Abstract:
A self-clamping Christmas tree stand provides a stable platform for a Christmas tree that allows simple installation and adjustment of the tree angle without having to be positioned under the tree to perform the adjustments. The tree stand uses the weight of the tree to firmly clamp the tree&#39;s trunk. A clamping mechanism provides a constant grip that will not loosen unless an upward force is provided by the user. The adjustment range of the tree trunk angle with respect to the vertical plane may be varied to accommodate tree trunks of different shapes. Lastly, the tree stand includes a large liquid reservoir to maintain the tree&#39;s moisture content.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a non-provisional application claiming benefit and priority from U.S. provisional application No. 60/335,946 filed on Oct. 24, 2001. 
    
    
     FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable. 
     REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
     Not Applicable. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a stand for maintaining a cut tree in a vertical position and more specifically to a Christmas tree stand. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Tree stands are known in the relevant art, including U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,715 (Cone) to the present inventor and assignee (Mitchell.) Desirable features of a tree stand are low cost; ease of assembling a tree in the stand in a vertical position, even an imperfect tree with an asymmetric and crooked tree trunk; stability, both in having a sufficient footprint to prevent tipping of the tree, and in providing a gripping force on the tree trunk sufficient to retain the tree in the desired position and; provision to maintain the tree bottom immersed in a liquid reservoir of water or water-preservative mixture, to minimize degradation of the tree. It is further desirable that the liquid reservoir be large enough so it only requires replenishment on an infrequent basis. 
     Some relevant art references establish the grip on a tree trunk by a mechanical mechanism that uses a device that is manually tightened at initial installation. There are numerous examples of such stands, U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,395 (Juhas), U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,113 (Krinner), U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,772 (Montle), U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,808 (Roy), U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,444 (Murray), U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,959 (Behringer), U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,215 (DeMasi) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,325 (Niklas) provide recent examples illustrating the complexity and resulting high cost of such mechanisms. Most of these mechanisms are inconvenient because they require the tree installer to tighten the stand mechanism with the tree lying horizontal, or the installer must lie under the tree when in the vertical position to tighten it. Neither of these options allows the installer to view the tree to assure it is vertical. 
     One reference U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,808 (Roy) has provision for adjusting the tree and then tightening the stand mechanism while standing beside the tree but this mechanism requires the tree installer to exert considerable downward force on the operating mechanism at a location adjacent to the tree trunk. This is a difficult action to perform if the tree has substantial lower branches near the bottom of the trunk. 
     An improvement to mechanisms requiring tightening at initial installation is to use the weight of the tree to provide the grip on the tree trunk, and design the mechanism so the gripping force is always present as long as the tree is in the stand. Stands with this type of mechanism allow the tree angle to be adjusted by lifting on the tree to release the gripping force, adjust the angle and then lower the tree. U.S. Pat. No. 2,464,593 (Lorenzen) describes a tree holder in which the tree weight rests on a spring-supported conical cup. The motion of the cup due to the tree weight causes knife-edge gripping blades to grip and support the tree trunk. U.S. Pat. No. 2,592,561 (Greenwood) describes a stand in which the tree weight is supported on movable jaws that rotate to grip the tree trunk when the tree is installed in the stand. U.S. Pat. No. 3,301,512 (Nyberg) shows a stand in which the weight of the inserted tree acts through a lever mechanism to grip the tree trunk with several clamps. U.S. Pat. No. 4,007,901 (Mancini) shows a stand in which the weight of the tree in a central reservoir causes three legs to pivot and cause their upper, clamping collars to grip the tree. This stand uses a three-point support using narrow legs, which is not as stable as a circular, flat-bottomed stand, and it uses an non-adjustable lower support spike that makes adjustment of the angle to the vertical of a tree difficult if not impossible. 
     The complexity of these mechanisms and resulting high cost to manufacture and assemble the stands are detrimental to the use of such mechanisms. Therefore, what is needed is a stand that can be economically manufactured and assembled yet provides for easy installation of all types of trees and provides ease of adjustment of the tree angle, stability of the tree, stability of the tree angle, and an ample liquid reservoir to maintain the tree in prime condition. 
     SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to an Christmas Tree that satisfies the above identified needs. The Christmas tree stand is constructed of molded plastic or equivalent organic polymeric materials and comprises a reservoir member, a base member, several clamping members and a spiked stabilizer disk. 
     The reservoir member provides a liquid tight volume for providing nourishment to the tree and includes an opening for receiving a trunk of a tree into the interior volume. The tree trunk is inserted into interior volume until it directly or indirectly engages a substantially centered stabilizer positioning dowel. The lower piston portion of the reservoir member is coaxially inserted into a centered cylinder portion associated with the base member. An upper flange portion of the reservoir includes a number of equally spaced slots for receiving therethrough an equal number of clamping members. When engaged with the reservoir member, the weight of the tree forces the reservoir member downward, causing a portion of this force to be transferred to the clamping members. The clamping members are thereby compressively driven against the tree trunk providing a clamping force sufficient to maintain the tree in a vertical position. 
