Abstract:
A tree stand having a water reservoir and a plurality of tree support posts therein which are disposed inwardly of the side wall of the reservoir to position the posts close to the tree to minimize the stresses on the bolts which engage the tree for maintaining it in an upright position. The stand may be small enough for use on a table top and molded from a plastic resin, or it may have a reinforcing spike molded into the plastic resin for a stand used for larger trees.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   Not applicable. 
   STATEMENTS REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
   Not applicable. 
   REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
   Not applicable. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to new and improved stands for real and artificial trees, such as Christmas trees, which stands are of a size that is suitable for location on a tabletop, and for locations that are for larger trees. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,508 issued Apr. 28, 1998 for a tree stand which included a water basin or reservoir for providing water for maintaining a cut tree, such as a Christmas tree. 
   The present invention is an improvement on the tree stand disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,508 with respect to several features which are discussed in detail herein. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to tree stands which are of a small size for location on a tabletop, but which are also suitable for a tree stand of a larger size. Each stand and a plurality of bolts are molded of a plastic resin such as polypropylene, with the bolts preferably molded separately from the rest of the stand. The bolts are then packaged with the rest of the tree stand for shipping. For the smaller trees usually located on a table top, the bolts may be made entirely of a plastic resin such as polypropylene, but for larger sizes of stands, a steel reinforcing member preferably forms the core of each molded bolt. Preferably, three posts are molded uprightly inwardly of the inner surface of a water basin, with each post receiving one of the bolts for engaging the tree trunk for holding the tree in a vertical position. A plurality of tree stands may be packaged in a nesting position with each other, preferably with three of the bolts packaged together with the stand. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a top plan view of the stand of this invention in its table top configuration, showing one of the bolts in use for engaging the trunk of a tree and another of the bolts in the shipping position; 
       FIG. 2  is an elevation taken on line  2 — 2  of  FIG. 1 , showing one bolt in position for engaging the trunk of the tree and another of the bolts on the floor of the stand for shipping; 
       FIG. 3  is a view taken on line  3 — 3  of  FIG. 1 , showing one of the bolts mounted in the bottom of the stand for shipping; 
       FIG. 4  is a bottom view of  FIG. 1  to illustrate the nesting potential for a plurality of the stands of this invention; 
       FIG. 5  is a view of a bolt of this invention, showing its releasing position from the stand for permitting the assembly of each bolt in its post or support for engaging the trunk of a tree; 
       FIG. 6  is a view of a tree engaging bolt which is modified for use with larger trees that are used in locations other than on a table top; 
       FIG. 7  is a view taken on line  6 — 6  of  FIG. 6 , partly in section, showing the modified bolt of  FIG. 6  with a steel reinforcing spike molded internally of the plastic forming the bolt; and 
       FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view taken on line  7 — 7  of  FIG. 7  showing one of several openings in the plastic resin to assist in cooling of the resin during molding. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,508 was the invention of the present applicant for large trees which were displayed at Christmas time or otherwise inside of buildings or at other locations. In the first embodiment of this invention the Christmas tree stand is desirably located on a table top and therefore is of a smaller size than tree stands usually used. The new and improved tree stand of this invention is also disclosed herein in a modified form for larger tree stands. 
   The table top Christmas tree stand of this invention is suitable for tree trunks from about one to three inches in diameter. The stand has a reservoir capacity for water of about three fourths of a gallon of water. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  in particular, the tree stand T is molded of a plastic resin such as polypropylene to form a water reservoir with a bottom wall  10  and a side wall  12 . A plurality of hollow posts or tree support members  20  are molded in the base wall  10 . Each post  20  has an inner upright surface  21  and an outer upright surface  22  which are spaced inwardly from the side wall  12  as best seen in FIG.  2 . The lower outer portion of each post  20  is connected by a short upright brace  23  which extends between the outer surface  22  and the inner surface  12 . 
