CANDLESTICK, CANDLE, AND CANDELABRA of the patent for an industrial invention entitled "Candlestick, candle, and candelabra" by Vincenzo Bove, nationality: Italian, residence: Via Freddo n. 3 - 22060 Arosio (CO). Named inventor: Vincenzo Bove.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention refers both to a candlestick and candle arrangement, and to the particular candle configuration suitable for the stated use.

BACKGROUND ART

Candles are commonly used to generate a source of light by means of a wick which protrudes from a column of solid fuel. Generally speaking, candles must be held in place, using candlesticks, both before and while the candle is lit and burning.

The most common arrangements generally include candlestick structures configured to support the end portion of a candle; once the candle has finished burning, part of the residual fuel liquefies and runs down the candle, also solidifying in part on the said support. It follows that this support must be cleaned periodically to remove the remains of the burnt candles.

These candlesticks are usually cleaned by scraping off the residual wax and other material. A first drawback of the known systems stems precisely from the removal activity, which can be difficult, as well as long and tiring to carry out; one should bear in mind that many places, especially churches or other similar religious buildings, have candlesticks which house numerous candles Furthermore, manual cleaning can sometimes result in damage to the candlesticks which hold the candles.

Known patents US422989, FR2891892, and EP2210038 disclose candlesticks with openings at the base thereof, which allow the wax to flow through the opening while the candle is burning and is then collected in a tray underneath the opening. The aforesaid candlesticks do not hold the candles properly during burning and, in any case, are not very effective, as the wax remains attached to the side walls of the candlestick. There are also further candlesticks which use conical glass cups, as adapters for a corresponding candle which also has a conical form. This, of course, requires special moulds for the production of a candle thus made, and this affects production costs. In addition, the candlestick with a glass holder is inherently more expensive because of the presence of the glass holder; above all, these cups get dirty and require frequent maintenance, at intervals ranging from once every three months to once a week, as occurs, for example, in a shrine with large numbers of visitors. This requires specialist workers to enter the place of worship, collect all the cups, replace them with clean ones, and take the dirty cups to a cleaning point; finally, said cleaning must be carried out using special machinery. Essentially, all this results in high maintenance costs. Another drawback is that the arrangements stated above (especially those with glass cups) are not at all versatile and do not allow the use of personalised candles (only those supplied by the supplier of the system can be used).

Another drawback of the known type of systems (especially those with glass adapters) is that they have a set combustion time, which is usually one hour. However, some users (e.g. shrines) would like a shorter time, others a longer one.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The object of the present invention to overcome the aforesaid drawbacks by providing an improved candlestick and candle arrangement, wherein the candlestick consists of a reticular structure designed to hold the candle therewithin and in which the candle, in turn, is shaped so as to extend beyond the aforesaid support. A further object of the invention is to offer a solution which is simple, functional, and has a considerably low cost.

Last but not least, a further object is to provide a safe system with low maintenance costs.

These and other objects are achieved by means of the candlestick and candle arrangement according to the invention with characteristics according to the one or more independent claims set out herein. The dependent claims outline preferable and/or particularly advantageous aspects of the invention. In particular, one embodiment of the present invention provides a candlestick arrangement in which the candlestick has a structure defined by at least one head ring and a plurality of lateral elements defining a lower opening so that the candle remains, at least partially, inside the candlestick, resting on corresponding supports, while protruding from the aforesaid opening of the candlestick at the same.

With this solution, the candle remains centred during the combustion thereof and the melting wax is suitably conveyed to the open bottom, where it then drips into and is collected, for example, in a tray underneath.

Furthermore, the presence of a few parallel lateral containment elements increases candlestick cleanliness and consequently drastically reduces maintenance costs, as cleaning by specialist personnel is not necessary, nor is the use of special cleaning machines.

Finally, the production costs are much lower than those of the commonly known solutions described above, and the arrangement according to the invention is highly versatile since different types of candles can be used, since those according to the invention are not linked to any conical shape of the support and the part contained within the candlestick may be essentially cylindrical and also different sized candles can be used effectively since the lower portion protruding from the lower opening acts as an element for centring and maintaining the position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Other advantages, aims, and aspects, as well as the embodiments of the present invention, are described in the claims and will be clarified in the following sections by means of the description which follows, in which reference is made to the drawings appended hereto. More specifically:

- Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of the candlestick according to the present invention.

