WO1997036136A1

WO1997036136A1 - Gas lighter equipped with disposable razor

Info

Publication number: WO1997036136A1
Application number: PCT/KR1997/000045
Authority: WO
Inventors: Doo Seok Kee
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1996-03-25
Filing date: 1997-03-24
Publication date: 1997-10-02
Anticipated expiration: 1998-09-25
Also published as: AU2179797A; KR970055439U

Abstract

This invention relates to a gas lighter which is so devised as a conventional disposable razor blade assembly (17) can be kept in one side of the body thereof and an outer part of the lighter can be used on the one hand as a cover to safely keep the razor blade assembly in the one side of the lighter body at ordinary times and on the other hand as a handle of the razor during shaving. The gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor blade assembly comprises a gas lighter body (10) having an L-shaped recess (5) to keep a conventional disposable razor blade assembly (17), a conventional disposable razor blade assembly of rail-type or hook-type, a housing handle (30) being used as a cover to keep the razor blade assembly in said L-shaped recess of the lighter body at ordinary times and being used as a handle of the razor during shaving and a connector (50) comprising a base panel (51) to be linked with the back panel of the razor blade assembly, a connecting panel (52) attached on the middle of said base panel and to be linked with the groove (33) formed inside of the upper opening (32) of the housing handle.

Description

GAS LIGHTER EQUIPPED WITH DISPOSABLE RAZOR

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application claims priority from the Korean Utility Model

Application No. 96-5821, which was invented by the present inventor and filed on March 25, 1996.

This invention relates to a gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor blade assembly which can be kept in the body of the gas lighter and, particularly, to a gas lighter an outer part of which can be used either as a cover to safely keep the razor blade assembly in the body of the gas lighter at ordinary times or a handle of razor during shaving and, more particularly, to an improvement of the gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor blade assembly which was invented by the present inventor and disclosed in the Korean Utility Model Publication No. 94-7577 (US corresponding patent No. 5,364,263).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor blade assembly which has been disclosed in the Korean Utility Model Publication No. 94-7577 is so devised as to get rid of unhandiness when daily carrying the conventional T-shaped razor whose handle is fixedly attached or removably fixed to the disposable razor blade assembly around on one's person. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor blade assembly according to the Korean UtiUty Model Publication No. 94-7577 comprises:

(a) a gas lighter body 10 to keep gas comprising an elongated casing 4 having an L-shaped recess 5 formed along with its longitudinal direction, an igniting means 1 combined with one end of said elongated casing, a flame controller, and a metal ring 2 to encompass said igniting means and flame controller;

(b) a razor blade assembly 17 comprising a back panel 11, a front panel 15 and one or two blades 13 inserted between said back and front panel, said front panel having semisphere-shaped or tapered fitting holes 18 on both the left and right sides of its surface, said back panel having a reinforcing cross beam 20 which has a couple of gripping protrusions 19; and (c) a housing handle 30 which has a longitudinal opening 23 on one side, one or more lips 22 so formed on the brim of said longitudinal opening as to fit in said L-shaped recess 5, a connecting protrusion 26 formed on the upper end of the brim of said longitudinal opening and being matched with the groove 19A defined by said gripping protrusions 19, and a couple of holding projections 24 so formed inside of said brim as to fit in said fitting holes 18, said housing handle being used at ordinary times as a cover to safely keep the razor blade assembly in the space defined by said L-shaped recess of the gas lighter body and also used, if necessary, as a handle of a razor during shaving. Further, US patent No. 5,364,263 which corresponds to the above-mentioned Korean Utility Model Publication No. 94-7577 has disclosed, besides the embodiment disclosed in the Korean Utility Model Publication No. 94-7577, as shown in Figs. 3(a) and 3(b), an Ω -shaped hook 35 or a pair of parallel pins 36 as a connecting means to connect the disposable razor blade assembly 17 with the housing handle 30 when the housing handle is to be used as a handle of the razor.

However, both the Korean Utility Model Publication No. 94-7577 and the corresponding US patent No. 5,364,263 have some drawbacks in putting these devices to practical use as follows.

