Patent Application
20180360252
The presently disclosed subject matter relates to providing apparatus for catching tree leaves or needles and enclosing a tree for disposal.
It is traditional and customary for many people to place a tree inside their homes for a week or more, usually during December as a Christmas tree. While some people use artificial trees for various reasons, actual cut evergreen trees, typically pine or spruce, are preferred for appearances, the scent of the tree, and custom. Trees, after they have been cut, slowly dry out, and during the time that they are in someone's home, a tree typically sheds many of its needles, or other leaves. These tend to fall all over the presents that families arrange under a Christmas tree, and to bounce around. While there exist devices that attempt to contain the needles after they have landed on the ground or on the presents, these have shortcomings of aesthetics—as they require a sheet or mat to be spread on the ground all around the tree, with the presents placed on them—and shortcomings of function—as they allow needles to bounce away off of the device, and to remain on the presents and be deflected away from the tree and the sheet by the presents.
Furthermore, when the tree is removed from the home, it has nearly always dried out further, and sheds needles readily as it is moved. This tends to spread needles throughout the home, making for a tedious and time-consuming clean-up job. There are devices known in the art for bagging trees to enclose them, but they present shortcomings of aesthetics, effectiveness in containing needles, and simplicity of placing the device on the tree and using it to enclose the tree and dispose of the tree. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,795 to Regan discloses a bag secured in a container that is placed around the trunk of a tree, but the bag in Regan presents problems of aesthetics (the bag is to be draped on the floor, where it is unsightly to many users, and therefore a less-appealing product) and of effectiveness (as needles can bounce off of the bag or presents, and on to the floor, making it an ineffective product, and some of the needles will likely remain on presents and thus be scattered when the presents are taken out from under the tree). Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,878 to Lofton discloses flat sheeting placed under the tree, with a hole in the center, with the same problems of aesthetics and effectiveness. US patent application 20040262183 by Gildart discloses a reusable bag that may be spread as a tree skirt in to parts under a tree, and then is zipped or otherwise closed to form a bag for transport; and PCT/NO2004/000246 (published as WO2005016086B1) by Wolsund presents an apparatus with a bag with multiple components. These approaches present the same problems of aesthetics and effectiveness by presenting a floor-level tree skirt, and also introduce problems of enclosing the tree without spilling the needles out when closing the parts of the tree skirt to form a bag, and has shortcomings in presenting a reusable bag, such as the need to remove it without damaging it. Other prior art exists for transporting trees (for instance, Chinese Utility Model CN2897853Y to Tong, U.S. Pat. No. 9,578,814 to Belschner, German Utility Model DE202010000911 to Peau), but none solve the problems of aesthetics, effectiveness, and ease of use.
Additionally, the present art for wrapping and bagging trees for disposal interferes with composting the trees by presenting bag or container material which is not compostable.
The present invention meets all these needs, by disclosing apparatus a tree needle catcher and disposal, by placement about the trunk of a tree before the tree is raised in a home, which apparatus is then opened and engaged to catch needles as they fall without requiring a sheet or mat placed around the tree on the floor. The present invention relates broadly to bags, and more particularly to an enclosure for enclosing a decorative tree placed in a home, by placing a container containing the bag material around the trunk of the tree, partially extending the bag material (to catch falling needles or leaves), and later fully extending the bag material to enclose the tree. The device is simple to install and open to catch needles. The goal of the present invention is to provide a solution for catching and containing needles or leaves that fall from the tree during the time it is present in a user's home, without creating an undesirable aesthetic appearance due to the bag material or catchment solution. The present invention further addresses the problem of making a mess by knocking many needles off the tree as the tree is removed from the home, by presenting means to enclose the tree simply and securely by extending the needle-catchment portion of the device up and over the tree, and securing the open end to close the tree in.
The present invention addresses the problems of aesthetics of the current art in catching needles, by presenting a needle catchment portion of the presently disclosed apparatus that in unobtrusive, thin, may be transparent or colored to blend in with trees, and is secured to the tree itself—specifically, it has been found advantageous, to the lowest branches of the tree at their distal ends, away from the tree trunk, such that the needle catchment portion of the present invention hangs in the air directly under the tree's branches, rather than being a sheet or mat to spread over a large area beyond the extent of the tree's branches. This type of attachment of the needle catchment portion of the apparatus is more effective at catching needles than other devices known in the art, because the needles don't fall as far, and when they bounce, they are bouncing off of a suspended surface of the bag material or apparatus, that will flex upon a needle hitting it, rather than a likely more-elastic floor that will cause needles to bounce and more likely bounce out of the sheet area (when using devices of the prior art). Additionally, the needles won't be falling as far as the floor, and if they do bounce they are likely to hit a tree branch and be blocked from falling out of the needle catchment portion of the present invention and onto the floor. The present invention will also keep needles off of the presents that are traditionally placed under the tree, which occurs with the prior art devices that have sheets of material sitting on the floor, because the present invention provides a catchment material in the air above the presents.
