Abstract:
A tree stand which provides both easy and quick mounting of the tree in the tree stand and a source of continuing water supply to the cut end of the tree. Mounting assemblies are provided wherein a mounting shaft may be slide to the tree with a grip plate on the inside end of the mounting shaft to engage the tree and then have a pivot latch engage the thread of the mounting shaft to permit the mounting shaft to be turned on the thread to firmly press the grip plate against the tree. A reservoir holds water which is fed into the container holding the tree when a float actuated valve permits the water to enter the container.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    This invention relates to tree stands and more specifically to tree stands for use inside the home, as for example at the holidays.  
           [0003]    2. Prior Art and Objects  
           [0004]    For centuries, cut evergreen trees have been brought into the home to be decorated at the holidays. The cut tree brings greenery into the home and produces a widely enjoyed flagrance. The more negative aspects of having a tree in the home is that the tree quickly dries out making the tree a fire hazard and the needles on the tree drop to the floor making for a serious cleaning problem.  
           [0005]    It is not possible to avoid the drying of the tree forever but if the cut base of the tree is maintained in water, freshness of the tree is significantly extended. Also, additives to the water are available to further prolong the life of the tree but clearly the use of such an additive presumes the presence of water.  
           [0006]    Tree stands have long been made to hold a cut tree inside a home. These stands universally include an enclosure for holding water. If properly used, such a tree stand would provide the needed water to assist in preserving the tree. However, to add water, which rapidly is consumed, it is necessary to crawl under the tree and pour water into a restricted opening about the base of the tree. Frequently, access to the tree stand is blocked and, after the initial filling of the enclosure of the stand with water, it is commonplace to allow the enclosure to become dry and remain dry.  
           [0007]    Tree stands as now used also retain the tree in place by using multiple bolts which are horizontally located about the center of the stand. Usually, three bolts are located generally one hundred twenty degrees apart from one another. As a result, the mounting of the tree in the tree stand is not easy as the tree must be supported as the bolts are turned into the tree trunk until they are forced into the tree.  
           [0008]    To overcome these difficulties, this invention provides a water reservoir for retaining a supply of water and a release system to feed automatically water from the reservoir into the water container as water is needed. The reservoir which is designed to be attractive, is placed at a location where replenishment of the water supply in the reservoir can be readily and easily accomplished.  
           [0009]    In addition, quick action members, such as a mounting shaft which slides into place and then may be turned down to assure quickly and positively a firm hold on the tree to lock the tree within the stand is used in place of the bolts which are now commonplace with tree stands.  
           [0010]    Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a tree stand that automatically maintains an adequate supply of water within the tree stand It is another object of this invention to provide a tree stand with a reservoir external to the tree stand itself that holds a substantial supply of water to replenish the water within the container of the tree stand.  
           [0011]    It is still another object of this invention to provide a tree stand with a reservoir that permits ready detection of the water level in the reservoir.  
           [0012]    It is still another object of this invention to provide a tree stand with a retention device that quickly, easily and firmly grips the tree.  
           [0013]    It is still another object of this invention to provide a tree stand with a device for retaining the tree that can be quickly and easily adjusted to the size of the tree and then can be turned down against the tree for a firm grip of the tree.  
