Candle drip guard

Abstract

The present invention provides a drip guard for use with a candle made of flexible material such as aluminum foil which is cut into a fan shape. The drip guard may be formed into a cone or other shape by bending or folding the fan radially. The opening has slits and tabs that allow a candle to pass through while still holding the candle snugly within the opening. Once rolled or folded the flexible material is overlapped upon itself. Perforations may be provided in the flexible material to allow light from the candle to pass through. A canopy may be provided for the drip guard to shield the candle from weather.

1 . A drip guard for a candle comprising:
 a flexible sheet of material rolled into a cone shape having a narrow end and a wide end, wherein the narrow end of the cone forms an opening positioned around and in contact with a candle and wherein the wide end projects outwardly and upwardly from the narrow end.   
   
   
       2 . A drip guard according to  claim 1 , further comprising at least one slit formed in the narrow end and open at the narrow end. 
   
   
       3 . A drip guard according to  claim 1 , wherein the flexible sheet of material is folded along the wide end to provide reinforcement of the drip guard. 
   
   
       4 . A drip guard according to  claim 1 , wherein the flexible sheet of material comprises four equally-sized sections and wherein a slit is placed between each section. 
   
   
       5 . A drip guard according to  claim 4 , wherein at least one of the sections has perforations formed in the wide end of the drip guard. 
   
   
       6 . A drip guard according to  claim 1 , further comprising a canopy, attached to and held upright by at least on fork, and a clip attached to the at least one fork and also attached to the wide end of the drip guard. 
   
   
       7 . A drip guard according to  claim 6 , wherein the flexible sheet of material is aluminum foil. 
   
   
       8 . A drip guard according to  claim 1 , wherein the canopy, forks and the clip, are made from aluminum foil. 
   
   
       9 . A drip guard for a candle comprising:
 a flexible sheet of material folded into a three-sided pyramidal shape having a narrow end and a wide end, wherein the narrow end of the pyramid forms an opening positioned around and in contact with a candle and wherein the wide end projects outwardly and upwardly from the narrow end; and   at least one slit formed in the narrow end and open at the narrow end.   
   
   
       10 . A drip guard according to  claim 9 , wherein the flexible sheet of material is folded along the wide end to provide reinforcement of the drip guard. 
   
   
       11 . A drip guard according to  claim 9 , wherein the flexible sheet of material is a semi-octagonal shape when not folded. 
   
   
       12 . A drip guard according to  claim 11 , wherein the flexible sheet of material comprises four equally-sized sections and wherein a slit is placed between each section. 
   
   
       13 . A drip guard according to  claim 9 , wherein the flexible sheet of material is aluminum foil. 
   
   
       14 . A drip guard according to  claim 9 , wherein at least one of the sections has perforations formed in the wide end of the drip guard. 
   
   
       15 . A drip guard according to  claim 9 , further comprising a canopy, attached to and held upright by at least on fork, and a clip attached to the at least one fork and also attached to the wide end of the drip guard. 
   
   
       16 . A drip guard according to  claim 9 , wherein the canopy, forks and the clip, are made from aluminum foil. 
   
   
       17 . A drip guard for a candle comprising:
 a flexible sheet of material rolled into a cone shape having a narrow end and a wide end, wherein the narrow end of the cone forms an opening positioned around and in contact with a candle and wherein the wide end projects outwardly and upwardly from the narrow end,   at least one reinforcing flange comprising bent sections of the sheet of material wherein the bent sections project outwardly from the sheet of material when the sheet of material is rolled into a cone shape.   
   
   
       18 . A drip guard according to  claim 17 , wherein a reinforcing flange comprises three bends forming two bent sections, wherein the degrees of separation between two bends remains constant from the wide end to the narrow end. 
   
   
       19 . A drip guard according to  claim 18 , wherein each bent section represents five degrees of the drip guard's circumference. 
   
   
       20 . A drip guard according to  claim 18 , further comprising six reinforcing flanges evenly spaced about the drip guard. 
   
   
       21 . A drip guard according to  claim 17 , wherein at least one of the sections has perforations formed in the wide end of the drip guard. 
   
   
       22 . A drip guard according to  claim 17 , further comprising a canopy, attached to and held upright by at least a fork, and a clip attached to the at least one fork and also attached to the wide end of the drip guard. 
   
   
       23 . A drip guard according to  claim 17 , wherein the flexible sheet of material is aluminum foil. 
   
   
       24 . A drip guard according to  claim 17 , wherein the canopy, forks and the clip, are made from aluminum foil. 
   
   
       25 . A method for making a candle drip guard for a candle comprising the steps of:
 providing a flat sheet of fan shaped flexible material having a straight edge forming a longest length of the sheet,   cutting an opening in sheet at the center of the straight edge,   starting with a half of the straight edge, rolling the sheet until one half of the straight edge overlaps the other half of the straight edge to form two overlapping sections wherein a cone with an opening at its base is formed,   connecting the overlapping sections together.   
   
   
       26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the sheet is folded so that a pyramidal shape is formed. 
   
   
       27 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the sheet is folded so that a shape have greater that three flat sides is formed. 
   
   
       28 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the sheet is aluminum. 
   
   
       29 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the sheet is tin. 
   
   
       30 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the overlapping sections are connected using an adhesive. 
   
   
       31 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the overlapping sections are connected using a compression of serrated metal plates.