First, the gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor blade assembly disclosed in the Korean Utility Model Publication No. 94-7577 must have such a structure that not only the back panel of the razor blade assembly has a reinforcing cross beam 20 provided with a couple of gripping protrusions 19 in order to connect the disposable razor blade assembly with the housing handle 30, but also the housing handle must have a connecting protrusion 26 on its upper end of the brim to fit in the groove 19 A defined by said gripping protrusions 19 formed on the back panel of the disposable razor blade assembly. This structure means that the device according to the Korean Utility

Model Publication No. 94-7577 cannot utilize the conventional disposable razor blade assembly without any alteration or additional component and, thus, the Utility Model can be practically used only if a manufacturer of the disposable razor blade assembly should design and manufacture a new model provided with the additional component which has a reinforcing cross beam 20 with a couple of gripping protrusions 19. However, since the altered model only fits the device according to the Korean Utility Model Publication No. 94-7577 and practically needs an extra mould and costs, it is not easy for the razor blade assembly manufacturer to have a declaration of intention to manufacture this special model and, accordingly, if a company which manufactures the conventional disposable razor blade assembly would not incline to manufacture the aforementioned model, the device disclosed in Korean Utility Model Publication No. 94-7577 cannot be practically used.

Secondly, the gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor blade assembly according to the Korean Utility Model Publication No. 94-7577 in order to make the keeping condition of the disposable razor blade assembly within the housing handle good should have such the design that on both the left and right sides of the front panel of the disposable razor blade assembly are provided with a couple of semisphere- shaped or tapered fitting holes 18, while the inside of the housing handle are provided with a couple of holding projections 24 to fit in said holes. However, in this device the disposable razor blade assembly need not necessarily to be kept in a fixed condition in said housing handle at ordinary times but it is enough that the disposable razor blade assembly is just placed in the space defined by the L-shaped recess of the lighter body and the z -shaped housing handle can just cover the L-shaped recess. Therefore, in the device disclosed in the Korean Utility Model Publication No. 94-7577 it has turned out unnecessary or inappropriate that both on the back panel of the disposable razor blade assembly and on the inside of the housing handle should be provided a couple of fitting holes 18 and a couple of holding projections 24. These structure, like the first reason mentioned in the above, not only acts as another reason to restrict in putting the device to actual use but may cause inconvenience in making the connection between the lighter body and the housing handle in the way of sliding.

Third, the US patent No. 5,364,263 corresponding to said Korean Utility Model Publication has disclosed, besides the embodiments of the Korean Utility Model Publication No. 94-7577, an oblong Ω -shaped hook 35 or a pair of parallel pins 36 inserted in the upper side of the housing handle as a connecting means. However, the gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor blade assembly disclosed in the US patent No. 5,364,263 has the same drawbacks mentioned in the above and, particularly, brings about some difficulties in covering the housing handle onto the L-shaped recess of the gas lighter body in the way of sliding due to existence of the hook or pins. Further, since the hook or pins can not guarantee firm and tight connection between the housing handle and the razor blade assembly, shaving is apt to be unstable.

Fourth, since all the aforementioned gas lighters was devised on the assumption that the shape of the main body of the gas lighter is of substantially elongated one easily found among the conventional disposable handy gas lighters, gas container inevitably decreases in its volume by the amount of L-shaped recess.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor blade assembly which improves its coupling structure between the disposable razor blade assembly and the housing handle that can utiize the conventional disposable razor blade assembly as it is without any alteration and, therefore, can increase the possibility of putting the device to practical use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor blade assembly whose handle is so designed as to be easily coupled with the lighter body by the way of sliding under the condition that the disposable razor blade assembly is just positioned in the space defined by the L-shaped recess of the lighter body.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor blade assembly of which the shape of the gas container is so improved as to compensate for the loss of its volume caused by a L-shaped recess.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The objects of the invention mentioned in the above can be accomplished by providing a gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor blade assembly which comprises:

(a) a gas lighter body to keep gas comprising an elongated casing having an L-shaped recess formed along with its longitudinal direction; (b) a disposable razor blade assembly comprising a back panel, a front panel and one or two blades inserted between said back and front panel, said back panel having a conventional rail-typed or hook-typed connecting means to be connected with the head of the conventional handy razor handle; (c) a housing handle comprising an opening on one longitudinal side thereof, an opening on the upper side thereof, said upper opening having a groove on its inside which is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of said housing handle ; and

(d) a connector comprising a base panel to be linked with said back panel of the razor blade assembly, a connecting panel attached on the middle of said base panel and to be inserted into said groove formed inside of the upper opening of said housing handle , whereby said housing handle, by being coupled with the recess of said gas lighter body, can be used as a cover to safely keep the razor blade assembly in said L-shaped recess of the lighter body at ordinary times and, by inserting the flanges of said connecting panel into said groove formed inside of the upper opening of said housing handle, can be used as a handle of the razor during shaving.

