EP1254339B1

EP1254339B1 - Candle lantern protective hood

Info

Publication number: EP1254339B1
Application number: EP01902892A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Lars Klavborg
Original assignee: LMT Innovation AB
Current assignee: LMT INNOVATION AB
Priority date: 2000-01-28
Filing date: 2001-01-23
Publication date: 2009-08-05
Anticipated expiration: 2021-01-23
Also published as: ATE438829T1; SE0000255L; DE60139456D1; EP1254339A1; ES2331053T3; SE514059C2; SE0000255D0; AU3065701A; PT1254339E; WO2001055637A1; DK1254339T3; CY1109562T1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a candle lantern consisting of a container (3) for a candle and a protective hood (1). According to the invention the protective hood (1) is provided with an upward exhaust (7) for heated air emanating from the flame (4) of the candle in the container (3). In the protective hood separate inlets for cool air (6) are arranged to, from the side, supply air and oxygen to the flame well shielded for surrounding winds. The cool air will be sucked in through the separate inlets (12) due to heated air leaving through the exhaust (7) at the top of the protective hood.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a candle lantern and more specifically to a protective hood for a holder containing a candle.

STATE OF THE ART

A problem for outdoor candles, for instance in grave lanterns, is that they must be able to withstand wind, rain and snow. From this reason these outdoor candle lanterns have been too much enclosed and the flame of the candle is often suffocated when the hot air presses the oxygen away. According to the state of the art the container for outdoor candle lanterns generally has a protective hood having combined inlets and outlets for entering air and discharging the hot exhaust from the lighted candle. In such designs there is always a risk for the flame to extinguish after a short period. Furthermore there may easily arise covering of the transparent portion of the lantern by soot.
Document SE 451 754B discloses a protective hood according to the preamble of claim 1.

THE INVENTION

According to the present invention a solution for the above-mentioned problems is presented. The invention discloses a protective hood provided with an upward exhaust at the top for the hot air from the flame of the candle within the container, whereby separate inlets for cool air are arranged in a space between the hood and the container. The hot air in the container is conveyed through a hole in the top of the hood, preferably an exhaust formed as a chimney, and simultaneously cool air will be taken in via separate inlets for cool air. In this way a chimney effect arises and the flame obtains an even supply of oxygen, which also assists in cooling the inner walls of the device. In the illustrative embodiments surrounding winds will have difficulties to reach the flame when cool air is streaming in at a lower edge of the protective hood, and the flame will be stable and cannot prematurely be extinguished. Due to the hot air leaving through the outlet in the top of the protective hood cool air containing oxygen is sucked into the container with the lighted candle due to the arising chimney effect. Furthermore, the cool air inlets provide protection for blowing of wind, which otherwise could extinguish the candle within the candle lantern.

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is described by the following description to be read together with the appended drawings, wherein equal numerals indicate same or corresponding elements:

FIG. 1: illustrates a first embodiment of an outdoor candle lantern showing a lighted candle;
FIG. 2: shows a cross section of an upper portion of the lantern of Figure 1 along a line A-A;
FIG. 3: is an illustration of a cylindrical portion before assembly with the protective hood of the first embodiment;
FIG. 4: illustrates a second embodiment of a candle lantern protective hood;
FIG. 5: illustrates a view from below at a position C-C between the candle and the protective hood; and
FIG. 6: is a longitudinal cross section of a lantern according to the second embodiment along a line D-D in FIG. 4.

ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS:

An outdoor lantern is illustrated in Figure 1, for instance a grave lantern containing a lighted candle 4. The lantern consists of a candle container having transparent walls 3, and a protective hood 1 introduced at the top of this container. The hood comprises a roof and to this roof a cylindrical portion, shown in Figure 3, is connected. For instance, the protective hood 1 is formed from a metal plating, and the container is made from glass or transparent plastics. In the roof of the protective hood 1 an exhaust 7 is arranged for hot air from the burning candle 4 of the container. The exhaust is preferably formed as a chimney portion. Between the protective hood and the container a number of inlets for cool air 6 are arranged, whereby the oxygen content of the cool air keeps the flame 4 alive. Without these inlets provided, lack of oxygen would soon arise in the container and the flame would go out. Figure 2 shows from below a cross section A-A of the lantern according to Figure 1.
Figure 3 illustrates a cylindrical portion of the protection hood to be connected to the protective hood 1. The cylindrical portion is at the top and at the bottom provided with foldable reeds, the lower ones 5 to be folded upwards to hold the cylindrical portion within the container after that the protective hood has been placed on top of the container 3. The upper reeds 2 are folded such that they are formed to hold and form the conical hood top 1. The bending of the reeds is then made such, that slits for the cool air 6 will be formed when the protective hood has been attached to the container. These slits then will be protected from wind by the lower edge of the hood roof. The lower reeds may upon folding be adapted such that the protective hood fits different container dimensions.
A further embodiment of a protective hood for an outdoor candle lantern is illustrated in Figure 4. The protective hood 1 forms an integrated conical portion with a central exhaust 7 formed by an inner circular wall 10 while an outer circular wall 11 forms a space for letting in cool air by means of a number of inlet holes 12 in the outer wall 11. This device may be made of metallic material but is preferably moulded from a heat-resistant material like a suitable plastic casting or the like. Cool air 6 will be sucked into the space formed between the outer wall 11 and the inner wall 10 when hot air from the flame of a lighted candle exits through the separated exhaust 7. The exhaust is preferably formed as a single upwardly directed opening but may of course also be designed containing a group of smaller holes. Selection of a proper size of the exhaust will decide a proper internal temperature of the candle lantern. Furthermore in a preferred embodiment demonstrated in Figures 4 and 6 the exhaust is also provided with an optional top cap 9. The protective hood according to the second embodiment is preferably adapted to fit onto a standardised transparent container including a readymade candle having a long burning time. According to still a further embodiment the protective hood is integrated with a piece of transparent tube, which fits over such a long-life candle. In that case the candle then has to be lighted before the candle is inserted into the transparent tube of the protective device provided by the present invention.
Figure 5 shows a view from below as a cross section at C-C illustrating the exhaust 7, the inner wall 10 and the outer wall 11. Figure 6 is a longitudinal cross section D-D of Figure 4 illustrating the conical top of the device with its optional top cap 9 and inner and outer walls 10 and 11, respectively. The inner wall 11 is preferably additionally reaching into the the container having the candle to further establish the space for cool air supply.
The advantage of the candle lantern according to the present invention is that the flame is protected and continuously supplied with oxygen, whereby the candle in the container will be able to produce light during its entire burning time. Furthermore due to the safe supply of fresh air the candle will burn without covering the transparent container with soot, which would decrease light emitted from the burning candle of the lantern.
A protective candle lantern device according the invention may be varied in many ways without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

A protective hood for placement onto a container (3) of a lantern for protection of a candle in the lantern and being provided with a lower portion (10, 11) for application to the container (3), at least one upwardly directed exhaust (7) for hot air from a flame (4) of the candle in the container (3) and inlets (12) for cool air (6) that are separately arranged in the protective hood (1) to supply cool air into the container (3), characterized by an upper, conical hood that in its upper top has a central exhaust (7) for hot air from the container (3) and in that the upper conical hood is integrated with a lower inner wall (10) and outer wall (11), respectively.
The protective hood according to claim 1, characterized in that the inlets (12) for cool air (6) are arranged as a number of inlet holes (12) in the outer wall (11).
The protective hood according to claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the lower inner and outer walls (10 and 11, respectively) are circular and between them form a space for the supply of cool air (6) via inlet holes (12) in the outer wall (11), whereby the inner wall (10) extends a bit further into the container (3).
The protective hood according any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the exhaust (7) is provided with a further protective top cap (9) arranged at the top of the protective hood.