Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02709410 2010-06-15
WO 2009/077560 Al
CANDLEHOLDER
The present invention relates to a candleholder for
receiving disc-shaped candles, in particular tea lights,
having a receiving body and an envelope body designed
independently of the receiving body which is designed as an
annular sleeve having a substantially L-shaped or U-shaped
cross-section with an envelope shell covering a peripheral
surface of the receiving body, an annular envelope disc
covering the top side of the receiving body and an envelope
border bordering an inner rim of a receiving opening of the
receiving body, wherein the bottom side of the receiving
body is provided with a centering extension protruding from
an annular stacking base of said receiving body, and the
outer centering diameter of which corresponds to an inner
centering diameter of the envelope border, and wherein the
envelope disc of the envelope body has a cross-sectional
profile which corresponds to a cross-sectional profile of
the stacking base.
Candleholders which are used to receive disc-shaped
candles, in particular tea lights, have many known
embodiments and are increasingly used not only purely
functionally for heating food or beverages by means of tea
lights received in the candleholders, but also for creating
individually designed lighting effects. The known
candleholders are usually presumed to be equipped with a
lit tea light in order to achieve an aesthetic effect.
Candleholders not equipped with tea lights or lit tea
lights are usually correspondingly unattractive as regards
their external effect resulting in unused candleholders
being stored away and positioned in exposed places only
when actually used.
The present invention is based on the requirement to
propose a candleholder for receiving disc-shaped candles,
in particular tea lights, which gives an aesthetically
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attractive effect even without a tea light and, in particular,
provides for an aesthetically looking arrangement in an exposed
position.
In accordance with this invention there is provided a
candleholder for receiving disc-shaped candles, in particular
tea lights, with a receiving body and an envelope body provided
independently of the receiving body which envelope body is
formed as an annular sleeve with a substantially L-shaped or
U-shaped cross-section and including an envelope shell covering
a peripheral surface of the receiving body, an annular envelope
disc covering the top side of the receiving body and an
envelope border bordering an inner rim of a receiving opening
of the receiving body, wherein the receiving body, on its
underside, is provided with a centering extension protruding
from an annularly shaped stacking base of the receiving body,
the outer centering diameter (d) of which corresponds to an
inner centering diameter (D) of the envelope border, and
wherein the envelope disc of the envelope body has a cross-
sectional profile which corresponds to a cross-sectional
profile of the stacking base.
The candleholder according to the invention comprises a
receiving body provided with a receiving opening which allows a
disc-shaped candle, in particular a tea light, to be inserted
into the receiving body. The receiving body is provided with an
envelope body which, apart from an envelope shell, forms an
envelope disc and an envelope border and which covers the
otherwise visible -external surfaces of the receiving body. Thus
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it is due to the envelope body that it is possible to design
the visible surfaces of the candleholder, which influence or
define the aesthetic effect, in particular independently of the
material of the envelope body, in order to select surface
designs which the material of the receiving body does not
allow.
In addition, the receiving body is designed in such a way as to
provide it with an exposed centering extension which is shaped
to correspond to the envelope border or the diameter of the
receiving opening defined by the envelope border. Due to this
fact it is possible to combine the candleholder according to
the invention with similarly shaped candleholders to form a
stacking arrangement, which makes it possible to produce
pillar-shaped groups from the candleholder according to the
invention which, on the one hand, permits a tidy orderly
arrangement of a plurality of candleholders thus allowing a
plurality of candleholders to be stored even in exposed places
in an aesthetically pleasing way. On the other hand, the
stackability of the candleholders makes it possible to arrange
a plurality of candleholders in a variety of formations,
thereby allowing
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individually shaped sculptural arrangements to be designed
and thus leaving it to the user of the candleholders to
arrange them in creative ways for use as decorative
accessories independently of their actual purpose for use.
There are virtually no limits as to how creative the user
can be, since the implementation of the envelope body,
which is independent of the receiving body, also allows
different surface designs or different colour effects of
the stacked combinations of candleholders to be produced.
If according to a preferred embodiment the envelope disc of
the envelope body has a convex cross-sectional profile
which corresponds to a concave cross-sectional profile of
the stacking base, this will allow the candleholders to be
stacked on top of each other without any light gaps, on the
one hand. On the other hand, it makes the candleholder very
solid to look at due to the convex design of the envelope
disc, independently of the material chosen for the envelope
body.
