The invention relates to a candle. It comprises a combination of a form piece manufactured of a melting material, a burning wick placed inside the form piece, as well as a shield element covering the form piece and provided with an opening placed in the upper edge of the candle in its position of use, wherein in the position of use of the candle, the upper part of the shield element, connected with the lower part of the shield element is arranged to extend above the form piece.

This kind of a candle is substantially known from Finnish Patent No. 40088. The candle is particularly in use as a memorial candle on graves, wherein the form piece manufactured of a melting material is placed together with the wick inside the shield element so that the inner volume of the shield element is larger than the volume of the form piece. Thus in the position of use of the candle, a substantially cylindrical free space is left above the form piece, 'imited by the upper edge of the shield element, the free space functioning as the flame protecting space of the candle. The shield element is manufactured of a plastic material, and the upper part of the shield element is rigidly connected with the lower part. This will result in several disadvantages particularly in storing and transporting candles, because their package for transportation and storage requires a relatively large volume, although the candles can be partly placed one within the other. A practical problem in the above-mentioned construction is the fact that it is often difficult to light the wick through the opening in the upper part of the shield element using ordinary lighting means. Further, it should be noted that the shield element of a burnt candle is an environmental problem particularly on graveyards in connection with festival and memorial days, when considerable numbers of candle shield elements must be collected and transported to dumping areas.

As to the prior art in the field, reference is also made to publications US-4,907,140 and US-5,264,996, from which shield elements are known, which can be assembled by folding and inside which a separate candle can be placed.

^H CONFIRMATION C0FY

The purpose of this ^' invention is to present a candle whereby the disadvantages and problems of the prior art can be eliminated to a large extent and the prior art can thus .be improved in the field. It must be noted that the candle according to the invention has a considerably larger number of uses than e.g. a candle according to the Finnish Patent No. 40088. Consequently, one purpose of the invention is to provide also new applications of candle lighting in addition to the use on the graveyard. The candle according to the invention can thus be applied in several different uses. For achieving these aims, the candle according to the invention is primarily characterized in that the upper part of the shield element is substantially arranged in the non-functional position of the shield element to be placed over the lower part of the shield element and/or the wick surface of the form piece, wherein the candle in the non-functional position has substantially the same outer dimensions as the form piece, and that for making the candle functional, the upper part of the shield element is arranged to be placed at the edge of the wick surface, preferably to surround said edge. A particularly suitable way to place the shield element in the non¬ functional position above the surface of the wick of the form piece is to manufacture the shield element, at least in its substantial parts, of a foldable material, e.g. a cellulose-based material, such as paper, carton and/or plastic, i.e. an environmentally safe, compostable and/or bioabsorbable material which can be suitable for recycling. The shield element can thus be preferably folded and joined in its upper part so that in the functional position of the candle, the upper part of the shield element is formed above the upper edge of the form piece, to function as a wind shield of the flame and simultaneously as an additional part giving various types of illumination effects, e.g. as a result of colour or other treatments and/or perforations in the material of the shield element.

Some advantageous embodiments of the candle according to the invention are presented in the dependent claims.

In the following description, the invention will be illustrated in more detail with reference to the appended drawings. In the drawings,

Fig. 1 shows a vertical cross-section of the first embodiment of the

. candle according to the i. vention,

Fig. 2 shows the first embodiment of the candle according to the invention in the non-functional position,

Fig. 3 shows the first embodiment of the candle shov M in Fig. 2 brought into the functional position,

Fig. 4 shows a sectional and folding pattern of the embodiment of the candle shown in Figs. 1 to 3,

Fig. 5 shows a sectional and folding folding pattern of a shield element to be used in connection with the second embodiment of the candle according to the invention,

Fig. 6 shows a sectional part of the third embodiment of the candle according to the invention,

Fig. 7 shows a candle according to the third embodiment of the candle according to the invention, brought into the functional position,

Fig. 8 shows the shield element of a candle according to the fourth embodiment of the candle according to the invention, extended in a plane,

Fig. 9 shows a candle according to the fourth embodiment of the candle according to the invention, brought into the functional position,

Figs. 10 and 11 show a shield element according to the fifth embodi¬ ment of the candle according to the invention, extended in a plane,

Fig. 12 shows a candle according to the fifth embodiment of the candle according to the invention, in the non-functional position,

Fig. 13 shows the candle shown in Fig. 12, brought into the functional position, and

Fig. 14 shows one embodiment of the bottom support to be used optionally in connection with at least some embodiments of the candle presented in Figs. 1 to 13.

