Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     (Not Applicable) 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY-SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
     (Not Applicable) 
     REFERENCE TO A “MICROFICHE APPENDIX” 
     (Not Applicable) 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to candles, and more specifically to a method of sealing a candle wick sustainer. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     During the end stages of candle burning, fire hazards arise from the build-up of excessive heat in the candle interior. A candle is one or more combustible wicks supported by a material that constitutes a fuel, which is solid, semi-solid, or quasi-rigid at room temperature, 68 degrees Fahrenheit to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius to 26 degrees Celsius); it can also contain additives which are used for color, odor, stability, or to modify the burning characteristics; the combined function of which is to sustain a light-producing flame. Candles burn a fuel and produce a flame that vaporizes the fuel, as the fuel is drawn by capillary action to the flame. Candle wicks function by capillary action drawing a fuel from a pool up through a fabric, a thread wick, or a capillary tube. Examples of fuels include solid wax, gel, liquid wax or oil, polymer, oil lamps, and other devices meeting the preceding definition of candle. 
     During the end stages of the operative life of the candle, the pool of liquid fuel becomes shallow. The fuel in the shallow pool can become hot enough to vaporize and no longer needs the wick to burn. This phenomenon is called flash or flashover. Once the upper surface of the pool descends nearly to the bottom of the candle, the fuel can be elevated above its flashpoint temperature, typically about 425 degrees Fahrenheit with conventional, common fuels. During flashover, an ensuing candle fire may have a temperature elevated to at least 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. The high temperature can ignite vaporized fuel, and a container holding the candle may break violently due to uneven stress on the container caused by the build-up of excessive heat. If the candle has no container, then in the later stages of burning the candle the excessive heat can melt through the sides and bottom of the candle. Liquid fuel can flow onto and soak into surrounding objects and the candle-supporting surface. The fuel can ignite and combust the fuel-soaked surroundings, and a candle fire results. 
     A problem contributing to flashover and candle fires occurs when carbon particles fall into the pool of liquid fuel, or the user allows matches and wick trimmings to accumulate in the pool. These foreign objects may cause a candle fire by igniting to form secondary wicks. A secondary wick can float off the side of the candle and onto a flammable surface, or supplement the flaming wick to make a flame that is dangerously large. 
     Some problems resulting in flashover and candle fires, such as uncentered wicks and wicks that fall over, are addressed in conventional candles by using a wick support such as a sustainer. The sustainer provides support to a candle wick by retaining the wick in a passage formed completely through the sustainer. The sustainer keeps the wick standing upright as the previously supporting fuel around the wick becomes liquefied during burning. 
     As the conventional candle burns, liquid fuel is absorbed into the sides of the wick and carried upwardly to the flame. During the later stages of candle burning, as the upper surface of the pool of liquid fuel descends downwardly toward the top end of the sustainer, the heat from the flame liquefies the fuel surrounding the sustainer. The liquefied fuel flows into the passage opening at the bottom of the sustainer and into contact with the part of the wick that is in the sustainer. The fuel is drawn through the wick upwardly to the flame, which in this way consumes substantially all available fuel. During this process, flashover and candle fires can occur as the depth of the fuel pool decreases. 
     Flashover and candle fires are problems that cause significant damage and harm. Therefore a need exists for an inexpensive and simple safety measure for preventing or decreasing the likelihood of flashover and candle fires. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is a method of assembling and retaining a wick in a wick sustainer for a candle. The sustainer has a base, a barrel, and a passage extending through the base and the barrel. The wick is inserted into, and protrudes from, an upper region of the passage. A sealant is injected into a lower region of the passage. The sealant seals the passage at a point beneath the wick to prevent the fuel from contacting the wick within the sustainer and reaching the flame by capillary action through the wick. Additionally, the sustainer has a crimp to retain the wick mechanically. 
     The invention prevents flashover by being directed to a method for sealing the sustainer. Sealing the sustainer restricts fuel from flowing into the sustainer and contacting a part of the wick that is held within the sustainer. The seal causes the flame to be extinguished due to fuel-starvation once the surface of the pool descends below the top of the sustainer. Fuel reaches the candle flame only through the part of the wick that is not held within the sustainer. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a view in perspective illustrating the first step of the preferred method. 
     FIG. 2 is a view in perspective illustrating the second step of the preferred method. 
     FIG. 3 is a view in perspective illustrating the third step of the preferred method. 
     FIG. 4 is a view in perspective illustrating the fourth step of the preferred method. 
     FIG. 5 is a side view in section illustrating the structure resulting after performing the fourth step of the preferred method, wherein the spacing is not to scale, but is exaggerated for illustrative purposes. 
     FIG. 6 is a view in perspective illustrating the structure resulting after performing the fourth step of the preferred method. 
     FIG. 7 is a view in perspective illustrating the first step of an alternative method. 
