Abstract:
A star-shaped decoration constructed of a plurality of pieces, each piece having plurality of angled sidewalls, the angled sidewalls forming a pointed top and an open bottom, and with at least one detent close to the open bottom, and at least one slot close to the open bottom. Joining the pieces together forms a star-shaped decoration. When separated, the pieces may be nested for convenient storage.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application is related to, and claims the priority benefit of, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/977,828, filed Apr. 10, 2014, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety into this disclosure. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Holiday stars are frequently used to decorate homes during the holiday season. However, the holiday stars, like most holiday decorations, are burdensome to store during the remainder of the year. In the case of holiday stars, the stars very seldom fit back into their original packaging, thereby causing the stars to be stored in boxes with other holiday decorations. Often the star may become damaged during storage because the pointed ends of the star are susceptible to breaking. Even if the holiday star is positioned back in its original packaging, the packaging generally takes sufficient space, thereby adding to the troubles of storing holiday decorations. 
         [0003]    Accordingly, there is a need for a holiday star that is easily packaged and stored using a minimal amount of space. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    In at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, a star-shaped decoration formed from separate pieces that are locked together to form the star is provided. Each of the separate pieces are hollow and have an opening at one end so that the pieces are nestable for packaging and storage. Each piece includes detents and slots, wherein the detents engage the slots of an adjoining piece. Each piece includes a flange to engage an opening of an adjoining piece when joining the detents of adjoining pieces. In at least one embodiment of a star-shaped decoration of the present disclosure, an opening is formed in a center of the star, wherein the opening receives at least one light bulb. 
         [0005]    In at least one embodiment, a star-shaped decoration according to the present disclosure comprises a first piece comprising a plurality of angled sidewalls, the angled sidewalls forming a pointed top and an open bottom, with at least one detent close to the open bottom and at least one slot close to the open bottom. 
         [0006]    In an aspect of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, such a star-shaped decoration further comprises a second piece comprising a plurality of angled sidewalls, the angled sidewalls forming a pointed top and an open bottom, with at least one detent close to the open bottom and at least one slot close to the open bottom, wherein at least one detent of the second piece is joinable to at least one slot of the first piece and at least one detent of the first piece is joinable to at least one slot of the second piece. 
         [0007]    In an aspect of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, such a star-shaped decoration further comprises a third piece comprising a plurality of angled sidewalls, the angled sidewalls forming a pointed top and an open bottom, with at least one detent close to the open bottom and at least one slot close to the open bottom, wherein at least one detent of the third piece is joinable to at least one slot of the second piece and at least one detent of the second piece is joinable to at least one slot of the third piece. 
         [0008]    In an aspect of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, such a star-shaped decoration further comprises a fourth piece comprising a plurality of angled sidewalls, the angled sidewalls forming a pointed top and an open bottom, with at least one detent close to the open bottom and at least one slot close to the open bottom, wherein at least one detent of the fourth piece is joinable to at least one slot of the third piece and at least one detent of the third piece is joinable to at least one slot of the fourth piece. 
         [0009]    In an aspect of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, such a star-shaped decoration further comprises a fifth piece comprising a plurality of angled sidewalls, the angled sidewalls forming a pointed top and an open bottom, with at least one detent close to the open bottom and at least one slot close to the open bottom, wherein at least one detent of the fifth piece is joinable to at least one slot of the fourth piece and at least one detent of the fourth piece is joinable to at least one slot of the fifth piece. In an aspect of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one detent of the fifth piece is joinable to at least one slot of the first piece and at least one detent of the first piece is joinable to at least one slot of the fifth piece. 
         [0010]    In at least one embodiment of a star-shaped decoration according to the present disclosure, when at least one detent of a first piece is joined to at least one slot of a second piece, at least one detent of the second piece is joined to at least one slot of a third piece, at least one detent of the third piece is joined to at least one slot of a fourth piece, at least one detent of the fourth piece is joined to at least one slot of a fifth piece, and at least one detent of the fifth piece is joined to at least one slot of the first piece, the first piece, the second piece, the third piece, the fourth piece, and fifth piece together take on a star-like shape. 
         [0011]    In at least one embodiment of a star-shaped decoration according to the present disclosure, a first piece, a second piece, a third piece, a fourth piece, and a fifth piece together define an opening in a star-like shape. In an aspect of such an embodiment, the opening is configured to receive at least one light bulb. 
         [0012]    In an aspect of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, a star-shaped decoration comprises a sixth piece comprising a plurality of angled sidewalls, the angled sidewalls forming a pointed top and an open bottom, with at least one detent close to the open bottom and at least one slot close to the open bottom, wherein at least one detent of the sixth piece is joinable to at least one slot of a fifth piece and at least one detent of the fifth piece is joinable to at least one slot of the sixth piece. In an aspect of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one detent of the sixth piece is joinable to at least one slot of a first piece and at least one detent of the first piece is joinable to at least one slot of the sixth piece. 
