Patent Application
20120270164
The present invention relates to a container candle and a method of making the container candle. More particularly, the invention relates to a container candle including a container, a non-cylindrical-shaped insert with wick, and filler wax, wherein the insert provides auto-centering of the wick in the container which provides for both improved burn performance and fragrance delivery.
Various types of candles are known. Usage of candles since their early inception has changed dramatically from just providing light to providing ambiance and fragrance. Fragranced candles have become so popular that they come in a variety of shapes and structures. Candles desirably should burn to maximize fragrance release and provide an even burn of the candle so as to minimize the amount of fragrance and wax which are not released and burned during the life of the candle.
Since the proliferation of candles, consumers are more aware that not all candles are equal in performance. Candles can have different burn qualities as to evenness and cleanliness of burn and the degree of fragrance emitted and the length of time of such emission. Uneven burning can cause a large flame and sooty smoke and/or a tunneling effect in the candle which causes the candle material and fragrance to be wasted since it is not burned during the life of the candle. These latter candles are not able to be properly controlled during burning and, thus, do not provide complete combustion of the candle material. For example, in conventional cylindrical container candles, a significant amount of fragrance and dye are retained in unburned wax present in the base of the container and along the interior side walls of the container. This is a waste of fragrance, dye and wax material for the manufacturer which increases costs for making such candles and decreases the life of the candle for the consumer.
These and other shortcomings of container candles are addressed by the present invention.
The present invention relates to a container candle having improved burn performance and fragrance delivery. More particularly, the container candle comprises a container, a non-cylindrical insert of at least a combustible fuel and having a wick extending therethrough, and a fill material including a fragrance and at least one combustible fuel. The candle portion of the container candle includes the non-cylindrical insert, wick and fill material. The non-cylindrical insert, which has an upper portion which is narrower than its lower portion, provides auto-centering of the wick in the container and even burning of the candle by centrally positioning the wick in the container. Centering of the wick is critical for reducing heat on the side walls of the container for safety and good burn of the candle. The insert also provides support to the wick through the life of the burn to prevent slumping of the wick and uneven burning. The non-cylindrical insert includes a curved or angled top surface of a radius which transitions into tapered side walls which in turn transition to a base. The insert has a height which is less than a height of the container. The base of the insert has an outer diameter which is less than an inner diameter of a bottom wall of the container, but is sized to be sufficient in diameter to cause the insert to become auto-centered on the inside bottom wall of the container when placed thereon in the container. The configuration of the bottom of the insert as to size and shape is complementary to the shape of the outer container to provide auto-centering. An upper portion of the wick extends beyond the top surface of the insert. The fill material is provided in the container around the insert in an amount which can be sufficient to cover the top surface of the insert, or the fill material can be purposely below the top surface of the insert, but in either event not covering the upper portion of the wick extending out of the insert.
Accordingly, the shape and the positioning of the insert in the container provides for (1) auto-centering of the wick in the container; (2) a clean pour, i.e., no air pocket formation, of fill material into the container and around the insert due to the curvature or angle and taper of the side walls of the insert; and (3) an even burn of the fill material and insert to enable dispersal of fragrance from the insert and/or fill material. Minimizing or eliminating waste of fragrance, dye and candle material of the container candle is thereby achieved.
The above and other aspects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention and from the accompanying drawings.
The following detailed description of specific non-limiting embodiments of the present invention can be best understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings, where like structures are indicated with like reference numbers.
The present invention relates to a non-cylindrical insert for placement in an outer container to provide a container candle. The insert can be of various configurations wherein the upper portion of the insert is narrower in diameter than the diameter of the bottom portion of the insert. The sidewalls between the top surface of the upper portion and the base of the bottom portion of the insert transition between the top surface and the base. The non-cylindrical insert can have various shapes, such as shown for example in
Referring to
The container 12 has an open top 22 in use, side walls 24 and a bottom wall 26. The container 12 may be of any suitable shape and is preferably round, circular or cylindrical, but may also be square, oval, pentagonal, hexagonal, octagonal, other geometrical shapes or the like. The side walls 24 of the container 12 are preferably substantially straight or vertical as to the base 26 with a top peripheral edge. However, the side walls 24 may be any other suitable shape including, but not limited to, substantially curved upper peripheral edge, or the like. The top peripheral edge may be straight, rounded, or otherwise based on the desired structural design or aesthetic appearance sought. The container 12 can be made of any suitable material including, but not limited to, glass, metal, plastic, ceramic, a combination thereof, and the like.
