Abstract:
A scented candle is provided which includes a dual braided wick in a candle mass. The candle mass is positioned on an inwardly sloping platform and such platform is snugly fit into a noncombustible container. A wick clip with louvers that secures and centers the wick in the candle mass allows maximum fuel flow to the wick during use to ensure full consumption of the melted candle mass.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a scented candle and more particularly to a scented candle which provides for a rapid release of the fragrance after the candle is lit. 
         [0002]    Most scented candles emit fragrance readily from the melt pool created when the candle wick is lit. The time for delivery of the fragrance is directly proportional to the time it takes for the melt pool to form, surface area of the melt pool and the temperature of the melt pool. 
         [0003]    Some scented candles that rapidly release fragrances that are known in the art use a heat conductive device to melt the solid fuel element. Such additional heat conductive elements take away from the decorative nature of the candle. Moreover, such heat conductive elements do not produce a melt pool surface in a short time period because the conductive element transfers heat to the bottom of the candle containers rather than where the wick is burning and therefore do not produce fast fragrance delivery. 
         [0004]    It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a scented candle using traditional candle making materials that rapidly releases fragrance. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    A scented candle is provided which includes a dual braided wick in a candle mass. The candle mass is positioned on an inwardly sloping platform and such platform is snugly fit into a noncombustible container. A wick clip with louvers that secures and centers the wick in the candle mass allows maximum fuel flow to the wick during use to ensure full consumption of the melted candle mass. 
         [0006]    These and other features and objects of the present invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description which should be read in light of the accompanying drawing in which corresponding reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is an elevational view of a traditional wick used in prior art candles. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  an elevational view of a braided wick of the candle of the present invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a sectional view of a candle of the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a another sectional of the candle of the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is an exploded sectional view of the candle of the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the wick clip used in the candle of the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is a top view of the wick clip shown in  FIG. 6 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 8  is a graph of the surface melt pool diameter formatting for the present invention vs. the prior art. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0015]    The candle  10  of the present invention includes a candle mass  12  in which a wick  14  is embedded. The candle mass is positioned on a platform  20  which is inserted in a base container  26 . 
         [0016]    The candle mass  12  must be of a certain melting point to achieve the rapid release of fragrances. It is preferred that the candle mass melting point not exceed 145° F., and more preferably not to exceed 130° F. The candle mass may be made from a number of combustible materials, such as fully refined paraffin, semi-refined paraffin, beeswax, soy wax, epoxidized soybean oil, tallow, microwax, palm wax, mineral wax, polyethylene wax, normal alpha olefins, poly alpha olefins, or other triacyglycerol-type materials or combustible polymers. 
         [0017]    In one embodiment of the invention the following materials within Ranges 1 and 2 are used: 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Material-list 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Purpose 
                 Material 
                 Product 
                 Vendor 
                 Range 1 
                 Range 2 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Fuel 
                 Fully Refined Paraffin 
                 Parvan 1270 
                 ExxonMobil 
                 100.000% 
                 41.75% 
               
               
                 Hardness and melt 
                 Semi-refined Paraffin 
                 2281A 
                 IGI Waxes 
                 0.000% 
                 41.75% 
               
               
                 point control 
               
               
                 Crystalline 
                 Microcrystalline wax 
                 5715A 
                 IGI Waxes 
                 0.000% 
                 6.00% 
               
               
                 modifier 
               
               
                 Crystalline 
                 Poly alpha olefin 
                 Vybar 260 
                 Baker Petrolite 
                 0.000% 
                 2.00% 
               
               
                 modifier 
               
               
                 Protectant 
                 UV absorber 
                 Chimassorb 81 
                 BASF 
                 0.000% 
                 0.20% 
               
               
                 Protectant 
                 UV absorber 
                 Tinuvin 329 
                 BASF 
                 0.000% 
                 0.20% 
               
               
                 Protectant 
                 Antioxidant 
                 Irganox B225 
                 BASF 
                 0.000% 
                 0.10% 
               
