Candle Wick Wax Composition for Upright Burning Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing candle wicks often deviate from the ideal burning position due to internal tension, leading to residue formation, mushrooming, and safety hazards, and require manual correction during burning, while traditional wick waxes are not firm enough to maintain upright position during production and burning.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a wick wax composition combining flexible, hard, and high-melting waxes, applied through a relaxed wick waxing process to ensure the wick remains upright during production and burning, using a combination of paraffin and Fischer-Tropsch waxes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional wick wax is used, then the wick can be applied to the wick holder, but the wick falls over during production and burning due to insufficient firmness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite wick wax composition consisting of multiple wax types (paraffin wax, microcrystalline wax, and/or vegetable wax) in specific proportions. This composite material combines the firmness needed to maintain upright position during production and burning with the flexibility required for rolling and hammering into the wick holder, resolving the contradiction between strength and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the melting point range and compositional parameters of the wick wax. By controlling the melting point to be higher than the pouring temperature of candle wax but lower than the burning temperature, and by adjusting the proportions of different wax components, the wick achieves optimal firmness while maintaining workability during production.
2Productivity
If wick is supplied on a roll, then production efficiency is improved, but internal tension causes the wick to deviate from ideal position during burning
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a relaxation step before the waxing process where the wick is allowed to release internal tensions accumulated from rolling and transport. This preliminary action eliminates the internal stress that would otherwise cause the wick to deviate from its ideal position during burning, ensuring reliability while maintaining high-speed production capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The production process is divided into distinct segments: transport phase, relaxation phase, and waxing phase. By separating the relaxation step from the high-speed transport and waxing operations, the system maintains productivity while ensuring the wick is properly relaxed before final positioning, thus resolving the contradiction between speed and stability.
3Productivity
If wick wax is applied during high-speed production, then productivity is improved, but the wick may not be properly relaxed causing tension and position deviation
Solution Approach 1:
The relaxation step is performed as a preliminary action before the high-speed waxing process. This ensures that all tension-related issues are resolved before the wick undergoes the rapid waxing operation, allowing high-speed production to proceed without compromising positioning accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs a continuous production process where the wick flows continuously through transport, relaxation, and waxing stages without interruption. The relaxation occurs in-line during the continuous flow, maintaining productivity while ensuring proper relaxation before waxing, thus achieving both high speed and high precision.
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 method produces a wick that is flexible enough to roll and hammer into a holder, remains upright during pouring and burning, preventing falling and secondary flames, and is suitable for high-speed production.
Implementation Method 1
The wick is dipped in a wax bath provided with molten wick wax, the wick being coated with the wick wax
Implementation Method 2
a wax bath provided with molten wick wax
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method for producing an improved wick for candles comprising the sequential steps of: (i) providing a wick; (ii) relaxing the wick by transporting the wick over rollers; (iii) immersing the wick in a wax bath provided with a molten wick wax, whereby the wick is coated with the wick wax, wherein the wick wax comprises a combination of a flexible wax, a hard wax, and a high-melting wax, wherein a flexible wax is defined as a wax having a hardness between 15 and 25 dmm at 25°C, wherein a hard wax is defined as a wax having a hardness between 5 and 15 dmm at 25°C, and wherein a high-melting wax is defined as a wax with a melting point between 60 and 100°C, preferably between 70 and 90°C.