The insert 14 holds the wick 16 centrally in the container 12. The insert 14 has a top surface 28 transitioning into tapered side walls 30 which in turn transition to a base 32. The base 32 of the bell-shaped insert has substantially straight vertical side walls 34. The insert 14 has a height which is less than a height of the container 12, and the base 32 of the insert 14 has an outer diameter which is less than an inner diameter of the interior bottom wall 26 of the container 12. The base 32 is sufficient in diameter to cause the insert 14 to become auto-centered on the inside surface 26a of the bottom wall 26 of the container 12 when placed thereon in the container 12. The insert 14 comprises at least a combustible fuel, such as wax including, but not limited to, paraffin, vegetable-based wax (e.g. soy-based wax), gel, any blend of these, and the like. The insert 14 may also include therein fragrance(s), dye(s) and/or other additive(s) which enhance the burn performance or fragrance experience of the candle.
The wick 16 extends centrally through the insert 14 with an upper portion 16a of the wick 16 extending beyond the top surface 28 of the insert 14. The wick 16 may be made of any suitable wick material. In one embodiment as shown in
The fill material 18 is situated in the container 12 around the insert 14 preferably in an amount sufficient to cover the top surface 28 of the insert 14 but not cover the upper portion 16a of the wick 16 extending out of the insert 14 and be below a top edge of the side walls 24 of the container 12. Alternatively, the fill material may purposely leave exposed a portion of the insert containing the upper portion 16a of the wick 16. The fill material 18 comprises at least one fragrance and at least one combustible fuel, such as wax including, but not limited to, paraffin, vegetable-based wax (e.g. soy-based wax), gels, blends of these, and the like. The fill material can also include one or more dyes or other additive(s) suitable for incorporation in a candle. Based on 100 wt. % of the total amount of fragrance contained in the container candle, i.e., of the insert and the fill material, fragrance is delivered in an amount of greater than about 98 wt. % upon end of life of the wick.
The fragrance of the insert 14 and the fragrance of the fill material 18 can be the same or different from each other.
Retention of combustible fuel within the container 12 upon end of life of the wick 16 is designed to be less than about 10 wt. % based on 100 wt. % being a sum of the combustible fuel of the fill material 18 and the combustible fuel of the insert 14.
In one embodiment of the invention, the insert 14 is used in making a container candle 10 having a cylindrical outer container 12. The insert 14 is placed in the container 12 on the interior surface 26a of the bottom wall 26 of the container 12 with the base 32 of the insert 14 facing the interior surface 26a of the bottom wall 26 of the container 12. Due to the outer diameter of base 32 being sized just smaller than the inner diameter of the container, ready insertion of the insert is provided with minimal subsequent movement of the insert within the container which thereby achieves auto-centering of the insert wick therein. Centering of a cylindrical insert is difficult and time consuming, and the tunneling effect occurs upon burning of the candle resulting in a waste of candle material and fragrance. Fill material 18 is poured into the container 12 around the insert 14 so that the insert 14 is covered by the fill material 18 with the wick 16 protruding beyond the fill material 18. The curvature or angle and taper of the side walls 30 of the insert 14 provide a clean pour of fill material 18 into the container 12 and around the insert 14 without air pockets so that the fill material 18 smoothly abuts the side walls 30 of the insert 14.
Further, when the insert 14 is placed in the container 12, the base 32 of the insert 14 may optionally be adhered to the top surface 26a of base wall 26 of the container 12. Due to the minimal movement of insert 14 in container 12, such adhering is not required, but such provides an added safety feature in fit and retention between the candle components and the container.