     The base member includes the cylinder portion described above, an outer support portion having equally spaced pivot channels in angular alignment with the slots associated with the reservoir member. A rim is provided on the outer circumference of the base member for capturing incidental spills of liquids. A spring may be placed in the cylinder portion to provide a counterforce to the weight of the tree being supported by the reservoir member. 
     Each of the clamping members include a pivot end for being pivotally supported by the pivot channels included in the base member, a curvilinear end having a substantially vertical face which is used in clamping the tree trunk, an engagement notch for slideably locking the upper flange portion of the reservoir member into a clamped position, and an upper travel stop for limiting travel of said reservoir member in an upward direction during repositioning of the tree or when no tree is present in the stand. 
     The spiked stabilizer disk includes a top portion having one or more vertically standing spike for impaling the bottom of the tree trunk and a bottom portion having a plurality of indentations for adjustably coupling with the stabilizer positioning dowel installed at the bottom of the reservoir member. The plurality of indentations allows for repositioning of the tree to accommodate for misalignments of the tree trunk with respect to a vertical axis. In difficult installations, the stabilizer disk may be trimmed using scissors to further accommodate misalignments of said tree trunk. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Where possible, the same reference numerals and characters are used to denote like features, elements, components or portions of the invention. It is intended that changes and modifications can be made to the described embodiment without departing from the true scope and spirit of the subject invention as defined in the claims. 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the self-clamping Christmas tree support stand. 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of the self-clamping Christmas tree support stand. 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the self-clamping Christmas tree stand illustrating the top and bottom of a stabilizer disk and its assembly on a positioning dowel as the stand is clamping onto a tree trunk. 
     FIG. 4 is another sectional view of the self-clamping Christmas tree stand of illustrating the tree trunk fully seated within a reservoir member and engaged with the stabilizer disk. 
     FIG. 5 is a cutaway sectional view of the self-clamping Christmas tree stand illustrating a clamping action driven by engagement of the tree trunk with a coaxially mounted reservoir member. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     FIG. 1 depicts the self-clamping Christmas tree support stand. The tree stand is constructed of molded plastic or equivalent organic polymer material and is comprised of a base member  50 , a reservoir member  60 , and 3 curvilinear clamping members  80 A,  80 B,  80 C. 
     The base member  50  is comprised of an outer support portion  54  having an upward facing rim to capture incidental water spills, three equally spaced (circumferentially and radially) pivot channels  56 A,  56 B,  56 C and a cylindrical portion  58  for coaxially mounting the reservoir member  60 . The three pivot channels  56 A,  56 B,  56 C receive the lower ends of the clamping members  80 A,  80 B,  80 C maintain the clamping members in a substantially vertical position and allows the clamping members to pivot back and forth in a radial direction. 
     The reservoir member  60  is comprised of a piston portion  62  and a flange portion  66 . The piston portion  62  is coaxially mounted inside the cylindrical portion  58  of the base member  50  and slides along the cylindrical portion  58  in a downward direction when the clamping members  80 A,  80 B,  80 C engage a tree trunk. The flange portion  66  includes 3 equally spaced (circumferentially and radially) slots  68 A,  68 B,  68 C aligned with the three equally spaced recesses  56 A,  56 B,  56 C of the base member  50  through which the clamping members  80 A,  80 B,  80 C extend. 
     Each of the clamping members  80 A,  80 B,  80 C, includes a substantially vertical face  84 A,  84 B,  84 C for engaging a tree trunk, an upper travel stop  82  and an engagement notch  86 . The upper travel stop  82  sets the maximum circumference of a tree trunk which can be accommodated by the tree stand. The engagement notch  86  assists in securely locking the clamping members  80 A,  80 B,  80 C to the tree truck. While only one upper travel stop  82  and engagement notch  86  is visible in FIG. 2, each of the clamping members  80 A,  80 B,  80 C include these features. 
     Referring to FIG. 3, a sectional cutout view depicts an enclosed flat bottom  52  of the cylinder portion  58  portion of the base member  50 . The flat bottom  52 , in cooperation with the outer support portion  54  provides a stable support platform that will maintain a tree in a substantially vertical position when placed on a reasonably level floor. The outer support portion  54  extends the area of the stand in contact with the floor, which improves stability against tipping of the tree. 
