Abstract:
A holder for a floating balloon having a variety of protrusions or holes form to or through which a floating balloon can be tied, and a slit to allow a first end and a second and to be separated apart so that the holder can be attached to a variety of objects or human body parts.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/494,530, entitled “Balloon Holder,” filed Jun. 8, 2011, which application is incorporated in its entirety here by this reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Technical Field 
     This invention relates to a device for holding floating balloons, such as helium balloons. 
     2. Background Art 
     Floating balloons, such as helium balloons, are very popular for special occasions, such as birthday parties, graduations, and many other celebrations. Often times helium balloons are used to adorn the celebration venue. Strips of ribbon are used to tie the helium balloon to a fixed object, such as a chair or table. If the host is dissatisfied with the placement of the balloon or the height of the balloon, he or she will have to untie the balloon from the chair or table and re-tie the balloon to another chair or table, or at a different height. Continued dissatisfaction results in continuously tying and re-tying the balloon, thereby, wasting precious time. 
     In addition, as the celebration comes to a conclusion, and guests begin to leave, often times the guests want to take the balloons home or the host offers balloons to the guests to take home. This, again, requires untying the balloon from its fixed location and re-tying the balloon onto the guest&#39;s wrist. Usually, so as to prevent the balloon from becoming untied on its own, the balloons are tied with a knot. Therefore, untying the balloon requires undue diligence or the need for a knife or scissor to cut the ribbon. 
     Thus, there is a need for a device that allows floating balloons to be quickly and easily fixed to an object, and quickly and easily removed from the object, while at the same time allowing the height of the balloon to be modified with the ease. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a balloon holder that allows floating balloons to be quickly and easily fixed to an object, and quickly and easily removed from the object, while at the same time allowing the height of the balloon to be modified with the ease. The balloon holder comprises an inner perimeter and an outer perimeter that define a surface, and a central void. The inner and outer perimeters further comprise protrusions onto which balloons may be tied. The surface and/or the protrusions may further comprise through-holes through which balloons may be tied. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of an embodiment of the present invention. Note, the balloon is not drawn to scale, but rather, has been reduced in size to show the general concept. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of presently-preferred embodiments of the invention and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present invention may be constructed or utilized. The description sets forth the functions and the sequence of steps for constructing and operating the invention in connection with the illustrated embodiments. However, it is to be understood that the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the balloon holder  100  is configured to hold a plurality of balloons  10  and to be attachable to a variety of items, including a person. The holder  100  comprises an inner perimeter  102  and an outer perimeter  104 , the inner and outer perimeters  102 ,  104  defining a first surface  106  and a second surface  108  opposite the first surface  106 . In some embodiments, the balloon holder  100  may comprise a through-hole  109  extending from the first surface  106  to the second surface  108 . 
     The inner perimeter  102  also defines a void  110  through which various items can be inserted. In the preferred embodiment, the void  110  is generally a circular shape. However, the void  110  can be any shape that still allows various objects to be inserted therein. 
     The inner perimeter  102  may further comprise various inner protrusions  112   a ,  112   b  or contours projecting into the void  110 . Preferably, each inner protrusion  112   a ,  112   b  comprises a catch portion to provide a means for securing a balloon  10  with a tie  12 . For example, a catch can be of a variety of forms such as simple projecting arms, hooks, bends, notches, crevices, eye loops, bulges, expansions, and the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the inner protrusions  112   a ,  112   b  may be a symbol, a design, or an artistic representation of something else. In the preferred embodiment, the inner protrusions  112   a ,  112   b  are configured so as to allow a tie  12 , such as a string, ribbon, and the like to be tied to it. For example, the inner protrusions  112   a ,  112   b  may have bent or curved arms  113   a ,  113   b , or through-holes, notches, and the like, like those shown on the outer protrusion  114   a ,  114   b  described below to form the catch portion. 
     Similarly, the outer perimeter  104  may also comprise various outer protrusions  114   a - e  or contours projecting away from the holder  100 . Like the inner protrusions  112   a ,  112   b , the outer protrusions  114   a - e  can take on a variety of forms to create a catch portion for the tie of a balloon, such as projecting or bent arms  116   a ,  116   b , hooks  115   a ,  115   b , eye loops or through-holes  109 , and the like. Like the inner protrusions  112   a ,  112   b  the outer protrusions  114   a - e  are configured so as to allow a tie  12  to be tied to it. 
