Patent Abstract:
The invention is both a method of harvesting and mounting a tree and the tree stand itself. The method is for that of harvesting a live tree. On the other hand the tree stand can mount a live tree or an artificial tree. The description is written from the live tree viewpoint. The method comprises: harvesting a tree from the field; trimming the tree; optionally packaging said tree in netting; and mounting a stand on said trimmed tree. The mounting step also includes sliding a tapered sleeve or a bulb-like sleeve onto the base of the tree and jamming or inserting the sleeve with the tree into a corresponding well of the base stand. The tree stand comprises a base with an upwardly projecting well and a sleeve. The sleeve may be a tapered hollow sleeve, or a bulb-like sleeve. When the bulb-like sleeve is used, wing screws can be employed to secure it to the well.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1) Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to a method of harvesting a tree, preferably a Christmas tree, but it is capable of mounting other cut or artificial trees, trimming the tree if necessary, optionally packaging the tree in appropriate packaging material such as netting, and mounting it in a stand. The invention also relates to a tree stand that comprises two parts, namely a tapered sleeve and a base. The larger opening of the tapered sleeve slides over the harvested tree at its base while the small end (lesser diameter) slides into a centered raised wall portion of the base stand.  
         [0003]     2) Prior Art  
         [0004]     Packaging Christmas trees in netting to prevent breakage of the limbs during shipping and to enable more trees to be shipped in a container such as a truck, is well known to those in the business. Often Christmas retail tree sellers build and construct their own stands and mount a few of the trees in their lot so that these trees can be fully viewed. Many retail sellers simply lean the trees against a fence, a wall, or ropes strung between trees. Generally the retail sellers also sell tree stands as a separate add-on component.  
         [0005]     On the other hand, Christmas tree stands are well known to all buyers of Christmas trees, as these trees must be mounted in homes, businesses, and public locations. Christmas tree stand structures generally consist of legs, some upright pot that can hold the base of the tree as well as a supply of liquid for the base of the tree and fastening means to secure the tree to the pot. Such stands take many different shapes, are formed from many different types of materials, and other serve this purpose inconsistently (some are better than others).  
         [0006]     There is a need to package the Christmas tree with a stand such that it is unnecessary for the retailer of the Christmas trees to design and produce a temporary holding structure, all trees can be fully viewed, and the trees can absorb water while present in the retail lot. Additionally, the same stands would be used in residential homes, public places, and businesses thereby omitting the mounting of the tree on a stand, as is usually required by the final user.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The present invention relates to both method and apparatus. The stand is meant to be used not only by the retail Christmas tree seller, but also enjoyed by the residential, business, or public building occupant/buyer. The tree stand enables the users to supply water or other aqueous based nutritional compositions to the tree, such that it remains more lifelike for a longer period of time.  
         [0008]     In the broadest sense, the present invention relates to a method of harvesting and packaging Christmas trees, comprising: harvesting a Christmas tree from the field; trimming the tree; optionally packaging said tree in netting; and mounting a stand on said trimmed tree. The mounting step also includes sliding a tapered sleeve onto the base of the Christmas tree and jamming the tapered sleeve with Christmas tree into a corresponding well of the base stand.  
         [0009]     In the broadest sense, the present invention also comprises a Christmas tree stand having a base portion and a sleeve portion, said base having a pan shape with a centered well projecting outwardly from said base, said well having at least one opening to allow water or other nutrients to have access to the interior of said well, said sleeve having an exterior diameter designed to snugly mount within said well by a friction fit.  
         [0010]     In the broadest sense, the present invention also comprises a Christmas tree stand having a base portion and a bulb-like sleeve portion, said base having a pan shape with a centered well projecting outwardly from said base, said well having at least one opening to allow water or other nutrients to have access to the interior of said well, said bulb-like sleeve having an exterior diameter designed to initially rotatably mount within and on said well, and then once the tree is vertical, secure the sleeve by means of one or more wing screws. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]     The figures of the drawings are for illustrating the invention and to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the invention. It is not intended to limit the invention in any manner inconsistent with the claims.  
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the Christmas tree stand.  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the hollow tapered sleeve that fits within the well of the stand.  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  is a plan view looking into the tapered sleeve, showing the projections.  
         [0015]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the Christmas tree stand without the tapered sleeve mounted within the well.  
         [0016]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view showing a trimmed tree, the tapered hollow sleeve, and the stand (with the well shown in relief), all enclosed in netting.  
         [0017]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the stand base and a rotatably/secure sleeve mounted within and on the well.  
