Year: 1886

page_text: I RALPH ASHTON of Holly House, Heaton Mersey, in the County of Lancaster,
Manufacturing Chemist do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
Candles are made of grease or wax in the customary way but, during the
process of manufacture, pieces of non-combustible material called dividers are
attached to the wick at certain distances apart, before covering the wick with
grease or wax, thus each candle is marked off into sections. The length of these
sections is determined by the length of time each section is intended to burn. The
object of attaching the dividers is to cause the candle to go out on the flame
approaching them. At each section small pieces of wire are twisted or tied across
the wick to support the dividers in their places, & to check the capilliary attraction
of the wick thus aiding in extinguishing the flame of the candle on its approaching
the divider. Arrangements for automatically extinguishing candles, by fixing
mechanical appliances on the outside of the candle or the candle stick, are
frequently troublesome & in their action objectionable as the grease or wax of
which the candle is composed is besmeared on the apparatus & the candle itself is
disfigured.
A candle therefore that will burn a desired length of time & then of itself go
out without these accompanying features becomes a desideratum.
To meet this want I have devised & invented a method of making self extin-
guishing candles, & proceed as follows, during the process of manufacturing
candles in the well known & customary way I take the wick & attach to it at
such points as may be desired a non-combustible substance or substances, as herein-
after described, & the formation of the candle is then proceeded with by covering
the wick with grease or wax in the customary way by dipping or moulding.
The object of attaching this non combustible substance to the wick is to
extinguish the candle, at the points where they are attached, by stopping the
further progress of the flame & intercepting the supply to the flame of the gas, or
elements of combustion, given off from the melted grease or wax, so that when the
wick is burnt down to the point of attachment of the non-combustible substance
or substances the flame gradually dies out.
The non combustible substances I prefer to use are tin & wire. I make a hollow
cone (by preference), or disk, or saucer shaped piece of thin tin, which for con-
venience are called dividers. These dividers are somewhat less in diameter than
071

page_text: the candle of which they are to form a part, this however is not absolutely
necessary & the dividers may have the same or a greater diameter than the candle.
I punch a hole through the apex of the cone-divider and through the centre of the
other dividers, to admit of the passage through it of the wick. I then pass on
to the wick as many of these dividers as may be required, with either side up, but
I prefer to place the cone-dividers with the apex pointing upwards. These
dividers are placed at any desired distance apart. In order to keep them in their
places, as well as to check the capilliary attraction of the wick, I twist or tie
a piece of very thin wire on the wick beneath the dividers.
The two ends of the wire are then left stretching out from opposite sides of the
wick & at right angles to it. One end or arm of the wire is cut short to about
the semi-diameter of the divider & the other end or arm of the wire is left longer,
then
say half an inch or more according to the size of the candle. The divider
pressed down the wick to the wire until the small hole, through which the wick
passes, comes into contact with the knot of the wire. I then bend down a portion
of the long arm of the wire towards the wick from a point at a distance from the
wick of about the semi diameter of the divider. The divider is thus supported in
its place by the wire the long end of which, when the candle is formed, acts as a
pillar to support the divider, when the flame of the candle has burnt down to it,
and preventing the divider falling on one side into the melted grease or wax.
The candle is marked off into sections by the placing of the dividers at certain
distances apart on the wick, & the length of these sections is determined by the
length of time each section is required to burn.
When the candle has burnt through one section the divider may be easily
removed by cutting the wick just under the point where the wire is twisted or
tied on to it, & the candle is then ready for use again.
As giving the neatest & most satisfactory results I prefer to use the method &
materials I have just described but do not confine myself to them as it is evident
that both the substances used & and the method of placing & attaching them may
be very much varied. Dividers of any suitable non-combustible substance may be
used & of various shapes & not necessarily round, they may be folded on the wick
& fixed in position by pressure, they may also be varnished over with silicate of
soda, or silicate of potassium or any similiar substance. The wire may also be
twisted or tied on the wick in more than one place to aid in checking capilliary
attraction & the method of adjusting it in relation to the divider may be varied,
as for instance the cone-divider may be allowed to rest with its base on the arms
of the wire instead of being pressed down until the knot of the wire comes into
contact with the small hole in the apex of the cone.
רד
11
CT 1000

