Patent ID: 7347400

Claim:
A stand for holding a rod-shaped unit, particularly a Christmas tree, said stand comprising a foot part, a seating region for the fixing end of the rod-shaped unit, said seating region being located on the foot part, with several holding elements, arranged in bearing blocks located around an axis of symmetry of the stand and which are each pivotable against spring force in a pivoting plane out of an open position into a holding position, said pivoting planes intersecting approximately in the axis of symmetry and with at least one flexible force transfer element, which can be loaded in tension and can be actuated by means of a tensioning device and which engages around the holding elements by being guided in a sliding manner above their pivot axes in guide openings of the holding elements and which when tightened causes the holding elements to pivot towards the axis of symmetry, where the holding elements include a resilient portion positioned below a dimensionally rigid holding region, each holding element being supported in a respective bearing block by the resilient portion, wherein the resilient portion is designed in such a way in the bearing block that the holding element is pivotable out of the open position into the holding position, and is guided in this pivoting movement in the bearing block while pivoting about a pivot axis and simultaneously providing a spring force counteracting the pivoting movement.