US3642421A

US3642421A - Gas-fueled lighter

Info

Publication number: US3642421A
Application number: US16090A
Authority: US
Inventors: Tsuneo Okabe
Original assignee: FUKUNAGA SEISAKUS YK
Current assignee: FUKUNAGA SEISAKUS YK; YUGEN-KAISHA FUKUNAGA SEISAKUSHO
Priority date: 1969-03-14
Filing date: 1970-03-04
Publication date: 1972-02-15
Anticipated expiration: 1989-02-15

Abstract

A gas-fueled lighter having ignition means simultaneously operatively correlated with fuel feed means.

Description

United States Patent Okabe Feb. 15, 1972 [54] GAS-FUELED LIGHTER [72] Inventor: Tsuneo Okabe, Tokyo, Japan [56] References Cited [73] Assignee: Yugen-Kaisha Fukunaga Selsakusho, UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,523,005 8/1970 Piffath m1 ..431/277 x [22] Filed: Mar.4, 1970 3,533,718 l0/l970 Shuto ..43l/254 [2n APPINO'Z l6090 Prir nary Examiner--Edward G. Favors Attorney-A. A. Orlinger [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 14, I969 Japan ..44/199i3 [57] ABSTRACT A gas-fueled lighter having ignition means simultaneously U.S. operatiyely con-elated fuel means [51] lnt.Cl ..F23q 2/16 [58] field of Search ..43l/254, 277 9Claims,7Drawing Figures IO l" 2 l, 0, a 4O 5 4| 5 I7 I I l .9 36 x l l III. I 35 l I I IF'" 2/37 I liiii;

GAS-FUELED LIGHTER This invention is that of a gas-fueled lighter for use, for example, with cigarettes, cigars or pipes, which produces its lighting flame by merely a single operation by the user and needs only a corresponding reverse single operation to turn off the flame; and all without any need to open or close a cover. The invention is particularly useful as pocket lighters although applicable also in counteror table-type lighters.

Use of the heretofore available prior art gas-fueled cigarette lighters has been considerably disadvantageous to current busy people. That is so because it requires at least two or more steps, namely, opening a cover, then motivating ejection of the gaseous fuel and its ignition, and thereafter reversal of those steps for closing the cover and extinguishing the flame. The earlier lighters have the further disadvantage that ejection of raw fuel before ignition is inevitable, thereby making use of such earlier lighters more costly than necessary.

The gas-fueled lighter of the invention eliminates the aforesaid disadvantages and has a primary feature of providing both the ejection of fuel gas and its ignition jointly in a single operation, as well as the turning out and closing of the lighter likewise by a single operation.

Thus, another feature of the invention is its handling easily by a single operation by one hand and its providing a saving in fuel by eliminating fuel loss before ignition.

These features of the lighter of the invention are provided by its having a lighting fuel conduit communicating at its inner end with a gas fuel source, passing through a gas-flow controller, and having at the other end a nozzle ending with an ignition tip, from which to provide gas into a spark-ignition zone adjacent a spark-exciting file which generates sparks when drawn across or striking a flint or other similar pyrophoric or spark-providing material, and a partially exposed operating handle or wheel for the user to operate to cause the file to strike the pyrophoric material and interconnecting means simultaneously activated by said handle to open the gas fuel flow through said conduit. Thereby the sparks generated by the movement of the spark file over the pyrophoric material directly ignite the gas fuel simultaneously emitted from the ignition tip of the fuel conduit to provide a flame projecting through an adjacent orifice in the lighter casing to its exterior.

Other features of the gas-fueled lighter of the invention are seen from the following detailed description of a merely illustrative, and not intended to .be restricting, embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is avertical cross section through the thickness of the lighter and running from side to side, with some parts in exposed full elevation;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section along the line 22 of FIG. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows and running through the lighting fuel conduit, the handle wheel and the means for operating the flle, and showing in full elevation the operating shaft bearing them;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view in section on a larger scale of slightly more than the upper two-thirds of the fuel gas conduit embracing the gas flow-controller and volume adjuster;

F Ig. 4 is a still larger scale fragmentary isometric view of the intermediate closure portion of the flow-controller in the fuel conduit;

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of the enclosing housing or casing of a particular embodiment of the lighter;

FIG. 6 is an isometric prospective view of the assembled lighter; and

FIG. 7 is an exploded detailed view of the lighter fuel tank, the support for the operating parts of the lighter, and the individual detailed operating parts in exploded relationship.

Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 show an outer housing or casing 1 of the lighter, which encloses the operating parts support frame 5 that rests on top of fuel tank with the steadying-stud 36 projecting from its top through the aperture 8 in the bottom (FIG. 7) of support 5;

Casing 1 has a flame-protrusion aperture 2 (FIGS. 2, 5 and 6) near one corner of its top, an angular slot 3 shortly below the top at the corner of one of its side walls and what herein is called its rear wall, and another larger angular opening 4 in the corner formed by that same sidewall and what herein is called the casings front wall.

FIGS. 1, 2 and 7 show in the outermost corner of the free end of the top of support frame 5 an aperture 6 to receive and steady the upper end of operating shaft 12 (as later described), and in the same corner of the free end of its bottom a bearing 7 having an aperture to receive the lower end of operating shaft 12. Frictionally fitted into an aperture (not seen) in the upper portion of sidewall 5a (of support 5) and communicating with its exterior is pipe 9 which carries the flint or pyrophoric metal 10 and spring 11 for maintaining the latter with its outer end extending slightly beyond theinner or free end of pipe 9.

Referring to FIG. 7 and seen in FIG. 2, the slender upper end of operating shaft 12 (above its threads) is inserted through the bottom of the central (axial) bore in operating handle 19 and the external threads intermediate the ends of shaft 12 are screwed (by engaging a screwdriver inthe slot in the bottom of shaft 12) friction-tightly into the internal threads intermediate the ends of operating handle wheel 19 (serrated or knurled over its peripheral surface), for it and shaft 12 to operate as a unit. I

Then double-angled connecting arm 17 is operatively connected to wheel 19 by having (i) external threads on bushing 18 screwed not quite completely into the internal threads in the enlarged bore at the upper end of wheel 19 to enable those. latter threads selectively to be turned clockwise or counter clockwise along those on bushing 18 and (ii) its narrowed upper end to extend through and be immovably secured'(e.g., as swaged) about an aperture in the lower horizontal branch of arm 17. diametered exposed Then spring 15 is slipped over the upper end of shaft 12 .to rest on the exposed top of bushing 18, and cylindrical engaging clutch 14 (with its toothed engaging face extending upwardly) is placed on top of spring 15 by being slipped over the square-cross-sectioned part of shaft 12 and thereby held fixed to rotate with it. Sparking file 13 (with a depending portion correspondingly toothed to be engagedby the teeth of clutch 14 when it is raised) then is slipped over the again cylindrical still smaller diametered upper end of shaft 12, the uppermost I small length of which is left exposed to permit its being rotatably held in aperture 6 in support 5.

Bushing 24 protrudes upwardly outwardly from a corner of the top of fuel tank 35 (FIGS. 2 and 7) to receive and support the bottom end of the fuel gas conduit, a gas-conveying, valving and nozzle assembly (FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 7,) of 'a' plurality of concentric telescoping intercommunicating coextensive cylindrical sections with each inner'one being selectively longitudinally axially movable in gastight contact. I

Of these, the outer section or fuel gas conduit housing'20 has its lower externally threaded anchoring end tightly screwed into the internal threads of bushing 24 and kept in gastight connection by engaging packing ring 23 between the opposed bottom shoulder of housing 20 and the internal shoulder of bushing 24. The lower gas-conveying channel 21 of housing 20 then communicates with the interior of fuel tank 35.

The upper end of gas channel 21 communicates coaxially with an upper larger diametered central bore in housing 20 through the snug fitting filter 22 at the bottom of that bore and then also with a correspondingly sized channel 27 in the lower end of gas-volume adjustment nipple 25. The latters lower end flts longitudinally slidably snugly into the lower part of that larger bore in housing 20 and is gas-tightly movable therein by the vertically spaced-apart

packing rings

33 and 34 in their respective annular grooves in the lower end of nipple 25.