page_text: I RALPH ASHTON of Holly House, Heaton Mersey in the County of Lancaster,
Manufacturing Chemist do hereby declare the nature of any invention for MAKING
SELF-EXTINGUISHING CANDLES and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Arrangements for automatically extinguishing candles by fixing mechanical
appliances on the outside of the candle or on the candle stick are frequently
troublesome and in their action objectionable as the grease or wax of which the
candle is composed is, besmeared on the apparatus & the candle itself is disfigured.
A candle therefore that will burn a desired length of time and then of itself go
out without these accompanying features becomes a desideratum.
To meet this want I have devised & invented a method of making candles self-
extinguishing & do this in the following way,-During the process of manufacturing
candles by any of the usual & well known methods, I take the wick which is to
form part of the candle and attach to it at such points as may be desired a non-
combustible substance or substances, as hereinafter described, and the formation of
the candle is then proceeded with by covering the wick with grease or wax by any
of the customary methods of dipping or moulding.
The object of attaching these non-combustable substances to the wick is to
extinguish the flame of the candle, at the points where they are attached, by
stopping the further progress of the flame and intercepting the supply to the flame
of the gas or elements of combustion given off from the melted grease or wax, so
that when the wick is burnt down to the point of attachment of the non-
combustible substance or substances the flame gradually dies out.
The non-combustible substances I prefer to use are thin tin-plate or copper &
wire. I make a hollow cone (Figure I., a, b, c,) by preference, or disk, or saucer
shaped piece of thin tin-plate or copper, which for convenience are hereinafter
called dividers. These dividers are somewhat less in diameter than the candles of
which they are to form a part-this however is not absolutely necessary as the
dividers may have the same diameter as the candle. I punch a hole through the
apex of the cone, & through the centre of the other dividers just sufficiently large
to admit of the passage through it of the wick. I then thread or pass on to the
wick as many of these dividers as may be required with either of their sides up,
but I prefer to place the cone dividers with the apex pointing upwards (Figure II. b).
These dividers are placed at any desired distance apart on the wick and in order
to keep them in their places as well as to check the capilliary attraction of
the wick I twist or tie a piece of very thin wire beneath each of the dividers
(Figure II. d). The two ends of the wire are left stretching out from opposite
sides of the wick & at right angles to it. One end or arm of the wire is cut short
to about the semi-diameter of the divider & the other end or arm of the wire is
left longer say about three fourths of an inch or more. Each divider is then
pressed down the wick until the small hole in the divider, through which the wick
passes, comes into contact with the knot or twist of the wire beneath it (Figure II.

page_text: E, F). I then bend down a portion of the long arm of the wire towards the wick,
from a point at a distance from the wick of about the semi-diameter of the divider
(Figure II. H). Thus when the candle is formed, this long arm of the wire being
fixed in the substance of the candle, acts as a pillar supporting in its place the
divider when the flame of the candle has burnt down to it (Figure 5.) & prevents
the divider falling on one side into the melted grease or wax.
The candle is marked off into sections by the placing of the dividers as pre-
viously mentioned at certain distances apart on the wick (Figures 2 & 3), & the
length of these sections is determined by the length of time each section is required
to burn. When the candle has burnt through one section & the flame is extin-
guished (Figure 5) the divider & the wire may be easily removed by cutting the
wick just under the point where the wire is twisted or tied on to it, & the candle
is then ready for use again.
As giving the neatest and most satisfactory results I prefer to use the methods
& materials I have just described, but do not confine myself to them, as it is
evident that both the substances used & the method of placing & attaching them
may be varied. Dividers of any suitable non-combustible substance may be used,
& the wire may be twisted or tied on the wick in more than one place to aid in
checking capilliary attraction & the method of adjusting the wire in relation to the
divider may be varied, as for instance the cone divider may be allowed to rest with
its base on the arms of the wire instead of being pressed down until the knot or
twist of the wire comes into contact with the small hole in the apex of the cone.
Figure 4 in the annexed drawing shows a completed candle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, & in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
A method of making self-extinguishing candles by
I. Attaching to the wick, during the process of their manufacture, hollow cones,
or disks, or saucer shaped pieces of tin-plate or other suitable non-combustible
substance, called for convenience dividers, and
II. Supporting these dividers in their positions by fine wire tied or twisted on
the wick, in the manner & for the purposes herein before more particularly set forth
and represented in the drawings annexed.
Dated this twentieth dass of Ontaha. 7000