   An advantage of the present invention as compared to the construction in U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,508 is that each post  20  is positioned inwardly from the side wall  12  to be close to the tree trunk, as will be explained. 
   Each of the posts  20  has a threaded internal opening  25  for receiving a bolt  26  which is adapted to be rotated to bring the contact point  26   a  into contact with the trunk of a tree. The upper portion  25   a  of each post  25  is located above the upper surface  27  of the reservoir to facilitate the engagement of the bolts with the tree trunk. By molding the posts  20  inwardly from the side wall  12  of the stand T, the support point for each of the bolts  26  on each of the posts  20  is close to the tree which shortens the length of each bolt from each post  20  to the tree to thereby minimize any undesirable forces on the bolts  26  or the supporting posts  20  when the bolts  26  are tightened into contact with the tree. Therefore, even though the stand T is made entirely of a plastic resin, the bolt tightening forces do not crack or break the bolts or the stand. 
   Each of the bolts  26  is formed with acme threads or other fast threads that can be rotated rapidly in inward and outward directions for alternately securing and releasing the contact of the bolt end or point  26   a  with the tree trunk. Each bolt  26  has a handle  26   b  to facilitate its rotation. Each bolt is formed of a plastic resin such as polypropylene in the preferred form of the invention. 
   During the molding the tree stand T, the bolts  26  are molded at the same time, but separately from the rest of the tree stand T. The open space on the base wall  10  within the inner wall  12  is of a size to receive each of the bolts  26  in a position between the posts  20 . Two pins  30  and  31  are molded in the bottom to the base wall  10  as best seen in FIG.  3 . Pin  30  is shorter than pin  31 . Pin  31  is received in a suitable opening  26   c  (FIG.  6 ), with the forward portion of the handle  26   b  resting on the pin  30  so that each bolt  26  is securely positioned in the lower portion of the tree stand T for shipping and/or displaying purposes. When it is desired to release the bolts from the that support, each bolt  26  is manually moved or pried as shown in  FIG. 5  off of the pin  31 , with the forward end of each bolt  26  in contact with the shorter pin  30  serving as the fulcrum point. 
   For centering the bottom of the tree trunk in the stand, a plurality of centering devices  40 , each of which has an inclined surface  40   a  inclined towards the center of the tree stand. A center plate  42  is positioned at the center of the tree stand. 
   An outer spill guard  45  is preferably provided around the stand in the event that water should spill from the upper surface  27 . Also the tree stand is suitable for nesting several of the stands together one on top of the other by reason of having the internal parts of the post and the other parts made with openings in the bottom of the tree stand T as seen in FIG.  4 . 
   The embodiment of this invention shown in  FIGS. 6-8  provides a more rigid and stronger bolt  126 . A metal spike or rod  140 , preferably of steel, forms the core or insert of the bolt  126 . Head  140   a  of the spike  140  contacts the tree so that the bending and compressive stresses developed when using the modified form of the invention are taken by the spike  140  rather than just the plastic resin of the bolt  126 . 
   Also, for dissipating the heat to cool the plastic during molding, a plurality of holes  150  are provided in the plastic. 
   The modified bolts  126  are used with the rest of the structure shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , but they are usually used on larger trees of conventional sizes. 
   With both forms of the tree stand T, the inner surfaces of the posts or tree support members together with the inner surfaces of the side wall define a water basin, with the advantage of having the support point for each of the bolts at a post located in proximity to the tree trunk and closer to the center of the stand than in previous stands. When tightening the bolts, particularly on rough or irregularly shaped tree trunks, the bolts tend to shift to the side and create lateral and other stresses on the bolts, which is minimized when the bolts are supported closer to the tree. The location of the tree support posts inwardly of the side wall also provides for filling the reservoir at any point around the upper reservoir surface  27  without obstruction by a post or its support, and providing full access for viewing and filling with the amount of water that is confined within the inner wall of each post. 
   The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention are illustrative and explanatory thereof, and to the extent presently foreseeable, the spirit and scope of the invention are defined by the appended claims.