Furthermore it is particularly advantageous if the envelope
body is made from a sheet metal blank and the receiving
body is made from a plastic material. In this way it is
possible, on the one hand, to choose a material for the
receiving body independently of the aesthetic effect
determined by the exterior of the candleholder, which is
very easy to process using a form-giving process such as an
injection-moulding process. In addition, if the envelope
body is produced from a sheet metal blank, this will
provide not only for ease of production in a mass-
production process such as deep-drawing, but also, due to
the choice of sheet metal as material for the envelope
body, for the production of high-quality visible surfaces
and with colour effects which are not possible on a plastic
carrier due to incompatibilities, for example.
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If the receiving body comprises a central candle receiving
chamber and an annual chamber arranged concentrically to
the receiving chamber with an outer shell wall and an inner
shell wall which is U-shaped in cross-section, is limited
by the stacking base at a lower axial end and comprises an
annular access opening at the upper axial end, the
candleholder - although having surfaces which on the
outside appear to be closed on all sides - can be produced
as a hollow element with a respective minimum of material
input. In addition the annular chamber produced in this way
can be used for arranging further additional elements.
In a particularly preferred case the annular chamber is
used for receiving a preferably annularly shaped ballast
device so that independently of the choice of material for
the receiving body a relatively high weight can be imparted
to the candleholder in order to be able to achieve a
correspondingly high-quality appearance. In addition the
annular chamber may be provided with, either instead of or
in addition to, further additional elements, such as scent-
emitting inserts making the candleholder attractive not
only with regard to its aesthetic appearance but in
addition also offering the possibility of producing
pleasing smells.
If the envelope body is arranged on the receiving body in
such a way that the receiving body protrudes with a
peripheral rim of the stacking base beyond a bottom edge of
the envelope shell of the envelope body, it is possible for
candleholders stacked on top of one another to produce an
aesthetically looking shadow gap between individual
candleholders without restricting a secure stacking
arrangement in any way.
To ensure a very simple but nevertheless loss-proof
assembly of the envelope body on the receiving body it is
advantageous if the envelope body is provided with a
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locking edge provided inside the bottom edge of the
envelope shell, which locking edge, together with a
corresponding locking device provided on a peripheral
surface of the receiving body, allows the envelope body to
be locked to the receiving body.
Particularly, in order to form an abutment for locking the
envelope body to the receiving body, it is advantageous if
the envelope body, with a bottom edge of the envelope
border, rests against an annularly shaped shoulder on the
inner rim of the receiving opening of the receiving body so
as to ensure that a face formed between the envelope border
and the receiving body on the inner rim of the receiving
opening does not have a gap which could detract from the
high-quality appearance of the candleholder.
If with a further preferred embodiment the receiving body
is provided with a beaker insert which can be inserted into
the receiving opening, the impression of an altogether
solid implementation of the candleholder made of metal can
be created, even for a candleholder not provided with a tea
light and thus allowing the viewer a free view into the
= receiving opening of the receiving body.
For a defined arrangement of the beaker insert in the
receiving opening of the candleholder it is particularly
advantageous, if the beaker insert has a flange-shaped
beaker rim which rests on an annular-shaped shoulder on the
inner rim of the receiving opening.
A loss-proof and simple-to-execute assembly or arrangement
of the beaker insert in the candleholder becomes possible,
if the envelope body rests with a bottom edge of the
envelope border on the beaker rim supported against the
inner rim of the receiving opening.
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Both with regard to a simple manufacture of the beaker
insert and a multitude of design possibilities regarding
the surface of the beaker insert it has proven to be
advantageous if the beaker insert is made from a sheet
metal blank.
In the following preferred embodiments of the candleholder
will be explained with reference to the drawing in which:
Fig. 1 shows an exploded view of a candleholder according
to the first embodiment;
Fig. 2 shows a sectional view of the receiving body of the
candleholder shown in fig. 1.
