EP1213342A1

EP1213342A1 - Candle, in particular smoke-eating candle

Info

Publication number: EP1213342A1
Application number: EP01128433A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Carlo Rotondo
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-12-07
Filing date: 2001-12-05
Publication date: 2002-06-12
Also published as: ITBO20000153V0; ITBO20000153U1; IT251185Y1

Abstract

A candle as proposed, in particular a smoke-eating candle, includes, dipped in its body, at least one capsule (3), which contains at least one article. The capsule (3) is formed by at least two semi-shells, which are tightened firmly and removingly. The capsule (3) becomes accessible during the gradual burning of the candle (1).

Description

The present invention relates to candles, with particular reference to smoke-eating candles and ornamental candles.
Nowadays, the candles are no longer used for lighting, but mainly for scenting rooms or as particularly precious ornamental objects, with lighting function being only secondary.
The smoke-eating candles for instance, are particular scented candles which, when lighted in a close environment full of smoke, purify the air burning the carbonaceous particles suspended in the air.
Patent Application No. 11794 B/88 filed in Florence on December 19, 1988 by Savana S.r.l. describes a wax smoke-eating candle, which features a chamber made thereinside, open at the bottom of the candle, aimed at housing any kind of articles.
After having put the article inside the chamber, accessible from the bottom of the candle, the candle is closed by auto adhesive labels made of felt, punched to measure, or by fixing plugs made of gum or plastic material.
Obviously, the upper part of the candle is equipped with a wick for lighting thereof.
It is difficult to fix the dimensions this type of candle, as regards the lateral and upper dimensions of the above chamber, since the candle can be broken easily by accidental stress which can occur during the production, packaging, transport and exposition.
It is to be pointed out that the upper part of the above described candle, in which the wick is situated, is limited in its extension, which can cause an undesired extinguishing of the candle after a short, not foreseeable period of time.
Moreover, it is very probable that the very hot wax falls into the chamber situated below, thus extinguishing suddenly the candle and damaging the article contained in the chamber.
The very hot wax entering the chamber can also leave it through the auto adhesive felt labels, which constitutes burning risk for the users.
The object of the present invention is to propose a candle, in particular smoke-eating, which avoids the above mentioned disadvantages and which allows to house different articles and, at the same time, ensures strength and nice aspect.
Another object of the present invention is to propose a candle, which, when is lit, does not cause any damage to the articles contained therein, and consequently, avoids any risk of accidents to the users.
The above mentioned objects are obtained in accordance with the content of the claims.
The characteristic features of the present invention will be pointed out in the following description of a preferred, but not unique embodiment, with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic, longitudinal section view of the proposed candle, e.g. cylindrical;
Figure 2 is a schematic, prospective view of the candle of Figure 1, in a particularly significant moment during its use.

With reference to the above Figures, the reference numeral 1 indicates the proposed candle, in particular smoke-eating, for instance cylindrical, equipped with a wick 1a, which protrudes from the upper part of the candle 1 and extends inside and along the body thereof.
At least one capsule 3 is dipped in the body of the candle 1, near its edge.
The capsule 3 contains at least one article, preferably a gift and fancy goods or a piece of paper with a message.
The capsule 3, whose contents can be seen, is preferably formed by two semi-shells 3a, 3b, which are tightened firmly and removingly in the capsule median area.
The semi-shells 3a, 3b, forming the capsule 3, are for instance either ovoid or spherical, or cylindrical (Figure 1).
The main object of the proposed candle 1 is to contain, dipped in its body, near its edge 1b, one or more capsules 3, situated at different levels and aimed at being uncovered and removed from the candle body by the gradual burning of the wick 1a and, consequently, by the gradual consumption of the candle.
In particular, by providing the longitudinal axis of the capsules 3 slightly inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the candle 1 toward the edge 1b of the latter, during the candle burning, the capsules 3 can spontaneously pass, due to the gravity, from a dipped configuration A, in which they are dipped in the body of the candle 1, to a free configuration B, in which they are released from body of the candle 1 (Figure 2).
The capsules 3, released from the body of the candle 1, lie on the rest surface and can be opened in a known way, by a slight force applied in the median area thereof.
Thus, it is possible to remove the article, or articles contained in the capsules 3, usually zodiacal messages, poems, wishes phrases, wishes or memorial goods, small statues, and so on.
According to a diverse embodiment, the article, or articles are dipped directly in the body of the candle 1, near its edge 1b.
Obviously, in this case, the dipped articles are not protected from the heat and wax, therefore they must have particular physical and structural characteristics.
The above described candle, in particular smoke-eating, allows to be advantageously associated with different articles, without losing its strong structure.
The possibility of placing messages and/or articles inside one or more capsules allows to obtain a beautiful candle, which therefore can be used as a particularly creative and original gift.
Actually, the package of each candle can be provided with information about the kind of article and/or message, which the candle releases gradually during the wax burning.
The transversal dimensions of the candle can be increased, thus increasing the number of possible capsules to dip in the candle body.
On the other hand, it is more difficult to cause and ensure the fall of the capsules due to the gravity during the candle burning.
Therefore, it is necessary to establish a correct relation between the diameter and the height of the candle, to obtain the best number of capsules to dip and to assure their fall due to the gravity during the candle burning.
The articles associated to the candles, dipped directly or contained in dipped capsules, are not damaged in any way during the candle lighting.
It is also to be pointed out that the proposed candle is simple to produce, and consequently the production cycle is simple, which results in low production costs.

Claims

Candle, in particular smoke-eating candle equipped with at least one wick (1a), characterized in that it includes, dipped in the body thereof, near the edge (1b), at least one capsule (3), which contains at least one article; said capsule (3) becoming accessible during gradual burning of the candle (1).
Candle, according to claim 1, characterized in that said capsule (3) is formed by at least one pair of semi-shells (3a,3b) which are tightened firmly and movingly.
Candle, according to any of the previous claims, characterized in that said semi-shells (3a,3b) are tightened firmly in the median area of said capsule (3).
Candle, according to any of the previous claims, characterized in that said capsule (3) is substantially spherical or cylindrical or ovoidal.
Candle, according to any of the previous claims, characterized in that the longitudinal axis of said capsule (3) is substantially inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the candle (1), so as to facilitate, during candle gradual burning, spontaneous passage of the capsule (3), due to the gravity, from a dipped configuration (A), in which it is dipped in the body of the candle (1), to a free configuration (B), in which it is released from body of the candle (1).
Candle, according to any of the previous claims, characterized in that it includes, dipped in the body thereof, near the edge (1b), a plurality of capsules (3), each of which contains at least one article.
Candle, according to claim 6, characterized in that each capsule (3) of said plurality is situated at a variable level.
Candle, in particular smoke-eating, substantially as described with reference to the enclosed figures.