Patent Publication Number: US-2007107302-A1

Title: Root ball display device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention generally relates to a device for enabling a user to easily position a tree or shrub root ball for display purposes. More particularly, the present invention relates to a certain root ball display framework or assemblage that enables a user to support and position a root ball as may be required.  
      2. Description of the Prior Art  
      Moving a tree is a fairly involved process. To ease the tree transplant process, any number of mechanical devices may help the mover to stabilize, position, support, lift, and display the tree, the roots of which are typically bound in a root ball. A number of tree-supportive or root-ball supportive devices are known in the prior art. Several of the more pertinent prior art disclosures relating to tree-supportive or root ball-supportive devices are briefly described hereinafter.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 3,582,028 (&#39;028 Patent), which issued to Purdy, discloses a Tree Holder. The &#39;028 Patent teaches a tree holder comprising an upwardly opening and elongated container supported by four legs which extend downwardly along and then outwardly and downwardly from the container. The legs are connected to the container near the lower ends thereof by manually adjustable means for changing the locations of the lower ends of said legs relative to the lengthwise extent of the container. Four resiliently flexible elements are secured to the inner side of said container for engaging the butt of a tree extending into the container and for resisting lateral movement of the butt with respect to the container.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,148 (&#39;148 Patent), which issued to Edmonds, Jr. et al., discloses Baskets for Receiving Tree Balls and Methods for Use Thereof. The &#39;148 Patent teaches wire tree baskets for receiving tree or shrub balls. The baskets comprise a plurality of spaced apart, circular wire rings of differing diameters in order to taper the basket at an angle of 28 degrees to 32 degrees and a plurality of wire upright loops terminated by bights to give tie-off points for securing the ball within the basket. The basket is welded together with the welds located to reduce the possibility of fractured welds and, further, reduce both the damage to the structural integrity of the basket caused by the fracture of a weld and reduce the potential for damage to adjacent trees caused by the fracture of a weld when balled trees are stacked together. Advantageous methods for using the tree baskets are also disclosed.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,508 (&#39;508), which issued to Fiveash, discloses a Tree Stand with Upward/Extending Support Members Forming Part of a Water Basin. The &#39;508 Patent teaches a tree stand having a large water basin and a plurality of extending support sections for supporting a tree. The extending support sections form part of a sidewall of the water basin. The spacing of the extending support sections allows lower limbs of the tree to extend between the support sections and above lower sidewall sections of the water basin. This arrangement allows the stand to be secured closer to the center of gravity of the tree than conventional tree stands and allows a large breadth water basin design.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,626 (&#39;626 Patent), which issued to Reese, discloses a Pump Tree Stand. The &#39;626 Patent teaches a tree stand comprising a base defining a tree area, at least one positioning jaw, and at least one securing jaw. The tree stand also includes a pneumatic actuator assembly that actuates the securing jaw in a first direction into the tree area. When the jaws are against the tree they form a clamp that holds the tree upright in the tree area. The tree stand also includes a pneumatic release valve assembly that actuates the securing jaw in a second direction out of the tree area.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,579 (&#39;579 Patent), which issued to Krinner, discloses a Tree Stand. The &#39;579 Patent teaches a tree stand featuring a plurality of retaining elements and a single clamping element which acts upon all of the retaining elements via a load transmission element. The load transmission element comprises a flexible, substantially inextensible connecting part having tensile strength which initially moves all of the retaining elements essentially free of a retaining force into contact with the trunk of the tree, and then presses all of the retaining elements against the tree trunk with an essentially identical retaining force.  
      It will be seen from an inspection of the above-referenced patents and other relevant prior art known to exist that the prior art does not teach a root ball display framework comprising two separate assemblies joined at ball-positioning junctions, which junctions function to support and position a root ball for display purposes. The prior art thus perceives a need for a root ball display framework comprising two separate assemblies joined at ball-positioning junctions, which junctions function to support and position a root ball for display purposes.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      To achieve the foregoing and other readily apparent objectives, the present invention provides a root ball display assembly designed for supporting and positioning a (tree) root ball structure as placed therein via certain lifting means. Certain junctions intermediate cooperating support and positioning assemblies function to support and position the placed root ball. Notably, root ball structures typically comprise a substantially spherical root ball and often, a substantially linear longitudinal (tree) trunk or shrub axis.  
      The display device essentially comprises a ball-supporting assembly or frame and a ball-positioning assembly or frame. The ball-supporting assembly essentially comprises at least three radially extending support members, each of which comprise a proximal support end and a distal support end. The distal support ends extend upwardly from the proximal support ends, which proximal support ends are joined or welded at a hub.  