With particular reference to Fig. 1 , the candle comprises a form piece 1 made of a melting material, such as stearine, paraffin, wax or the like, with a burning wick 2, e.g. a twisted thread, placed in the vertical direction inside the form piece 1. The form piece 1 is substantially covered by a shield element 3 with a lower part 3a and an upper part 3b. The lower part 3a is a cup part with walls and a bottom corresponding to the form of the outer surface of the form piece 1. The upper edge of the lower part 3a is open, wherein the wick surface 4 of the candle, which is horizontal in the position of use, is left inside the shield element 3. The upper part 3b of the shield element 3 extends in the position of use of the candle as a substantially cylindrical or tubular and substantially vertical extension of the form piece. The upper part 3b of the shield element 3 is advantageously formed of two or more pieces or strips 5, in the embodiment shown in the figure of four strips ,5 which are attached to each other by means 6 which have preferably the form of joining clips 6a, 6b (cf. Fig. 4).

According to the basic idea of the invention, the upper part 3b of the shield element is in the non-functional position of the candle, as shown in Fig. 2, arranged to be placed above and over the wick surface 4 of the form piece 1 so that their main plane coincides the plane of wick surface 4. In a corresponding manner, Fig. 3 shows the candle in the functional position, whereby the upper part 3b of the shield element 3 is arranged to surround the edges of the wick surface 4 substantially in a vertical position when the candle is in use and to surround the form piece 1.

As can be seen from Figs. 2 and 3 and particularly from Fig. 4, also the lower part 3a of the shield element 3 is formed by folding, wherein folds 7 are formed in the material of the lower part 3a of the shield

element 3, either outside and/or inside the lower part 3a. The shield element 3 (lower and/or upper part 3a, 3b) can be provided with perforation or other treatments giving the candle aesthetic impression.

It can also be seen from Fig. 3 that the means 6 for attaching together the strips 5 forming the upper part of the shield element are placed in connection with the upper edge of the upper part 3b of the shield element 3, wherein the edge parts are apart from each other in the section between the said means 6 and the horizontal upper edge or fold 8 of the lower part 3a of the shield element 3, wherein, e.g. in the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 — 3, four flow gaps 9 are formed for the flow of air scavenging into the interior of the upper part 3b of the shield element 3 between the vertical edge parts 5a of each two adjacent strips 5. Particularly in the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, it can be seen that the strips 5 are arranged to taper towards the upper part of the candle and to have a substantially trapezoidal form.

The attachment of the strips 5 to the upper edge of the lower part 3a of the shield element 3 is arranged in the shown embodiment by a fold 8 which has the length of each side of the polygonal form, e.g. quadrangular form, particularly square form in the embodiment shown in Fig. 3, of the form piece 1 as seen in a horizontal cross section.

Figure 4 shows the sectional and folding pattern of the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 — 3, wherein the whole shield element is manufactured of a sheet material by determining the external dimensions of the pattern by cutting and so-called creasing or grooving, wherein a suitable attenuation is provided in the sheet material for making a fold at the respective point. The points of folding, i.e. the points where the material has been treated e.g. by creasing or grooving, are indicated by broken lines in Fig. 4 as well as in Fig. 5. As shown in Fig. 4, the bottom of the shield element 3, i.e. the surface against which the bottom of the form piece 1 is to be placed, has a square form. The bottom is indicated by the letter P in the pattern of Fig. 4. The parts that form the substantially vertical walls at the sides of the form piece, indicated by the letter S in the pattern, expand towards the upper edge of the form piece 1 , where the upper edge or the fold 8 is longer than the side of the lower edge of the wall S joining the bottom P. The

folds 7 composed of two equilateral triangular parts 7a, 7b, join the substantially vertical edges of two adjacent walls S and comprise also a central fold 10. The folds can be folded either according to Figs. 2 and 3 outside and/or inside the lower part 3a of the shield element 3. Further, at the point of the fold 8 forming the upper edge of each lower part 3, a part or strip 5 forms a direct extension of the same, comprising further in its free end, at the sides of the edge parts 5a, clips 6a, 6b which are formed in a manner that in adjacent parts or strips 5 they are different in a compatible way for the purpose of locking.