Further, the present invention introduces a product that is easier to use than the current art of tree needle or tree leaf catchment, by clamping around the trunk of a tree, quickly securing the to lowermost branches of the tree, and then being quickly pulled up and disposed around the tree, rather than being zipped or formed or otherwise closed around a tree. In this way, the present invention presents improvements in consumer choice and options for maintaining desired tidiness under and around a tree and on presents or other objects under the tree, and for facilitating and reducing the time required for cleanup around the tree and on the egress path from the home after removal of the tree. Additionally, the present invention discloses apparatus that can serve the functions disclosed herein while being made of biodegradable materials, or having only biodegradable materials remain with the tree, allowing the tree to be passed to a location for chipping or composting or other biological disposal. This will make the use of the products disclosed herein more attractive to a large segment of consumers who wish to solve the problems described above with the present art of tree presentation and disposal, but do not wish to have the tree container preclude the tree from being chipped, composted, or otherwise biologically disposed of.
The present invention may also be used as a storage device for an artificial tree, which allows a user of such an artificial tree to leave lights and decorations on the artificial tree, and secure them with the tree inside the storage enclosure of the present invention.
These aspects of the present invention, and others disclosed in the Detailed Description of the Drawings, represent improvements on the current art. This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description of the Drawings. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of various embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purposes of illustration, the drawings show exemplary embodiments; but the presently disclosed subject matter is not limited to the specific methods and instrumentalities disclosed. In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same components or steps of the device throughout the different figures. In the following detailed description, various embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the following drawings, in which:
The presently disclosed invention is described with specificity to meet statutory requirements. But, the description itself is not intended to limit the scope of this patent. Rather, the claimed invention might also be embodied in other ways, to include different steps or elements similar to the ones described in this document, in conjunction with other present or future technologies. Moreover, although the term “step” or similar terms may be used herein to connote different aspects of methods employed, the term should not be interpreted as implying any particular order among or between various steps herein disclosed unless and except when the order of individual steps is explicitly described.
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. But, the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. Structures and techniques that would be known to one of ordinary skill in the art have not been shown in detail, in order not to obscure the invention. Referring to the figures, it is possible to see the various major elements constituting the apparatus and methods of use the present invention.
The present invention comprises a novel apparatus for tree needle or leaf catchment and tree transport through a house, or other areas where it is desired that the needles or leaves of the tree not fall and scatter throughout the area.
With reference to
The apparatus 100 further comprises a central closure and support 110 fixedly attached to the inner wall 104 and extending inward from the inner wall 104, that is, into the empty space in the center of the hollow shape of the apparatus 100. The goals of the central closure and support 110 are to attach and hold the apparatus 100 to the tree trunk 210 of the tree 200 (supporting the weight of the apparatus 100, the bag material 120, and any a plurality of tree needles 230 that fall onto it, described below), and to serve as a seal between the tree trunk 210 and the remainder of the apparatus 100, such that a plurality of tree needles 230 cannot fall past the apparatus 100, as is described in greater detail below. It will be understood by one of skill in the art that suitable materials for use as the central closure and support 110 are flexible enough to conform to the shape of the tree trunk 210 and keep the plurality of tree needles 230 from falling down through the center of the apparatus 100, and strong enough to stably support the apparatus 100 to hold the apparatus 100 in place on the tree trunk 210, for the duration of the time the tree 200 is placed in the home or other location by a user of the apparatus 100. Such suitable materials may include but are not limited to neoprene, silicone, cardboard or other paper or cellulose products, and plastics. The central closure and support 110 may comprise one piece or sheet or layer of material, as shown in
The apparatus 100 further comprises bag material 120 inside the apparatus 100, which bag material 120 is initially folded inside the apparatus 100. It has been found advantageous to have the bag material 120 formed as a cylindrical sheet of material. In some embodiments of the present invention, as shown in
The bag material 120, it will be understood by one of skill in the art, is advantageously a plastic or other flexible material that is impervious to tree leaves or needles, and which is sufficiently resistant to being punctured that it will not be perforated by the branches of a tree when it is used to enclose a tree. The bag material 120 is disposed inside the apparatus 100 with a bag leading edge 122 of the bag material 120 exposed and visible when the top 102 is removed along the top removal perforations 112, or when the outer wall opening 114 is created by removal of the portion of the outer wall 106 along the set of outer wall removal perforations 116, or when the bottom opening 117 is created by removal of a portion of the bottom 108 along a set of bottom removal perforations 118 in alternative embodiments of the present invention, or the bag leading edge 122 may be exposed and visible through the suitable opening in the apparatus 100 that is formed or created in the inner wall 104.