         [0013]    In at least one embodiment of a star-shaped decoration according to the present disclosure, when at least one detent of a first piece is joined to at least one slot of a second piece, at least one detent of the second piece is joined to at least one slot of a third piece, at least one detent of the third piece is joined to at least one slot of a fourth piece, at least one detent of the fourth piece is joined to at least one slot of a fifth piece, at least one detent of the fifth piece is joined to at least one slot of a sixth piece, and at least one detent of the sixth piece is joined to at least one slot of the first piece, the first piece, the second piece, the third piece, the fourth piece, the fifth piece, and the sixth piece together take on a star-like shape. 
         [0014]    In at least one embodiment of a star-shaped decoration according to the present disclosure, a first piece, a second piece, a third piece, a fourth piece, a fifth piece, and a sixth piece together define an opening in a star-like shape. In an aspect of such an embodiment, the opening is configured to receive at least one light bulb. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]    The embodiments described herein and other features, advantages and disclosures contained herein, and the manner of attaining them, will become apparent and the present disclosure will be better understood by reference to the following description of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein: 
           [0016]      FIG. 1  is a flowchart of a method for forming a holiday star and storing a holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  is a front view of a piece of a holiday star formed in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  is a close up front view of the bottom of the piece of a holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0019]      FIG. 4  is a back view of the piece of a holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0020]      FIG. 5  is a close up back view of the bottom of the piece of a holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0021]      FIG. 6  is a top isometric view of the piece of a holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0022]      FIG. 7  is a bottom isometric view of the piece of a holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0023]      FIG. 8  is a front isometric view of several pieces of a holiday star in a nested configuration in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0024]      FIG. 9  is a front isometric view of a first piece of a holiday star being joined to a second piece of a holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0025]      FIG. 10  is a front isometric view of a first piece of a holiday star being joined to a second piece of a holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0026]      FIG. 11  is a front isometric view of two pieces of a holiday star being joined together in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0027]      FIG. 12  is a front isometric view of three pieces of a holiday star being joined together in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0028]      FIG. 13  is a front isometric view of four pieces of a holiday star being joined together in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0029]      FIG. 14  is a front isometric view of a final piece of a holiday star being joined to a holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0030]      FIG. 15  is a front isometric view of a final piece of a holiday star being joined to a holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0031]      FIG. 16  is front isometric view of a fully assembled holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0032]      FIG. 17  is a front isometric view of a light being inserted into a fully assembled holiday star in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
       [0033]    The features and advantages of this disclosure, and the manner of attaining them, will be more apparent and better understood by reference to the following descriptions of the disclosed methods and systems, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in the figures like referenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views, but not all reference numerals are shown in each of the figures. 
         [0034]    For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the present disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of this disclosure is thereby intended. 
         [0035]    Disclosed herein is a holiday star and methods therefor. The method  100  for forming a holiday star and storing a holiday star in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . In particular, at step  102 , the pieces of the holiday star are separated. At step  104 , a first piece of the holiday star is joined to a second piece of the holiday star. The pieces are joined by, at step  106  aligning a flange of one piece with an opening formed in the second piece. The flanges include male detents thereon and the a sidewall forming the opening includes slots formed thereon. At step  108 , the first piece is rotated toward the second piece to lock the detents of the first piece into the slots of the second piece. At step  110 , steps  104 - 108  are repeated with the remaining pieces to form the holiday star. At step  112 , the holiday star is disassembled for storage by releasing the detents from the slots to separate the pieces. At step  114 , the pieces are nested by positioning each piece within an opening formed in the bottom of another piece. Each of the pieces is hollow so that they may receive another piece for nesting. 
         [0036]      FIGS. 2-7  illustrate a holiday star piece  120  having a closed top  122  and an open bottom  124 . Angled sidewalls  126  extend from the top  122  to the bottom  124  and flare outward to the bottom  124 . A pair of back sidewalls  128  form a back  130  of the piece  120  and a pair of front sidewalls  132  form a portion of a front  134  of the piece  120 . A front panel  136  extends between the front sidewalls  132 . The sidewalls  126  and the front panel  136  terminate at the bottom  124  of the piece  120  and form an opening  138  in the bottom  124  that opens into a cavity  140  formed by each of the sidewalls  126  and the front panel  136 . 
         [0037]    Flanges are formed on one side of the piece  120 . In particular, a front flange  142  is extends from one of the front sidewalls  132  and the front panel  136 , and a back flange  144  extends from the adjacent back sidewall  128 . Each of the flanges  142 ,  144  extends outward from a centerline  146  of the piece  120 . Each flange  142 ,  144  includes detents  146  formed thereon. The detents are formed on a top  148  of each flange  142 ,  144  and extend upward in the direction of the top  122  of the piece  120 . 
