US2263426A - Smoker's appliance - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 18, 1941. E. MACAULEY SMOKERS APPLIANCE Filed May 16, 1940 IIIIIIIII m m Wu Z a 0 4 4 3 Patented Nov. 18, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SMOKERS APPLIANCE Edward Macauley, Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., 'assignor to Packard Motor Car Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application May 16, 1940, Serial No. 335,642

6 Claims.

This invention relates to motor vehicle accessory devices and more particularly to equipment for smokers.

It is customary to equip motor vehicles with an ash receiver and a lighter. is usually in the form of a receptacle having a lid that must be opened and closed by the user. The lighter usually consists of a member carrying a wire that can be electrically heated to incandescence by an electric circuit, usually established by manual pressure against the member, and then removed from its support to obtain a light. These devices are now separate and must be individually operated.

It is an object of the present invention to 1 reduce one of the manual efforts usually required prior to smoking in a motor vehicle 'by utilizing a lighter for releasing a self-opening lid of an ash receiver.

Another object of the invention is to provide latching means for a self-opening ash receptacle lid that can be released by a slight pressure against an adjacent lighter.

Another object of the invention is to provide latching means for a self-opening ash receiver lid that will be released whenever a lighter member is pressed in to be heated.

A further object of the invention is to provide a compact device for application to a motor vehicle which includes a removable incandescent lighter and an ash receptacle latched lid that is released and opened when the lighter is actuated.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the drawing, which forms a part of this receptacle lid latched and the lighter in normal position;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the lighter pressed in sufficiently to unlatch the receptacle lid.

The device incorporating the invention is shown applied to the forward end of an arm rest of a seat II in a motor vehicle body 12, but it can be mounted in various other places within the vehicle body if desired. The device is formed and fitted so that it replaces a portion The ash receiver of the usual arm rest and thus conforms in outline to the usual outline of an arm rest.

The frame I3 that carries the device is substantially triangular in outline and comprises an upstanding wall I B having'an inturned flange forming an upper wall l4. The upper wall forms an opening through which an ash receptacle ll extends, the receptacle having a flange l8 that rests on the upper wall adjacent the opening and an inwardly extending snubber I5. Alid I8 is hinged to the upper wall of the frame and spring l9 engages the frame and lid in a relation to exert suflicient force to normally open the lid. The under side of the lid is formed with a recess 20 over which is secured a keeper plate 2| having anopening therethrough aligning with lid opening 20, and a depending lip 22.

At the rear end of the frame provision is made for housing a lighter device of conventional incandescent type and includes a member 23 having an incandescent wire 24 at one end and a button 25 at the other end by means of which an occupant of the vehicle body can manipulate the member. The frame also carries a contact 25 with which a terminal 27 of the wire 24 can be pressed into contact with to heat the wire. This contact is made by pressing the lighter member inwardly of the frame and after the wire is heated the lighter member can be pulled out of the frame to light a cigar or cigarette.

A tubular housing is fixed to the frame and forms a support for the lighter device. This housing has abutment members 3| turned outwardly at its forward end for receiving the rear end of a coil spring 32. The forward end of this spring bears against a latch member 33 having a tongue 34 extending through a slot 35 in the frame top wall that aligns with the opening in the keeper plate and the recess 20 in the lid when the lid is closed. The body portion of the latch member traverses the housing carrying the lighter device and is formed with an opening 36 through which the lighter member extends. Spring 32 normally exerts sufficient force against the latch member to hold it in its outermost position where it will engage over the keeper plate lip 22 to retain the lid in closed position.

Provision is made to release the latch member by actuator means operated by the lighter member when it is pushed inwardly in a direction to heat the incandescent wire. Thus when the lighter member is pushed in, and preferably only part way, the latch will be moved to release the lid so that spring l9 will open it prior to the smoker obtaining a light. To this end an abutment sleeve 40 is slidably mounted in the housing 30 and has an abutment flange 3| at its outer end against which the latch member is pressed by spring 32. An actuator sleeve 42 is slidably mounted on the lighter member and has a flange 43 that is adapted to abut flange 4| when the lighter member is inserted in the housing. A coil spring 44 surrounds the lighter member and is enclosed by the actuator sleeve, one end of such spring bearing against a flange 45 on the lighter member and the other end of such spring bearing against the inwardly directed inner end of the actuator sleeve.