               
                 Function 
                 Scent 
                 Variable 
                 Variable 
                 0.000% 
                 8.00% 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0018]    The candle mass  12  may be formed using existing processes known in the art, such as, liquid pouring and molding, wax bead compression, and wax bead extrusion. A preferred embodiment of the present invention uses wax bead compression by means of a rotary press. In this preferred embodiment, the candle mass  12  is manufactured by mixing together the materials listed in Table 1 above. These materials are mixed and melted into a homogenous liquid state creating a molten “blend”. A molten blend is then sprayed into the air via nozzles with an orifice of 0.35 mm or 0.4 mm onto a rotating cold drum where small spheres (approximately 0.25 mm-1.25 mm in diameter) are formed. The small spheres are scraped off the cold drum into a vibrating pan and collected at a point of vacuum. The vacuum delivers small spheres into a candle pressing molding machine, such as the machine sold by Herrhammer, GmbH under Model No. STFM-1/450/3. The small spheres are compressed under pressure around a pin to form a compressed solid wax blend with a centered channel for subsequent wick insertion. A wick  14  is then inserted into the compressed solid wax blend and attached to a wick clip  30  ( FIG. 6 ) by inserting the wick  14  through the wick barrel  34  using a standard process called wick pinning 
         [0019]    Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the candle  10  also includes a platform  20  that is sized to fit snugly in a base  26 . The candle mass  12  is positioned on the platform  20  when the candle  10  is in use. The platform  20  has a concave shape that inwardly slopes to a circular center depression  22  where the candle mass  12  centrally sits. The platform may be any of the following materials: prime tinplate, aluminum, brass, copper, stainless steel, glass, ceramics, or any other non-combustible material suited to forming. It is preferred that the platform be locked into the base  26  so that the bottom of the platform  20  is not be less than 32 mm from the bottom of the base  26 . 
         [0020]    The primary function of the base  26  is to hold the platform  20 . The base  26  can also be designed of a variety of shapes and colors for decorative purposes. The base  26  may be comprised of any non-combustible material as long as it secures the platform  20  at least 32 mm from the bottom of the base  26 . 
         [0021]    The wick  14  is a critical component of the invention as it supports combustion and spreads the heat in both horizontal and vertical directions. It is the horizontal heat flow that is conducive to fast formation of the surface melt pool. Horizontal heat flow is obtained by the dual-wick design of the wick  14  that is most clearly shown in  FIG. 2 . During burning the dual-wick  14  unwinds and opens up causing the flame geometry to shift from a narrow-based flame to a broad-based flame. The result of this flame geometry shift yields greater heat flow onto the candle mass  12 , subsequently quickly melting the solid candle mass  12  forming an active melt pool, thus, quickly releasing the scent. In many preferred embodiments the width of the flame achieved by using the dual braided wick  14  is twice as wide as the flame produced by a traditional wick  13  shown in  FIG. 1 . The dual-braid wick  14  used in this invention can be sourced as the Helix series of wicks from the supplier Atkins and Pearce at One Braid Way, Covington, Ky. 41017, U.S.A. 
         [0022]    It should be noted that another critical aspect of surface melt pool time-to-formation is a function of the candle mass&#39; melting point. Therefore, it is important that these two critical parameters be in balance to produce the safest and most optimal end-use product. 
         [0023]    Referring to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the wick clip  30  is a device that holds the wick  14  in place within the candle mass  12 . The present invention uses a modified wick clip  30  specifically designed to allow liquid wax to flow through two vertical channels or louvers  32  positioned 180 degrees apart, in an effort to support combustion and for complete fuel consumption. Barrel height of the wick clip and the barrel height to louver, both relative to the candle mass height, is another important aspect of the current invention. It is preferred that the barrel height not exceed 12 mm in length, and more preferably not exceed 7 mm in length. Barrel height dictates the flames position relative to the melted wax mass. A longer barrel height positions the flame too far from the melted candle mass resulting in loss of effective heating, thereby causing product failure. Shorter barrel heights position the flame too close to the melted candle mass causing excessive heat and uneven fragrance liberation. It is also important that the slats  33  of louvers  32  extend parallel to the barrel  34  from the wick clip base  36  to about 0.50 mm from the top of the barrel  34 . Shorter louvers cause relight failures. Longer louvers compromise the barrel&#39;s integrity causing collapse of the barrel  34  during wick pinning Another important function of the louvers  32  is the locking of the wick clip into the candle mass. The slats  33  of louvers  32  extend about 0.0250″ from the barrel&#39;s surface. This extension provides a gripping surface keeping the wick clip  30  locked into the candle mass. The base  36  of the wick clip  30  may be of any suitable geometry or diameter as long as a minimum wick base surface area of 200 mm 2  is met. 
         [0024]    A candle  10  of the present invention was compared for surface time-to-melt pool diameter formation to a prior art candle (a S.C. Johnson Glade Scented Oil Candle) using a single braid wick and a wick clip without louvers. The candle mass  12  of the present invention contained the ingredients listed in Table 1. Both candles were placed 12″ apart on a non-combustible surface and in an 8′×12′ room with standard HVAC and an ambient temperature of 75° F. Each candle was lit concurrently and a timer activated at time of lighting. The melt pool was measured in 5 minute increments until the melt pool spilled its contents. It is well known in the art that fast melt pool formation is directly related to the amount of volatile or semi-volatile fragrance emanated by a candle. Results show that in five and ten minutes the candle of the present invention forms a melt pool greater than twice the diameter of the prior art candle and at fifteen minutes greater than 1.5 times. After fifteen minutes the current invention&#39;s candle mass spilled its liquid contents into the platform where it subsequently fully liquefied and consumed. These results are shown in the table below and the graph in  FIG. 8 . 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Surface Melt Pool time-to-form Diameter 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Ambient 
                 Minutes 
               
             
          
           
               
                 75 F. 
                 0 
                 5 
                 10 
                 15 
                 20 
                 25 
                 30 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 Sweet 
                 YCC Fast 
                 0 
                 1.17 
                 1.43 
                 1.61 
                 spill 
                   
                   
               
               
                 Pea 
                 Fragrance 
               
               
                 Spiced 
                 Delivery 
               
               
                 Rose 
                 Prior Art 
                 0 
                 0.57 
                 0.67 
                 1.03 
                 1.13 
                 1.32 
                 1.52 
               
               
                 Vanilla 
                 S.C. Johnson 
               
               
                   
                 Glade 
               
               
                   
                 Scented Oil 
               
               
                   
                 Candle 
               
               
                   
                 Current 
                   
                 105% 
                 113% 
                 56% 
               
               
                   
                 surface 
               
               
                   
                 melt pool 
               
               
                   
                 time-to-form 
               
               
                   
                 significantly 
               
               
                   
                 exceeds that 
               
               
                   
                 of the prior 
               
               
                   
                 art candle 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0025]    While the foregoing invention has been described in light of its preferred embodiments, various alterations and modification will occur to those skilled in the art. All such alterations and modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.