The bell-shaped insert 14 may be any suitable size such that the base 32 of the bell-shaped insert 14 is slightly smaller than the interior diameter of the container 12 in which it is inserted and the height of the bell-shaped insert 14 is less than the height of the container 12. In one embodiment, the candle 20 formed in the container 12 is sized as a votive candle. As such, after the fill material 18 is poured into the container 12 over the bell-shaped insert 14, the candle 20 has a height of approximately 2 inches (50.8 mm). The bell-shaped insert 14 has a height of approximately 1.65 inches (41.91 mm) and the outer diameter of the base 32 of the bell-shaped insert 14 is approximately 1.75 inches (44.45 mm) and is about a few millimeters smaller, preferably in a range of about 2 mm to about 4 mm smaller, and in the embodiment described above about 4 mm smaller, than the inner diameter of the container 12. This preferred range allows for an annulus of about 1 mm to about 2 mm clearance between the insert and the outer container which provides for a looseness allowing ready insertion of the insert 14 while also allowing only minimal subsequent movement of the insert 14 in the container 12, both prior to and during the pouring of the fill material 18 into the container 12. This structure provides auto-centering of the insert 14 in the container 12 upon placement in the container 12, as well as allows the fill material to sufficiently overpour the insert to hide the insert from view in the finished container candle. The centering of the wick 16 also then occurs which results in good temperature control as to the burning, i.e., a centered heat/burn and an even burn on all sides of the candle is provided which reduces heat to the container side walls for safety and good burn of the candle. This prevents also heat from being reduced too much during burn of the wax which avoids a tunneling effect in the candle, i.e., avoids wax remaining along the interior side walls of the container and the attendant waste of fragrance and wax (which is added cost to the manufacturer) and reduction in life of the candle (which is a loss to the consumer as to the useful life of the candle).
As set forth above, the insert 14 of the invention provides, in addition to centering of the wick 16, also provides support to the wick 16. The support prevents slumping of the wick 16 during the life of the burn. This is especially beneficial if a soy-based candle is desired for use since soy-based candles have a faster melt time.
Due to the improved temperature control and burn achieved by the insert 14 of the invention, especially as to the preferred embodiment of the bell-shaped insert, minimization of the amount of unused fragrance and dye is achieved. Reducing the residual loss of fragrance and dye at the end of life of the candle in unburned candle material results in a financial savings to the manufacturer while providing an improved life length to the consumer.
It is noted that while the container candles 10 of the present invention are preferably fragranced candles which are burned in households to provide ambience, fragrance or elimination of odors, the container candles 10 may be unfragranced. Unfragranced candles embodying the invention still results in improved temperature control and burn and, thus, a longer useful life due to minimal waste of candle material, i.e., no tunneling effect.
Alternative embodiments of the non-cylindrical insert of the invention are shown in
Table 1 illustrates an example of a paraffin candle of the invention which is 2.00 inches in height with a bell-shaped paraffin insert therein having a height of 1.50 inches, compared to a single piece cylindrical paraffin candle also 2.0 inches in height. Each candle was cut horizontally into 0.25 inch sections (8 sections total) and weighed. Each candle had a total fill weight of 115 grams, resulting in each 0.25 section being 14.375 grams (14.375 g×8=115 g). The percentage of fragrance by section is listed in Table 1, as well as the weight of the bell-shaped insert in each cut section.
Table 2 illustrates mixed pours with differing fragrance levels.
Based on a 30 gram bell-shaped insert.
Tables 1 and 2 above show that the bell-shaped insert allows for best fragrance delivery during the first 75%-80% of candle life. The last ¼ of candle life shows fall off in fragrance delivery and the last ⅛ of candle life is retention. As such, cost savings can be maximized by using a bell-shaped insert while maintaining good fragrance delivery for 75%-80% of the total candle life.
The exemplary embodiments herein disclosed are not intended to be exhaustive or to unnecessarily limit the scope of the invention. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the present invention so that others skilled in the art may practice the invention. As will be apparent to one skilled in the art, various modifications can be made within the scope of the aforesaid description. Such modifications being within the ability of one skilled in the art form a part of the present invention and are embraced by the appended claims.