The actuator sleeve and spring 44 form a unitary structure with the lighter member and are movable to a limited extent in an axial direction relative thereto. The upstanding Wall is formed with an opening 46 through which the lighter member and. actuator sleeve can pass when inserted in or removed from the housing. The lighter member is shown in a normal position in Fig. 3 with the receptacle lid closed and latched. When the lighter member is pushed in, pressure is applied against spring 44 by flange 45 and this spring pressure acts against the actuator sleeve to move it with the lighter member, only to a slightly less extent. Such movement of the actuator sleeve is transmitted to the abutment sleeve by flange 43 and abutment 4| carries the latch member rearwardly against the force of spring 32. A slight movement of the latch member will release it from the keeper so that spring l9 can open the lid. The extent of the movement of the lighter member required to release the latch can be arranged as desired, and thus the lid need not be released until the lighter member has been moved inwardly to connect terminal 21 of the wire 24 with the live contact 26.

It will be seen that by a single movement inwardly of the lighter member the receptacle lid can be released and the wire of the member heated to incandescence. It will also be seen that the lighter member can be utilized to release the lid latch member upon a slight movement thereof without heating the wire. The receptacle lid will always be automatically opened when the occupant of the vehicle body presses the lighter member inwardly preparatory to smoking.

Although the invention has been described in connection with a specific embodiment, the principles involved are susceptible of numerous other applications which will readily occur to persons skilled in the art. The invention is therefore to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A motor vehicle accessory device comprising a frame carrying a receptacle, a self-opening lid hinged on the frame over the receptacle, a latch member operable to hold the lid in closed position, a lighter device carried by the frame including a member carrying a wire of the incandescent type, said member being removable from the frame and movable in the frame to heat the wire, and means operable in response to inward movement of the member for releasing the latch member from said lid.

2. A motor vehicle accessory device comprising a frame carrying an ash receptacle, a spring opened lid hinged on the frame and operable to close the receptacle, a latch member carried by the frame, spring means normally urging said latch member into retaining position with said lid, and a lighter of the incandescent type operable in the frame to release the latch member from the lid.

3. In an accessory device, the combination of an ash receptacle lid latch member, a lighter member of the incandescent type, and latch member control means operable in response to movement of said lighter member.

4. A motor vehicle accessory device comprising a frame carrying a receptacle, a self-opening lid structure hinged on the frame, a latch member engageable with said lid to retain it in closed position, an abutment on the frame, spring means bearing against said abutment and urging said latch member into lid retaining position, a lighter member of the incandescent type movable inwardly of said frame to be heated, and means responsive to inward movement of said lighter member for moving said latch member to release said lid.

5. A motor vehicle accessory device comprising a frame carrying a receptacle, a self-opening lid for the receptacle hinged on the frame, a latch member engageable with said lid to retain it in closed position, a spring normally urging said latch member into lid retaining position, a lighter member of the incandescent type carried by the frame, and means including a spring operable by movement of the lighter member to shift the latch member to lid releasing position.

6. A motor vehicle accessory device comprising a frame carrying a receptacle, a self-opening lid for the receptacle hinged to the frame, a flanged lighter member of the incandescent type removably mounted in the frame adjacent the receptacle and movable inwardly of the frame to be heated, a latch member for retaining the lid in closed position having an open portion through which the lighter member extends, an abutment on the frame, a spring between the latch member and the abutment normally urging the latch member outwardly into lid retaining position, an axially movable abutment sleeve extending through the open portion of the latch member, an actuator sleeve carried on said lighter member and engageable with the outer end of the abutment sleeve, and a coil spring bearing at one end against the inner end of the actuator sleeve and at the other end against the flange of said lighter member, said coil spring and actuator sleeve having a limited axial movement on the lighter member but forming a unitary structure therewith.

EDWARD MACAULEY.

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