US2570841A - Festive candle - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 9, 1951 J. M. o'coNNoR YFESTIVE CANDLE Filed Nov. e, 194e m e b@ Patented oa. 9, i951 UNITED STAT-Es PATENT OFFICE James M. oconnor, seattle, Wash. Application November 6, 1948, Serial No. 58,740

T his invention relates to a festive candle, and Ahasfor its general object the provision of a candle Vso* made as to give every indication of being van 4 claims. (ci. 1021-31) ordinary taper and which, when lit, initially burns with the wavering light typical of the common wax candle but later is caused to are up with an intense light and give off a scintillating shower of brilliant but entirely harmless re-like sparks.

The invention consists in the new method of I,producing a festive candle of this nature, and

in the novel construction and in the adaptation and combination of parts composing the same,

vas will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing:

'Figure 1 is a transverse vertical sectional View 'illustrating a festive candle made tovembody the preferred teachings of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1. l

. Fig. 3 is a top plan view illustrating the blank from which I form a wax-catching cup arranged and adapted to be used with my candle.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of said wax-catching cup shown as it is given a cone shape by bring- Y' ing the marginal edges of the blanks sectoral opening into a tensioning lapped relationship; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary partly schematic transverse vertical sectional view of the candle taken to an enlarged View and portraying the same after the tip has been consumed and at the ap- Y proximate stage of its burning when the sparkle'r core becomes ignited. ij

In its preferred embodiment the present invention is comprised simply of a single sparkler member sheathed as a core within a molded body of Wax, but quite possibly could be made up of multiple said sparklers, or functional counterparts thereof, embedded in more or less haphazard fashion within an investing body of wax. Describing said preferred embodiment, the core is denoted by the numeral I0 and is formulated from any applicable composition of matter the particles of which are bonded together and molded into the shape of a rod upon a reinforcing stick II which may be made either of metal or wood. The stick desirably projects by an end well beyond the bottom end ci the sparkler rod. By way of example, a suitable composition of matter, considered proportionately by weight, is one containing 10 ounces of white potassium chlorate, 2

ounces of granulated aluminum, 2 ounces of dextrine, and 11g ounce of charcoal. If it be desired to develop color, say red or green, in the sparks which issue as products of combustion when such formulation of matter is ultimately ignited, the mixture can be augmented either by powdered strontium nitrate or powdered barium nitrate, usingY 11/2 ounces of the former or 2 ounces of the latter, as the case may be.

This sparkler rod desirably is formed with a bullet-shaped head I2 and, after the rod sets to shape, there is applied over such head a wick which I have indicated as being comprised of a severalty of individual strands, designated by I3, applied perpendicular to the rod and positioned at equidistantly spaced intervals of the latters circumference. As a procedural step, it is my finding that the vwick-forming strands can be applied with expedition by coating the same with semi-fluid wax and then laying these wax-coated strands in their necessary spaced relationship upon a flat surface, whereupon the tip of the sparkler rod is rolled over the same to pick up the strands by adhesion. Tip ends of the strands are caused to project beyond the bullet head of the rod, and these protruding ends are then pressed together. The final step of producing the candle is to introduce the rod and its wick within a candle mold, preferably with the bottom end of the rod elevated somewhat above the licor of the mold, and pour into this mold a rod-investing body I4 of molten wax. A suitable wax formula is one containing paraine melting point) combined with stearic acid and white lead, used in the proportions of 5 lbs. of the paraine to 1A lb. of

.the .acid and 1/8 1b. of the lead.

Employed in conjunction with the festive candle of the present invention is a wax-catching cup designated by I5 and which is made from a blank of thin sheet tin, cardboard or the like cut to a generally circular pattern comprehending somewhat less than a complete circle, and this is to say that a re-entrant sectoral throat is provided. The blank is pierced to present a center opening I6. Projecting inwardly from one marginal edge of said sectoral throat is a tongue I'I, and there is cut into the material of the blank adjacent the other marginal edge a radial slot I8 arranged, when the two edges are drawn together, to register with the tongue. Upon drawing said edges together under tension, the blank will form itself into a cone-shaped cup, and the same is then held in this condition by passing the tongue through the slot and bending the same rearwardly. As will be clearly apparent from an inspection of Fig. 1, the cup is applied to the-candle by inserting the protruding bottom end of the reinforcing stick II through the center opening I6.

I profess no novelty in and to the construction of the cup. Y

In lieu of using a severalty of strands to produce my wick, the same could, if desired, be a Woven product made in the form of a tapering sheath, but whether the one or the other be used it is here pointed out that extensive experiments rather conclusively establish that it is necessary to a practical working of the present invention that the AWick substantially encompass the bullet head of the rod. This is to say that `a Wick passing along one side only of the sparkler rod is ineffective as an assured means of igniting the latter. A single-strand wick might in reason be made effective, however, by treating the head end of the sparkler rod withan ignition-accelerating substance, and in this r-.eSpectI have eX- perimented With various known preparations for this purpose and such, for example, as amixture of potassium chlorate, lead binoxide, red lead, antimony `trisulphide, and gum arabic, but the results have not been satisfactory. The explanation of the ineffectiveness of a .single-strand Wick very probably lies in the fact that-the head v.of the rod must be substantially enveloped by a hot flame.

In using my festive candle, the `same is lighted in the ordinary manner, and then burns fora short time interval much the same as anordinary taper. As the wax melts, the bullet'l nose of `the sparkler rod becomes exposed and heated, vand ignition of the latter customarily takes vplace when the level of the wax has dropped to approximately the point at whichA it is indicatedv in Fig. 5. schematically graphed in this view are the three cone-shaped flame bands which rise `from the burning Wick, the lcwermost or primary band a being a blue flame which is enveloped by a secondary deep yellow name-band b and which is in turn enveloped by a tertiary flame-band c of lighter yellow. It is the effective vesture of this is of advantage in that it causes the wax to melt well ahead of the ignition pointand is',

with the absence of a wick, a factor responsible Number y for the wax to burn down' in the degree necessary to ignite the sparkler being additive to the Y .fascination of the candles.

' It is thought that the invention will have been clearly understood from the foregoing description. The particular arrangement of parts which I have elected'to illustrate, the compositions of matter which I have referred to as being suitable therefor, and the recited method of Y manufacture each admit of ,being 4changed Without sacrifice of the inventive concept, Wherefor it is my intention that no limitations .be implied and that the hereto annexed claims be given a breadth in their construction fully commensurate with the broadest interpretation to which the employed language fairly admits. l v

What I claim is: Y

1. As a festive candle, a body of wax with a contained wick and having embedded within the wax an ignitable core, the Wick substantially surroundingthe head .end of said -ignitable core.

2-. As a festive candle, an ignitable sparkler rod. ashort wick applied in contiguous lapping relation to the head endV only of the rod, and a body of Wax investing said rod and the lapping portion of the wick.

3. As a festive candle, an ignitable rodcontaining a pyrotechnic, a short wick sheathing the head end only ofthe rod and projecting above the latter, and a body of Wax investing said rod and the sheathing portion of the wick. v4. The festive candle of claim 1 in which the ignitable` core contains a pyrotechnic. j

JAlVIES- M. OCONNOR.

REFERENCES CITED i Therfollowing references are of record in the ille of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name DateY 1,608,518 Minloth 1 NOV. 30, 1926

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