TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a cigarette-shaped lighter, and more particularly, to a cigarette-shaped lighter which size is identical with a cigarette and having a structure capable of forming an ignition point at a longitudinal center thereof.

BACKGROUND ART In general, a disposable lighter has been filled with fuel, thus if the fuel of the lighter is exhausted, and then the disposable lighter was thrown away so as to realize low costs as compared with long durability.

The conventional disposable lighter includes a container molded by injection with synthetic resins, and an insert functioned as a cap, which is assembled with a nozzle part for sparking, controller for ejecting gas, button for igniting, or the like. Since the upper part of the container inserted by the insert and then welded with supersonic waves, the lighter has a sealed structure to prevent the fuel from being leaked.

However, in the structure of the conventional lighters, an ignition method is that generating a general flame or turbo flame by using an ignition stone (what is called"lighter flint") and a spark wheel or using a piezoelectric element, thus an ignition device must be installed on one end of the container. Therefore, the lighter is limited in slimness of the size because of a fixed idea, which the

ignition point of a lighter is positioned at the top thereof. Further, the conventional lighter has been manufactured in several assembling steps.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION To solve the above problems, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a cigarette-shaped lighter having an improved structure capable of being ignited at a longitudinal center of the lighter and can be slimmed to be received in the cigarette case instead of a cigarette.

Accordingly, to achieve the objective, there is provided a cigarette-shaped lighter comprising a body including a nozzle tube positioned in the longitudinal center, an elastic fragment capable of being deformed elastically and spaced a predetermined distance from the nozzle tube, an ignition part having a longitudinal curved surface so as to be communicated with one end of the nozzle tube, and an electrode installation hole spaced a predetermined distance from the nozzle tube so as to be opposed to the elastic fragment around the other end of the nozzle tube; a housing provided with a groove capable of being inserted one end of the body so as to slide against the body, and a fuel reservoir; a valve assembly capable of being moved in a predetermined distance by the elastic fragment, including a pipe within the fuel reservoir, a frame sealing the fuel reservoir, and a nozzle elastically coupled with the frame, which a top portion thereof is contacted with the nozzle tube; a flame generator including a electrode installed in the electrode installation hole, a piezoelectric element coupled with the electrode and the body, and a hammer installed in the piezoelectric element to be moved by an elastic member so as to generate the flame at the electrode; and a case having a closed end which the hammer is installed, and an opened end

capable of covering the ignition part so as to be relatively moved against to the flame generator and the body, and provided with an ignition hole to be alternatively engaged with the ignition part.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the cigarette-shaped lighter according to the present invention further comprises an ignition member installed in the other end of the nozzle tube to induce the flame generated on the electrode into the ignition part and to guide fuel jetted from the nozzle tube.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the cigarette-shaped lighter according to the present invention further comprises a packing member interposed between the nozzle and one end of the nozzle tube.

According to a still another aspect of the present invention, the cigarette-shaped lighter according to present invention further comprises a refill valve installed at the closed end of the fuel reservoir to refill the fuel in the fuel reservoir.

According to an advantageously improved aspect of the present invention, the cigarette-shaped lighter according to the present invention, wherein the shape of the lighter is a cylinder-type, hexagonal-type, octagonal-type or analogous cylinder-type having at least one plane part.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above objectives and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view separately illustrating a cigarette-shaped lighter according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the cigarette-shaped lighter of FIG.

1 in assembled state; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view being indicated by the line 111-111 in the cigarette-shaped lighter of FIG. 2; FIGS. 4 and 5 are a view illustrating operation of the cigarette-shaped lighter according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; BEST MODE FOR CARRYING THE INVENTION The cigarette shaped-lighter according to the present invention may be manufactured in cylinder-type, hexagonal-type, octagonal-type or analogous-type cylinder shape having at least one plane part. However, the lighter according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the cylinder-type.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a cigarette-shaped lighter according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a body 10, a housing 20 slidablely connected with the body 10, a valve assembly 30 installed on the housing 10, a flame generator 40 installed on the body 10 and a case 50 which the flame generator 40 is received and which is sliding into the body 10. In this case, preferably, the housing 20 and the case 50 have the same shape as body 10.

Once, the housing 20 with the valve assembly 30 and the case 50 with the flame generator 40 are assembled on the body 10 respectively, the lighter is formed with the same size as a typical cigarette.

The body 10 has the projected guide 12 which formed radial around one end thereof, and the nozzle tube 11 is formed at the center of the guide 12 in predetermined length. A packing member 18 such as rubber packing is installed

on the end of the nozzle tube 11. Elastic fragments 13 are formed with the inner wall of the guide 12. An ignition part 14, which has a recessed groove with predetermined curvature, is formed with longitudinal center of the body. An ignition member 60 is installed at the approximately center of the ignition part 14.

The electrode installation hole 15 is formed with the ignition part 14 spaced a predetermined distance from the ignition member 60. An elastic projection 16 is formed with the other end of the body 10 provided with the electrode installation hole 15. A guide projection 10a is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the body 10. The guide projection 10a is coupled with a guide groove 50a formed in the inner wall of the case 50. Thus, when the case 50 is sliding against the body 10, the case 50 is not rotated radial direction with respect to the body 10. However, the guide projection 10a and guide groove 50a may have various shape and may be formed at the inner wall of the case 50 and the outer circumferential surface of the body 10.

One end of the housing 20 is closed and the other end thereof is opened.

The fuel reservoir 22 is formed within the housing 20. The opened end 21 of the housing has a recessed groove 28 therein so that the guide 12 of the body 10 is inserted into the groove 28. A refill valve is installed on the center of closed end 23 of the housing 20 to refill fuel into the fuel reservoir 22.