     The piston portion  62  of the reservoir member  60  obtains lateral support from the base member  50  when coaxially inserted into the cylinder portion  58 . The interior volume of the piston portion  62  includes a liquid tight volume and provides a large liquid reservoir for providing nourishment to the supported tree. The interior bottom of the reservoir member  60  includes a stabilizer positioning dowel  64  for positioning of a stabilizer disk  70 . 
     The stabilizer disk  70  includes one or more spikes  76  located about the top surface of the stabilizer. The spikes become embedded in the bottom of the tree trunk  90  as the trunk is inserted into the stand. The underside of the stabilizer disk  70  includes a plurality of indentations  74  which allows coupling of the stabilizer disk  70  to the stabilizer positioning dowel  64 . 
     The plurality of indentations  74  accommodate repositioning of the tree trunk  90  to compensate for variations in tree geometries. To adjust the position of the tree, the tree  90  is lifted slightly to remove the stabilizer grid disk from the positioning dowel and to relax the clamping force of the clamps. 
     The tree&#39;s angle may then be adjusted and lowered to reposition the stabilizer disk  70  into a different indentation  74  with the positioning dowel  64 . In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the stabilizer disk  70  is eliminated and the positioning dowel  64  replaced by at least one spike. 
     The flange portion  66  of the reservoir member  60  contacts the upper travel stop  82  which sets the maximum circumference of the tree trunk  90  which can be accommodated by the tree stand. The flange portion  66  of the reservoir member  60  also provides a positive lock when the flange portion  66  is driven downward past the engagement notches  86  associated with each of the clamping members  80 A,  80 B,  80 C by the weight of the tree  90 . The offset inner surfaces of the engagement notches  86  straddle the flange portion  66  of the reservoir member  60  preventing the clamping members  80 A,  80 B,  80 C from returning to their unlocked positions. In another embodiment of the invention, a spring  88  is placed interstitially between the piston portion  62  and the cylinder portion  58  to provide a counter-force for returning the piston portion  62  to its initial position. 
     In FIG. 4, another sectional view of the stand illustrates the final engaged positions of the reservoir member  60 , the piston portion  62  inside the cylinder portion  58  and the locking mechanism where the flange portion  66  is held in relative position by the engagement notches  86  associated with each of the clamping members  80 A,  80 B,  80 C. 
     Referring to FIG. 5, when a tree trunk  90  is inserted into the stand, the piston portion  62  is forced into the cylinder portion  58  by the weight of the tree and held in place by the clamping members  80 A,  80 B,  80 C. The downward force exerted by the weight of the tree causes the clamping members  80 A,  80 B,  80 C to pivot radially inward until the vertical faces  84 A,  84 B,  84 C contact and position the tree trunk  90 . The weight of the tree on the piston portion  62  is transmitted at the slots  68 A,  68 B,  68 C which act as fulcrum points, providing a constant clamping force on the tree trunk. 
     In use, the self-clamping Christmas tree stand base member  50  is placed on a reasonably level surface in a location where it is desired to display the Christmas tree. The reservoir member  60  is partially inserted into the cylinder portion  58  of the base member  50  with the slots  68 A,  68 B,  68 C included in the flange portion  66  openings aligned with the base member  50  pivot channels  56 A,  56 B,  56 C. A stabilizer disk  70  is inserted in the reservoir with the spikes facing up. The 3 clamping members  80 A,  80 B,  80 C are inserted into the slots  68 A,  68 B,  68 C and bottomed in the pivot channels pivot channels  56 A,  56 B,  56 C with the vertical faces  84 A,  84 B,  84 C ends up. 
     The tree trunk bottom  90  is cut square with the desired vertical axis of the tree, and branches are removed from the trunk to provide a bare trunk at least to the distance the stand clamp tree grips are from the floor. The tree is then placed upright over the stand, lowered between the clamps into the reservoir member  60 , and firmly impaled on the stabilizer spikes  76  so they attach the bottom of the trunk to the stabilizer. The tree is now supported by the stand. 
     If the tree is at an objectionable angle to the vertical, adjust the angle by lifting the tree slightly, shifting it in the desired direction and lowering it. This may need to be repeated, with smaller adjustments, to get the tree in the desired position. If the tree cannot be adjusted to an acceptable angle, the tree should be removed and the stabilizer disk  70  removed from the bottom of the tree trunk. The lower stabilizer circumference should be trimmed approximately ¼ inch in radius completely around the circumference. The stabilizer disk should then be reinstalled in the reservoir member  60  with the spike  76  facing up and the tree installation procedure repeated. When the tree is at the desired angle, the reservoir should be filled with water or a preservative solution. 
     The foregoing described embodiments of the invention are provided as illustrations and descriptions. They are not intended to limit the invention to the precise form described. Other variations and embodiments are possible in light of above teachings, and it is not intended that this Detailed Description limit the scope of invention, but rather by the Claims following herein. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
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