Further, another object of the invention can be accomplished by providing a gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor blade assembly of which lighter body has a swollen part in order to make up for its lost volume caused by providing the body of the lighter with the L-shaped recess

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The nature and mode of operation of preferred embodiments of the present invention will be more fully described in the following detailed description, taken with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figs. 1 to 3 show the embodiments which was devised by the present inventor and disclosed in the Korean Utility Model Publication No. 94-7577 and US corresponding patent No. 5,364,263.

Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views of the conventional handle of the razor and the disposable razor blade assembly showing their conventional two ways of coupling.

Fig. 6(a) shows an explosive perspective view of the connection between the housing handle and the conventional disposable razor blade assembly by means of the first embodiment of the connector devised according to the present invention.

Fig. 6(b) is a sectional view of the first embodiment of the connector.

Fig. 7(a) shows a explosive perspective view of the connection between the housing handle and the conventional disposable razor blade assembly by means of the second embodiment of the connector devised according to the present invention.

Fig. 7(b) is a sectional view of the second embodiment of the connector. Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the housing handle according to the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor blade assembly which shows its usage as a razor according to the present invention. Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the gas lighter according to the present invention showing a handy gas lighter as a whole by the housing handle being coupled with the gas lighter body.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

An exemplary embodiment of the conventional handy razor, as shown in Fig. 4, is assembled by fitting a couple of hook 41 formed on the head of the T-shaped handle into the conventional holes or grooves 42 formed on the back panel of the disposable razor blade assembly or, as shown in Fig. 5, is assembled by fitting a couple of rails 43 formed on the upper and lower edges of the T-shaped handle to the longitudinal grooves or rails 44 formed on the upper and lower edges of the back panel of the conventional razor blade assembly. That is, the conventional disposable razor blade assembly is of hook type or sliding type or combination of these.

It should be noted that the gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor blade assembly according to the present invention is characterized in that the aforementioned two type of conventional razor blade assembly can be used as they are without any alteration.

Figs. 6(a) and 6(b) show a explosive perspective view of the connection between the housing handle 30 and the conventional disposable razor blade assembly 17 by means of the first embodiment of the connector 50 devised according to the present invention and a sectional view of said connector. As shown in these figures, the connector 50, being so devised as to make the housing handle 30 according to the present invention easily coupled with the rail typed razor blade assembly, comprises a base panel 51 to be linked with the rails 44 of the razor blade assembly, the height H of said base panel being equal to the width of the rail W of the razor blade assembly, a connecting panel 52 attached on the middle of said base panel 51, the left and right flanges 52A, 52B of said connecting panel 52 being apart from the surface of said base panel 51.

The housing handle 30 according to the present invention, as shown in Fig. 8, is a covering member which has a substantially C -shaped section, an opening 31 on one longitudinal side and an opening 32 on the upper side. On the inside of said opened upper end 32 is formed a groove 33 which is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the cover 30 so as to be fitted to the flanges 52A and 52B of said connecting panel 52.

Accordingly, in the gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor blade assembly according to the present invention, the interconnection between the housing handle 30 and the disposable razor blade assembly 17 is simply accomplished by fitting the thin base panel 51 of the connector 50 into the rails 44 formed on the back panel of the conventional disposable razor blade assembly and then inserting the flanges 52A and 52B of the connecting panel 52 attached to said base panel into said groove 33 formed inside of the opened upper end 32 of the housing handle 30.

The interconnection structure described in the above has some distinct advantages compared to the prior art as follows :

Firstly, the device according to the present invention makes it possible to utilize the conventional disposable razor blade assembly as it is without any alteration of its structure or shape and, accordingly, can increase so much the possibility of being put to practical use.

Secondly, the simplicity of the shape and structure of the housing handle 30 makes it easy not only to form its mould but, in particular, for the housing handle to be simply coupled with the L-shaped recess of the lighter body by the way of sliding. Further, since when the disposable razor blade assembly is kept in the L-shaped recess of the gas lighter body at ordinary times, the connector, which is very thin and of substantially the same height as of the razor blade assembly, can maintain its tightly connected state with the razor blade assembly and, therefore, there is no physical hindrance when the housing handle 30 is slidingly coupled with the L-shaped recess of the lighter body.

