GB2128476A - Artificial Christmas tree for quick folding and display - Google Patents

Abstract

An artificial Christmas tree comprises a hollow trunk (20) having reinforcing ribs (21) integrally formed along the inner wall within the hollow section and erectly mounted on a base support (1), and a plurality of forked branch-coupling members (3) adjustably fitted around various places of the trunk (20). Each of the forked branch-coupling members (3) includes a lock ring (34) fitted around the trunk (20), a fastening ring (35) engaged with the upper end of the lock ring (34), and upper and lower branch- supporting rings (31, 32) bearing members defining upwardly-extending sockets in which the branches (33) are pivotally mounted. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Artificial Christmas tree for quick folding and display This invention relates to a Christmas tree, particularly to an artificial Christmas tree with adjustable branch-coupling members and foldable twig arrangement for quickly adjusting the display pattern as well as for rapidly folding operations so as to cut down the size for easy collection and economic package.

A known artificial Christmas tree is shown in Fig. 1 , which Christmas tree includes a detachable base support 11, a trunk member 12 erectly mounted on the base support 11 and combined by a trunk pipe 22 with several metal pipes 121 axially coupled with each other, and some forked branches 122 separately disposed around the pipes 121, a plurality of twigs 13 detachably inserted into the forked branches 123, and a treetop cluster 1 5 detachably mounted at the top recess of the trunk member 1 2. The drawbacks of this artificial Christmas tree are that; 1) the forked branches extending outward therefrom cannot be folded, resulting in a bulky package; 2) since all the twigs are detachably and respectively assembled thereto, the user has to re-assembly them one by one, and sometimes the twigs easily get missing, and no replacement can be provided; 3) if the user wishes to re-arrange the display pattern of the tree, he has to take apart of all the trunk pipes and twigs and re-assembly them according to his desired display patterns, a very inconvenient operation for the user to perform; and 4) above all, the trunk pipes are all made of metal material, not only they are heavy in structure, but also cost too much in manufacturing.

it is accordingly a primary object of this invention to provide an artificial Christmas tree with adjustable branches and foldable twigs for overcoming the above-mentioned defects.

It is another object of this invention to provide an artificial Christmas tree with the branch members adjustably disposed around the trunk in such a way that display patterns can be easily and rapidly adjusted as the user desires.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an artificial Christmas tree with a trunk structure made of light-weight material and provided with reinforced ribs therein so as to reduce the size and the manufacturing cost as well.

According to the present invention, these objects are achieved by providing an artificial Christmas tree for quick folding and display, which comprises a hollow trunk having reinforced ribs integrally formed along the inner wall within the hollow section, and erectly mounted on a base support, and a plurality of forked branch-coupling members adjustably fitted around various places of the trunk.Each of the forked branch-coupling members includes a lock ring fitted around the trunk, a lower branch coupled with the lock ring, a fastening ring engaged with the upper end of the lock ring, an upper branch coupled with both the lower branch and the fastening ring, which can be turned around the trunk for adjusting the positions of the branches thereof, and a bent joint pivotally connected to the upper branches for accommodating the twigs, which can be folded against the trunk for collection or rapidly developed therefrom for display through pivotal turning of the bent joint.

The invention will now be described further by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a known artificial Christmas tree; Figure 2 is a partial sectional view of the trunk and branch members combined according to a preferred embodiment of this invention; and Figure 3 is a perspective and exploded view of the forked branch coupling member of the preferred embodiment shown in Fig. 2.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, a preferred embodiment of an artificial Christmas tree for quick folding and display according to this invention comprises a hollow trunk 20 having reinforced ribs 21 integrally formed along the inner wall of the trunk 20, which is erectly mounted on a base support 1, and a plurality of forked branch-coupling members 3 adjustably disposed around the trunk 20.Each of the forked branch-coupling members 3 includes: a lock ring 34 having male threads 341 formed around the upper end and an annular flange 342 closing to the lower end of the male threads 341 being fitted around a proper place of the trunk 20; a lower branch 32 having a plurality of strut sockets 321 obliquely extending upward therefrom coupled with the trunk 20 by resting its lower end upon the annular flange 342 of the lock ring 34, and each of the strut sockets 321 being provided with an axial sliding slot 322 leading to the foundation portion where a flute 323 is formed in perpendicular to and communicating with the slot 322; a fastening ring 35 having an axial opening thereat fitted around the trunk 20 with its lower end abutting against the upper end of the lock ring 34; and an upper branch 31 having female threads 314 at the lower portion engaged in the inner rim of the lower branch 32 around the trunk 20 and screwed to the lock ring 34 through the male threads and female threads thereof. By means of the upper branch 31 and the taped inner surface of the lock ring 34, the fastening ring 35 is tightly engaged around the trunk 20. The upper branch 31 also has a plurality of strut sockets 311 obliquely extending upward from the lower portion and corresponding to the positions of the strut sockets 321 formed at the lower branch 32.Each of the strut sockets 311 has an axial open slot 312 leading to the foundation portion where a notch 31 3 is formed perpendicular to and communicating with the open slot 312, so that, by combining the lower branch 32 and the upper branch 31 around the trunk 20, a plurality of retaining sockets 301 and mounting sockets 302 are defined thereat. A bent joint 33 having a socket 331 formed at the upper end and a pivotal axle 330 integrally provided at the tail end being pivotally connected in the mounting socket 302 with the middle portion of the bent joint 33 received in the retaining socket 301, so that, the bent joint 33 can be pivotally folded against the trunk 20 and also developed therefrom. Besides, the socket 331 of the bent joint 33 is used for accommodating the stem of the twig.The structure of the base support 1 , the twigs and the tree-top cluster are all the same as those of the known Christmas tree shown in Fig. 1; therefore, explanation is hereinafter omitted.