           [0014]    These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art based upon the description of the preferred embodiment.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0015]    A tree stand is provided which permits easy mounting of a tree in the tree stand and which also provides for retaining the freshness of a cut tree for inside decoration by maintaining the cut tree in water. A base assembly includes a container for mounting the tree. The container has a top and a bottom with an opening at the top. A plurality of mounting assemblies are mounted on the container. Each mounting assembly includes a latch housing and a mounting shaft which has an inside end within the container. The latch housing and the mounting shaft include means to permit the mounting shaft to both slide within the latch housing and to be forced against a tree. A grip plate is mounted on the inside end of the mounting shaft. A reservoir is provided for retaining a quantity of water. The reservoir has an inlet. A valve assembly is secured to the side of the container and is in fluid communication with the container. The valve assembly includes a valve and float which opens and closes the valve. A supply line connects the reservoir to the valve assembly. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]    [0016]FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of the stand showing the container with the mounting assemblies on the container and reservoir connected by a conduit to the valve assembly.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 2 is pictorial view of a mounting assembly affixed to a portion of the container.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 3 is a pictorial view of the mounting shaft facing the face of the grid plate which engages the tree.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 3 a  is a side elevation of the grip plate and a part of the mounting shaft showing the ball socket between the grip plate and the mounting shaft.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 4 is an exploded pictorial view of the mounting assembly.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 5 is a vertical cross section of the valve assembly showing the valve closed to prevent water from the reservoir from entering the tank of the valve assembly.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 6 is a vertical cross section of the valve assembly similar to FIG. 5 but showing the valve open. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE NUMERALS  
       [0023]    [0023]                                             NUMERAL   DESCRIPTION                                11   Base       13   Container       14   Support Brackets       15   Mounting Assemblies       17   Valve Assembly       19   Reservoir       21   Filling Port       23   Cylinder       25   Top of Cylinder       27   Spikes       29   Openings in Container       31   Mounting Shafts       35   Threads on Mounting Shafts       37   Crank Handle       39   Inside end of Mounting Shafts       41   Grip Plate       43   Ball Socket       45   Latch Housing       47   U-shaped Notch       49   Side Wall of Cylinder       51   Pivot Latch       52   Pin       53   Extension       56   Curved Surface of Pivot Latch       59   Tank       61   Valve       63   Valve Body       65   Orifice       67   Plunger       69   Supply Line       71   Top of Valve       73   Manual Shut Off Valve       75   Passageway       77   Float       79   Pivot Arm       81   Pivot Pin                    
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0024]    Referring to FIG. 1, a tree stand is shown. The tree stand includes a base  11  on which a container  13  is securely mounted. Support brackets  14  are recommended to assure the rigidity of the container  13 . On the top of the container  13 , a plurality of mounting assemblies  15  are shown. The four mounting assembles  15  are shown equally spaced from one another substantially ninety degrees apart. It is possible to use only three generally equally-spaced mounting assemblies  15  but four are definitely preferred.  
         [0025]    As also seen in FIG. 1, a valve assembly  17  is shown mounted on the side of container  13  for providing water to the container  13  to maintain the water level in the container  13  between a maximum and minimum level. The term “water” as used in this specification and the accompanying claims includes all other solutions that would be used to prevent dryness of a cut tree.  
         [0026]    A reservoir  19  which may be of virtually any configuration, as for example may even have the shape of an evergreen tree, is mounted at any convenient location, such as on a wall or even a piece of furniture reasonably close to the tree stand. The reservoir  19  has a filling port  21  for supplying water into the reservoir. The reservoir  19  preferably has a capacity of approximately one and a half gallons of water. The reservoir  19 , which preferably has a green color also should be sufficiently translucent to allow the water level in the reservoir  19  to be detectable. In this way, the need to add water to the reservoir  19  is always apparent. However, a one and one half gallon supply is designed to provide an adequate water supply for the time period a cut tree is usually maintained in a home.  
         [0027]    Referring now to the base  11  and the container  13 , the base  11  shown is a flat plate which could be replaced by a round plate or a plurality of feet. However, a flat square or round plate affords a secure base  11 . The avoidance of a tree falling over in a home with the resulting damage is an event to be avoided.  
         [0028]    The container  13  for a tree stand is usually round but conceivably could have a different shape. The container  13  shown in FIG. 1 is a cylinder  23 . The top  25 of the cylinder  23  is open and the cut end of the tree is placed in the cylinder  23  through the top  25 . On the base  11  of the container  13 , generally in the center area, one of more spikes  27  are located. The end of the tree is driven down onto these spikes  27  to provide stability to the end of the tree.  
         [0029]    Openings  29  are located through the cylinder  23  adjacent to the top  25  of the cylinder  23 so that the mounting shafts  31  can extend through the cylinder  23 . Various mechanisms can be designed for a quick action mechanism that provides a positive force against the tree. All the mounting assemblies  15  are the same and therefore the description of any one mounting assembly  15  satisfies the description of all of the mounting assemblies  15 .  