Fig. 3 shows the candleholder of fig. 1 in an assembled
state and as a sectional view;
Fig. 4 shows an enlarged view of a partial area IV of an
inner rim of a receiving opening of the candleholder
depicted in fig. 3;
Fig. 5 shows an enlarged view of a partial area V of a
peripheral rim of the receiving body of the candleholder of
fig. 3;
Fig. 6 shows a candleholder according to a further
embodiment in an exploded view;
Fig. 7 a receiving body of the candleholder depicted in
fig. 6;
Fig. 8 shows the candleholder depicted in fig. 6 in an
assembled state and as a sectional view;
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Fig. 9 shows an enlarged view of a partial area IX of an
inner rim of a receiving opening of the candleholder
depicted in fig. 8;
Fig. 10 shows an enlarged view of a partial area X of a
lower peripheral rim of the receiving body of the
candleholder of fig. 8;
Fig. 11 shows a stacking arrangement formed of
candleholders stacked on top of each other.
Fig. 1 shows a candleholder 20 with a receiving body 21
formed here of a plastic material, for example poly
carbonate (PC), and with an envelope body 22 formed here of
a sheet metal blank, in particular aluminium sheet, which,
as revealed in particular in the illustration of fig. 2,
comprises, concentrically to a central receiving chamber 23
serving to receive a tea light 51 (fig. 3), an annular
chamber 24 which serves to receive a ballast device 25
(fig. 1) which in this instance is shaped annularly.
As revealed in particular, when viewing fig. 1 and 2
together, the receiving body 21 comprises, on its
underside, a stacking base 27 opposite an access side 26
permitting free access to the receiving chamber 23 and the
annular chamber 24, which stacking base 27 in a central
area has a centering extension 28 with an annular web 29
extending in a downward direction from the stacking base
27. In an area of the stacking base 27 arranged
concentrically to the centering extension 28, which limits
the annular chamber 24, is formed an annular stacking
surface 30 with a concave contour on the surface of the
stacking base 27.
Further, when viewing fig. 1 and 2 together, axially
extending web strips 33 or 34 can be seen on opposite shell
surfaces 31, 32 radially limiting the annular chamber 24,
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which ledges, when the annularly shaped ballast device 25
is inserted, come into pressing contact with shell surfaces
35, 36 of the ballast device 25 and are deformed. This
results in the ballast device 25 being clampingly received
in the receiving body 21 while securing its position in the
annular chamber 24. In order to further enhance this
clamping effect, as illustrated in fig. 1, a clamping web
37 formed on the shell inside surface 35 of the ballast
device 25 may be additionally provided which extends
circumferentially on the shell surface 35.
In the case of the present embodiment a plurality of
axially extending web strips 38 arranged closely adjacent
to one another, are provided on a peripheral surface 39 of
the receiving body 21, which as revealed in particular in
fig. 3, come to rest against an inner surface of an
envelope shell 40 covering the peripheral surface 39 of the
receiving body in order to achieve clamping forces during
placement of the envelope body 22 on the receiving body 21.
In the assembled state the envelope body 22 with the
envelope shell 40 is pushed onto the receiving body 21 to
such an extent that an envelope border 42 of the envelope
body 22 bordering a receiving opening 41 of the receiving
chamber 23 rests with its bottom edge 43 on an annularly
shaped shoulder 44 on an inner rim 45 of the receiving
opening 41, as revealed in particular in fig. 4.
As furthermore shown in fig. 3 the envelope body 22 in the
present embodiment is shaped as an annular sleeve having a
U-shaped annular cross-section 75 the shanks of which are
of unequal length due to, on the one hand, the envelope
shell 40 and due to the envelope border 42 on the other,
and which are connected with each other via a base formed
by an envelope disc 46. When placing or pushing the
envelope body 22 onto the receiving body 21 and after the
bottom edge 43 of the envelope border 42 comes to rest
against the shoulder 44, an elastic deformation of the
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envelope body 22 takes place in the direction of an
assembly force 47 indicated in fig. 3, such that the
envelope shell 40 is displaced against the spring action of
the envelope disc 46 parallel to the envelope border 42
until, as shown in fig. 5, a locking edge 49 formed on a
bottom edge 48 of the envelope shell 40 locks behind a
locking web 50 extending circumferentially in sections on
the peripheral surface 39 of the receiving body 21, as
revealed in particular in fig. 1.