The bag leading edge 122 has affixed to it a plurality of bag attachment straps 130. The bag material 120 comprises a bag bottom edge 124, which is affixed to the apparatus 100 in the interior of the apparatus 100, to one or more of the interior surfaces of the bottom 108, the top 102, the inner wall 104, and the outer wall 106. The bag bottom edge 124 is attached to the apparatus 100 with suitable means of attachment, which means of attachment—depending on the bag material 120 used and the material of the inner wall 104, outer wall 106, top 102, and/or bottom 108, the interior of one or more of which the bag bottom edge 124 is attached—may be a glue, or may comprise heating the bag material 120 to fuse the bag bottom edge 124 to one or more interior surfaces of the apparatus 100, or may comprise other means of attachment now known or later invented. In this way, the bag material 120 will not separate from the remainder of the apparatus 100, and may hold any falling plurality of tree needles 230 that land on the bag material 120.
With reference to
The disposition of the apparatus 100 and the bag material 120 also solves the aesthetics problem that exists in the prior art, because the apparatus 100 is positioned on the tree trunk 210 and may be hidden by presents or other objects typically placed under the tree 200, and because the bag material 120 is close under the tree 200 and the plurality of tree branches 220, so that only the bag leading edge 122 and the bag attachment straps 130 are likely to be visible, unlike the prior art having a sheet or solid pad draped across the ground and extending beyond the diameter of the plurality of tree branches 220, and further, as will be understood by one of skill in the art, the bag material 120 may be clear and the bag attachment straps 130 may be colored to blend in with the plurality of tree branches 220 and/or the plurality of tree needles 230. The bag attachment straps 130 may be mechanical clips, or hook-and-loop type closure straps, or the bag attachment straps 130 may be holes or openings formed in the bag material 120 with or without reinforcing grommets, or may be another type of attachment component now known or later invented.
The present invention also solves the problem of ease of use, by presenting a bag material 120 in an apparatus 100 that may quickly and easily be placed around the tree trunk 210, secured to the plurality of tree branches 220, and then extended around the tree 200 and secured closed. With reference to
It will further be understood that the bag material 120 and the material used to make the top 102, inner wall 104, outer wall 106, bottom 108, and central closure and support 110 may all comprise biodegradable materials and substances, such that the tree 200, when disposed of, may be composted, chipped, or otherwise biologically disposed of, which will solve a problem present in the prior art, specifically the inability to enclose a tree 200 in a material and dispose of it in a biologically sustainable or compostable manner.
Without limiting the foregoing, dimensions of the apparatus 100 and its above-described components may be advantageously sized to fit typical evergreen trees used as Christmas trees, which commonly have a tree trunk 210 with a diameter of approximately 3″ to approximately 6″. The dimensions of the container of the apparatus 100 of the present invention, then, may be about 8″ to about 10″ in exterior diameter (measured from one side of the outer wall 106 through the center to the opposite side of the outer wall 106), and may be about 2″ to about 4″ tall, measuring along the outer wall 106 parallel to where the tree trunk 210 will traverse through the center of the apparatus 100. The opening in the center of the container of the apparatus 100—the interior diameter—should, it has been found advantageous, be larger than about 6″, so that the central closure and support 110 can surround a tree trunk 210 of about 6″ in diameter, and still provide the required support of the apparatus 100. The opening in the apparatus 100 through which the bag material 120 is withdrawn from the apparatus 100, which may be the top opening 103, the outer wall opening 114, the bottom opening 117, or another opening, may be approximately ¼ ″ to approximately ½″ wide, or may be another size. The respective openings, named above, may be at or near the edge of the surface of the apparatus 100, or may be within approximately 2″ of any such edge. The bag material 120 may be approximately 13′ high, and approximately 9′ in diameter, when fully extended from the apparatus 100, which sizes are sufficient to be extended around and closed around most trees used for interior decoration as the tree 200, to form the continuous approximately cylindrical sheet of bag material 120 surrounding the tree 200, in the manners described in the present disclosure.
Certain embodiments of the present invention were described above. From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all the ends and objects set forth above, together with other advantages, which are obvious in and inherent to the inventive apparatus disclosed herein. It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations. It is expressly noted that the present invention is not limited to those embodiments described above, but rather the intention is that additions and modifications to what was expressly described herein are also included within the scope of the invention. Moreover, it is to be understood that the features of the various embodiments described herein are not mutually exclusive and can exist in various combinations and permutations, even if such combinations or permutations were not made express herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. In fact, variations, modifications, and other implementations of what was described herein will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention. As such, the invention is not to be defined only by the preceding illustrative description.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62519221 | Jun 2017 | US |