External threads intermediate the ends of nipple 25, and spaced upwardly from

rings

33 and 34, screwed into corresponding internal threads in the upper end of housing 20 hold nipple 25 tightly but removably fixed in it. Externally knurled or serrated gas-volume-adjustment ring 26 with interma] annularly spaced ribs snugly engages corresponding annularly spacedlapart ribs encircling the upper end of adjustment nipple 25.

Gas-flow controller 28 (FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 7) is slipped through operating spring 39 and longitudinally axially shiftably fitted in the larger diameter bore of adjustment nipple 25 and in gastight engagement with it by packing ring 32 set in the groove intermediate the ends of flow control 28. The lower end of spring 39 rests on the upper end of adjustment nipple 25 and the lower part of outwardly extending annular brim 30 of flow controller 28 engages the upper end of that operating spring.

The lower end of flow controller 28 terminates in gas-flowcontrolling cavity 31a (intermediate the ends ofnipple 25) with a depending apron-sleeve or cup 31 into which is fitted fixedly tightly a firm slightly resilient closure38. Shifting of flow controller 28 fully downwardly places closure 38 in gastight contact with the upper or outlet end of gas channel 27 to close offgas flow.

To enable gas flow into fuel ejection channel 29 when flow controller 28 is raised away from contact with channel 27, the outer periphery of cup 31 holding closure 38 is spaced away annularly from the inner wall of nipple 25 and the resulting annular zone communicates with the lower end of gas ejection channel 29 through connecting short cross channel 29a.

Flow controller 28 is engaged for longitudinally axially up or down movement for selectively opening or closing the gas flow, by insertion of its outer end which protrudes above brim 30 into aperture 16 in the upper horizontally extending branch of connecting arm 17 for the underside of that branch to contact the upper side of brim 30.

Gas tank 35 carries the liquefied gas, but to enhance its evaporation, the tank first is packed with fibers of polystyrene foam or other packing inert to the liquefied gas and the latter is fed in also through the opening in the bottom of the tank on removal of its gastight closure (shown in phantom in FIG. 1).

To assemble the gas-fueled lighter of the invention, one end of pipe 9 first is frictionally tightly fitted into the aperture for it in wall a of support 5. The lower end of operating shaft 12, with the various parts to be carried by it assembled on it in manner earlier above described, then is inserted into the aperture in bearing 7. Then the end of shaft 12 protruding through the top of sparking file 13 is inserted in aperture 6 of support 5 by raising the loose end of its top high enough to permit that insertion and then releasing that end thereby to have shaft 12 held rotatably supported in aperture 6 and bearing 7.

The initially separately assembled gas-conveying, valving and nozzle assembly is mounted on fuel tank 35 by placing packing ring 23 over the lowermost externally threaded end of gas conduit housing 20 and screwing that threaded end into the internal threads of bushing 24.

Then support frame 5 is placed on top of gas tank 35 with connecting arm 17 positioned for its aperture 16 to be placed over the upper end of gas flow controller 28 and for steadyingstud 36 to pass through aperture 8 of support frame 5. The inner threads of the upper bore of operating wheel 19 then are screwed over the outer threads of bushing 18 to such a level that with the (gas feed operating) upper branch of arm 17 pressing down on brim 30 the gas valve is closed.

The upper end of support 5 is inserted into lighter casing 1 with gas-volume adjustment ring 26 and operating wheel 19 positioned to be on the side where there are slot 3 and angular opening 4 in the casing. Frame 5 and casing l are moved about with respect to one another so that a little displacement of frame 5 within the housing enables the outer end of adjustment ring 26 to extend into and protrude out of slot 3, and operating wheel 19 to enter and project through angular opening 4, in each case only sufficiently to enable each of wheel 19 andring 26 to be operated respectively separately from the outside ofcasing 1.

After the annular shoulder near the bottom of fuel tank 35 abuts the lower end of easing 1, the thus far assembled lighter is held with its operating wheels side down. A cylindrical piece enhancing filler fibers is opened by removing the filling stopper at the bottom, and after charging it with liquefied gas fuel then is gas-tightly closed and ready for use. On holding the lighter in the hand so as to be able to rotate operating handle 19 by the thumb and then rotating handle 19 a little to the right (as in FIG. 1), the gas ignites and the flame simultaneously projects out of aperture 2. Y

That occurs because such counterclockwise movement of operating wheel 19 causes the threads in its upper end to rotate about the nonrotatable bushing 18 which then must move upwardly along shaft 12 and thereby raise double-bend arm 17 causing its upper horizontal bend to release pressure on brim 30. That thus allows operating spring 30 to expand and raise gas flow controller 28 and with it closure 38 thereby opening the top of gas channel 27 and enabling gas ejection to occur through noule channel 29.