As revealed in particular in fig. 3 which shows a tea light
51 drawn as a broken line inside the receiving body 21, the
height h, of the envelope border 42 is dimensioned such
that the bottom edge 43 of the envelope border is covered
by the tea light 51. The result of this is that the
candleholder 20 equipped with a tea light 51 gives the
impression when viewed from the outside as if it were
constructed in one piece. In addition, if the envelope body
22 is manufactured from a sheet metal blank, a solid
looking and thus high-quality appearance of the
candleholder 20 is achieved, in particular due to the
convex surface contour of the envelope disc 46.
As further revealed in fig. 3 which shows, as a broken
line, the adjoining contour of a further candleholder 20
arranged in stacking contact according to a stacking
arrangement 72 shown in fig. 11, the outer centering
diameter d of the centering extension 28 is formed so as to
correspond to the inner centering diameter D of the
envelope border 42, in order to produce the stacking
contact. In addition the convex surface of the envelope
disc 46 moulds itself to the concave stacking surface 30 of
the stacking base 27.
Fig. 6 shows a candleholder 52 which is essentially
different from the candleholder 20 already discussed in
figs. 1 to 5 in that a beaker insert 56 is provided as a
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further component of the candleholder 52 in addition to a
receiving body 53, an envelope body 54 and ballast device
55.
As revealed in particular when viewing fig. 8 and 9
together, the beaker insert 56 is provided with a flange-
type shaped beaker rim 57 extending radially towards the
outside, which is used for positively arranging the beaker
insert 56 in a receiving chamber 61 of the receiving body
53. To this effect the beaker rim 57 rests on, and is
supported by, an annular circumferentially formed shoulder
58 on the inner rim 59 of a receiving opening 60 of the
receiving body 53. A radially secure positioning
arrangement of the beaker insert 56 in the receiving
chamber 61 is achieved by the interaction of clamping webs
63 extending axially on an inner surface 62 of the
receiving chamber 61, which, when the beaker insert 56 is
arranged in the receiving chamber 61, rest against a
peripheral surface 64 of the candleholder 52.
As further revealed when viewing fig. 8 and 9 together, the
envelope body 54 is axially supported with a bottom edge 65
of its envelope border 66 against the beaker rim 57, which
in turn is supported by the shoulder 58, as discussed
above. In other respects, as shown in fig. 10, the securely
positioning, locking reception or arrangement of the
envelope body 54 on the receiving body 53 is identical to
the arrangement of the envelope body 22 on the receiving
body 21 of candleholder 20 such that a locking edge 69
formed on a bottom edge 67 of an envelope shell 68 of the
envelope body 54 locks with a locking shoulder 71 formed on
a peripheral surface 70 of the receiving body 53.
In other respects the embodiments of the envelope body 54
and the receiving body 53 of candleholder 52 are
essentially identical to the embodiments of the envelope
body 22 and the receiving body 21 of candleholder 20 and
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they are therefore given correspondingly identical
reference numbers in figs. 6 to 10.
As revealed in fig. 8, the receiving chamber 61 can be
given a surface design which is altogether different from
the material of receiving body 53 due to the additional
beaker insert 56. As opposed to forming the receiving body
53 from a plastic, the beaker insert 56 may be formed from
a sheet metal blank corresponding to envelope body 54 and
thus impart to the candleholder including the receiving
chamber 61 a metallic and correspondingly high-quality
appearance without, as in the case in the illustration in
fig. 3 and with reference to the candleholder 20 for
covering non-metallic surface areas, having to arrange a
tea light 51 in the receiving chamber 61.
Fig. 11 shows a stacking arrangement 72 formed from a
plurality of candleholders 20 or 52, which is placed on a
stand-up base 76. Due to the fact that, as revealed in
figs. 3 and 8, a peripheral rim 73 of the stacking base 27
protrudes beyond the bottom edge 48 or 67 of the envelops
shell 40 or 68, a shadow gap 74 is formed between
respectively two adjacent candleholders 20 or 52 in the
stacking arrangement 72 shown in fig. 11. With this
arrangement a projection s formed by the protruding portion
of the stacking base 27 is chosen such that it corresponds
to the projection z formed by the centering extension 28 in
relation to the stacking base 27, with the result that
shadow gaps 74 are formed between the stand-up base 76 in
fig. 11 and the lowest candleholder 20 or 52 disposed in
the stacking arrangement 72 as well as between the adjacent
candleholders 20 or 52, which impart an aesthetically
looking structure to the stacking arrangement.
