DEVICE AND METHOD FOR EXTINGUISHING A CANDLE FLAME

摘要

A device for extinguishing a candle flame, in which a small quantity of water is discharged under pressure as an aerosolized, conically shaped, filled spray of small water droplets directed against the flame to extinguish it and prevent burning and smoking of the wick of the candle. The quantity of water discharged in each dispensing cycle is only up to about 1 ml, and preferably no more than about 0.50 ml in finger pumps, with 0.080 ml being the preferred quantity. The water droplets have a size ranging from about one micron to about one thousand microns, distributed over a steep bell curve, and in a preferred embodiment average only about sixty-five to seventy microns. The device can be a finger pump, or a trigger-actuated dispenser, or a pressurized aerosol dispenser, in which the water is discharged through an orifice having a diameter of only 0.10 to 0.25 inch. Carbon dioxide can be used as a propellant gas, and can be discharged with the water to facilitate extinguishment of the flame. A carbon block having CO2 adsorbed therein may be placed in the aerosol container to replace CO2 depleted through use, to thereby maintain a desired pressure in the container. A surfactant may be added to produce a light foaming of the discharged water.< >