Plastic candle holder, tea light and manufacturing process for a plastic candle holder

Abstract

Manufacturing process for plastic candle cups, comprising the following process steps: 1.1 Creating a plastic candle holder, 1.2 Self-reversible deformation of the plastic candle bowl against a restoring force, whereby the base (1) of the plastic candle bowl is pressed inwards, so that holders (7) for receiving a wick plate (10) spread open, 1.3 Inserting the wick plate (10) with wick (11) into the deformed area of ​​the plastic candle holder, 1.4 Automatic reshaping of the plastic candle bowl and clamping of the wick plate (10) between the holders (7) 1.5 and filling the plastic candle cup with a fuel, for example paraffin.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a plastic candle holder, a tea light and a method for producing a plastic candle holder, which are already known from WO 96 / 21 124 A1, DE 20 2020 103 226 U1, DE 89 00 813 U1, DE 10 2005 004 295 A1 and DE 21 2014 000 057 U1.

[0002] Known plastic candle bowls comprise a base and an outer wall arranged transversely to the base, tightly connected to the base or merging integrally with the base. The base and the outer wall can be made of a single material or of multiple materials. At least the base is made of a flexible material with a certain elasticity, preferably plastic. The base and the at least one outer wall form a bowl into which at least one wick can be inserted and at least one fuel can be filled, as described, for example, in EP 3 222 703 B1.

[0003] Fire protection requirements require safe products for the sometimes careless consumer.

[0004] Until now, it has been difficult to permanently fix the position of a wick plate centrally on the base of the bowl. The state of the art is to glue the wick plate into the bowl using wick plates, slightly angled to the base, within a radial tolerance range limited by anti-floating tabs. If the fuel melts, high temperatures are generated, which also melts the adhesive and causes the wick plate to lose its grip.

[0005] The development of such tealight bowls has improved fuel consumption, allowing as much of the fuel as possible to reach the wick when the tealight burns. The slanting of the base toward the center of the bowl resulted in a kind of arena for the wick plate in the center, in which the plate could still melt when a certain temperature was reached. A reliable centering method beyond gluing at an angle is currently unknown.

[0006] Therefore, during the further processing of such plastic candle holders into tealights, wicks still melt when filled with wax. Especially after the burnout or shortly before the end of the burnout, burning wicks, for example, float to the edge due to vibrations under the base, get so close to the outer wall that the plastic melts away, thus preventing the escape of hot wax.

[0007] Based on this prior art, the present invention is based on the object of proposing an even safer tealight holder and a cost-effective manufacturing process.

[0008] This object is achieved according to the invention by a manufacturing method according to claim 1 or a plastic candle holder produced in this way according to claim 3

[0009] According to a main inventive idea, the object is further achieved by a tea light according to claim 5.

[0010] Advantageous embodiments are the subject of subclaims.

[0011] A generic plastic candle bowl comprises a base and an outer wall arranged transversely to the base, tightly connected to the base or merging integrally with the base. The base and the at least one outer wall form a bowl into which at least one wick can be directly or indirectly inserted, in particular inserted, and at least one fuel can be filled.

[0012] According to the invention, holders are arranged on the base as mechanical fixing elements for the secure insertion of the wick or a wick plate with wick.

[0013] Such a fixation enables optimal fuel extraction.

[0014] A plastic candle bowl produced according to the invention has holders that protrude inwardly from the base as legs for receiving the wick in at least a roughly axial direction (74). Particularly advantageously, the wick is also axially aligned during and after insertion, i.e., parallel to and spaced from the outer wall. In a further advantageous embodiment of a plastic candle bowl according to the invention, at least three holders are arranged on the base. The holders are preferably evenly distributed in the circumferential direction around a central axis of a round bowl at equal radial distances from the center.

[0015] The holders according to the invention are characterized by their ability to hold the wick plate firmly to the base, directly or indirectly. As a result of the invention, a wick plate can be firmly positioned on the base to receive the wax without adhesive, without the risk of shifting or blurring as the wax flows in and when the candle bowl is moved once the fuel has liquefied. Filling can be simplified and / or accelerated. Three holders are particularly suitable for receiving and securely holding the wick, but the invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to have a single holder on the base to directly or indirectly receive a wick, but only in this particularly advantageous embodiment, at least three such holders per wick plate.

[0016] The invention teaches, in carrying out an inventive assembly method for plastic candle holders, influencing the base to achieve a receiving position in which the wick can be easily inserted into the holder(s). In the case of three holders, it is external pressure on the base that causes three holder arms to spread open to receive the wick. Without the pressure, the influenced base relaxes, and the holders, which preferably protrude from the base but are made integrally with the base from the same material, clamp the wick or wick plate firmly from three sides.

