US3048025A - Candle burners - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 7, 1962 A. l. ROOT 3,048,025

' CANDLE BURNERS Filed June 28, 1960 m 'III'I'IIIII' I INVENTOR. 1414M .1. E007 Efiddfifi Patented Aug. 7, 1962 3,648,025 CANDLE BURNERS Alan I. Root, Medina, Ohio, assignor to The A. 1. Root Company, Medina, Ohio, a corporation of (ihio Filed June 28, 1960, Ser. No. 39,269

2 Claims. (Cl. 6721) A metal burner or follower as usually made for cylindrical candles has (in cooperation with its associated candle) a fuel cup or bowl formed in part by an inwardly extending annular rib or flange adapted to form a seal in contact with softened or melted fuel (hereinafter usually called wax) at the top of the candle. Additionally, such metal burner has a skirt providing an internal cylindrical surface contiguous to and below the rib or flange and adapted to guide the burner for downward movement while holding the burner substantially coaxial with the candle.

Metal burners for candles, if properly designed and if made with suflicient mass to insure effectual operation, i.e., descent proportionally to consumption of wax without allowing seepage of the wax, usually operate satisfactorily at various surrounding temperatures if no relighting of the candles becomes necessary. When, however, the candle flame is purposely extinguished after a desired period of burning, and (considerably later, e.g., after the burner becomes cool) the candle is re'lighted, and further if during said period wax has seeped out from between the inner burner wall surface and the adjacent wax body surface and has become solidified ad jacent or close to the lower rim of the burner skirt, unsatisfactory later burning operation is very likely to result. The subsequent relighting will not be apt to be followed by conduction of heat through the burner metal to the externally exposed solidified wax soon enough or at a 'sufiiciently high rate to soften or melt the accumulation and prevent the burner from becoming tipped thereby out of approximately vertical position, particularly if the accumulation is one-sided as it is more than likely to be; Once such tipping reaches a critical point it tends progressively to increase, and, when unnoticed and uncorrected by personal attention, it will continue until either the flame becomes extinguished as by contact of the wick with the burner or until the burner fall off the candle. Either result obviously is highly undesirable.

Recognition of the commercially serious special prob lem involved in the use of metal candle burners or followers as outlined above for devotional use in churches is indicated by the recommendation on the part of manufacturers that persons responsible for lighting, snufling and relighting of devotional candles having (e.g.) metal burners shall be cautioned to remove any observed ridges or accumulations of wax from below the burners before relighting the candles. Unfortunately adequate accumulation-removing operations are apt to be neglected, largely because it is very diflicult under practical circumstances for the persons involved to observe the very small accumulations such as can nevertheless cause serious malfunctioning,

The object of the present invention is to provide a largely metal burner for cylindrical candles, 'which burner is substantially seepage-proof, whereby relighting of candles having the present subject burners can be safely practiced (unwatched) without producing undesirable results Metal burners, pursuant to practice of the present invention, can be made to operate without seepage (hence can enable snufiing and relighting as many times as desired without requiring personal attention) by providing a very smooth-surfaced, relatively hard, imperforate, nonwax-absorptive, low heat conductive liner extending all around the interior of the metal body and sealed thereagainst (i.e., cemented all around or moulded against or in tightly press-fitted, sealed relation to the metal). The liner should terminate upwardly a substantial distance below the downwardly facing or shoulder surface of the bowl-constituting rib or flange.

The preferred material for the liner is extruded polyvinyl chloride (hereinafter usually PVC). Plastic mateterials other than PVC having operatingly equivalent physical characteristics can presumably be used instead.

The plastic liner material for the metal burner body should be non-flammable (usually classified elf extin-- guishing); should be impervious to chemicals likely to be used for general washing purposes, as of tableware; should be non-absorptive to melted wax, low water absorptive and highly resistant to softening when subjected to boiling water (i.e. during cleansing of the burners), andin order to preserve suitably smooth surface characteristicsshould have a hardness (Rockwell R scale) of between R116 and R120. The importance of the smooth surface characteristic is indicated by the fact that an accidental application of lacquer (conventional tarnish resistant treatment for brass) to the interior of the PVC liner will cause sticking or in other words, failure of the burner to slide down the candle.

Apparently the plastic ilner hereof, when properly related in thickness, position, heat conductivity and density to the adjacent metal skirt portion and other portions of the burner, allows transmission of insufficient heat from the metal to the wax to melt the wax which lies below the upper limit of the liner; or, if any surface wax is melted below that upper limit, then to check its flow by solidifying it before it can reach the lower limit or edge of the liner.

One unexpectedly and highly desirable result of the use of the present invention as outlined or described above is to make wick size in relation to candle diameter much less critical than it usually is when burners are used on the candles. An oversized wick (too large diameter) will usually produce seepage past the burner because of propagating a more intense flame than would a smaller wick. An oversize wick in a candle used with the present burner has much less detrimental elfect.

