A CANDLE AND A METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THEREOF

Abstract

 A candle comprising a wick (130) passing through a flammable portion (101), characterized in that the wick (130) is terminated at a first end in an inflammable base (140) that is adjacent to the flammable portion (101).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to candles.

BACKGROUND

[0002] There are known candles made solely of a flammable material, such as wax or paraffin, used for heating or lighting purposes. When the whole flammable material burns out, the remaining portion of the wick is left unprotected and the flame may propagate towards the surface on which the candle was positioned, including other flammable objects surrounding or being in contact with the candle (such as a table, a tablecloth etc.). Therefore, for safe operation, the candle should be supervised during use.

[0003] To improve safety, the candle may be positioned in a protective stand, such as a candlestick, which may have a decorative function. The disadvantage is that the user must invest in an additional accessory to use the candle safely. Moreover, the stand becomes contaminated by the molten flammable material and requires cleaning, which is problematic.

[0004] Therefore, there is a need to provide a candle with improved safety and ease of use.

SUMMARY

[0005] There is disclosed a candle comprising a wick passing through a flammable portion, characterized in that the wick is terminated at a first end in an inflammable base that is adjacent to the flammable portion.

[0006] The flammable portion may comprise an outer layer and an inner layer.

[0007] The outer layer may surround the inner layer at the top of the candle via which the second end of the wick protrudes.

[0008] The outer layer and the inner layer may have a different composition.

[0009] The outer layer may surround the inflammable base.

[0010] The inflammable base may further comprise an aromatic additive.

[0011] The flammable portion may comprise an aromatic additive.

[0012] The first end of the wick can be bent within the inflammable base.

[0013] The candle may further comprise a protective sheet attached to the outer surface of the inflammable base.

[0014] There is also disclosed a candle assembly comprising a candle as described above and a stand comprising a support surface for accommodating the inflammable base and having openings.

[0015] The openings may have a regulated cross-section.

[0016] There is also disclosed a method for manufacturing a candle, the method comprising: forming a flammable portion with a wick embedded therein, the wick having both ends extending outside the flammable portion; and subsequently, forming an inflammable base adjacently to the flammable portion to embed one end of the wick within the inflammable base.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0017] The object of the present disclosure is shown by means of example embodiments on a drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a cross-section of a candle;

Fig. 2 shows an example of a process of manufacturing the candle.

Fig. 3 shows the body of the candle without an inflammable base in a view from the bottom.

Fig. 4 shows the complete candle in a view from the bottom.

Fig. 5 shows the candle located on a candle stand.

Fig. 6 shows the candle stand in a view from the top.

Fig. 7 shows the candle stand in a view from the top.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] Fig. 1 shows a candle in a cross-sectional view. The candle 100 has a flammable portion 101 and an inflammable portion 102. The flammable portion 101 may have an outer layer 110 and an inner layer 120. Both flammable layers 110, 120 can be made of the same or different flammable substances. The outer layer 110 may have a closed top 111 (as shown in Fig. 1) or may be open at the top. The bottom end of a wick 130 is terminated in an inflammable substance forming an inflammable base 140 at the bottom part of the candle and the other end of the wick protrudes from the flammable portion 101. The inflammable base 140 acts as an extinguisher for a flame when the candle burns out. The inflammable base 140 may be surrounded by the flammable outer layer 110 or not surrounded by it.

[0019] The inflammable base 140 improves the safety of the candle, because when the flammable substances are burned out, the remaining portion of the wick rests on the inflammable base 140 and extinguishes therein, without contact with the surrounding surface on which the candle is positioned.

[0020] The inflammable base 140 preferably has a shape that has substantially the same cross-section as the cross-section of the flammable portion 101 or its inner layer 120 (as shown in Fig. 1) at the plane at which they are adjacent. However, the inflammable base 140 may have also a smaller cross-section - it is enough if the area of the inflammable base 140 is large enough such as to protect the flame of the wick when the candle burns out from contacting the surface on which the candle is positioned - specific shapes and dimensions can be selected on experimental basis depending e.g. on the parameters of the wick and the flammable portion 101.

[0021] The inflammable base 140 has a thickness that is suitable to resist the flame of the wick when the candle burns out. The thickness may be also selected depending on other factors, such as the required durability of the inflammable base 140 after the candle burns out, the required strength of holding the wick, or even aesthetic properties of the candle overall. For example, the inflammable base 140 may have a thickness (height) from 1mm to 5 cm. The inflammable base 140 may have a thickness dependent on the candle height, for example from 1 % to 50% of the candle height.

[0022] The inflammable base 140 may have a flat top or any other shape of top that is adjacent to the flammable portion 101.

[0023] The inflammable base 140 is preferably made of a substance that is deformable and can be manufactured in the same process and using the same tools as the flammable substances of which the candle is formed.

[0024] The candle may have any form, such as a cylinder, a prism, or even any fancy shape.

[0025] For example, the inflammable base 140 may be made of particles of a solid substance (such as sand, salt, or other organic or inorganic inflammable matter) mixed with a binder substance (such as water, starch, gypsum, carrageenan, which may have gel-like properties).

[0026] For example, the inflammable base may comprise 80% by weight of sand bound by 10% by weight of gypsum and by 10% weight of water.

[0027] Alternatively, the inflammable base may comprise 40% by weight of salt bound by 40% by weight of starch and by 20% weight of water.

[0028] Alternatively, the inflammable base may comprise 90% by weight of water bound by 4% by weight of carrageenan and by 6% weight of solubiliser.