     In some embodiments, the holder  100  may comprise at least two outer protrusions  114   a ,  114   b , wherein each outer protrusion  114   a ,  114   b  has an arm  116   a ,  116   b  that is directed away from the other outer protrusion  114   b ,  114   a . This configuration allows for the tie  12  to be wrapped around the two outer protrusions  114   a ,  114   b  so as to govern the height of the balloon  10  as shown in  FIG. 2 . If the balloon  10  is too high the user can continue to wrap the tie  12  around the two protrusions  114   a ,  114   b  to lower the height of the balloon  10 . Conversely, if the height of the balloon  10  is too low the user can unwrap the tie  12  from the two protrusion  114   a ,  114   b  to increase the height of the balloon  10 . Having portions of the protrusions  114   a ,  114   b  directed away from each other prevents the tie  12  from slipping off the protrusions  114   a ,  114   b.    
     In some embodiments, at least one protrusion  114   a  may have a notch  118  into which the tie can be wedged so as to prevent the tie from undesirably falling off of the protrusion  114   a . The notch  118  may have sharp edges so as to function as a cutter to cut the tie  12  if desired. 
     Similarly, the holder  100  may comprise two inner protrusions  112   a ,  112   b , wherein each inner protrusions  112   a ,  112   b  each has a tip portion  120   a ,  120   b  that is directed away from the other protrusion  112   b ,  112   a  so as to form a catch at their respective tip portions  120   a ,  120   b . Again, this allows the user to wrap the tie  12  around the inner protrusions  112   a ,  112   b  to adjust the height of the balloon  10 . 
     In some embodiments, the holder  100  or a portion of the holder  100  may be designed to imitate well-known objects, and in particular, objects associated with the special occasion for which the balloons  10  have been acquired. For example, during a child&#39;s birthday party helium balloons may be displayed throughout the room. The balloon holders  100  can be in the shape of birthday presents tied with ribbons or a birthday cake with candles. If the child is known to enjoy cars, then the balloon holders  100  can be in the shape of cars. If the child is known to enjoy animals, then the balloon holders  100  can be in the shape of a particular animal. If the celebration is a graduation, the balloon holders  100  can be in the shape of a diploma, book, graduation cap, and the like. For other events, the holder  100  may be in the shape of plants, flowers, and the like. 
     In some embodiments, the inner protrusions  112   a ,  112   b  and/or outer protrusions  114   a - e  may be in the shape of letters of an alphabet so as to spell out an individual&#39;s name or abbreviations for a name. 
     In some embodiments, the balloon holder  100  may further comprise a complete split or break  122 , thereby, defining a first free end  124  and a second free end  126 . The first end  124  and the second end  126  are adjacent to each other and define a gap therebetween created by the break  122 . In some embodiments, the gap may be so small that it is not easily or generally perceptible. Nonetheless, since there is a split, the first end  124  and the second end  126  can be pulled away from each other, due to the material and configuration, so as to enlarge the break  122  and allow an object or a person&#39;s body part to be inserted into the void  110 , thereby, allowing the balloon holder  100  to be hooked on to the object or the person&#39;s body part. Balloons  10  can be attached to the various inner and outer protrusions  112 ,  114 . Therefore, the balloon holder  100  provides a quick and easy means for attaching balloons  10  to some object or person. 
     Often times at children&#39;s birthday parties, the children want to take a helium balloon  10  home with them. By having the displayed helium balloons  10  attached to the balloon holder  100 , the child is now able to quickly and easily detach the helium balloon  10  from whatever fixture it was attached to and transfer it onto his or her wrist to safely carry it home. 
     The balloon holder  100  may be made from a variety of different materials that provide sturdiness with some flexibility and elasticity so as to be able to return to its original configuration after being bent out of shape. For example, the balloon holder  100  may be made from plastic, metal, wood, and the like. Preferably, the balloon holder  100  is generally flat with all features generally lying in a single main plane. However, projections  112   a ,  112   b ,  114   a - e  can project into different planes that are perpendicular or oblique to the main plane. 
     The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the invention not be limited by this detailed description, but by the claims and the equivalents to the claims appended hereto.