         [0038]    The front sidewall  132  opposite the sidewall  132  having the front flange  142  includes a slot  150  extending therethrough, and the front panel  136  includes a slot extending therethrough. Likewise, the back sidewall  128  opposite the sidewall  128  having the back flange  144  includes slots  150  extending therethrough. The slots  150  are sized to receive the detents  146  when the piece  120  is attached to another piece  122 . 
         [0039]    It should be appreciated that although the flanges  142 ,  144  and detents  146  are described with respect to being positioned on one side of the piece  120 , and the slots  150  are described as being positioned on the opposite side of the piece  120 , the flanges  142 ,  144 , detents  146 , and slots  150  may be arranged on the piece  120  in any fashion that enables the piece  120  to be coupled to another piece  120  by locking the detents  146  of one piece  120  into the slots  150  of another piece  120 . 
         [0040]      FIG. 8  illustrates five pieces  120  being nested together for packaging or storage. Particularly, the top  122  of the bottom piece  120  is inserted into the cavity  140  of the next piece  120 . The remaining pieces  120  are then nested in a likewise fashion by inserting the tops  122  of each piece into the cavity  140  of the adjacent piece  120  to form the nested set of pieces  120 . In the nested state, the pieces  120  are arranged so that the flanges  142 ,  144  of each piece  120  are aligned with the flanges  142 ,  144  of the other pieces  120 . 
         [0041]      FIGS. 9 and 10  illustrate a first piece  120 ( a ) being joined to a second piece  120 ( b ). The flanges  142 ,  144  (flange  144  is not shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 ) of the first piece  120 ( a ) are inserted in the cavity  140  of the second piece  102 ( b ), as shown in  FIG. 9 . The second piece  120 ( b ) is then rotated in the direction of arrow  160  to lock the detents  146  of the first piece  120 ( a ) into the slots  150  of the second piece  120 ( b ).  FIG. 11  illustrates the first piece  120 ( a ) joined to the second piece  120 ( b ). Additional pieces  120  are then added in the same manner.  FIG. 12  illustrates a third piece  120 ( c ) joined to the second piece  120 ( b ).  FIG. 13  illustrates a fourth piece  120 ( d ) joined to the third piece  120 ( c ). 
         [0042]      FIGS. 14 and 15  illustrate a fifth piece  120 ( e ) being joined to the fourth piece  120 ( d ) and the first piece  120 ( a ) to complete the holiday star. The flanges  142 ,  144  (flange  144  is not shown in  FIGS. 14 and 15 ) of the fifth piece  120 ( e ) are inserted into the cavity  140  of the first piece  120 ( a ), as shown in  FIG. 14 . The fifth piece  120 ( e ) is then rotated about arrow  162  so that the detents  146  of the fifth piece  120 ( e ) lock into the slots  150  of the first piece  120 ( a ). Concurrently, the flanges  142 ,  144  (flange  144  is not shown in  FIGS. 14 and 15 ) of the fourth piece  120 ( d ) position within the cavity  140  of the fifth piece  120 ( e ) so that the detents  146  of the fourth piece  120 ( d ) are locked into the slots  150  of the fifth piece  120 ( e ) to form a completed holiday star  170 , as illustrated in  FIG. 16 . 
         [0043]    It should be noted that although the holiday star  170  shown in  FIG. 16  includes five pieces  120  forming a five pointed star, the holiday star  170  may be configured with any number of pieces to form a star having more or less than five points, for example a six pointed star. 
         [0044]    As illustrated in  FIG. 16 , a bottom  172  of the front panels  136  of each piece  120  define an opening  174  in the front of the holiday star  170 . As illustrated in  FIG. 17 , a light bulb  176  may be inserted into the opening  174  to illuminate the holiday star  170 . It should be noted that other openings may be formed in the holiday star  170  to receive additional light bulbs  176 . 
         [0045]    After use, the holiday star  170  may be disassembled by applying pressure to each piece  120  to remove the detents  146  from the corresponding slots  150 . The pieces  120  of the holiday star  170  may then be nested for storage as illustrated in  FIG. 8 . 
         [0046]    While this disclosure has been described as having a preferred design, the systems and methods according to the present disclosure can be further modified within the scope and spirit of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the disclosure using its general principles. For example, the methods disclosed herein and in the appended claims represent one possible sequence of performing the steps thereof. A practitioner may determine in a particular implementation that a plurality of steps of one or more of the disclosed methods may be combinable, or that a different sequence of steps may be employed to accomplish the same results. Each such implementation falls within the scope of the present disclosure as disclosed herein and in the appended claims. Furthermore, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this disclosure pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.