Patent Application
20190032905
This disclosure relates to the field of artificial holiday trees, including lighted artificial holiday tree.
For a variety of reasons, artificial trees such as those used for decorating at holidays have become more popular over time. These trees are increasingly more realistic-looking, that is, they looking more like natural evergreen trees than in the past, and many are made to include holiday-type lights, such as small incandescent lights or light-emitting diodes (LEDs) arranged to be in series electrically or in a series-parallel electrical configuration.
Despite improvements in appearance, artificial trees may still benefit from improvements. A better artificial tree would be advantageous.
Herein is disclosed an artificial tree that includes a base that supports a hollow trunk. A feature of the disclosure is the artificial tree trunk, which has an interior and an exterior surface with hinge brackets carried by the exterior surface to serve as supports for the limbs. Limbs are received by the hinge brackets, one limb to each such hinge bracket and are secured to their brackets. Brackets may be hinge brackets so that each limb is pivotable between a cantilevered position away from the exterior of the trunk and a position generally more parallel to the exterior surface of the artificial tree trunk, which is convenient for storage or shipping. Still another feature of the disclosure is the electrical power connections and an electrical power distribution system carried throughout the interior of the hollow trunk and on to the limbs to bring electrical power operatively to lighting carried by the limbs.
The tree also has an electronic controller and a heat pump, which are in a housing carried by the base, a feature of the disclosure. The electronic controller is connected between the electrical power connection and the electrical power distribution system. The electronic controller conditions, regulates and controls electrical power delivered to the lighting on the artificial tree. The heat pump helps to dissipate heat generated by the electronic controller and does so in part through the base, including housing, legs, upper supports braces and central core, another feature of the disclosure, which are made of a heat conducting material.
The base has plural legs include surface-engaging feet and a framework made of solid and hollow heat-conducting material connected to a central core that is attached to the hollow trunk using eyebolts. The hollow trunk of the artificial tree may be made of conduits joined together, for example, by inserting the end of one conduit into another conduit. The base and hollow trunk are features of the disclosure.
Inside the conduits that comprise the tree trunk may be magnetic repulsion connectors, one at each end perhaps with one such connector recessed from an end of a magnetic repulsion connector and another inserted flush with the end of the next magnetic repulsion connector so the two readily make electrical contact, according to features of the disclosure.
Many other features of the artificial tree disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art of artificial trees from a careful reading of the detailed description accompanied by the drawings.
In the figures,
In the present disclosure, the terms “trunk” and “limbs” are used in connection with structures in an artificial tree 10 that are by direct analogy to the trunk and limbs of a natural tree 10. Also, portions of the present disclosure incorporate components based on those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,614,322 and 9,033,777, which are both incorporated by reference in their entirety.
This disclosure teaches an artificial tree 10, that is, a manufactured product that resembles a natural tree but is not a natural, grown tree but a replica designed to simulate a natural tree in appearance. The present artificial tree 10 may be used, for example, during holidays with lighting and ornamentation as a Christmas tree.
The artificial tree 10, illustrated in
Base 14 also has surface-engaging feet 18 that are at the ends of each leg 22 of at least three legs 22 and may elevate other parts of the base 14 off the surface on which the surface-engaging feet 18 are otherwise engaged. Horizontal and diagonal braces 26 may be used to stiffen upper supports 30 of legs 22, as best seen in
A trunk 34 of artificial tree 10, made of at least one conduit 50, is received within a central core 38 of base 14. Trunk 34 may thereafter be prevented from rotation with respect to central core 38 in any convenient manner. For example, a fastener 42, which may be a threaded eyebolt, may be inserted through a hole 46 near the top of central core 38. Trunk 34 comprises plural conduits 50, such as one conduit 50 for every meter of the height of artificial tree 10. Fastener 42 may engage the side of the first, or bottom-most, conduit 50 extend into a hole 54 to lock both central core 38 and conduit 50 together.
Referring now to
Hinge brackets 66 receive limbs 70, one limb 70 of plural limbs 70 in each hinge bracket 66 of plural hinge brackets 66. Limbs 70 are rotated from a nearly parallel orientation to a cantilevered orientation with respect to trunk 34 by hinge brackets 66. Accordingly, hinge brackets 66 need to be strong enough and secured well enough to hold limbs 70 play any lighting and decorations the user wishes to add to limbs 70. A suitable hinge bracket 66 is curved for strength and allows a proximal end 74 of each limb 70 to nest inside the curve of hinge bracket 66.
A loop 78 may be formed in limb 70 by bending proximal end 74 back on itself. Proximal end 74 is the end that is closest to trunk 34 when limb 70 is insertable in hinge bracket 66; a distal end 82 of limb 70 extends away from trunk 34 when limb 70 is in its normal, cantilevered orientation. Hinge bracket 66, being curved, may be formed so as to receive a pin 86 passing through the two sides of hinge bracket 66 at the point where loop 78 is formed and limb 70 is nested between the two sides of hinge bracket 66, thereby trapping limb 70 between the two sides of hinge bracket 66, and allowing limb 70 to be pivoted about pin 86. In that position, limb 70 is held securely to trunk 34 by hinge bracket 66 and is otherwise free to pivot between a cantilevered position extended radially from trunk 34 and its stored position nearly parallel to trunk 34 of artificial tree 10. The stored position may be suitable for storage and shipping of artificial tree 10 because of its more compact configuration.
