CANDLEWICK HOLDER REMOVER

Abstract

The candlewick holder remover enables an individual to easily remove the candlewick holder that is left in the candlestick after the candle has burned in it. The candlewick holder remover comprises an elongated portion and a removing portion, the latter comprising at least one sharp edge to cut the wax and pry the candlewick holder from the candlestick.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

There are no cross-related applications.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present patent application claims the benefits of priority of commonly assigned Canadian Patent Application No. 2,637,501, entitled “Candlewick holder remover” and filed at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office on Jul. 11, 2008.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Candles are used everywhere around the world to provide light, to decorate, to perfume and to fulfill religious goals. The candlewick usually located in the center of the candles is often connected to a candlewick holder which is a small metal disc comprising means to hold the candlewick in place when the candles are made. After a candle has burned, there is usually a residue of wax in which the candlewick holder is contained. The wax acts as glue and the candlewick holder becomes stuck into the candlestick or the recipient receiving the candle. Before putting a new candle in the candlestick or the recipient, it is necessary to remove the candlewick holder from the previous candle which can be difficult at times. Indeed, there is no tool for this usage and individuals often use conventional tools from the kitchen that are not made for this purpose. There are risks to break the tools used or risks that the individual may hurt himself/herself. There is thus a need for a tool allowing an individual to remove candlewick holders from candlestick.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

A first object of the present invention is to provide a tool to remove a candlewick holder from a candlestick or other candle recipient after a candle has burned in it.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a tool to remove a candlewick holder from a candlestick or other candle recipient which is simple and easy to use.

A third object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive tool to remove a candlewick holder from a candlestick or other candle recipient.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiments about to be described or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A candlewick holder remover to remove a candlewick holder from a candlestick after a candle contained in the candlestick has burned, the candlewick holder remover comprising an elongated portion having a longitudinal axis, a first extremity and a second extremity; and a removing portion comprising at least one sharp edge, the removing portion being connected to the first extremity of the elongated portion angularly from the longitudinal axis, and the sharp edge being at a predetermined distance from the longitudinal axis.

The elongated portion allows an individual to manipulate the candlewick holder remover in order to remove the candlewick holder, also referred to sometimes as a candlewick tab, from a candlestick or other candle recipient.

The removing portion comprises at least one sharp edge that is used to penetrate the wax and to slide under a portion of the candlewick holder to pry it out from the candlestick. The sharp edge refers herein to an edge that is sharp enough to cut wax. The sharp edge has to be distanced from the elongated portion so as to be able to penetrate under the candlewick holder.

The removing portion may be available in a plurality of sizes to accommodate a plurality of candle holder or candlestick sizes. Preferably, the removing portion should be usable with candlestick receiving the conventional votive elongated candles. The diameter or the overall dimension of the removing portion is smaller than the opening that receives candles and the removing portion should be able to be slightly rotated in order to pry or pop out the candlewick holder.

The removing portion may be made from metal or at least partially made from metal. The sharp edge(s) is(are) preferably made from metal so it may easily cut the wax but other hard material can be used for this purpose, such as wood or some plastics. The elongated portion may be made from a variety of material, as long as it is resistant enough to support the pressure and the flexion applied by an individual on it. The material for the elongated portion may be, for example, wood, metal or plastic.

The removing portion comprises preferably a recess adjacent to the sharp edge so it is easier for the sharp edge to penetrate into wax and to go under the candlewick holder. The recess comprised or formed by the at least one sharp edge allows the removing portion to partially slide under the candlewick holder and to pry or pop out the candlewick holder.

For the removing portion, a circular shape or a partially circular shape (from a bottom view perspective) will give better result because the candlewick holder is most often circular. However, the removing portion may have a rectangular shape, a squared shape, or any other suitable shape.

The top surface of the removing portion is preferably spherical or tapered to facilitate the rotation of the candlewick holder remover into the opening of a candlestick that receives the candle.

The second extremity may be used to connect other accessories to be used with candles or an accessory for the manipulation of the candlewick holder remover. A handle or a candlesnuffer may be connected to the elongated portion of the candlewick holder remover, for example. It is to be understood that other accessories could be connected to the second extremity of the elongated portion.

It is to be noted that the term “candlestick” refers to usual candlestick as well as to any other recipient or container used to hold a candle.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a first embodiment of the candlewick holder remover.