[0029] Furthermore, the inflammable base 140 may comprise aromatic additive (in the amount from 1% to 95% by weight) which emit the scent to the environment, even when the candle is not burning. Therefore the candle may act as an air refresher. Aromatic substances that can be added to the inflammable base include fragrances.

[0030] The outer flammable layer 110 and/or the inner flammable layer 120 may also comprise aromatic substances (in the amount from 1% to 95% by weight). Aromatic substances that can be added to the flammable layers 110, 120 include fragrances.

[0031] The bottom of the inflammable base 140 can be secured with a protective sheet 150 attached to the outer surface of the base 140. The protective sheet 150 may protect the surface on which the candle is placed from scratching the surface by the coarse particles of the inflammable base 140 (if present and not covered by the binding substance). Moreover, the protective sheet 150 may prevent the scent to be released from the inflammable base 140 it if comprises aromatic substances, during transportation and storage before use by the final user. The protective sheet 150 may have a form of an adhesive label, which may comprise printed information on the candle, such as trade name, bar code, contents description, etc. The protective sheet 150 preferably covers the whole base layer of the inflammable base 140.

[0032] The outer layer 110 can be made of a flammable substance having different properties than the inner layer 120. For example, the outer layer 110 may comprise colour pigments or other decorative components. A higher quality substance can be used for the outer layer 110 than the inner layer 120. Preferably, the volume of the outer layer is much smaller than that of the inner layer, for example the volume of the outer layer is 10% or less of the volume of the inner layer.

[0033] Fig. 2 shows an example of a process of manufacturing the candle. The process begins by forming of the outer layer 110 in step 301. Preferably, the outer layer 110 is formed by pressing a flammable material in a mould to shape it to a form of a solid body. In the next step 302, the flammable substance 120 is poured inside the body 110 to form the flammable inner layer 120. Next, in step 303 the wick 130 is introduced to the candle so that both ends extrude out of the flammable portion 101. The example result of step 303 is shown in Fig. 3. Next, in step 304 the inflammable base 140 is formed by introducing the inflammable substance to the mould. The inflammable base 140 solidifies and forms the bottom of the candle. The wick may be bent within the inflammable base 140 (i.e. it passes along a line which is inclined with respect to the line of the wick within the flammable portion 101), which additionally increases the holding force of the wick 130 inside the inflammable base 140. In other words, the wick is embedded within the inflammable base 140. The example result of step 304 is shown in Fig. 4. Then, in step 305, the inflammable base 140 may be pressed towards the flammable portion 101, thereby facilitating integration of the flammable substances with the inflammable substances. As a result, the flammable material may be mixed with the inflammable material 102 in a border region between the flammable portion 101 and the inflammable portion 102. To protect the bottom of the base or to prevent emission of the scent from the inflammable base 140, the bottom of the candle can be secured with the protective sheet 150 in step 305.

[0034] The candle as described above can be used as a stand-alone candle, as the inflammable base 140 protects the flame from reaching the surface on which the candle is positioned.

[0035] However, in case the base 140 comprises aromatic substances, the candle 100 can be further provided with a stand 200 for controlling scent emission to the surrounding, as shown in Fig. 5. Before the scent is to be released, the protective sheet 150 should be removed. The candle stand 200 allows air access to the bottom of the base 140 such that scent can be diffused to the surrounding environment.

[0036] Fig. 6 shows an exemplary embodiment of the candle stand. The candle stand 200 allows regulating the amount of the air flow and in consequence the amount of the scent emission. The candle stand 200 has a support surface 202 for accommodating the inflammable base 140 of the candle. The support surface 202 has a plurality of openings 201. The aperture of the openings 201 may be adjusted by regulating means, such as a rotating disk 203, shown in Fig. 7. The disk 203 has the same distribution and size of openings as the support surface 202. The angular position of the disk 203 with respect to the support surface 202 determines the effective cross-section of the openings. Fig. 7 shows the candle stand in a bottom view with partially covered openings 201.

Claims

1. A candle comprising a wick (130) passing through a flammable portion (101), characterized in that the wick (130) is terminated at a first end in an inflammable base (140) that is adjacent to the flammable portion (101).

2. The candle according to claim 1, wherein the flammable portion (101) comprises an outer layer (110) and an inner layer (120).

3. The candle according to claim 2, wherein the outer layer (110) surrounds the inner layer (120) at the top of the candle via which the second end of the wick (130) protrudes.

4. The candle according to any of claims 2-3, wherein the outer layer (110) and the inner layer (120) have a different composition.

5. The candle according to any of claims 2-4, wherein the outer layer (110) surrounds the inflammable base (140).

6. The candle according to any of previous claims, wherein the inflammable base (140) further comprises an aromatic additive.

7. The candle according to any of previous claims, wherein the flammable portion (101) comprises an aromatic additive.

8. The candle according to any of previous claims, wherein the first end of the wick (130) is bent within the inflammable base (140).

9. The candle according to any of previous claims, further comprising a protective sheet (150) attached to the outer surface of the inflammable base (140).

10. A candle assembly comprising a candle according to any of previous claims and a stand (200) comprising a support surface (202) for accommodating the inflammable base (140) and having openings (201).

11. The candle assembly according to claim 10, wherein the openings (201) have a regulated cross-section.

12. A method for manufacturing a candle, the method comprising:

- forming a flammable portion (101) with a wick (130) embedded therein, the wick (130) having both ends extending outside the flammable portion (101); and

- subsequently, forming an inflammable base (140) adjacently to the flammable portion (101) to embed one end of the wick (130) within the inflammable base (140).

Drawing