Patent ID: 7517216

Claim:
A method for putting out a flame of a candle, the method comprising: extinguishing the flame; immediately prior to the extinguishing, the candle comprising: (i) a candle body comprising body material; (ii) a candlewick, comprising an unexposed portion disposed within the candle body and an exposed portion not disposed within the candle body and extending out of the candle body; (ii) the flame burning on the exposed portion of the candlewick; wherein the extinguishing comprises moving a portion of the body material from the candle body to cover at least a portion of the surface of the exposed portion of the candlewick, the moving a portion of the body material comprising: spreading the portion of the body material over the surface of the exposed portion of the candlewick with an applicator; and contacting a contact portion of the applicator with the candle body and thereafter moving the contact portion away from the candle body along with the portion of the body material in a direction along the length of the exposed portion of the candlewick to spread the portion of the body material over the surface of the exposed portion of the candlewick; and wherein: the contact portion of the applicator comprises opposed application surfaces controllably movable toward and away from each other to decrease and increase distance between the application surfaces; and the moving the contact portion of the body material comprises moving the application surfaces in a direction away from the candle body along the length of the exposed portion of the candlewick while the application surfaces are disposed on opposite sides of the candlewick.