At the same time that bushing 18 raised arm 17, it simultaneously compressed spring 15 thereby raising clutch 14 for its teeth to intermesh with the corresponding teeth of sparking file 13 and thus rotated the latter against the pyrophoric element and produced a spark simultaneously with the ejection of and igniting the fuel to provide the flame; and all of that by the single small rotation of merely operating wheel 19 to the right.

When the flamehas served its purpose, then by corresponding slight rotation of wheel 9 by the thumb clockwise (or to the left), both of the just described simultaneously provoked operations by arm 17 are reversed, and it moves slightly downward and brings about closing of gas channel 27 by the lowering of the flow controller by the upper branch of doublebend arm 17. That thus simultaneously cuts off gas ejection thereby extinguishing the flame.

While the invention has been explained by detailed description of a specific embodiment of it, it is understood that various modifications, substitutions or omissions can be made in its difierent parts, within the scope of the appended claims which are intended to cover also equivalents of the described embodiment.

For example, fuel tank 35 can have one or more lugs 37 to enhance its fit into the lower end of easing 1. While gas volume adjustment nipple 25 operated by adjustment ring 26 enables V adjusting the size of the flame, if one desired to produce a gas-fueled lighter of the invention to satisfy a lower price market, one might do that by omitting the gas volume adjustment nipple to produce a lighter without gas flame height adjustment.

Such step would entail omitting

parts

25 and 26, reducing the diameter of the upper bore of fuel gas conduit housing 20 and replacing its upper internal threads by outside threads to hold a ring closure cap, centrally through which flow controller 28 could be longitudinally axially moved with intervention of a suitably placed packing ring, and possible omission of filter 22 or replacement of it at the lower end of bushing 24. In such a modification, the lower end of operating spring 39 then could rest on top of the closure cap on housing 20.

in any event, the originally described embodiment embodiment is advantageous in its easy operation by a single action and is less costly to use because it avoids raw fuel loss in that in it ignition occurs precisely with ejection of lighter gas.

What is claimed is:

1. A gas-fueled lighter comprising a source for lighting gas, communicating with said source a gas conduit terminating in an open gas nozzle tip, associated with said conduit a gas flowcontroller therefor adapted to be positioned selectively to close off or allow gas flow through said conduit and having a bore communicating therewith when said flow-controller is positioned to allow gas flow through said conduit, exterior to said conduit and connected with said gas flow-controller an activator for it operable from outside said conduit selectively to activate said controller to open or shut off gas flow through said conduit; a holder for pyrophoric material for providing sparks when excited thereto by a spark-exciting file, a sparkexciting file positioned when set in motion to excite said material when held in said holder ti emit sparks, both of said material holder and file being so located to provide sparks from said pyrophoric material into the adjacent zone wherein gas is to be emitted from said nozzle tip; means for motivating said file to cause spark emission from said pyrophoric material; interconnecting means interconnecting said file-motivating means and the gas flow-controller activator and adapted to cause said controller to open the gas flow simultaneously with the production of sparks by the operation of the said file against said pyrophoric material and selectively alternately to shut off said flow; and an operating handle wheel rotatable by a finger of the user and means in association with and operated by said handle wheel to cause said interconnecting means to promote the operation of the spark-file against said pyrophoric material to produce sparks simultaneously with opening of said gas line and ejection of fuel from its open tip; said handle wheel being adapted by reversing its direction of rotation to motivate said interconnecting means to operate said gas flow-controller to shut off the gas flow and extinguish the flame.