[0017] According to a further advantageous embodiment of a plastic candle holder according to the invention, the holders are designed to be tapered radially inward to fit the shape of a wick plate, gradually widening toward the base. When the base is relaxed, an open diameter is provided for receiving the wick plate, although toward the base, the receiving diameter provided for the wick plate between the holders is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the wick plate.

[0018] A particular advantage here is that the wick plates are fixed horizontally from the outset with small notches slightly spaced from the bottom, and that the fuel added later is then used up symmetrically in the bowl. In tests, only a minimal film of fuel remained. This is particularly interesting when a fuel with a higher melting point is to be selected, which could otherwise result in asymmetrical heat distribution. For example, unmelted fuel remained in the bowl - a particularly unacceptable situation. Traditionally, wick plates are glued on. This can lead to the wick plate becoming skewed. The wick can therefore extend out from the center even though the wick plate is centered.

[0019] According to a further advantageous embodiment of a plastic candle bowl according to the invention, the holders protrude from the bottom into the bowl by a multiple of the wick plate thickness.

[0020] A tealight according to the invention comprises a plastic candle holder, manufactured according to a method according to the invention, with a wick plate and fuel mechanically fixed in the plastic candle holder.

[0021] Advantages are mentioned above for the general term plastic candle bowl.

[0022] According to advantageous embodiments of a tea light according to the invention, it has features that are described above for the plastic candle holder.

[0023] A manufacturing process for plastic candle bowls using the invention comprises the following process steps: • Creating a plastic candle bowl, • Automatically reversible deformation of the plastic candle holder against a restoring force, so that when deformed the bottom of the plastic candle holder is pressed inwards, so that the holders spread out, • Inserting a wick plate with wick into such a deformed area of ​​the plastic candle bowl, • Automatic reshaping of the plastic candle shell and clamping of the wick plate between the holders • and pouring a fuel, such as paraffin, into the plastic candle bowl.

[0024] According to an advantageous embodiment of a manufacturing method according to the invention, the wick plate is inserted into the bowl plane-parallel to the bottom.

[0025] In the manufacturing method according to the invention, the bottom of the plastic candle holder is pressed inward during the deformation process, causing the holders to expand to receive the wick. It is particularly advantageous to use a force measuring device or a device that determines and / or monitors the travel of a stamp when inserting a wick into a plastic candle holder for the production of a tealight.

[0026] The invention is explained in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0027] It shows Fig. 1 a perspective view obliquely from above onto and into a plastic candle holder according to the invention according to an advantageous embodiment, with inserted wick, without fuel filled in, Fig. 2 Side view of the plastic candle holder made of Fig. 1 with transparent outer wall and Fig. 3 an enlarged section of a radial section through the plastic candle shell from Fig. 1 with cutting plane through one of three holders, suitable as a secure fixation of a wick plate not shown here.

[0028] Fig. 1 shows an advantageous embodiment of a plastic candle bowl according to the invention, comprising a base 1 and an outer wall 2 arranged transversely to the base 1, tightly connected to the base 1 or integrally angularly merging into the base 1, such that the base 1 and the at least one outer wall 2 form a bowl into which at least one wick 11 can be inserted and at least one fuel can be filled. In the advantageous embodiment shown, the wick is not inserted alone into the bowl, but rather an assembly comprising the wick and wick plates.

[0029] Holders 7 are arranged on the bottom 1 of the bowl as mechanical fixing elements for the secure insertion of the wick 11, or, as explained above, the wick plate with inserted wick.

[0030] The holders 7 protrude inwards as legs from the base 1, aligned to receive the wick 11 in at least roughly axial direction 74.

[0031] In this preferred embodiment, three holders 7 are arranged on the base 1, namely evenly distributed in the circumferential direction 9 around a center axis of a round shell running along the axial direction 74 at equal radial distances from the center.

[0032] The holders 7 are radially inwardly adapted to the shape of a wick plate 10, tapering to a width 70 toward the base, so that an open diameter is available for receiving the wick plate 10 when the base 1 is relaxed. Toward the base 1, a receiving diameter 4 provided for the wick plate 10 between the holders 7 is smaller than an outer diameter of the wick plate 10.