The valve assembly 30 includes a pipe 32 within the fuel reservoir 22, a frame 34 welded in the projected wall 26 of the housing 20 by using supersonic wave, and valve 36 elastically coupled to the frame 34 and being slid and contacted with the side of the nozzle tube 11. Thus, the valve 36 is essentially contacted with the packing member 18. The packing member 18 can prevent the fuel jetted from the valve 36 from being leaked to the opened end of the body

10. A binding member 38 is installed at the outer circumferential surface of the valve 36. The binding member 38 is bound with the body 10 through the elastic fragment 13, and pushes together the valve 36 by elastically deformation of the elastic fragment 13. Further, the binding member 38 may perform such that the housing 20 is bound together the body 10.

The flame generator 40 is a conventional piezoelectric element type igniting device, and comprises an electrode 42 installed at the electrode installation hole 15, a piezoelectric element body 44 connected to the electrode 42 such that the end thereof is elastically be coupled to the elastic projection 16 of the body 10, and a hammer 48 capable of generating the flame in the electrode 42 through pressing the piezoelectric element body 44 with an elastic member 46.

The case 50 comprises a closed part 54 having the holding groove 52 which one end of the hammer 48 is installed, a receiving part 56 for receiving the flame generator 40, and an opened part 58 for receiving a portion of the body 10.

An igniting hole 55, which can be selectively engaged with the ignition part 14, is formed at one portion of the case 50. In case the user does not use the lighter, since the ignition hole 55 covers the ignition part 14, the ignition hole 55 also prevents the ignition member 60 from being invaded by external contaminants.

Further, when the user presses both ends of the housing 20 and the case 50 for ignition, the housing 20 and the case 50 are slid against the body 10, so that the igniting hole 55 is moved into the position of the ignition part 14 and the center of igniting hole 55 is located in the upper end of the ignition member 60.

The housing 20, case 50, body 10 are injection-molded with the synthetic resins, the ignition member 60 is preferably made from the metal to guide the

flame from the electrode 42 into the center of the ignition part 14. A typical fuel for lighter such as gasoline or liquefied gas is used as a fuel of the fuel reservoir 22.

A method of assembling the cigarette-shaped lighter according to the present invention will be described as follows.

First, the fuel is filled in the fuel reservoir 22 of the housing 20, and then the pipe 32 of the valve assembly 30 is inserted into the inside of the fuel reservoir 22, and then the frame 34 of the valve assembly 30 is welded on the portion of the projection wall 26 of the housing 20 using the supersonic wave, so that housing 20 is coupled with the valve assembly 30. Further, one end of the hammer 48 is inserted into the holding groove 52 of the case 50 so that the case 50 is elastically coupled with the flame generator 40. And then, the valve 36 is coupled through the elastic fragment 13, if the electrode 42 is installed on the electrode installation hole 15, the body 10 is coupled with the housing 20 and case 50, respectively.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are a view illustrating operation of the cigarette-shaped lighter according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a view showing the situation which the valve is pressed by the nozzle tube, FIG. 5 is a view showing the situation which lighter is struck when the user presses hammer of the flame generator by using the closed end of the case.

A method of using the cigarette-shaped lighter according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described as follows.

As shown in FIG. 3, the user presses both ends of the housing 20 and the case 50 in the initial situation which the opened part 58 of the case 50 covers the ignition part 14. And then, the housing 20 and the case 50 is congregated

toward the body 10, namely ignition part 14. Thus, the top portion of the nozzle tube 11 and the valve 36 presses the binding member 38. In that case, as shown in FIG. 4, as the housing 20 is moved against the body 10, the frame 34 of valve assembly 30 presses the elastic fragment 13, thereby deforming elastically.

And then, the elastic fragment 13 force to moves the binding member 38, and move the valve 36 toward nozzle tube 11, so that the fuel reservoir 22 and the nozzle tube 11 are communicated with each other. In that case, the fuel filled in the fuel reservoir 22 is moved through valve 36, packing memberl8 and nozzle tube 11 and then is jetted through the hole of the ignition member 60. In this state, if the pressure is increased, the housing 20 and the case 50 are further congregated toward the ignition part 14 of the body 10. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, hammer 48 strikes the piezoelectric element 44, and then the spark rises from the electrode 42 by the striking strength. The flame of the electrode 42 is induced toward the center of the ignition part 14 through the ignition member 60, so that the fuel jetted through the hole of the ignition member 60 is ignited.

Here, the igniting hole 55 and the ignition part 14 are engaged with each other.

In that state, if the pressure on both end of the housing 20 and the case 50 are removed, the housing 20 and the case 50 are returned to where they were by restoring force of the elastic member (not be shown) contained in the frame 34 of the valve assembly 30 and the elastic member 46 installed on the flame generator 40. Then, as the valve returns to where it was, the communication of the nozzle tube 11 and the fuel reservoir 22 is cut so as to prevent the fuel from being leaked.

The cigarette-shaped lighter according to the present invention has the following effects.

First, the lighter can be easily manufactured since the housing, body, valve assembly, flame generator and case are elastically coupled with one another.

Second, the lighter can be manufactured in small and slim size since elements of the lighter, specially the igniting device may be installed in longitudinal direction and the ignition point may be formed on the longitudinal center of the lighter.

Third, as the size of the lighter is minimized, the lighter may be received in the cigarette case instead of a piece of cigarette. So, the lighter may be used for advertisement.

Fourth, as the size of the lighter is minimized, the cost of production is lowered.