TREE HOLDING DEVICE WITH ADJUSTABLE BASE ANGLE

Abstract

The present invention comprises a novel tree holding and base angle adjustment device that is comprised of a base with an open container style water basin centered on the base. The water basin has an inner barrier that is built such that a lag bolt style spindle screw can reside in the center of the inner barrier without water leaking out of the water basin. The spindle screw is designed such that it captures the tree holding device and is driven into the center of the bottom surface of a tree trunk, thereby solidly attaching the base of the tree holding device to the tree and disallowing any movement between the two. The base has adjustable feet for adjusting the angle and position of the base and the attached tree. The tree holding device can be used for displaying, holding, and adjusting trees in an upright position.

Description

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to devices such as tree stands, particularly Christmas tree stands, that are used for displaying, holding, and adjusting trees in an upright position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Millions of live Christmas trees are sold in the United States each year. There are many different types with varying branch structures, densities, trunk diameters, heights, and weights.

Live Christmas trees have remained popular amidst the sales of manufactured Christmas trees due to the various advantages that are offered by live trees, such as texture, scent, user experience, and overall looks.

The recent trends in housing of larger homes with tall, vaulted ceilings, has caused the heights and weights of Christmas trees to trend towards being much taller and heavier than they previously have been.

When standing up large Christmas trees, safety can be a concern due to the weight of the tree. Current designs of Christmas tree stands are not capable of safely supporting and adjusting heavy trees. Current designs fall short in the methods and materials used to attach the to the tree.

There are many trees stands that have been developed for specific types of trees but do not adequately support all common shapes, weights, and branch structures. Many Christmas trees have branches that extend from the trunk near where the tree is cut when harvested. This can cause interference, instability, and poor customer experience when using current tree stand designs.

Additional drawbacks of current tree stand designs are related to not being able to position the angle/tilt of a tree easily, safely, and accurately. Current designs commonly use a clamping type attachment that attempts to level or adjust the tree independently from the stand. This inherently causes a less robust connection between the tree and stand, causing instability of the tree.

Therefore, a need exists for a tree stand that can solidly and safely hold a tree such that it can be easily positioned, tilted, angled, and adjusted in a safe, easy, and visually attractive manner.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises a novel tree holding device with adjustable base angle that is comprised of a base with an open container style water basin centered on the base. The water basin has an outer and inner barrier. The inner barrier is built such that a lag bolt style spindle screw can reside in the center of the inner barrier without water leaking out of the water container. The screw is designed such that it cannot become separated from the base under normal usage after assemblage. It is also designed such that a standard hexagonal socket driver or common wrench can be used to rotate the spindle screw to thread it into the base of a tree trunk, thereby solidly attaching the base of a tree holding device to the tree trunk and disallowing any movement between the two. The base has adjustable height legs for adjusting the angle and position of the base and thereby also adjusting the angle and position of a tree attached to the base. Each adjustable height leg is designed such that a standard hexagonal socket driver or common wrench can be used to rotate the adjustable height leg. After the tree holding and angle adjustment device is solidly attached to a tree trunk the tree holding device can be used for displaying, holding, and adjusting trees in an upright position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1— FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of one example of a tree holding device with adjustable base angle according to various embodiments described herein.

FIG. 2-FIG. 2 depicts a perspective view of one example of a tree holding device with adjustable base angle according to various embodiments described herein.

FIG. 3-FIG. 3 depicts a top view of one example of a tree holding device with adjustable base angle according to various embodiments described herein.

FIG. 4-FIG. 4 depicts a cross-sectional side view of one example of a tree holding device with adjustable base angle according to various embodiments described herein.

FIG. 5-FIG. 5 depicts a perspective view of one example of one example of a tree holding device with adjustable base angle according to various embodiments described herein.

FIG. 6-FIG. 6 depicts a perspective view of one example of a tree holding device with adjustable base angle according to various embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing embodiments and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Terms and explanations contained herein are used with the meaning that is commonly accepted by those in the skill, art, and field to which this invention belongs. Words that denote singular or plural forms of a word are intended to represent both singular and plural objects and are not intended to limit the design of this invention.

The descriptions and figures provided are meant for clarification and illustration of this invention and are not intended to limit this invention to the specific embodiments illustrated by the figures or descriptions.

The present invention will now be described by referencing the appended figures representing embodiments. FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of a tree holding device with adjustable base angle 1 with a water basin including an outer water barrier 2, an inner water barrier 3 and a base plate 4. The outer water barrier 2 and inner water barrier 3 are attached to the base 4 by welding or other means, such as soldering, bonding or gasketing, such that the water 13 cannot leak from the water basin. In another embodiment, the water basin could be formed, molded, cast, forged or otherwise fabricated in a variety of manners know to those skilled in the art to produce a watertight basin comprising a single or any number of bodies. The body or bodies comprising the water basin could be fabricated from steel, aluminum, other metal alloys, polymers, or other suitable materials. The inner water barrier 3 is designed to have an opening through which may pass a spindle screw 5 with an upper threaded portion for securely attaching the tree to the tree holding and base angle adjusting device 1.