[0033] In the prior art (not shown), similar extensions are known only as anti-displacement devices. This loose boundary between anti-displacement devices 8 is sometimes described as centering. However, this does not involve mechanical fixation in a center or elsewhere on the floor 1. The holders 7 according to the invention are therefore functionally superior to previous anti-displacement devices 8.

[0034] The holders 7 also protrude significantly higher from the base 1 than usual. They protrude inward into the bowl by several times the thickness of the wick plate.

[0035] In the in the Fig. 1 to 3 in detail, a plastic candle holder according to the invention is mechanically formed by means of the holder 7 into Fig. 1 is fixed centrally in order to be able to subsequently fill the tealight bowl with wax as fuel - a preferred product example for implementing the invention.

[0036] A method according to the invention for the production of a plastic candle holder, in particular for the production of a tea light, comprises the following process steps: - Creating a plastic candle bowl, - automatically reversible deformation of the plastic candle holder against a restoring force, so that during deformation the base 1 of the plastic candle holder is pressed inwards so that the holders 7 spread out, - Inserting a wick or a wick plate 10 with wick 11 into an area of ​​the plastic candle shell deformed according to the previous step, - automatic reshaping of the plastic candle shell and clamping of the wick plate 10 between the holders 7 - and pouring a fuel, such as paraffin, into the plastic candle bowl.

[0037] In order to avoid an understanding of the formulation as an overdetermination, the term “self-reversible deformation” refers here to a reversible deformation of the plastic candle holder.

[0038] In the illustrated embodiment of this tealight holder according to the invention, the base 1 of the plastic candle holder is pressed inward during deformation according to this method, causing the holders 7 to spread apart by a deflection angle difference α. When the pressure is released from the base 1, the holders 7 reset themselves because the plastic base has been reversibly deformed, and the holders 7 securely clamp the wick plate 10 between them.

[0039] To monitor this process, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a force measuring device is used when inserting the wick into the tealight bowl. Another advantageous variant of use is one in which the travel path of an insertion punch is monitored instead of the deflection force during the reversible deformation of the bowl base. For the successful automation of these advantageous applications, it is essential that the central raising of the base 1 and / or external lowering of the outer wall 2, suitable for sufficient spreading of the holders 7, is achieved, which spreading is only maintained during the insertion of the wick 11. The resetting of the base 2 and the associated quasi-snap-in holding, preferably by means of the holders that move back together with the base after the tension has been released around the wick or the wick plate, does not need to be monitored to ensure reliable production. List of reference symbols: 1 floor 2 exterior wall 3 Radius of the tealight bowl 4 mounting diameters 5 Shell center 7 holders 8 Anti-displacement device 9 Holder spacing in circumferential direction 10 wick pads 11 Wick 70 radial holder thickness 71 Holder width in circumferential direction 72 Holder height in axial direction 73 Holder inclination 74 axial direction, orthogonal / center axis 75 Holder groove α deflection angle difference

Claims

[1] Manufacturing process for plastic candle shells, comprising the process steps: 1.1 Creating a plastic candle bowl, 1.2 automatically reversible deformation of the plastic candle shell against a restoring force, whereby the base (1) of the plastic candle shell is pressed inwards so that holders (7) for receiving a wick plate (10) spread out, 1.3 Inserting the wick plate (10) with wick (11) into the thus deformed area of ​​the plastic candle bowl, 1.4 Automatic reshaping of the plastic candle shell and clamping of the wick plate (10) between the holders (7) 1.5 and pour a fuel, for example paraffin, into the plastic candle bowl. [2] Manufacturing process according to claim 1, characterized by that the wick plate (10) is inserted into the plastic candle bowl plane-parallel to the base (1). [3] Plastic candle bowl, comprising a base (1) and an outer wall (2) arranged transversely to the base (1), tightly connected to the base or integrally merging into the base (1), so that the base (1) and the at least one outer wall (2) form a bowl into which at least one wick plate (10) is inserted and at least one fuel is filled, where holders (7) are arranged on the base (1) as mechanical fixing elements for the secure holding of the wick plate with wick (11), characterized by that the plastic candle holder is manufactured according to the manufacturing method at least with the features of claim 1. [4] Plastic candle holder according to claim 3, characterized bythat the holders (7) are designed to be radially inwardly adapted to the shape of a wick plate (10) and to become increasingly wider (70) towards the base, so that an open diameter is available for receiving the wick plate (10) when the base (1) is relaxed, but the receiving diameter (4) provided for the wick plate (10) between the holders (7) towards the base (1) is smaller than an outer diameter of the wick plate (10). [5] Tealight with a plastic candle holder according to one of claims 3 or 4.

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