Figure 5 shows a second folding and cutting pattern of the shield element 3 according to the second embodiment of the candle, the form of the bottom P of the shield element being octagonal, wherein also the cross-section of the form piece 1 is octagonal. In this particular case, the walls S are rectangular and not trapezoidal as in the embodiment shown in Fig. 4. Further, the parts or strips 5 are formed to have a partially curved edge, thus giving in a situation of lighting a special lighting effect when the edge portions of the strip parts are placed partly to overlap (cf. reference numeral 13). Also the end of the parts or strips 5 is formed to have a sharp edge for providing a lighting effect.

Figures 6 and 7 show a third embodiment of the candle according to the invention, wherein the shield element 3 is composed of cutting parts 11 shown as an example in Fig. 6, which are glued or joined together. A glueing or joining ribbon 12 for joining the parts 11 is provided at the vertical edge of the parts 11a forming the visible surface of the lower part 3a of the shield element 3. The embodiment is advantageous in a case when it is desired to have the upper parts 13b to overlap as in the embodiment of Fig. 5 (cf. reference numeral 13, Fig. 7) in the direction of the periphery of the shield element 3, wherein the parts or strips 5 forming the upper part 3b are wider than the parts 11a forming the lower part 3a. The upper part 3b can be folded e.g. according to Fig. 2 when the candle is in the non-functional position.

Figure 8 shows a fourth embodiment, wherein a bottom P (Figs. 4 and 5) is not necessarily required as in Figs. 6 and 7, or the bottom can be manufactured of a separate piece (cf. Fig. 14). The shield element 3 is manufactured of a cut strip element 14 which is made of a suitably

foldable sheet material so that the total length of the strip element 14 is substantially twice the circumference of the form piece 1 or another multiple of the circumference. The strip element 14 can thus be wrapped as a cover part twice around the outer surface of the form piece, as shown in Fig. 9. The upper part 3b of the shield element 3 consists of two parts, an outer upper part 15 and an inner outer part 16 which can have different sizes and form e.g. to give an aesthetic impression as shown in Fig. 9, wherein the upper part 3b of the shield element 3 comprises two or several layers. The upper part 3b can be folded e.g. according to Fig. 2, the candle being in the non-functional position.

Figures 10 to 13 show a fifth embodiment of the candle according to the invention. The shield element 3 comprises thus two separate rectangular strip elements 17 and 18, which are wrapped as shown in Fig. 9 on the form piece 1 on top of each other, separate from each other. The outer strip element 18, forming the upper part 3b of the shield element 3, can be provided with a special shape, a perforation pattern 19 or a corresponding treatment for giving an aesthetic impression. The annular outer strip part 18 forming the upper part 3b is lifted at the form piece 1 to the upper position in the direction of arrow 20, wherein the annular strip element 17 forming the lower part 5a underneath the strip part 18 is exposed. The strip element 18, which can also be provided with treatments, e.g. perforations giving aesthetic impressions, is not higher than the form piece 1.

Figure 14 shows in a perspective view the bottom support 21 which can be used in connection with the candle especially when the candle is used outdoors. The bottom support 21 comprises a bottom element 22, the shape and size of which corresponds to that of the horizontal cross- section of the bottom of the candle. The edge of the bottom element 22 is provided with an upwards projecting wall element 23 or the like, thus providing a supporting space for the bottom of the candle in the horizontal direction. The bottom element 22 is further provided with a cutting or perforation 24 for accomplishing one or multiple shapes for projecting elements. By pressing the area of cutting or perforation 24, at least one projecting element, such as a spike 25, can be brought, if the conditions for the use of the candle so require, to a vertical position

from the horizontal position determined by the bottom element 22 as shown with an arrow 26 in Fig. 14. The projecting element, such as the spike 25 which is fixed from the base 25a to the bottom element 22, can be pressed into a soft underground and thus the candle is firmly fixed to the ground, the bottom element 22 being against the ground. The bottom support 21 can be manufactured of steel or light metal, such as aluminium alloy.

It is advantageous that the material of the shield element 3, particularly when it is cellulose-based, is at least partly impregnated with a vegetable oil, a wood-based oil, a natural oil, colour, food colouring agent, or the like, particularly for making the material non-combustible, non-flammable and/or non-incineratable.

One important advantage of the invention is present when the material used for the shield element is environmentally safe, i.e. compostable, incineratable, reusable or in some other way suitable for recycling.