FIG. 2a is a partial cross-section view of an embodiment of the removing portion of the candlewick holder remover.

FIG. 2b is a bottom view of the removing portion of FIG. 2a.

FIG. 3a is a partial front view of a second embodiment of the removing portion of the candlewick holder remover.

FIG. 3b is a bottom view of the removing portion of FIG. 3a.

FIG. 4a is a partial front view of a further embodiment of the removing portion of the candlewick holder remover.

FIG. 4b is a bottom view of the removing portion of FIG. 4a.

FIG. 5 is a front view of another embodiment of the candlewick holder remover comprising a candlesnuffer.

FIG. 6 is front view of a further embodiment of the candlewick holder remover comprising a handle.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing another embodiment of the candlewick holder remover.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a further embodiment of the candlewick holder remover.

FIG. 8a is a partial side view of the candlewick holder remover.

FIG. 8b is a partial bottom view of the candlewick holder remover end.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A novel candlewick holder remover will be described hereinafter. Although the invention is described in terms of specific illustrative embodiment(s), it is to be understood that the embodiment(s) described herein are by way of example only and that the scope of the invention is not intended to be limited thereby.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the candlewick holder remover 100, comprising an elongated portion 120 and a removing portion 105. The removing portion 105 comprises sharp edges 110 and 112, and a recess 115. The sharp edges 110 and 112 are destined to penetrate into the residues of wax left in the candlestick or the candle recipient. The top portion of the removing portion 105 has a spherical shape.

FIGS. 2a and 2b show a removing portion having a circular shape. The sharp edge 210 surrounds the recess 215. As shown by the arrow 240, the sharp edge 210 is at a predetermined distance from the elongated portion 120.

In FIGS. 3a and 3b, the removing portion has partially circular shape. The recess 315 is surrounded by two sharp edges 310 and 312.

The FIGS. 4a and 4b illustrate a removing portion having rectangular shape. The recess 415 is surrounded by two sharp edges 410 and 412.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the candlewick holder remover, comprising an elongated portion 120, a removing portion 105 and a candlesnuffer 125.

FIG. 6 shows a further embodiment of the candlewick holder remover, comprising an elongated portion 120, a removing portion 105 and a handle 130.

FIG. 7 shows a candlewick holder remover having only one sharp edge 512 on one side and the recess 515.

FIGS. 8a to 8c shows another embodiment of the removing portion having the shape of a curved spatula. The removing portion 605 comprises a sharp edge 612, which is rounded. The removing portion 605 is a continuity of the elongated portion 120 and the free end of the removing portion is wider than the cross-section of the elongated portion. As shown by the arrow 640, the sharp edge 612 is at a predetermined distance from the elongated portion.

To remove a candlewick holder, the candlewick holder remover is inserted into the opening where the candle has burned up. The individual puts the sharp edge on the wax beside the candlewick holder, applies a downward force, and rotates the candlewick holder remover so that the sharp edge cuts the wax and penetrates under the candlewick holder. This will pry out the candlewick holder and usually the remaining wax. The predetermined distance between the elongated portion and the sharp edge allows the removing portion to goes under the candlewick holder with the previously described manipulation.

While illustrative and presently preferred embodiment(s) of the invention have been described in detail hereinabove, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art.

Claims

1) A candlewick holder remover to remove a candlewick holder from a candlestick after a candle contained in said candlestick has burned, said candlewick holder remover comprising:

a) an elongated portion having a longitudinal axis, a first extremity and a second extremity; and

b) a removing portion comprising at least one sharp edge, said removing portion being connected to said first extremity of said elongated portion angularly from said longitudinal axis, and said sharp edge being at a predetermined distance from said longitudinal axis.

2) The candlewick holder remover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least sharp edge of said removing portion forms a recess.

3) The candlewick holder remover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said removing portion has the shape of a curved spatula.

4) The candlewick holder remover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said removing portion has a circular shape, said removing portion comprising one sharp edge.

5) The candlewick holder remover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said removing portion has a partially circular shape, said removing portion comprising at least two sharp edges.

6) The candlewick holder remover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said removing portion has a rectangular shape, said removing portion comprising at least two sharp edges.

7) The candlewick holder remover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said recess has a concave shape.

8) The candlewick holder remover as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a handle connected to said second extremity of said elongated portion.

9) The candlewick holder remover as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a candle snuffer connected to said second extremity of said elongated portion.