- Fig. 2 shows the candle and the claimed arrangement, according to the embodiment in Figure 1 ,

- Fig. 3 shows a second embodiment of the candlestick according to the present invention,

- Fig. 4 shows the candle and the claimed arrangement, according to the embodiment in Figure 3, - Fig. 5 shows a different embodiment of the candle and claimed arrangement, which is cylindrical in the detail.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Although the present invention is described below with reference to the embodiment thereof shown in the drawings, the present invention is not limited solely to the embodiment described below and shown in the annexed drawings. On the contrary, the embodiment described and shown helps clarify certain characteristics of the present invention, whose purpose is defined by the claims. With reference to the Figures, 20 denotes, overall, a candlestick arrangement comprising a candlestick 1 and a candle 2.

In more detail, the candle 2 is constituted of a first portion 2a and a second portion 2b, joined together so as to define - at the junction point - an annular surface 10, which is essentially a contact edge for a support surface, as better described later on.

In the preferred embodiment, the first portion 2a is cylindrical while the second portion 2b is conical. The candlestick 1 , on the other hand, is defined by a structure 3, which in turn has a head ring 4 at which three or more integral lateral elements 6 originate, extending from said head ring 4 along the axis AA of said structure 3.

In the preferred form, the structure 3 is cylindrical. The head ring 4 defines an opening 7 designed to house the candle 2 whose diameter is at least equal to said opening. It can also be seen that the structure 3 comprises support means 8 which extend radially towards the inside of the structure 3. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the support means 8 extend radially towards the axis AA of the candlestick. Also preferably, the means 8 extend by an equal amount to define a support surface which is perpendicular to the axis AA of the candlestick 1.

With this configuration, the aforesaid annular surface 10 of the candle 2 ends up cooperating (coming into contact) with the surface defined by the means 8, so that they act as a rest for the candle.

According to one embodiment, said support means 8 are integral with the lateral elements 6. According to one embodiment variant, said support means 8 are integral with a second base ring, denoted 5, which is located at the opposite end of the structure 3 and contains the lateral elements 6.

In any case, for both embodiments, the purpose of the means 8 remains that defined, i.e. to come into contact with the annular surface 10 of the candle, once inserted in the candlestick.

Furthermore, said support means 8 define an opening 9 which is smaller in size than the head opening 4. Since the candle 2 has a second portion 2b which extends from the annular surface 10, the maximum diameter of the second portion 2b corresponds, at the most, to the diameter of the opening 9 of the candlestick 1 .

From the description above, it can be seen that the candle 2 is held, at least partially, inside the candlestick 1 by means of the support means 8, through the annular surface 10 thereof and that a second portion 2b of the candle 2 protrudes, at least partially, from the opening 9 in the candlestick.

In the example illustrated, said second portion 2b is at least partially conical and convergent towards the end thereof. Due to this configuration, the wax which melts during combustion is effectively evacuated and conveyed towards the axis of the candle, thus circumscribing the area in which the residue collects. In accordance with one embodiment, not illustrated, said second portion 2b may essentially be cylindrical in shape. Due to this configuration, which is also valid in the event of a conical portion, said portion acts as a portion for centring and maintaining the position of the candle, both before and during combustion, at the end of which said portion 2b falls from the candlestick by gravity.

In the embodiment illustrated, the cylindrical structure 3 has a circular base. Due to this configuration, conventional candles may be used. One independent claim also specifies the candle 2 alone, which is capable of generating a source of light by means of a wick emerging from a column of solid fuel, of the type particularly recommended for use in an arrangement 20 with candlestick 1 of the type stated above. Specifically, the candle consists of two portions, 2a and 2b, wherein the second 2b has a smaller diameter, with the result that an annular surface 10 is created which cooperates with the cylindrical cage structure of the candlestick.

According to one embodiment, the portion with a smaller diameter than the cylindrical one is at least partially conical. In accordance with another embodiment, the portion whose diameter is smaller than the other is also completely cylindrical.

The present invention has been described with reference to the specific embodiment shown in the illustrations; one must note, however, that this invention is not limited to said specific embodiment presented and described in the present document. On the contrary, further variants of the embodiment described are also part of the object of the present invention, as detailed in the relevant claims.

In particular, as can be seen in Figure 5, regardless of the shape used for the portion 2b of the candle (the part protruding below the candlestick) the candle is always protected. Indeed, part 2b is fundamental to the functionality of the patent, but everything would work equally well whatever shape it were to be given.

The upper portion, 2a, has also been specified as cylindrical, however - without falling outside the scope of protection required - it may also be essentially cylindrical, i.e. varyingly tapered/conical portions can be validly protected by the following claims.