         [0030]    Each mounting assembly  15  includes one of the mounting shafts  31 , which has threads  35  and which has circular cross section. At the outside end of each mounting shaft  31  is a crank handle  37 . At the opposite or inside end  39  of the mounting shaft  31  is a grip plate  41 . The grip plate  41  is mounted on the inside end  39  of the mounting shaft  31  by means of a ball socket  43  to permit the grip plate  41  to rotate on the inside end  39  of the mounting shaft  31 . In this way, the grip plate  41 , which may be curved, can adjust to any irregularity of the shape of the tree.  
         [0031]    A latch housing  45  is mounted on the side of the container  13 . The latch housing  45 , which has a generally U-shaped notch  47 , is affixed to the side wall  49  of the container  13 . The mounting shaft  31  is mounted readily to slide through the U-shaped notch  47  in the latch housing  45 . At the top of the U-shaped notch  47 , a pivot latch  51  is mounted on a pin  52  to pivot over and engage the thread  35  of the mounting shaft  31 . The pivot latch  51  has an extension  53  that serves as a grip to flip the pivot latch  51 . With the extension  53  rotated toward the crank handle  37 , the pivot latch  51  does not engage the mounting shaft  31 . Therefore, the mounting shaft  31  is readily pushed to force the grip plate  41  into engagement with the tree. As best seen in FIG. 4, the pivot latch  51  has acurved surface which is threaded to engage the mounting shaft when the pivot latch is pivoted back away from the crank handle  37 . Then the crank handle  37 is turned to force the grip plate  41  further into the tree and to hold the mounting shaft  31  firmly against the tree. Once it is desired to release the tree, the crank handle  37  is turned back and as soon as the pivot latch  51  can be rotated away from the mounting shaft  31 , the mounting shaft  31  again slides easily in the latch housing  45 . This permits the mounting shaft  31  and the grip plates  41  to be pulled back from the tree permitting the tree to be removed.  
         [0032]    The valve assembly  17  is shown in detail in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. The valve assembly  17 , which automatically controls the water level in the container, is located within a tank  59  which is part of the valve assembly  57 . A valve  61  is located within the tank  59  toward the upper part of the tank  59 . The valve  61  includes a valve body  63  with an orifice  65  through it and a plunger  67  which fits securely within the orifice  65  and when forced into the orifice  65 , blocks all flow through the orifice  65 . A supply line  69 , which connects to the reservoir  19 , conveys water from the reservoir  19  into the valve  61  at the top  71  of the valve  61 . A manual shut off valve  73  is located in the supply line  69  as a safety precaution in the event there is a failure of the valve assembly  57 .  
         [0033]    The tank  59  of the valve assembly  57  is not only secured to the container  13  but there is a passageway  75  connecting the tank  59  to the container  13  so that the water level in the tank  59  and in the container  13  is the same. In other words, there is fluid communication between the tank  59  and the container  13 . A float  77  is mounted in the tank  59  to float on the water in the tank  59 . A pivot arm  79  is connected to the float  77  and the pivot arm  79  is mounted to pivot on a pivot pin  81  mounted on the valve assembly  57 .  
         [0034]    The plunger  67  which is vertically mounted within the orifice  5 , is engaged by the pivot arm  79  which is directly below the plunger  67 . Thus, when the water level rises, the pivot arm  79  swings upwardly forcing the plunger  67  into the orifice  65 . As the water level drops, the float  77  swings downwardly causing the pivot arm  79  to rotate downwardly to permit water from the reservoir  19  to flow through the orifice  65  into the tank  59  and into the container  13 . When sufficient water has accumulated in the tank  59  and the container  13 , the float  77  is raised to a sufficient height to force the plunger  67  again to close the orifice  65 .  
         [0035]    It is to be understood that the drawings and description matter are in all cases to be interpreted as merely illustrative of the principles of the invention, rather than as limiting the same in any way, since it is contemplated that various changes may be made in various elements to achieve like results without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.