      The ball-positioning assembly, in turn, comprises at least three circumferentially-extending positioning members, each of which comprises an upwardly-extending vertex portion and laterally or peripherally adjacent periphery-forming end portions. The periphery-forming end portions are selectively joined to one another to form a positioning periphery and the distal support ends are joined at the vertex portions for forming at least three elevated, ball-positioning junctions. Thus, the ball-positioning junctions function to primarily position the root ball of a plant resulting in a supported-positioned plant root ball. The elevated, ball-positioning junctions enable a user to position the spherical root ball such that the longitudinal trunk or shrub axis extends through a central support junction formed at or adjacent the proximal support ends.  
      Other objects of the present invention, as well as particular features, elements, and advantages thereof, will be elucidated or become apparent from, the following description and the accompanying drawing figures.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      Other features of my invention will become more evident from a consideration of the following brief description of my patent drawings, as follows:  
       FIG. 1  is a first top perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the root ball display device of the present invention with a root ball structure supported and positioned therein.  
       FIG. 2  is a second top perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the root ball display device of the present invention.  
       FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the preferred embodiment of the root ball display device of the present invention.  
       FIG. 4  is a side plan view of the preferred embodiment of the root ball display device of the present invention as placed upon a substantially planar display surface.  
       FIG. 5  is a side plan view of a prior art fork lift truck depicted as transporting a root ball.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      Referring now to the drawings, the preferred embodiment of the present invention concerns a tree root ball display device or assembly  10  as generally illustrated and referenced in  FIGS. 1-4 , inclusive. The tree root ball display device  10  is designed to interface intermediate common (substantially planar) root ball display surfaces and the burlap (or similar other) sack encasing an uprooted tree or shrub root ball. The tree root ball display device  10  is designed to enable movers of tree root ball structures to more easily display or otherwise displace uprooted trees  11 , the roots of which have been balled inside a burlap encasing  12  or similar other structure as generally illustrated and referenced in  FIG. 1 . In this regard, it will be understood that a typical tree root ball structure comprises a generally spherical root ball  13  and a tree trunk portion  14 , which trunk portion  14  generally or typically comprises a longitudinal trunk axis  15  as further referenced in  FIG. 1 . The display device  10  may thus be said to function as a support and/or positioning assembly for enabling lifted displacement or display of trees, the roots of which have been balled for ease of further transplant. The tree root ball display device  10  preferably comprises a generally X-shaped support assembly or frame  20  preferably constructed of load-supporting rebar or similar other load-bearing material as illustrated and referenced in  FIGS. 2-4 ; and a generally clover-shaped positioning assembly or frame  30  also preferably constructed of load-supporting rebar or similar other load-bearing material as illustrated and referenced in  FIGS. 1-4 .  
      The support assembly  20  preferably comprises four (4) radially extending support members  21  as illustrated and referenced in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . Each support member  21  preferably comprises a proximal support portion  22  as illustrated and referenced in  FIGS. 2 and 3 ; and a distal support portion  23  as illustrated and referenced in  FIGS. 1-4 . From an inspection of  FIGS. 1-3 , it will be noted and/or understood that the proximal support portions  22  are joined at a central junction  24  and that the distal support portions  23  preferably extend upwardly from the proximal support portions  22  and terminate at distal termini  25  as referenced in  FIG. 2 . The support assembly  20  is preferably formed from two V-shaped support members  26  as generally referenced in  FIG. 3  wherein each V-shaped support member  26  has a support vertex  27 , which support vertices  27  are joined (preferably welded) at the central junction  24 .  
      It will be seen from an inspection of the noted figures that the radially-extending support members  21  are preferably substantially equally spaced from one another. The proximal support portions  22  are substantially collinear and collectively coplanar and the distal support portions  23  are each preferably substantially linear. The distal support portions  23  preferably extend upwardly from the proximal support portions at about 45 rotational degrees and the central V-shaped portions  32  preferably extend upwardly from the outer V-shaped portions at about 45 rotational degrees as may be understood from a general inspection of  FIG. 4 . Preferably, the periphery-forming portions  35  adjacent the peripheral termini  36  are substantially collinear as may be seen from a general inspection of  FIGS. 1-3 , which collinear periphery-forming portions are further preferably substantially coplanar.  
      From an inspection of  FIGS. 1 and 3 , it may be most readily understood that positioning assembly  30  is preferably or generally (four-leaf) clover-shaped. The positioning assembly  30  preferably comprises four (4) roughly W-shaped, circumferentially-extending positioning members  31  as generally illustrated and referenced in  FIGS. 1-4 . Each positioning member  31  comprises a central V-shaped portion  32  and two outer V-shaped portions  33  (the portions  32  and  33  sharing a common leg) as further referenced in  FIGS. 1-3 . The V-shaped portions  32  preferably extend upwardly from the outer V-shaped portions  33  and each V-shaped portion has a (ball or sphere) positioning vertex  34  as specifically illustrated positioning ball-like or spherical structure in  FIG. 1  and as further generally referenced in  FIGS.2-4 . The outer V-shaped portions  33  each comprise a periphery-forming (leg) portion  35  as referenced in  FIGS. 1-4 . The periphery-forming portions  35  each have a peripheral terminus (not specifically referenced), which termini are joined (preferably welded) to one another (as at joints  36  referenced in  FIGS. 1-3 ) thus forming a common positioning periphery perhaps as most clearly depicted in  FIG. 3 .  