Figs. 7(a) and 7(b) show a explosive perspective view of the connection between the housing handle and the conventional disposable razor blade assembly by means of the second embodiment of the connector devised according to the present invention and a sectional view of said second embodiment of the connector. This embodiment is particularly useful when the device is to be used to such the type that the razor blade assembly 17 is assembled to the handle by fitting a couple of hooks 41 formed on the head of the T-shaped handle into the conventional holes or grooves 42 formed on the back panel of the disposable razor blade assembly. The configuration or structure of the connector 50 according to the second embodiment is wholly the same with that of the first embodiment except that the second embodiment has a pair of additional connecting hooks 53 formed on the front surface of the base panel 51. The base panel of the second embodiment are made of, preferably, such a flexible material as steel or synthetic resin sheer plate so as to be elastically bent in the longitudinal direction thereof and to be easily connected to the hook typed razor blade assembly. Since in the second embodiment the housing handle 30 maintains the same configuration or structure as that of the first embodiment and, particularly, just like in the first embodiment, the connector 50 and disposable razor blade assembly 17 become a substantially single body during the razor blade assembly is kept in the L-shaped recess 5 of the gas lighter at ordinary times, it deserves the same advantages described in the first embodiment.

Even though it is desirable to make the fitting structure between the housing handle and the L-shaped recess of the gas lighter body of sliding type in the light that the housing handle should not be easily separated from the gas lighter body during daily carrying, however, the variation of the fitting structure between these two elements should be construed not to influence upon the scope or nature of the invention.

Fig. 9 shows a perspective view of the gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor blade assembly which demonstrates its practical usage as a razor by separating the housing handle 30 from the gas lighter body and then connecting this to the razor blade assembly 17.

Fig. 10 shows a perspective outer view of the gas lighter according to the present invention showing a handy gas lighter as a whole by the housing handle 30 being coupled with the gas lighter body 10.

As can be seen in Fig. 10 the gas lighter body has a swollen part 6 in order to make up for its lost volume caused by the L-shaped recess.

From the detailed description of the invention in the above, it can be well understood that the gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor blade assembly according to the present invention makes it possible to utilize the conventional disposable razor blade assembly as it is without any alteration of its structure or shape by providing the suitably designed connector and housing handle which can increase the possibility of being put to actual use. The simplicity of the shape and structure of the housing handle also makes it easy to be coupled with the L-shaped recess of the lighter body in the way of sliding while the disposable razor blade assembly can be kept in the L-shaped recess of the hghter body on the condition that the very thin and simply figured connector not being coupled with the housing handle but being coupled with the razor blade assembly at ordinary keeping times. Further, by compensating the lost volume of the gas lighter body the device according to the present invention lasts for long duration.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS :

1. A gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor blade assembly which comprises: (a) a gas lighter body to keep gas comprising an elongated casing having an L-shaped recess formed along with its longitudinal direction;

(b) a disposable razor blade assembly comprising a back panel, a front panel and one or two blades inserted between said back and front panel, said back panel having a conventional rail-typed or hook-typed connecting means to be connected with the head of the conventional handy razor handle;

(c) a housing handle comprising an opening on one longitudinal side thereof, an opening on the upper side thereof, said upper opening having a groove on its inside which is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of said housing handle; and

(d) a connector comprising a base panel to be linked with said back panel of the razor blade assembly, a connecting panel attached on the middle of said base panel and to be inserted into said groove formed inside of the opened upper end of said housing handle, whereby said housing handle, by being coupled with the recess of said gas Hghter body, can be used as a cover to safely keep the razor blade assembly in said L-shaped recess of the lighter body at ordinary times and, by inserting the flanges of said connecting panel into said groove formed inside of the upper opening of said housing handle, can be used as a handle of the razor during shaving.

2. The gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor blade assembly according to claim 1, wherein said connector further comprises a pair of connecting hooks formed on the front surface of said base panel and is made of a flexible elastic material.

3. The gas lighter equipped with a disposable razor blade assembly according to claim 1, wherein said Hghter body has a swollen part in order to make up for its lost volume caused by providing the body of the lighter with the L-shaped recess.