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Candlestick

Candlestick description/claims

This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 11/105,151, filed Apr. 13, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,422,428, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 10/249,427, filed Apr. 8, 2003 now abandoned, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

This invention relates to a candleholder or candlestick. It relates more particularly to a holder for supporting a miniature candle, i.e. a birthday candle, upright in a cake or other confection.

The usual candlestick comprises a rigid member having a lower end shaped to form a stable base and an upper end defining a socket for holding a candle. Such candlesticks are designed to be placed on a stationary support surface such as a table or desk.

Candlesticks for supporting miniature candles on a cake or other confection usually include a cup-shaped plastic base defining a socket for receiving the lower end of the candle. The underside of the base is usually pointed enabling the candlestick be stuck into the top of a cake or other confection so that the candle is supported in an upright position. These prior candlesticks for birthday candles are not particularly convenient to use and they do not exclude the possibility of hot wax from a lit candle dripping onto the confection. Also, the prior candlesticks used for this purpose being made of plastic are not environmentally friendly.

Utility model RU No. 19309 discloses a candlestick of the general type with which we are concerned which has a full body, the upper part of which is widened to catch hot wax dripping from the candle. A candleholder is positioned inside the body and has a stepped form for accommodating candles having various diameters. Although this known candlestick catches dripping wax, it is made of plastic or other non-biodegradable material and is therefore not environmentally friendly. Moreover, that candlestick is difficult to place on a cake or other confection.

Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved candlestick for supporting a small candle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a candlestick of this type which is disposable and therefore environmentally friendly.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a candlestick which is easy to make and convenient to use.

Other objects will, in part, be obvious and will, in part, appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the following detailed description, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

Briefly, my candlestick comprises a relatively stiff, tubular, biodegradable cartridge and a sheet of highly flexible biodegradable sheet material snugly encircling the cartridge so that its edges overlap thereby forming a tube. Preferably, the lower end of the tube is even with the lower end of the cartridge and the tube is appreciably longer than the cartridge so that the tube extends well beyond the cartridge. Preferably also, the inside diameter of the cartridge is the same as or only slightly larger than the diameter of a typical birthday candle so that it forms a ring or socket for snugly receiving a lower end segment of the candle.

In use, a candle is inserted into the upper end of the tube until the lower end of the candle is plugged into the upper end of the cartridge. Then, the segment of the tube extending above the cartridge is slid down toward the cartridge so that it is gathered around the candle at the upper end of the cartridge thereby forming a larger diameter cuff or skirt around the base of the candle which can catch any melted wax running down the candle when the candle is lit.

The lower end of the cartridge may be pinched together to facilitate staking the cartridge in a cake or other confection so that the candle is supported in an upright position thereon.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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