Fuel and related compositions – Candle composition
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-15
2002-11-12
Howard, Jaqueline V. (Department: 1764)
Fuel and related compositions
Candle composition
C044S265000, C431S288000, C431S289000, C431S291000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06478830
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to transparent compositions that may be used as a base material for transparent candles, transparent candles, and methods of making such transparent compositions and candles.
2. Description of Related Art
Burning a candle involves a process that imposes rather stringent requirements upon the candle body material in order to be able to maintain a flame, avoid surface pool ignition, and prevent excessive dripping or the candle body melting. When a candle is burned, the heat of the candle's flame melts a small pool of the candle body material around the base of the exposed portion of the wick. This molten material is then drawn up through and along the wick by capillary action to fuel the flame. In order to meet the stringent requirements that the candle's body material must possess, the candle should liquefy at or below temperatures to which the candle's material can be raised by radiant heat from the candle flame. If too high a temperature is required to melt the body material, the flame will be starved because insufficient fuel will be drawn up through the wick, resulting in the flame being too small to maintain itself. On the other hand, if the candle's melting temperature is too low, the candle will drip or, in an extreme case, the entire candle body will melt, dropping the wick into a pool of molten body material, with the potential that the surface of the pool could ignite.
Additionally, in order to meet the stringent requirements upon the candle body material, when molten, the material should have a relatively low viscosity to ensure that the molten material will be capable of being drawn up through the wick by capillary action.
Additional desired features may place still further demands on these already stringent requirements. For example, it is generally desirable that the candle body material burn with a flame that is both luminous and smokeless, and that the odors produced by its combustion should not be unpleasant. These features require that the composition used to made such candles meet even further physical requirements. Additionally, when transparent candles are desired, additional physical requirements must be met by the composition used to make such candles.
Compositions that are presently known for making transparent candles typically have one or more undesirable characteristics. In particular, such compositions typically do not have enough rigidity to form a self-supporting candle, and require some type of container or external support. Such container candles generally additionally possess undesirable characteristics such as the potential for the gel compositions from which they are made shifting, for example, during shipping.
Compositions for making transparent candles also typically have an undesirable gelatinous or oily feeling. In addition, such compositions may darken or smoke during burning, which is aesthetically undesirable. Candles made from transparent compositions may also exhibit undesired external cracking and/or internal fractures.
For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,578,089 and 5,879,694 describe making candles from transparent base materials that result in one or more undesirable qualities. U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,089 describes a heterophase thermally reversible mineral oil formed by a system of physically crosslinked block copolymers. The thermoplastic rubber type polymers of U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,089 consist of block segments of styrene monomer units and rubber monomer units, wherein each block segment may consist of 100 monomer units or more. Such styrene/rubber-based candle compositions are disadvantageous because they are susceptible to surface ignition, which may produce black smoke, and also have limited fragrance throw.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,879,694 discloses a composition which may be used as a candle. Compositions included within the '694 disclosure may be subject to slumping under certain conditions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a transparent composition for use as a base material for transparent candles which does not suffer from the preceding shortcomings and drawbacks of the prior art.
These and other objects of the invention are achieved by a transparent composition, which includes a liquid base material; at least one copolymer of a thermoplastic rubber selected from the group consisting of diblock, triblock, radial block, and/or multiblock copolymers; and at least one derivative of an N-acyl amino acid. The present invention is also directed to transparent candles made from such transparent compositions and at least one wick. The present invention is further directed to a method for making the transparent compositions and transparent candles disclosed herein. The compositions and candles of the present invention do not exhibit the undesired qualities of previously described transparent compositions and candles.
In a preferred embodiment, the compositions of the present invention have advantageous properties such as greater tensile strength when used as candles than previously described compositions for making candles. Compositions according to this embodiment preferably include 0.1-2 weight percent of the derivative of an N-acyl amino acid. Additionally, due to the greater tensile strength of compositions according to this embodiment as compared to prior compositions, such compositions may be optionally formed into transparent pillar candles.
In another preferred embodiment, the compositions of the present invention preferably include 0.05-1 weight percent of the derivative of an N-acyl amino acid. Compositions according to this embodiment may be optionally formed into container candles. Transparent container candles formed from the compositions of the present invention, unlike previously described transparent container candles, advantageously do not shift, for example during shipping.
In preferred embodiments of the transparent compositions, the liquid base material is a hydrocarbon oil, the at least one copolymer is a triblock copolymer, more preferably Kraton® G1650, and the at least one derivative of an N-acyl amino acid is N-lauroyl-glutamic acid di-n-butlyamide.
The compositions of the present invention may optionally include one or more additional components to produce candles having enhanced or additional aesthetic and/or functional improvements. In particular, the additional materials that may be included in the compositions include fragrances, coloring agents, decorative materials, insect repellants, solvents, stabilizers, antioxidants, and UV blockers.
Preferably, transparent candles formed from the transparent compositions described herein, are self-supporting, and thus, do not require a container or external support.
The transparent candles of the present invention also preferably have other desirable aesthetic features, such as a waxy feel.
A preferred method of making transparent compositions according to the present invention includes 1) adding a liquid base material, at least one copolymer of a thermoplastic rubber, and at least one derivative of an N-acyl amino acid to a mixing vessel and 2) heating the liquid base material to a temperature sufficient to solubilize the at least one copolymer and at least one derivative of an N-acyl amino acid so as to form a transparent composition. The composition may optionally be cooled.
A preferred method of making transparent candles according to the present invention includes 1) adding a liquid base material, at least one copolymer of a thermoplastic rubber, and at least one derivative of an N-acyl amino acid to a mixing vessel; 2) heating the liquid base material to a temperature sufficient to solubilize the at least one copolymer and at least one derivative of an N-acyl amino acid; 3) cooling the mixture to about 250° F.; 4) pouring the transparent composition into a mold or into a container (depending on whether a free-standing or container candle is being made); 5) adding a wick; and 6) cooling the composition. In embodiments where a fre
Allison Gerald
Virtucio Gilbert
Howard Jaqueline V.
Kenyon & Kenyon
Noville Inc.
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