         [0018]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the bulb-like sleeve shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0019]     The Christmas tree stand  10  shown clearly in  FIG. 1  comprises two friction-fitting pieces, namely: the base  12  and the tapered sleeve  14 . The Christmas tree stand  10  may be made from a variety of substances such as plastic, hard rubber, fiberglass, ceramic, concrete, metal and wood. Of these raw materials, plastic is preferred. Optionally, the plastic can include reinforcing fibers to provide extra strength. Conceivably, it is also possible that the tapered hollow sleeve  14  and the base  12  can be made from the same substances or difference substances. Preferably the entire Christmas tree stand  10  is made from the same plastic material. Unlike other stands, no hammering is required to mount the stand of the present invention. Accordingly, the stand may be made from low impact resistant plastic, whereas others must use high impact plastic.  
         [0020]      FIG. 2  is a drawing of the tapered hollow sleeve  14 , which has a large end  16  and a narrow end  18 . The sleeve  14  has a hollow opening  20  extending entirely through the tapered sleeve. Generally, the thickness of the tapered sleeve remains approximately the same from the large end  16  to the narrow end  18 . However, it may also be possible to design the tapered sleeve  14  such that its thickness at one end is larger than that at the opposite end. Accordingly, those skilled in the art may design the tapered sleeve such that it is thicker at the narrow end  18  than at the larger end  16 , if there is to be a difference in the thickness to provide increased strength and support.  
         [0021]      FIG. 3  is a plan view of the tapered hollow sleeve  14  wherein the larger end  16  (as viewed from  FIG. 2 ) has an opening  22 , while the narrow end  18  (as viewed in  FIG. 2 ) has an opening  24 . Mounted on the interior sidewall between openings  22  and  24  are one or more optional projections  26 . These projections  26  are designed to “bite” into the base of a Christmas tree when the tapered sleeve slides over the base of the tree. The projections  26  usually have a fairly sharp edge that permits them to bite into the base of the tree. The projections  26  not only seek to secure the tapered sleeve to the tree in a manner such that the tapered sleeve can only be removed from the tree with great difficulty, but it also enables the tapered sleeve to be applicable to slightly different sizes of the base of the tree. For example, the tapered sleeve may apply to small trees having a base diameter of 1½ to 2 inches. In this example the projections  26  would firmly secure the sleeve about the base of the tree, irrespective of the slight size differential. However, it is not necessary to have projections  26  on the interior of the sleeve  14 , but no projections means that the base of the tree and the sleeve must fit together more closely.  
         [0022]     The tapered sleeve and base stand can be various sizes to accommodates various sizes of trees, such as trees with a base of 4 to 4½ inches. Relative to the tapered sleeve, the base must be large enough to support the size tree intended to be mounted therein. The larger the tree, the larger the base stand, and the larger the tapered sleeve, and vise versa. Larger trees with larger stands means that the base stand can be both larger in diameter and taller, and the well of the stand is larger in diameter along with the corresponding sleeve. The invention easily encompasses a base having a diameter from about 6 to about 24 inches (2 feet), while the height can be from about 4 to about 8 inches. The size of the stand must simply be sufficient to support the size of the tree.  
         [0023]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the base of the Christmas tree stand  12  is shown in a perspective view and the nesting line  30  can easily be seen. The sidewall  28  is likewise tapered inwardly from its upper end  32  to its lower end  34 . The nesting line  30 , therefore, permits multiple base units to be stacked one on top of the other and the tapered sidewall  28  permits easy removal of the stands, one from the other. This is for shipping convenience. The sidewall  28  of the base unit  12  is integral with the bottom  36 .  
         [0024]     The bottom  36  has in its centered area an integrally formed well  40  comprising an upstanding circular wall  42  which is projecting upwardly out of the bottom  36  and is generally thicker than the sidewall  28 . The well circular wall  42  is thicker because it is necessary for it to support the sleeve  14  shown in  FIGS. 1-3 . Of course the sleeve  14 , is then supporting the base of the Christmas tree (not shown). The circular wall  42  has a slot  44  therein that extends from the bottom  36  to the top of the well or circular wall  42 . This slot serves several purposes in that it allows a slight expansion of the upper wall  46  of circular wall  42  and enables the sleeve  14  to be friction-fit within the well  40  but also permits its removal. The well  40  is likewise tapered very slightly from its upper edge  46  to its lower edge  48 . This taper generally matches or closely matches the taper of the sleeve  14 , which is designed to fit within the well  40 . Additionally, the slot  44  permits fluids, such as water or water-based nutrient compositions designed to maintain the tree in a healthy state as long as possible, to flow to the base of the Christmas tree. Optionally, the well  40  may include an additional button well  50  that can be used to hold nutrients for the tree or just the last vestiges of the volume of the well for holding fluid. It is not necessary for the present invention to have a button well  50 .  