Utilization of this invention is as follows: When the user wishes to change the appearance of the Christmas tree of this invention, just turn to loose the lock ring 34, and adjust the forked branchcoupling members around the trunk 20 so as to quickly re-arrange the display pattern of all the branches and twigs thereof, and then, turn to tight the lock ring 34. If the user intends to collect the artificial Christmas tree of this invention for storing, first, fold the bent joints 33 together with the twigs and leaves (not shown) against the trunk 20 (as the dotted line shown in Fig. 2), and then, as described above, turn to loose the lock ring 34, and move the forked branchcoupling members 3 to a proper place around the trunk 20 so as to cut down to a size for storing purpose without taking trouble over disassembly operations. For displaying the Christmas tree of this invention, it can be done quickly just by reversing the order of collection as mentioned above.

While a preferred embodiment of this invention has been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that numerous changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of this invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims (7)

1. An artificial Christmas tree for quick folding and display having a detachable base support for mounting and tree-top cluster and twigs for display, characterized by: a hollow trunk with reinforced ribs integrally formed along the inner wall within said hollow trunk; a plurality of forked branch-coupling members adjustably fitted around said trunk; and joint means pivotally connected to said forked branch-coupling members for supporting the twigs, so that, by moving said forked-coupling members around said trunk, display patterns can be easily adjusted therefrom, and, by pivoting said joint means, twigs can be quickly folded against said trunk for easy collection and economic packing.

2. An artificial Christmas tree as claimed in Claim 1 wherein said forked branch-coupling members comprise: a lock ring having an annular flange and male threads at one end being selectively fitted around said trunk; a lower branch having at least one strut socket integrally formed at the upper end and obliquely extending outward therefrom disposed around said trunk with the lower end abutting against the annular flange of said lock ring; a fastening ring having an axial opening thereof fitted around said trunk with the lower end abutting against the upper end of said lock ring; and an upper branch having at least one strut socket formed at the lower portion and obliquely extending outward therefrom corresponding to the positions of the strut socket of said lower branch thereof and female threads provided in the lower end fitted around said trunk by engaging the lower portion in the inner rim of said lower branch and screwed to said lock ring through the male and female threads thereof, so that, by turning said lock ring, said lower branch-coupling members together with said upper branch-coupling members can easily be moved around said trunk for adjusting display pattern of the tree as desired.

3. An artificial Christmas tree as claimed in Claim 1 wherein said strut socket of said lower branch is characterized by having an axial sliding slot integrally formed therein and a flute integrally provided at the lower end in perpendicular to and communicating with said sliding slot.

4. An artificial Christmas tree as claimed in Claim 1 wherein said strut socket of said upper branch is characterized by having an axial open slot integrally formed therein and a notch integrally provided at the lower end in perpendicular to and communicating with said open slot.

5. An artificial Christmas tree as claimed in Claims 2, 3, or 4 wherein said strut socket of said upper branch is characterized by corresponding to the strut socket of said lower branch for defining a retaining socket and a mounting socket thereat.

6. An artificial Christmas tree as claimed in Claim 1 or 5 wherein said joint means comprises: a joint body; a socket axially formed in said body for receiving the twigs thereof; and a pivotal axle integrally provided at one end for being movably connected to said mounting socket defined by said lower branch and said upper branch for being folded against said trunk during collection and developed therefrom during display.

7. An artificial Christmas tree for quick folding and display substantially as hereinafter described with reference to Figures 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.