2. A lighter as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said gasflow conduit and gas-flow controller is cylindrical and said gas conduit comprises a plurality of concentric intercommunicating telescoping coextensive cylindrical sections selectively longitudinally axially movable back and forth in gastight contact, said gas-flow controller being an inner section with an exposed part of its length protruding beyond one end of the outer section and the other or bottom end of the latter communicates with the lighting gas source; said controller at its inner end terminating in a closure plug that closes off gas flow from said outer section when the controller is in its lowermost position and permits gas flow when reverse movement of said controller raises the plug, said controller terminating at its outer end as the gas nozzle tip; and one end of said interconnecting means being removably secured to said outer extending part of said controller thereby to enable moving the latter longitudinally axially inwardly.

3. A lighter as claimed in claim 2, wherein said outer section is the fuel gas conduit housing, and between said housing and the gas-flow controller is a gas-volume adjustment nipple as a third such intercommunicating telescoping concentric section having a gas flow channel communicating with a corresponding coaxial channel in each of said other two sections, and said closure plug at the end of said gas-flow controller is adapted selectively to close off or open gas flow from said channel in said adjustment nipple.

4. A lighter as claimed in claim 3, wherein the lower end of said adjustment nipple terminates intermediate the ends of said housing, and the latter terminates intermediate the end of said nipple, and the housing is internally threaded adjacent its outer end and said nipple is registry-wise correspondingly externally threaded intermediate its ends and is longitudinally axially adjustable in the extent of its protrusion into the interior of said housing by the extent to which the nipples external threads are screwed into said internal threads in said housing, and an adjustment screw is removably yet fixedly interlocked with the exterior of the exposed end of said nipple whereby to rotate the latter one way or the other to provide the necessary adjustment of protrusion of said nipple into said housing to give the desired height of flame from said nozzle which protrudes out of the upper end of said nipple.

5. A lighter as claimed in claim 2, wherein said activator, for selectively activating said flow-controller to open or shut off gas flow, comprises a brim affixed about said controller near its top, downwardly removed from said brim and about an exposed level of said controller an exposed shoulder on a part of said gas conduit remaining stationary during its use, a compressible resilient spring encircling the exposed part of said controller and being in extended state between the underside of said brim and the shoulder when said closure plug is in open gas flow position, and said interconnecting means having a branch arm as its part removably secured to said controller and at the upper side of its said brim; and said branch arm being in its raised position when said controller is in open gas flow position and being adapted to be moved by movement of said interconnecting means to a lowered position thereby to lower said controller and its brim and thus to compress said spring and depress the closure plug to close off gas flow.

6. A lighter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said source of lighting gas is a lighting fuel tank, and said handle wheel is removably yet fixedly secured to an operating shaft securedly mounted on top of said tank for rotation about a vertical axis, and said spark-exciting file is cylindrical and mounted on and adjacent the top of said shaft to be selectively rotated with it, and said interconnecting means has fixedly secured to its end remote from said gas flow-controller a bushing mounted on said shaft for only vertically selectively to and fro movement along it, and propelling means interactingly connected between this bushing and said handle wheel and shaft to enable selectively moving said bushing upwardly or downwardly along said shaft as said handle wheel is turned counterclockwise or clockwise respectively. Y

7. A lighter as claimed in claim 6, wherein intermediate said spark-exciting file and said bushing'there is selectively axially to and fro movably mounted on said shaft and also to 'be rotated with it a clutching means adapted when in raised position to engage said file to rotate with said shaft and when in lowered position to disengage from said file for it to stop rotating, and means associated with said bushing to raise clutching means to engage said file as the bushing is propelled sufficiently upward along said shaft.

8. A lighter as claimed in claim 7, wherein said source of lighting gas is a lighting fuel tank, and resting thereon is an operating parts support-frame comprising a vertical sidewall and a top and bottom joined to it, and said operating shaft is rotatably supported in a bearing aperture in each of said top and bottom and remote from said sidewall, and said holder for said pyrophoric material is an open-ended pipe extending from said sidewall at a level opposite said spark-exciting file to nearly said file to said material in the proximity of said file, and exteriorly of said material said pipe holds an extension spring for keeping said material sufficiently close to said file to enable the latter when rotated to contact said material and provoke emission of sparks from it.