The base 4 may have a minimum of three legs 3 extending therefrom. A gusset 10 connecting the outer water barrier 2 and the base 4 may be included in the various embodiments and serves to increase the rigidity and load bearing capacity of the legs 3. The leg 3 may have a threaded hole 7 or an internally threaded fastener rigidly attached such that leveling foot 12 with externally threaded portion 8 may pass through the threaded hole 7 and be positioned axially along the threaded hole 7 such that the tree along with the tree holding device with adjustable base angle 1 can be leveled or adjusted to the tree's optimal upright position for display. An internally threaded fastener 9 may be attached to the top of the externally threaded portion 8 of the leveling foot 12. In another embodiment, the leveling foot may comprise a commercially available swivel foot or other device commonly used as a foot for leveling.

FIG. 2 shows the bottom surface of the base 4 where the inner water barrier 3 passes through the base 4. The spindle screw 5 may be configured to pass through the inner water barrier 3 and extend below the bottom surface of the base 4. An internally threaded fastener 11 may be attached to the bottom of the spindle screw 5 such that a socket driver or common wrench may be used to thread the spindle screw 5 into the trunk of the tree. In another embodiment, the reduced lower shaft portion 14 may be fabricated with a hexagonal shape for use with a socket driver or common wrench. In other embodiments, various common means for rotating a shaft may be implemented on the reduced lower shaft portion 14 of the spindle screw 5.

FIG. 3 shows a top view of an embodiment of the tree holding device with adjustable base angle where the inner water barrier 3 and outer water barrier 2 are circular in profile and located concentrically on the base 4. In other embodiments, the inner water barrier 3, outer water barrier 2 and base 4 may be triangular, square, rectangular, a polygon or any other shape desirable.

A leg 6 or any number of legs extending from the base 4 may be spaced evenly around the center of base 4 as shown in FIG. 3 or in any arrangement suitable for supporting the load.

The spindle screw 5 with upper threaded portion, may be designed in such a way as to include a reduced lower shaft portion 14 where it passes through the inner water barrier 3. The reduced lower shaft portion 14 creates a shoulder such that once the internally threaded fastener 11 is attached to the spindle screw 5, the spindle screw is free to rotate along its axis but is captured in the body of the inner water barrier 3.

In another embodiment of the invention as shown in FIG. 5, the tree holding device with adjustable base angle 15 may be arranged to have leg attachment plates 16 whereon a leg 18 may be attached with threaded fasteners 17, 19, 20 or other suitable means known to those skilled in the art. In one embodiment, the leg attachment plates 16 could include a pointed section 16A which would protrude through the base 4 and serve to prevent rotation and further stabilize the attachment of the tree holding and base leveling device to the tree.

Additionally, the tree holding device with adjustable base angle may be configured such that threaded fastener 17 could be permanently attached, creating a pinned joint and allowing the leg 18 with fasteners 19 & 20 removed to rotate into a more compact orientation for transportation or storage. Alternately the threaded fastener 20 could be permanently attached creating a pinned joint and allowing the leg 18 with fasteners 17 & 19 removed to rotate into a more compact orientation for transportation or storage.

The present invention has been explained such that one of ordinary capability in the skill, art, and field to which this invention belongs could readily achieve similar results. All such equivalent embodiments and examples are within the spirit and scope of the present invention and are intended to be covered by the following claims.

Claims

1. A tree holding device with base angle adjustment for displaying, holding, and adjusting trees in an upright position.

2. The tree holding device of claim 1, wherein the base further comprises a leg arrangement where the legs are oriented to each other in the shape of triangle, square, circle, or any other shape.

3. The tree holding device of claim 1, further comprising a water basin with inner and outer water barriers.

4. The tree holding device of claim 3, wherein the inner water barrier further comprises a body with an opening where a spindle screw can pass through the water basin without water leaking out.

5. The tree holding device of claim 4, wherein the spindle screw further comprises: a. A shank that has a reduced diameter creating a shoulder.b. A hexagonal nut permanently attached to one end.

6. A tree holding device comprising a minimum of three legs to stabilize and support an attached tree.

7. The tree holding device of claim 6 further comprising independently adjustable leveling feet that change the angle of the base of the tree holding device and anything attached to it.

8. The tree holding device of claim 6 further comprising removeable legs.

9. The tree holding device of claim 6 further comprising legs with at least one pined joint attaching them to the water basing wherein the legs can be rotated about the pinned joint for storage or transportation.

10. A method for attaching a tree holding device to a tree wherein a screw spindle that captures the tree holding device is driven into the center of the bottom surface of a tree trunk.