         [0025]     When the sleeve  14  is fully inserted into the well  40 , it is close to the bottom  36  of the base  12 . Generally, however, it is spaced a very slight distance above the bottom  36  such that, for example, a sheet of paper may be inserted between the two. This close relationship permits water to flow into the well such that the tree may absorb the water. Moreover, the height of the well  40  is substantially less than the depth or height of the sidewall  28 . Accordingly, when the base is filled approximately ⅔ full of water, for example, it will also overflow the upper edge  46  of the sleeve  14  and flow along the sides of the base of the Christmas tree, allowing water absorption thru the tree.  
         [0026]     By inserting the sleeve  14  onto the base of the Christmas tree, the projections  26  bite into the tree. These same projections, which can lacerate the tree along its trunk open the bark of the trunk a bit and thus water flowing over the top of the sleeve  14 , when it is inserted into well  40 , also exposes the base of the tree such that it may absorb the liquid.  
         [0027]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the present invention with a trimmed Christmas tree. The Christmas tree  60  has a base  62 , which has been trimmed of branches and some bark (optionally). The base of the tree can be made to be circular by use, for example, of a tenon cutter. This is a device, which typically makes tenons for furniture like chairs, for example. Optionally, cotton or plastic netting  70  is stretched over the tree and is sized sufficiently to easily cover the entire tree with or without the stand. Next, the sleeve  14  is secured to the tree by sliding it over and around the base of the tree. It is not necessary that the base  62  of the Christmas tree be perfectly cylindrical, but the more cylindrical it is, the more snugly it fits into the sleeve  14 , and the better and tighter the support can be. The assembly shown in  FIG. 5  is for the base of the tree  62  to slide into the tapered sleeve  14  and for the tapered sleeve  14  to fit within the well  40  projecting upwardly from the base  12  as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . In this manner, both the retailer and the consumer have a built-in stand for supporting the tree in a vertical upright manner as is known. Once the tree is supported in an upright manner, water or water-based nutrient compositions can be used to keep the tree as healthy for as long as possible.  
         [0028]      FIG. 6 , is another alternative tree stand. The well  82  of the trees stand base is similar to that shown in  FIG. 4 , except the upper edge  83  of the well is tapered so that it mates with the bulb-like sleeve  80 , thereby initially permitting the bulb-like sleeve to rotate within and on well  82 . Like the tapered sleeve shown in  FIG. 2 , the bulb-like sleeve  80  has a hollow, tapered opening  88  (similar to opening  20 ) framed by the upper edge  86 . Sleeve  80  is designed to be mounted on the base or trunk of a tree. The sleeve  80  also has projections  26  such as those shown in  FIG. 3 . This permits someone to more easily vertically mount a tree whose base is slightly angled compared to the remainder of the trunk. Once the tree is mounted as desired, one or more wing screws  84  can be employed to tighten and secure the bulb-like sleeve to the well.  
         [0029]     In operation (with respect to  FIGS. 1-5 ), a method of harvesting and packaging Christmas trees is illustrated by the present invention and comprises harvesting the Christmas tree from the field, trimming the base of the tree such that there are no lower branches, optionally encasing the entire tree in netting  7 , mounting the sleeve  14  onto the base of the tree, and mounting the base of the stand  12  onto the tapered sleeve  14  by sliding the tapered sleeve  14  into the well  40 . The type of netting employed for the present invention is well known to those skilled in the art and is generally plastic or cotton, but other less known materials will also suffice.  
         [0030]     In operation (with respect to  FIGS. 6 and 7 ), a method of harvesting and packaging Christmas trees is illustrated by the present invention and comprises harvesting the Christmas tree from the field, trimming the base of the tree such that there are no lower branches, optionally encasing the entire tree in netting  7 , mounting the bulb-like sleeve  80  onto the base of the tree, and mounting the base of the stand onto the bulb-like sleeve  80  by sliding the sleeve into and on the well  82 . Once the tree has been rotated to make it as vertical as possible when the stand in placed horizontally flat, the sleeve can then be secured to the well  82  by one or more wing screws  84 . The type of netting employed for the present invention is well known to those skilled in the art and is generally plastic or cotton, but other less known materials will also suffice.  
         [0031]     Thus it is apparent that there has been provided, in accordance with the invention, a method and corresponding equipment that fully satisfies the objects, aims and advantages set forth above. While the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations as fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0