9. A lighter as claimed in claim 8, wherein said gas-flow conduit is cylindrical and comprises three concentric intercommunicating telescoping coextensive cylindrical sections positioned adjacent the handle wheel and operating shaft assembly and selectively longitudinally axially movable in gastight contact with one another respectively, said gas-flow controller being the innermost section and terminating at its outer end as the gas nozzle tip, the outermost section being the fuel gas conduit housing and communicating directly with the interior of the lighting fuel tank in gastight connection through a bushing, and the intermediate section being a gas-volume adjustment nipple having a gas flow channel communicating with the corresponding coaxial gas flow channel in each of said other two sections; the lower end of said adjustment nipple being intermediate the ends of said housing; said gas-flow controller at its inner end terminating in a closure plug and being adapted selectively to close off or open gas flow from the upper end of said gas channel in the adjustment nipple and at its upper end protruding above the upper end of said nipple whose upper end in turn protrudes above the upper end of said conduit housing and has removably but fixedly attached to it a gas-volume adjustment ring to enable selectively causing up or down movement of said adjustment nipple; said controller having fixedly secured to it intermediate its nozzle tip and said adjustment ring a brim, between the underside of which and the top of said adjustment ring is held an operating spring which is compressed when gas-flow is being closed and is allowed to expand to raise said controller when gas-flow is to be opened; said interconnecting means having remote from said bushing a branch removably attached to said gas-flow controller on the upper side of its said brim; said fuel tank with said gas conduit assembly attached to it and said supportframe resting on it being inserted and enclosed in a casing having on its side adjacent said handle wheel an angular opening enabling said wheel to protrude to a limited extent to the exterior to let said wheel be rotated by the users thumb of the hand in which the lighter is held, and an angular slot in said casing to allow the gas volume adjustment wheel to protrude to a limited extent for it to be operated from the exterior; and

in the opposite side wall of said casing at the level of the at-,

UNITED STATES PATENT oTTTcE CER'llFlCATE OF CORREQllQN Patent NO. 3, 42, 121 Dated .February 15, 1972 lnventofls) Tauneo Okabe It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent. and that said Letters Patentare hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 2, line 33, delete "diametered exposed". Column 3, line 2, "spacedlapart" should read spaced apart Column 4, line 33, "9" should read l9 lines 64-65, delete "embodiment", second occurrence. Column 5, line 7, "ti" should read to Column 6, line 33, after "raise" insert said Signed and sealed this 24th day of October 1972 (SEAL) Atteat:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GO'I'ISCHAIK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents FORM po'wso (10459) uscoMM-Dc wave-P59 U.S GOVERNMENT PRNTING OFFICE 2 I969 0-365-333

Claims

1. A gas-fueled lighter comprising a source for lighting gas, communicating with said source a gas conduit terminating in an open gas nozzle tip, associated with said conduit a gas flowcontroller therefor adapted to be positioned selectively to close off or allow gas flow through said conduit and having a bore communicating therewith when said flow-controller is positioned to allow gas flow through said conduit, exterior to said conduit and connected with said gas flow-controller an activator for it operable from outside said conduit selectively to activate said controller to open or shut off gas flow through said conduit; a holder for pyrophoric material for providing sparks when excited thereto by a spark-exciting file, a spark-exciting file positioned when set in motion to excite said material when held in said holder ti emit sparks, both of said material holder and file being so located to provide sparks from said pyrophoric material into the adjacent zone wherein gas is to be emitted from said nozzle tip; means for motivating said file to cause spark emission from said pyrophoric material; interconnecting means interconnecting said file-motivating means and the gas flowcontroller activator and adapted to cause said controller to open the gas flow simultaneously with the production of sparks by the operation of the said file against said pyrophoric material and selectively alternately to shut off said flow; and an operating handle wheel rotatable by a finger of the user and means in association with and operated by said handle wheel to cause said interconnecting means to promote the operation of the spark-file against said pyrophoric material to produce sparks simultaneously with opening of said gas line and ejection of fuel from its open tip; said handle wheel being adapted by reversing its direction of rotation to motivate said interconnecting means to operate said gas flow-controller to shut off the gas flow and extinguish the flame.