     FIG. 8 is a view in perspective illustrating the second step of the alternative method. 
     FIG. 9 is a view in perspective illustrating the third step of the alternative method. 
     FIG. 10 is a view in perspective illustrating the fourth step of the alternative method. 
     FIG. 11 is a view in perspective illustrating the fifth step of the alternative method. 
     FIG. 12 is a view in perspective illustrating an intermediate structure formed after performing the fifth step of the alternative method. 
     FIG. 13 is a view in perspective illustrating the sixth step of the alternative method. 
     FIG. 14 is a side view in section illustrating the structure resulting after performing the sixth step of the alternative method. 
     FIG. 15 is a view in perspective illustrating the structure resulting after performing the sixth step of the alternative method. 
     FIG. 16 is a view in perspective illustrating an alternative method. 
     FIG. 17 is a side view in section illustrating the structure resulting after performing the alternative method shown in FIG.  16 . 
     FIG. 18 is a view in perspective illustrating the structure shown in FIG.  17 . 
    
    
     In describing the preferred embodiment of the invention, which is illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, it is not intended that the invention be limited to the specific term so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents that operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The steps of the inventive method are shown in FIGS. 1-18 and involve combining a wick  14  and a sealant  18  in a wick sustainer  10  for a candle by injecting the sealant  18  into the bottom of the wick sustainer  10 . The wick sustainer  10  is a unitary structure that has an elongated barrel  6  and a perpendicular, planar base  8 . The barrel  6  intersects the base  8  approximately at the base&#39;s center. A passage  12  extends longitudinally through the barrel  6  and the intersecting region of the base  8 . The passage  12  has an upper region  11  and a lower region  13  defined by the position of the wick  14  as described below. The preferred sustainer is composed of a flame-resistant, rigid, liquid-impermeable metal such as steel or tin, but it may be ceramic, plastic, or other material having similar flame-resistant properties. 
     The preferred sustainer is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,850 to Pappas, which is incorporated herein by reference. The sustainer  10  that is preferred for this method has an elongated barrel  6  of a length of about one-half inch or more, although the method disclosed is applicable for a sustainer having a barrel of any length. The standard wick sustainer commonly used in candles has a barrel that is shorter than the barrel  6  of the sustainer  10  used in the preferred method. 
     The wick  14  used in this method is the type commonly used in the industry. The standard wick is cord of tightly intertwined, woven fibers that may be fuel-coated. The wick  14  turns to ash as it burns, essentially disintegrating. 
     The sealant  18  used in the preferred method is flame-resistant and has a high softening point. The softening point is the temperature at which the sealant  18  loses enough structural integrity to substantially detach from the sustainer  10  and permit the passage  12  to become unsealed. The sealant  18  must resist softening when exposed to the heat of a candle flame, which is estimated to be 400 degrees Fahrenheit. If such temperatures are reached, then the sealant  18  is prevented from flowing out of the sustainer  10 . More preferably, the sealant  18  resists softening when exposed even directly to the flame, which typically has a temperature of about 2100 degrees Fahrenheit. The sealant  18  that is preferred is flame-resistant hot-melt thermoplastic glue called MACROMELT TPX 16-157, manufactured by Henkel and distributed by Rudolph Brothers and Company, Canal Winchester, Ohio. Thermosetting materials may be used as an alternative to thermoplastics. 
     FIG. 1 is an illustration showing the first step in the series of steps for performing the preferred method. A conventional candle wick  14  is pre-cut to a desired length, and its axis is aligned with the axis of the passage  12 . In the next step shown in FIG. 2, the wick  14  is inserted into the passage  12 . This insertion proceeds in the conventional manner until a predetermined length of the wick  14  protrudes from the upper region  11  of the passage, as shown in FIG. 3, and the wick  14  is in the desired position within the passage  12 . Alternatively or additionally, the protruding length of the wick  14  can be grasped and pulled to position the wick  14  within the passage  12 . Preferably, there is a space between the lower end of the wick  14  and the base  8  of the sustainer  10 . 
     The lower region  13  of the passage  12  is the part that is unoccupied by the wick  14  and extends from the lower end of the wick  14  within the passage to the base  8  of the sustainer  10 . The preferred length of the lower region  13  is in the range between one-eighth and one-fourth of an inch. The upper region  11  of the passage  12  is the part that the wick  14  occupies. 
