-and-break magneto as defined in claim 1, in which said other conducting element forms an integral part of said permanent magnet.

Claims (7)

1. A make-and-break ignition magneto especially for pocket lighters comprising an essentially rectangular magnetic circuit comprising a permanent magnet and two magnetic conducting elements respectively secured to opposite ends of said permanent magnet, electrical coil means carried by one of said conducting elements at its free end, a core on said one conducting element, a movable magnetic circuit element pivotally connected with the other of said conducting elements, said other conducting element and said core each having a contacting surface, said movable magnetic circuit element having a pair of contacting surfaces each complementary with each of said other conducting elements and said core contact surfaces, all of said contacting surfaces lying in a common plane obliquely to the axis of said core, means for opening and closing said magnetic circuit to effect a change in the magnetic flux conducted in the magnetic circuit aNd thereby to induce an electrical current in said electrical coil, a pair of electrodes forming a spark gap, an electrical circuit electrically connecting the spark electrodes to the electrical coil whereby a spark is generated across said spark electrodes when the magnetic circuit is opened after said complementary contacting surfaces have been fully in contact with one another.

2. A make-and-break igniting magneto as defined in claim 1, further comprising a connecting and supporting element for connecting said magnet to said magnetic conducting elements, said movable magnetic circuit element being connected with said other conducting element by a bearing means which comprises bearing bores in one end of said movable magnetic circuit element spaced from its contact surfaces and bearing bores in one end of said supporting element, said bearing bores being coaxial when said complementary contact surfaces are fully in engagement with one another, and a bearing pin extending through said bores.

3. A make-and-break magneto as defined in claim 1, further comprising a connecting and supporting element for connecting said magnet to said magnetic conducting elements, said movable magnetic circuit element being connected with said other conducting element by a bearing means which comprises the walls of bores in one end of said movable magnetic circuit element spaced from its contact surfaces and the walls of bores in one end of said supporting element, said bearing bores being substantially coaxial when said complementary contact surfaces are in full engagement with one another, and a bearing pin extending through said bores but having such an amount of bearing pin extending through said bores but having such an amount of bearing play relative to at least one of said bore walls that, when said movable magnetic circuit element is pivoted so as to close the magnetic circuit, said contact surfaces of said movable magnetic circuit element adapt themselves automatically to the associated contact surfaces of said other conducting element and of said core so as to engage fully thereon.

4. A make-and-break magneto as defined in claim 2, in which said supporting element consists of a nonmagnetic material and has a U-shaped cross section having two arms embracing and connected to said permanent magnet and at least parts of said conducting elements, the free ends of said arms containing said bearing bores spaced from said contact surfaces, said one end of said movable magnetic circuit element being disposed between said free ends of said arms and spaced at all times from said other conducting element, said bore in said one end being coaxial with said bores in said ends of said arms, said bearing pin extending through all of said bores.

5. A make-and-break magneto as defined in claim 1, in which said coil means comprises a low-tension coil, said free end of said core projecting entirely through said low-tension coil and being enlarged and forming said core contact surface and having an outer width not exceeding the outer diameter of said low-tension coil, and high-tension coil slipped in its axial direction over said core contact surface and over said low-tension coil.

6. A make-and-break magneto as defined in claim 5, in which each of said magnetic conducting elements including said core and said movable magnetic conducting element consists of a plurality of sheet iron laminations insulated from one another, the opposite outer laminations of said core being thicker than the inner laminations thereof and being bent outwardly at right angles to the axis of said core so as to form a pair of flanges, the outer surfaced of said flanges being disposed within the same plane as the end of said core inner laminations and together forming one of said core contact surface.

7. A make-and-break magneto as defined in claim 1, in which said other conducting element forms an integral part of said permanent magnet.

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