2. A lighter as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said gas-flow conduit and gas-flow controller is cylindrical and said gas conduit comprises a plurality of concentric intercommunicating telescoping coextensive cylindrical sections selectively longitudinally axially movable back and forth in gastight contact, said gas-flow controller being an inner section with an exposed part of its length protruding beyond one end of the outer section and the other or bottom end of the latter communicates with the lighting gas source; said controller at its inner end terminating in a closure plug that closes off gas flow from said outer section when the controller is in its lowermost position and permits gas flow when reverse movement of said controller raises the plug, said controller terminating at its outer end as the gas nozzle tip; and one end of said interconnecting means being removably secured to said outer extending part of said controller thereby to enable moving the latter longitudinally axially inwardly.

4. A lighter as claimed in claim 3, wherein the lower end of said adjustment nipple terminates intermediate the ends of said housing, and the latter terminates intermediate the end of said nipple, and the housing is internally threaded adjacent its outer end and said nipple is registry-wise correspondingly externally threaded intermediate its ends and is longitudinally axially adjustable in the extent of its protrusion into the interior of said housing by the extent to which the nipple''s external threads are screwed into said internal threads in said housing, and an adjustment screw is removably yet fixedly interlocked with the exterior of the exposed end of said nipple whereby to rotate the latter one way or the other to provide the necessary adjustment of protrusion of said nipple into said housing to give the desired height of flame from said nozzle which protrudes out of the upper end of said nipple.

6. A lighter as claimed in claim 1, wherein said source of lighting gas is a lighting fuel tank, and said handle wheel is removably yet fixedly secured to an operating shaft securedly mounted on top of said tank for rotation about a vertical axis, and said spark-exciting file is cylindrical and mounted on and adjacent the top of said shaft to be selectively rotated with it, and said interconnecting means has fixedly secured to its end remote from said gas flow-controller a bushing mounted on said shaft for only vertically selectively to and fro movement along it, and propelling means interactingly connected between this bushing and said handle wheel and shaft to enable selectively moving said bushing upwardly or downwardly along said shaft as said handle wheel is turned counterclockwise or clockwise respectively.

7. A lighter as claimed in claim 6, wherein intermediate said spark-exciting file and said bushing there is selectively axially to and fro movably mounted on said shaft and also to be rotated with it a clutching means adapted when in raised position to engage said file to rotate with said shaft and when in lowered position to disengage from said file for it to stop rotating, and means associated with said bushing to raise clutching means to engage said file as the bushing is propelled sufficiently upward along said shaft.

9. A lighter as claimed in claim 8, wherein said gas-flow conduit is cylindrical and comprises three concentric intercommunicating telescoping coextensive cylindrical sections positioned adjacent the handle wheel and operating shaft assembly and selectively longitudinally axially movable in gastight contact with one another respectively, said gas-flow controller being the innermost section and terminating at its outer end as the gas nozzle tip, the outermost section being the fuel gas conduit housing and communicating directly with the interior of the lighting fuel tank in gastight connection through a bushing, and the intermediate section being a gas-volume adjustment nipple having a gas flow channel communicating with the corresponding coaxial gas flow channel in each of said other two sections; the lower end of said adjustment nipple being intermediate the ends of said housing; said gas-flow controller at its inner end terminating in a closure plug and being adapted selectively to close off or open gas flow from the upper end of said gas channel in the adjustment nipple and at its upper end protruding above the upper end of said nipple whose upper end in turn protrudes above the upper end of said conduit housing and has removably but fixedly attached to it a gas-volume adjustment ring to enable selectively causing up or down movement of said adjustment nipple; said controller having fixedly secured to it intermediate its nozzle tip and said adjustment ring a brim, between the underside of which and the top of said adjustment ring is held an operating spring which is compressed when gas-flow is being closed and is allowed to expand to raise said controller when gas-flow is to be opened; said interconnecting means having remote from said bushing a branch removably attached to said gas-flow controller on the upper side of its said brim; said fuel tank with said gas conduit assembly attached to it and said support-frame resting on it being inserted and enclosed in a casing having on its side adjacent said handle wheel an angular opening enabling said wheel to protrude to a limited extent to the exterior to let said wheel be rotated by the user''s thumb of the hand in which the lighter is held, and an angular slot in said casing to allow the gas volume adjustment wheel to protrude to a limited extent for it to be operated from the exterior; and in the opposite side wall of said casing at the level of the attached end of the pyrophoric material holding pipe an aperture to enable inserting said material and its accompanying spring into said pipe, and a removably securable closure to close said aperture.