As shown in
Conduit 50 contains two magnetic repulsion connectors 90 as shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,614,322, cited above. Magnetic repulsion connectors 90 are identical to each other and self-orient by magnetic repulsion. Only after magnetic repulsion connectors 90 of two different conduits 50 are properly oriented will magnetic repulsion connectors 90 be able to make physical connection. When connected, they also maintain electrical polarity.
As two conduits 50 are moved toward each other and rotated axially into position, the terminals of the two magnetic repulsion connectors 90 remain inside their respective channels. Once magnetic repulsion connectors 90 correctly align, one movable terminal of each magnetic repulsion connector 90 is drawn toward the fixed terminal of the other magnetic repulsion connector. The moving terminal rises slightly above the end of its channel and into the channel of the non-moving terminal of other magnetic repulsion connector 90. This movement, in addition to making physical and electric connection across the proper terminals of the opposing magnetic repulsion connectors 90, also makes it more difficult for lateral forces to dislodge both magnetic repulsion connectors 90.
A wiring harness 94 connects to magnetic repulsion connectors 90 inside conduit 50. Wiring harness 94 will include groups of wires 98 that run from one magnetic repulsion connector 90 to another magnetic repulsion connector at the opposing end of the same conduit 50 and groups of wires that may terminate at one end in a smaller magnetic repulsion connector 102. Magnetic repulsion connectors 102 are pulled through a hole 106 in the side of conduit 50 and left until needed. Hole 106 may be fitted with a grommet 130 to protect wires 98 from sharp edges of the conduit's side walls.
Alternatively, these wires 98 could be in paired sets. For example, there could be three holes 106 in conduit 50 instead of six holes 106 with two sets of wires 98 running through each of the three holes 106, or three sets of wires 98 coming out of only two holes 106. Another alternative is to provide one hole 106 with one set of wires 98 going to lighting sets on a first limb 70, and, to connect that set of wires 98 to a jumper wire 110 that runs to a second limb 114, and to connect additional jumper wires running to the remaining limbs 70 of that cluster. Accordingly, lights of limb 70 receive primary power and the rest of the lights on the other limbs 70 in that cluster are connected in an electrical series/parallel arrangement, with each limb 70 in parallel to the next limb 70 in the cluster, and the lights on limbs 70 of other clusters are in series the first cluster. Wiring may thus be reduced, which results in a reduced cost.
The exterior surface 58 of conduits 50 carry hinge brackets 66 that receive limbs 70. Limbs 70 are pre-wired for lighting, which terminates in magnetic repulsion connector 102 near the hinge bracket 66. A magnetic repulsion connector 102 on the end of the wires running from inside conduit 50 may be connected to another magnetic repulsion connector 102 on the end of the group of wires from a light string set (not shown) on limb 70 of artificial tree 10 to power that light string.
Magnetic repulsion connectors 102 may be magnetic repulsion connectors such as those shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,614,332, referenced above. Each light string on limb 70 may terminate in magnetic repulsion connector 102. Each limb cluster could have lighting that terminates in the same type of magnetic repulsion coupler 102 and which can be then be connected to another such magnetic repulsion connector 102 that terminates the pair of wires coming through hole in conduit 50 from wiring harness for electrical power. If magnetic repulsion connectors are used where there is magnetic repulsion connector 102 per limb 70, then each limb 70 would have its own separable lighting system. Additionally, these magnetic repulsion couplers 102 are easily disconnected. Here, hinge bracket 66 has a pin 86 that passes through loop 78. By pulling pin 86 from hinge bracket 66, limb 70 may be removed. As limb 70 is removed, magnetic repulsion connector 102 self-disconnects from the corresponding magnetic repulsion connector 102 from wiring harness 94 in conduit 50. In the event the lights on limb 70 or other aspect of limb 70 fails or breaks, the entire artificial tree 10 does not have to be replaced. Instead, only limb 70 is replaced. The replacement limb 70 is inserted into hinge bracket 66 and pin 86 is inserted. Then, the magnetic repulsion connector 102 is connected to magnetic repulsion connector 102 from the conduit.
At the bottom of the artificial tree 10, running into the base 14, is an electrical power connection, such as a plug 118 that is insertable into a wall socket to access commercial or residential power, for example, 115 VAC, to deliver electrical power to an electrical controller inside a housing 122 of a heat pump 126. Inside the base 14 is an electronic controller 130 that may transform, rectify, and filter the electric power so that direct current of the appropriate voltage is passed to magnetic repulsion connector 90 in the lower-most conduit 50 where it will be carried to the light strings on limbs 70 of artificial tree 10.
Heat generated by the electronic controller is dissipated vertically by heat pump 126 which directs air warmed by that heat up through housing 122 and on to conduits 50 and still further to the metal of limbs 70 of the artificial tree 10. It also radiates heat through the housing 122 and the legs 22 of base 14, which run through housing 122. The operation of heat pump 126 is disclosed and described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,033,777, cited above.
Those skilled in the art of artificial trees will appreciate that many substitutions and modification may be made in the aspects and features of the disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