     As shown in FIG. 4, after the wick  14  is positioned in the upper region  11 , the next step is the injection of the sealant  18  from a hot-melt source into the lower region  13  where a gap was formed to make room for the sealant  18 . As shown in FIG. 5, the amount of sealant  18  must be sufficient to bridge substantially entirely across the passage  12 . Injecting an amount of the sealant  18  that forms a thin layer suspended across the entire passage  12 , or an amount of the sealant  18  that completely fills the lower region  13 , will suffice to block the passage  12  to substantially hinder the flow of fuel to the wick  14 . The passage  12  need not be completely blocked to effect the desired starvation of the candle resulting in extinguishment of the flame. The sealant  18  needs to substantially seal the passage  12 , which is defined as limiting the amount of fuel that can reach the wick  14 , and therefore the flame, thereby resulting in flame extinguishment. FIG. 6 shows the resulting sustainer  10  that has a sealed passage  12 . 
     The preferred sealant  18  has adhesive properties and adheres to the inner walls of the barrel  6 . As shown in FIG. 5, an amount of sealant  18  injected into the passage  12  will preferably protrude from the lower region  13  into the upper region  11  and into adhesive contact with the wick  14 . In this way, the sealant  18  adheres the wick  14  to the sustainer  10 . The sustainer  10  must also often sit level on a flat surface in an operable position, and therefore the sealant  18  should not ordinarily protrude from the passage  12  at the base  8  so much that a glob is formed that causes the sustainer  10  to sit unevenly. 
     In an alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 17, an excess amount of the adhesive sealant  18  can be injected into the passage  12  and caused to protrude from the lower region  13 . The excess amount of adhesive sealant  18  protruding from the lower region  13  is useful for adhering the sustainer  10  to an interior bottom of a candle container such as when the sealant  18  is re-heated and softened prior to contacting the candle container. 
     The step of injecting the sealant  18  into the sustainer  10  seals the passage  12  to prevent, or at least substantially restrict, the flow of fuel into the passage  12  from the pool of liquid fuel at the bottom of the candle. Once the candle flame has burned for a period of time, the upper surface of the pool will no longer be above the top end of the sustainer  10 . At this point the wick  14  no longer absorbs fuel through the sides of the wick  14 , and the only path available to the fuel for reaching the flame is through the bottom of the sustainer  10 . Sealing the sustainer  10  blocks this path, so the flame is extinguished due to fuel starvation. As a result, the pool cools and and flashover cannot occur. 
     The term injecting is used to mean more than merely inserting the sealant  18  into the sustainer  10  or applying the sealant  18  to the bottom of the sustainer  10  and pushing it into the passage  12 . Injecting means to squirt a jet of sealant  18  under pressure from a nozzle or small orifice into the passage  12  of the sustainer  10 . The preferred device for performing the sealing step in the method of FIG. 1 is an automated machine. The preferred machine is the Herrhammer EDP-250 Wicking Machine, by Herrhammer GmbH of Germany, with a faceplate removed to accommodate an automated hot sealant-injector. Alternatively, if a thermosetting sealant is used, the injector may not need to be heated. As an indexed wick sustainer  10  is processed through the machine in the conventional manner, the automated hot sealant-injector squirts sealant  18  into the passage  12  of the sustainer  10  at a later, new step. The sealant  18  is injected at the lower end of the passage  12 . The tip of the sealant injector is removable, having a hexagonal shape to provide surfaces that a tool can grasp for removal for cleaning. 
     FIG. 7 shows the first in a series of steps for performing the method in an alternative embodiment. The wick  114  is continuously drawn from a wick source  16 , such as a roll or spool, and its axis is aligned with the axis of the passage  12 . FIG. 8 shows the next step of inserting the wick  114  into the passage  12 , and the insertion is continuous at least until an amount of the wick  114  protrudes from the opposite end of the barrel  6 , as shown in FIG.  9 . The steps in FIGS. 10 and 11 show drawing and severing of the wick  114  from the wick source  16 . The point of severance depends on the desired final length for the wick  114 . 
     FIG. 12 shows the nearly completed structure having the wick  114  positioned within the passage  12  prior to injecting the sealant  18 , which is illustrated in FIG. 13. A sectional view in FIG. 14 shows the sealant  18  and wick  114  placed within the passage  12 , and FIG. 15 shows the structure with a sealed passage  12 . 
     FIG. 16 illustrates the first step in an alternative method to make the structure shown in FIG.  18 . The wick  214  is inserted into the passage  12  of the barrel  6  at the end opposite the base  8 . FIG. 16 shows that the insertion of the wick  214  and injection of the sealant  18  into the barrel  6  can occur simultaneously. However, the sealant  18  may be injected prior or subsequent to inserting the wick  214 . 
     In all embodiments, the sustainer  10  is crimped. After inserting the wick  14  into the upper region  11  of the passage  12 , the further step of crimping the sustainer  10  in the upper region  11  pinches the walls of the passage  12  against the wick  14 . Crimping enhances the mechanical support of the wick  14  by the upper region  11 . Because the barrel  6  of the sustainer  10  is elongated, the crimp does not distort and bend the sustainer  10 . 
     While certain preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed in detail, it is to be understood that various modifications may be adopted without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the following claims.

Technology Category: f