Fuel element for melting plate candle assembly

• US 7,850,444 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2008
• Issued: 12/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: SC Johnson & Son Incorporated
• Original Assignee: SC Johnson & Son Incorporated
• Inventors: Szymczak, Thomas J., Lakatos, Kara L., Adair, Joel E., Varanasi, Padma Prabodh, Furner, Paul E., Kubicek, Chris A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Basichas; Alfred
• Application Number:
  US12/229,257
• Publication Number:
  US 20080318176A1
• Time in Patent Office: 845 Days
• Field of Search: 431/4, 431/325, 431/298, 431/291, 431/289, 431/288
• US Class Current: 431/4
• CPC Class Codes: C11C 5/008 Candles characterised by their form; Composite candles, e.g. candles containing zones of different composition, inclusions, or the like
• CPC Class Codes: F23D 3/16 using candles

Abstract

A fuel charge for use with a melting plate candle assembly includes an outer shell of fuel material surrounding an inner core of fuel material having different properties than the fuel material of the outer shell. The outer shell is substantially solid and may contain fuel additive that slows capillary flow of liquid fuel to the flame through the wick. The inner core may include liquid fuel, discrete solid fuel particles, or a solid fuel mass. The fuel additive is disposed in the fuel charge so as to slow migration of liquefied fuel to a flame on a wick only after a substantial portion of the fuel charge has been liquefied by heat from the flame.

Claims

1. A fuel element for a melting plate candle assembly, comprising:

a core of meltable fuel material;

a wick extending axially through the core and exposed at an end of the fuel element;

an outer shell of meltable fuel material disposed around the core, the outer shell disposed a distance from the wick sufficient to allow the outer shell to be melted when a flame is burning on the wick; and

an amount of fuel additive that slows capillary flow of liquid fuel to the flame through the wick entrained in the outer shell sufficient to thicken the meltable fuel material after being melted to slow flow of the melted fuel material along the wick to the flame, as compared to flow without the fuel additive, without preventing the melted fuel material from feeding the flame.

2. The fuel element of claim 1, wherein the core is substantially cylindrical and the outer shell is disposed directly adjacent to the core.

3. The fuel element of claim 1 further comprising a heat transmissive element disposed near a location on the wick where the flame would burn and extending through a portion of the fuel element.

4. The fuel element of claim 3, wherein the heat transmissive element is exposed at a second end of the fuel element opposite the first end.

5. The fuel element of claim 1, wherein the meltable fuel materials comprise candle wax and the fuel additive comprises a non-aqueous viscosity modifier.

6. The fuel element of claim 5, wherein the non-aqueous viscosity modifier comprises ethyl cellulose.

7. The fuel element of claim 5, wherein the non-aqueous viscosity modifier comprises stearamide,

8. The fuel element of claim 5, wherein the non-aqueous viscosity modifier comprises polyamide.

9. The fuel element of claim 5, wherein the non-aqueous viscosity modifier comprises hydroxypropelene cellulose.

10. The fuel element of claim 5, wherein the non-aqueous viscosity modifier comprises a mixture of at least two components from the group consisting of ethyl cellulose, stearamide, polyamide, and hydroxypropelene cellulose.

11. The fuel charge of claim 1, wherein the fuel additive is disposed only in an outer peripheral portion of the outer shell that is one of the last areas of the fuel element to be melted.

12. A fuel element for a melting plate candle assembly, comprising:

a core of meltable fuel material;

a wick extending axially through the core and exposed at an end of the fuel element;

an outer shell of meltable fuel material disposed around the core, the outer shell disposed a distance from the wick sufficient to allow the outer shell to be melted when a flame is burning on the wick; and

an amount of fuel additive that slows capillary flow of liquid fuel to the flame through the wick sufficient to thicken the meltable fuel material after being melted to slow flow of the melted fuel material along the wick to the flame, as compared to flow without the fuel additive, without preventing the melted fuel material from feeding the flame;

wherein the fuel additive is disposed in the fuel element at a location sufficient to slow the flow of melted fuel material along the wick only after a substantial portion of the fuel material has been melted.

13. The fuel element of claim 12, wherein the core is provided in a different form than the outer shell.

14. The fuel element of claim 13, wherein the core comprises closely packed discrete solid fuel particles.

15. The fuel element of claim 14, wherein the fuel additive is disposed in fuel particles that are located to be some of the last particles to be melted by a flame on the wick and not in fuel particles that are located to be some the first particles to be melted by the flame.

16. The fuel element of claim 13, wherein the outer shell further comprises an inner peripheral wall and an outer peripheral wall and forms at least one compartment within the fuel element between the inner peripheral wall and the outer peripheral wall.

17. The fuel element of claim 16, wherein the meltable fuel material of the core comprises a fuel that is liquid at room temperature contained in the compartment.

18. The fuel element of claim 17, wherein the outer shell further comprises an inner medial wall spaced between the inner peripheral wall and the outer peripheral wall, wherein the outer shell thereby forms a plurality of compartments inside the fuel element.

19. The fuel element of claim 18, wherein a first volatile active is present in one compartment and a second volatile active is present in another compartment.

20. The fuel charge of claim 12, wherein the wick is disposed in a wick holder, wherein the wick holder comprises at least one upwardly extending heat fin that is adapted to extend through a slot through the fuel element, and wherein the wick holder further comprises a downwardly turned base portion that is adapted to fit closely around a capillary pedestal to form an upwardly directed capillary space extending to a bottom end of the wick.