Candle Wick Stop Mechanism for Controlled Burn Duration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional candles lack a mechanism to control the burning duration and self-extinguish, leading to inefficient use and potential safety hazards from unattended flames.
Innovation Solution
A candle design featuring a wick assembly with removable metal stops that prevent the flame from consuming the wick beyond a certain point, allowing manual re-lighting of the non-burned wick portion after the stop is removed, thereby controlling the burning time and enhancing safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional candles are designed without burning control mechanisms, then they can burn continuously, but this leads to safety hazards from unattended flames and inefficient use of candle material
Solution Approach 1:
The candle assembly is segmented into distinct functional components: the wick, the flammable medium, and the removable stop component. This segmentation allows the stop to independently control burning duration without complicating the overall candle structure, as the stop can be easily added or removed without redesigning the entire candle system.
Solution Approach 2:
The removable stop acts as an intermediary component between the wick and the flame. It physically interrupts the burning process by preventing the flame from consuming the wick beyond a certain point, thereby controlling burning duration and providing safety without requiring complex automated systems.
2Duration of action of moving object
If a removable stop is added to control burning duration, then safety and material conservation are improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stop component is designed to be dynamically removable and repositionable rather than fixed. This allows the burning duration to be adjusted by removing or repositioning the stop, providing flexible control over candle burn time without requiring a complex fixed mechanism. The dynamic nature simplifies the overall design compared to automated systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The stop is pre-positioned on the wick at a specific location before the candle is lit. This preliminary placement establishes the intended burning duration in advance, eliminating the need for complex real-time control mechanisms during combustion. The user simply needs to ensure the stop is in place before lighting the candle.
3Loss of substance
If the stop prevents the flame from consuming the wick completely, then candle material is conserved, but the wick assembly structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The stop component is designed as a simple, inexpensive, and potentially disposable element rather than a complex durable mechanism. This allows the stop to be easily manufactured and replaced if needed, conserving valuable candle material (wick and flammable medium) without requiring investment in complex reusable control systems. The simplicity of the stop structure minimizes its own material cost.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution allows for controlled burning duration, conserves candle material, and provides safety by automatically extinguishing the flame, enabling re-lighting when needed, thus addressing inefficiencies and safety concerns of conventional candles.
Implementation Method 1
the stop substantially prevents the candle from burning beyond the stop until the stop is removed
Implementation Method 2
a wick including a top end and a bottom end
Data Source
AI summary
A candle includes a flammable medium that is at least semi-solid. A wick assembly is at least partially integrated within the flammable medium. The wick assembly includes a wick having a top end and a bottom end and at least one stop coupled with the wick between the top end and the bottom end. The stop is configured to substantially prevent the candle from burning beyond the stop. The stop is configured to be manually removable, after the wick has burned from the top end to the stop, to substantially separate a burned portion of the wick from a remainder of the wick. After the burned portion and stop have been thus manually removed, a substantially non-burned top portion of the remainder is exposed and is capable of being ignited to re-light the candle.