      The distal termini  25  of support assembly  20  are then joined (preferably welded) at the positioning vertices  34  for forming four (4) lift junctions  37 , two (2) of which are clearly depicted in  FIG. 4 . From an inspection of  FIGS. 3 and 4 , it will be seen that lift members  16  may be raised as referenced at  38  to make contact with lift junctions  37  so as to lift tree root ball display assembly  10  via certain forces (as depicted at vectors  39 ). Thus, it will be understood that the support assembly  20  is primarily designed to support a tree root ball placed thereupon (the support assembly  20  being proximal to the common positioning periphery and the weight of the tree root ball or similar other spherical member being directed downward). Further, the support and positioning assemblies  20  and  30  are each designed to position the placed tree root ball. In this regard, it will be understood that the supportive support assembly  20  “positions” the tree root ball vertically as a support structure and further positions the tree root ball at the distal support members  23 , the contact interfacing having normal force vectors directed toward the longitudinal trunk axis  15  (or similar other axis) as directed against the root ball  13 . It will thus be understood that the placed tree root ball may be thought of as being “supported-positioned”. The lift junctions  37  thus enable the user to liftedly displace or otherwise display the “supported-positioned” tree root ball.  
      It will thus be understood that the present invention discloses a tree root ball display assembly  10  for supporting, positioning, lifting, and displaying a tree root ball structure. The tree root ball structure comprises a substantially spherical root ball and often, a substantially linear tree trunk portion, the tree trunk portion having a longitudinal trunk axis  15 . The display device  10  comprises a ball-supporting assembly (such as support assembly  20 ) and a ball-positioning assembly (such as positioning assembly  30 ), which ball-supporting assembly must essentially comprise at least three radially extending support members, each of which comprise a proximal support end and a distal support end. The distal support ends extend upwardly from the proximal support ends (joined or welded at a hub).  
      The ball-positioning assembly, in turn, comprises at least three circumferentially-extending positioning members, each of which comprise an upwardly-extending vertex portion (such as central V-shaped portions  32 ) and two periphery-forming end portions (such as periphery-forming portions  35 ). The periphery-forming end portions are joined to one another to form a positioning periphery and the distal support ends are joined at the vertex portions for forming at least three elevated, lift-enabling junctions (such as lift junctions  37 ). Thus, the ball-supporting assembly functions to primarily support a tree root ball as placed thereupon and the ball-positioning assembly functions to primarily position the supported tree root ball resulting in supported-positioned tree root ball. The elevated, lift-enabling junctions enable a user to lift and display the supported-positioned tree root ball structure. Notably, the ball-positioning assembly enables the user to position the spherical root ball such that the longitudinal trunk axis extends through central support junction  24  formed at or adjacent the proximal support ends.  
      It is contemplated that all frame work may be constructed from ½ inch concrete reinforcing rod or rebar. This type of material results in a manually maneuverable device (weighing on the order of 5-10 pounds) and functions to receive root balls having diameters on the order of 28-36 inches (which typically weigh in the range of 600-1600 pounds). Conceivably, however, the construction could be adjusted to receive root balls having diameters on the order of 38-42 inches (which typically weigh on the order of 1800 pounds). Further, the number of welds is fairly limited given the preferred design. In this regard, it is contemplated that as few as six (6) welds may be required to assembly the root ball display device (if, for example, the common outer periphery were formed of a single member joined at the ends by a welded junction having the specified structures intermediate the two ends).  
      Thus, while the above description contains much specificity, this specificity should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as an exemplification of the invention. For example, as is described hereinabove, it is contemplated that the present invention essentially discloses a spherical member display device or interface comprising a member-supporting frame and a member-positioning frame. The member-supporting frame comprises at least three radially-extending support members, each of which comprises a proximal support end and a distal support end.  
      The member-positioning frame comprises at least three circumferentially-extending positioning members, each of which comprise an upwardly-extending central portion (such as central V-shaped portions  32 ) and two adjacent periphery-forming end portions selectively joined to one another for forming a positioning periphery. In this last regard, it should be noted that the circumferentially-extending members may be formed from a single piece of material (having two ends) and formed so as to include at least three upwardly-extending central portions. The two ends would thus be preferably welded so as to form a continuous positioning periphery. The selectively joined periphery-forming end portions may thus be joined by a weld or as an integrally joined or integrally formed, continuous load-bearing member. The distal support ends are joined at the central portions for forming at least three lift-enabling junctions. The member-supporting frame may thus support and position a spherical member placed thereupon (the upwardly extending tri-support member configuration effectively operating to center a spherical member the weight of which is directed downward). The member-positioning frame further positions the supported spherical member.