Patent Application
20220034498
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The present invention is in the field of candle holders.
Candles are commonly displayed on cakes for birthday and other celebratory occasions. Generally, the candles are stuck into the cake then lit. During a birthday celebration the birthday boy or girl blows out the candles, potentially contaminating the cake by projecting droplets of saliva onto it. Other party goers are then subject to exposure to any viruses or colds that might be passed through eating the contaminated cake.
Further disadvantages of displaying candles directly on a cake include the potential for the candle to drip wax onto the cake. Moreover, when removed from the cake, candles often leave undesirable holes in the icing, diminishing the cake's aesthetics.
Some attempted solutions have tried securing a candle to a cake holder by melting the bottom of the candle then contacting the melted end with the cake holder while the candle wax dries. This attempted solution has not sufficiently addressed the discussed drawbacks owing to the instability of the bond to the cake holder and the potential to melt the holder itself when the melted candle contacts the holder. Additionally, once attached the melted candles would be difficult to reposition.
Other solutions have tried utilizing a cake holder which has preset, permanent indentions in which candles can be placed. Similarly, this has not sufficiently addressed the discussed drawbacks owing to its inability to permit adjustable customization of the candle display. Furthermore, unused indentions in the cake holder interfere with viewing the cake's aesthetics.
Therefore, what is clearly needed is a candle holder that solves the problems mentioned above.
In one embodiment of the invention a candle holder for displaying a candle on a cake cover is provided, comprising a suction cup centrally located on an axis and having opposite top and bottom sides, said bottom side having a concave shape and configured to adhere to a flat surface by a creating a vacuum when pressed against the surface, a cylindrical body extending along the axis upward from the top side of said suction cup, and a face at the end of said body located opposite the suction cup, said face lying flat in a plane perpendicular with said axis and forming a centrally located orifice for a bore that extends along the axis into said body for receiving a candle.
Also, in one embodiment the candle holder bore's walls extend vertically and run parallel to said axis. Alternatively, the bore's walls may be tapered, having a diameter at said orifice and narrowing to a smaller diameter as it enters the body.
In one embodiment of the invention the candle holder's orifice and bore are configured to receive an adaptor comprising a body on an axis, a top, and a bottom, said top having a face lying flat in a plane perpendicular with said axis and forming a centrally located orifice for a bore that extends along the axis and into said adapter's body, wherein said adapter's body is arranged for insertion into the candle holder's orifice and bore with the adapter's top extending outwardly. Also, in one embodiment said adapter's orifice and bore are adapted to receive a candle having a smaller diameter than said candle holder's orifice and bore. In another embodiment said adapter's orifice and bore are configured to receive a spike protruding from the bottom of a candle. In yet another embodiment of the invention a decorative cake topper forms a centrally located orifice configured to pass over the candle holder and rest on the exterior of the candle holder's body.
The inventor provides a candle holder for suction attachment to a cake cover enabling candles to be blown out with reduced likelihood of spreading viruses or colds. The present invention is described in enabling detail in the following examples, which may represent more than one embodiment of the present invention.
Referring to
The face 12 is formed from one end of the body 11 opposite the suction cup 13. Moreover, the face 12 lies flat in a plane parallel to the plane on which the suction cup 13 is positioned. In other words, the face 12 lies in a plane perpendicular to the axis A-A. It is not essential that the face 12 is flat and may take on other shapes in other embodiments of the invention.
It is also possible in another embodiment of the invention for the bore 20 to have tapered walls. In this embodiment, the orifice 14 would have a first diameter and the bore's walls would narrow to a second, smaller diameter as the bore 20 enters the body 11. This embodiment would allow the candle holder 10 to be used with candles of different sized diameters. A candle with a larger diameter would intersect the bore 20 at a shallower depth than a candle with a smaller diameter. The tapered walls ensure a snug fit for either size diameter candle in this example.
In another embodiment of the invention where adaptation to different candle dimensions is needed, the bore's walls form a plurality of barbs. The barbs may be distributed and aligned horizontally in a circular pattern around the bore's walls. Alternatively, the barbs may be distributed and aligned vertically, or parallel with the A-A axis. With either configuration, the purpose of the barbs is to create resistance against the exterior of a candle inserted into the bore. In turn, the resistance aids in securing the candle inside the candle holder.
Although the orifice 14 and bore 20 in
As shown in
As shown in
As stated, the preferred embodiment of the candle holder 10 is sized to receive, support, and display a standard, round birthday candle. The candle holder 10 is not limited to these dimensions or configuration and could be produced with an orifice 14 and bore 20 designed to fit different sizes and shapes of candles, figurines, or decorative items. Alternatively, the candle holder 10 can utilize a thin candle adapter 40 shown in
The thin candle adapter 40 comprises a body 41 and face 42. The adapter's face 42 lies flat in a plane perpendicular to the adapter's body 41. At its central portion along axis B-B, the face 42 forms an orifice 43 for reception of a candle. As shown in
Essentially, the adapter's orifice 43 and bore 44 function like the candle holder's orifice 14 and bore 20 except that they are adapted to receive a thinner candle. In turn, the adapter's body 41 is inserted into the candle holder's orifice 14 and bore 20 in the same manner a thicker candle would be. Although the preferred embodiment of the thin candle adapter 40 is configured to receive a cylindrical candle, the adapter's orifice 43 and bore 44 could be arranged and built to receive any shape of candle.
As some birthday and decorative candles have a spiked base 71, shown in
Like the thin candle adapter's 40 configuration, a bore 84 begins at the spike adapter's orifice 83 and extends downward into the adapter's body 81. Like the adapter's body 81, the adapter bore's 84 walls are vertical, circular, and run parallel to axis C-C. The bore 84 is configured to receive the spike 71 on the bottom of a spiked candle 70 as depicted in
In some instances, the suction cup may create a stronger vacuum making the candle holder difficult to remove from some cake covers. As shown in
On the other hand, some surfaces are not as receptive as others to vacuum suction cup attachment. In this case double sided tape 140, shown in
In addition to decorating cakes with candles, a variety of decorative figures are commonly used as cake toppers. Therefore, one embodiment of the current invention is adapted to incorporate a cake topper adapter 110 as shown in
In use, the candle holder's body 11 is inserted, leading with the face 12, through the topper adapter's orifice 111 from the adapter's under side. The topper adapter's orifice 111 is configured and sized to fit over the face 12 and then rest against the outer surface of the body 11. Once resting against the body 11, the topper adapter 110 is displayed on a cake cover like the candle holder 10, using the candle holder's suction cup 13.
An advantage of the current embodiment of the candle holder 10, is that it can easily be removed from the cake cover 32 by pulling up on the suction cup 13. This is useful for easy rearrangement of candle holders 10 on the cake cover 32 to either create different candle formations or permit a less restricted view of the cake 30 through the cover 32. The easy removal of the suction cup 13 also enables quick cleanup after the candles have been used.
Further advantages of the current invention include its size and ease of manufacture. Because of the candle holder's size and weight, a plurality of candle holders could be displayed on a cake cover at once without weighing down or damaging the cover. Additionally, the invention's size and one-piece design permit efficient, economic manufacture by injection molding.
Finally, a single candle holder could be configured to receive, support, and display a plurality of candles.
It will be apparent to one with skill in the art that the candle holder of the invention may be provided using some or all the mentioned features and components without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It will also be apparent to the skilled artisan that the embodiments described above are specific examples of a single broader invention which may have greater scope than any of the singular descriptions taught. There may be many alterations made in the description without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