In the accompanying drawing, FIG. 1 is a longitudinal central sectional fragmentary view showing the present burner in one form as applied to its associated candle and before lighting the candle.

FIG. 2 is a similar view showing the same candle and burner after the candle has been burning for a considerable time.

FIG. 3 is a view partially similar to FIG. 1 showing a slightly modified burner construction.

In FIG. 1 a typical cylindrical solid fuel candle C is shown with a conventionally embedded central wick W. The wax body C is raised or provided with a so called tip C around the upwardly projecting portion of the wick.

The burner B, as shown, is a tubular metal body having an internal annular rib or flange portion R and integral skirt portion S having an approximately cylindrical bore 10. A concave top surface F of rib R constitutes in cooperation with the candle a fuel cup, as is usual.

Bore 10 of metal body B is sufficiently larger in diameter than is the candle C to accommodate the plastic liner 12 which is designed to fit snugly into the bore 10 and preferably be self-retaining in position, as by virtue of a press fit. The internal surface or bore 14 of the liner is larger than the external surface of the candle by an appropriate amount such that the burner can be easily slipped over the top of the candle. Preferably the liner 12 is sealed against downward seepage of melted wax by being cemented in place in the bore 10 (cement not shown) as by an all-around application aoaaoaa of adhesive material which will not be importantly deteriorated by applications of boiling water (and detergent materials) such as are likely to be used in cleaning the burners of accumulated wax. A suitable adhesive material (cement) is being sold by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. under the trademark Pliabond.

The low-heat-conductive liner l2 (e.g. polyvinyl chloride tubing) can be vertically coextensive with the bore of the skirt portion S of the metal body if no very unusual temperature conditions may be expected to be encountered. When, however, the surrounding temperature may fall below expected levels and when other unfavorable conditions may occur, as will be explained, satisfactory operation can be assured by leaving an annular area of the internal metal surface exposed as at ltla between the liner 12 and the rib or flange R. The vertical width of the exposed upper marginal bore surface portion lea in burners hereof for candles in the neighborhood of 1 inch in diameter has proven satisfactory when said width varies between and A; of an inch.

An unfavorable condition such as mentioned earlier is indicated in PEG. 2 wherein the full-line-illustrated vertically disposed top portion W of the wick W is unusual. During the critical starting period the unsupported wic k often tends to bend at as W" (broken lines) so that the flame is displaced oil center and the rib R at one side of the burner is highly heated quickly while at the opposite side the rib remains comparatively cool long enough so that the burner is blocked by unmelted wax (not illustrated) from settling downwardly in the manner it usually does when the wick and flame remain nearly upright and centrally of the burner and candle assembly. if the liner 12 terminates below the rib R as shown there will be enough heat conveyed to the exposed metal, largely by radiation and through the fuel all around the burner, so that a one sided flame will not result in failure of the burner to settle or move downwardly during the critical starting period.

The thickness of the liner 12 can vary. 7 Good results have been experienced with wall thicknesses betwen and for candles of between /8 and 1 /8" diameter.

A chamfer, as at 115, within the lower end of the liner v is advisable in order to prevent sending of wax off the candle surface while applying the burner.

The mass of the burner is not increased over that of an all metal burner by reason of provision of plastic liner 12 although an increase might be expected on the theory that the low heat conductive liner would be less slippery at the temperature required for an all metal (brass) burner to descend with consumption of wax. The herewith illustrated burner weighs less (slightly under 2 ounces) than the brass burner for a 1 /8" diameter candle which it has replaced, weighing 3 ounces.

In the modified construction according to FIG. 3, the plastic liner 12 occupies in effect a counterbore 16b in the metal body B and the metal step the is shown flush with the inner surface of the liner. The construction, theoretically at least, could facilitate cleaning out of accumulated wax by removing the shallow internal groove (at Illa) of PEG. 1. The FIG. 3 construction is somewhat less practical than that of FIG. 1 because of the additional tool cost of a stepped diameter bore and the closer axial and diametrical tolerances required in practice effectually to eliminate the shallow groove.

1 claim:

1. A burner for a cylindrical candle, comprising a tubular metal body having an internal annular rib portion for sealing contact with wax at the top of the candle and an integral skirt portion depending therebelow and having a cylindrical interior, an imperlorate internally smooth cylindrical liner in the skirt portion having an inner diameter selected according to the diameter of the candle for guiding contact therewith, while maintaining the burner substantially coaxial with the candle, the liner comprising a dense, non-wax-absorptive, lowheat-conductive, non-flammable organic plastic material tightly fitting the skirt portion, the hardness of the liner material being approximately R116 to R120 on the Rockwell R scale.

2. The burner according to claim 1 wherein the top edge of the liner is spaced axially a substantial distance from the under side of the rib portion or" the metal body as on the order of to A; of an inch.

Switzerland May 16, 1936 Germany Feb. 11, 1921

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