US20050217171A1

US20050217171A1 - Device to water Christmas tree

Info

Publication number: US20050217171A1
Application number: US10/973,347
Authority: US
Inventors: Mark Brett
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-03-30
Filing date: 2004-10-27
Publication date: 2005-10-06

Abstract

The device to water Christmas tree according to the present invention includes an elongated transparent water bottle connected by a flexible transparent hose to an elongated tubular water feed conduit. The bottle has a hanger element on a bottom end and a closure cap having a tubular nipple on the top end. One end of the hose is connected to the cap nipple and the other end connected to a tubular nipple on the closed upper end of the tubular water feed conduit. The lower end of the tubular water feed conduit is cut at an angle forming a lower opening providing fluid communication between water in the water feed conduit and water in the reservoir of a Christmas tree stand. Securing elements are provided for securing the device to the branches and trunk of a Christmas tree.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/557,399, filed Mar. 30, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for watering cut Christmas trees and more particularly to tree mounted devices for automatically re-supplying the water reservoir of a Christmas tree watering stand.
2. Description of the Related Art
Keeping cut Christmas trees alive in a traditional manner between the Christmas and New Year's holiday seasons requires frequent monitoring of the water level in the water reservoir of the tree stand and replenishing the supply in order to prevent the tree from prematurely drying out. Stooping and bending to pour water into the tree stand reservoir, which is located beneath the bottom branches of the Christmas tree usually surrounded by gifts and/or a tree stand cover upon which the gifts are placed, is a painstaking task when you are trying to relax and enjoy every moment of the season. Ornamental funnel-like devices that can be hung onto an upper branch of the tree in a more readily accessible area have been proposed in prior patent documents.
Water for re-supplying the stand passes through a narrow tube attached to the funnel outlet of the devices as taught for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,167,651 B1 issued Jan. 2, 2001 to Luddy, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,516 issued Apr. 1, 1997 to Brown. Brown additionally provides a valve for manually controlling the flow of water through the tube and securing the hose to the tree trunk and/or the funnel-like container to the tree branches with straps having flexible tie ends.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,236 issued Oct. 8, 1991 to Sands and U.S. Pat. No. 5,867,929 issued Feb. 9, 1999 to Jung et al., the lower end of the hose is provided with a flotation check valve for automatically controlling release of water from the ornamental funnel-like container and hose. Both Sands and Jung et al., include teachings of an indicator device to prevent water spillage while pouring water into the ornamental funnel-like container.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,938,304 issued May 31, 1960 to O. H. Thomas et al., the bottom end of the hose is connected to a nipple at the bottom of a water reservoir with an upper opening that sealingly engages the bottom of the tree trunk. As the tree takes up water from the reservoir water held in the funnel-like container and hose is drawn into the reservoir.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a device to water Christmas tree solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The device to water Christmas tree according to the present invention includes an elongated transparent water bottle connected by a flexible transparent hose to an elongated tubular water feed conduit. The bottle has a hanger element on a bottom end and a closure cap having a tubular nipple provided on the top end. One end of the transparent hose is connected to the cap nipple and the other end connected to a tubular nipple provided on the closed upper end of the tubular water feed conduit. The lower end of the tubular water feed conduit is cut at an angle forming a lower opening providing fluid communication between water in the water feed conduit and water in a reservoir of a Christmas tree stand.
The bottle is suspended from an upper branch of a tree secured in a Christmas tree stand. The transparent hose is secured to the trunk of the tree using securing elements so as to position the water feed conduit upright upon the bottom of the water reservoir of the Christmas tree stand for supplying water from the bottle to the reservoir. The upper end of the lower opening establishes a minimum water level in the reservoir. The minimum water level will be maintained until all the water has drained from the bottle through the hose and water feed conduit into the reservoir.
Monitoring the water level in the device to water Christmas tree and refilling the bottle and reservoir decreases the number of times the tree must be watered during the Christmas holiday season.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
This and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a device to water Christmas tree in a fixed position relative to a Christmas tree and Christmas tree-watering stand according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the water bottle of the device to water Christmas tree according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the tubular water feed conduit of the device supplying water to a Christmas tree according to the present invention.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, the device to water Christmas tree 40 according to the present invention is provided in the form of an elongated transparent water bottle 41 connected by a flexible transparent hose 60 to an elongated tubular water feed water feed conduit 47. The bottle is suspended from an upper branch 34 close to the trunk 32 of Christmas tree 30 with a twist tie 75. Hose 60 is snaked through the branches 34 of tree 30 and secured there along by twist ties 76 in a manner so that water feed conduit 47 is positioned to stand upright in the water W within the water reservoir of a Christmas tree stand 35 with lower end 49 of the water feed conduit 47 below the normal water level L within the water reservoir.
Turning now to FIG. 2, water bottle 41 is shown with more detail. The bottle 41 is preferably a 16-ounce to 32-ounce bottle formed of a clear rigid plastic material so that the bottle retains shape. The shape may be that of an ornamental figure or figurine representative of the seasons. The bottle 41 is provided with a hanger element for permitting the bottle 41 to be suspended from tree branches 34. Preferably, the hanger element is provided in the form of an eyelet 44 on the bottom of bottle 41 or on the side of the bottle 41 near bottom end 42 of the bottle 41. The hanger element may be provided in any shape, form or fashion suitable for carrying out the invention that is consistent with contemporary bottle making processes. Preferably, the bottle 41 is suspended from a branch by eyelet 44 using securing elements 75 and the hose 60 secured to the tree trunk by securing elements 76. Securing elements 75, 76 are preferably provided in the form of flexible plastic ties, however, any suitable means such as hangers, hooks, and/or VELCRO™ fastening elements may be used. In addition, the ties 75 may be looped around the bottle 41 and tied around the tree trunk. In which case, bottle 41 would be provided with at least one annular groove for receiving the tie 75.
A removable cap 45 closes the top 43 of the bottle 41. Cap 45 is formed with a nipple 46 for sealingly receiving one end 61 of hose 60. A sealing element 70 in the form of an o-ring seal is positioned within the cap 45 for sealingly engaging the mouth of the bottle 41 so as to provide a fluid tight seal. Sealing element 70 may also be provided in the form of any contemporary removable plastic bottle cap seal. Hose 60 is preferably a flexible ⅜-inch clear plastic tube that can be provided in 15-foot lengths and cut to accommodate differently sized trees.
As can be seen in FIG. 3, the second end 62 of hose 60 is sealingly received upon a nipple 50 provided on the closed end 48 of water feed conduit 47. Water feed conduit 47 is preferably provided in the form of a 1-inch substantially rigid plastic plumbing conduit or pipe that is approximately 8 inches in length. The last 3 inches in length at the open end 49 is cut at an angle (as best seen in FIG. 1). This angular cut forms a lower opening that allows the lower end 49 of water feed conduit 47 to rest upon the bottom of the water reservoir of the Christmas tree stand 35 and provide continuous fluid communication with the reservoir. The upper end of the lower opening controls the minimum water level F until all the water W within water bottle 41, hose 60 and water feed conduit 47 has been supplied to the reservoir.
In order to enhance visual detection of the water level within the device to water Christmas tree 40, water-coloring dye may be placed in the water W within the bottle upon filling and refilling.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A device to water Christmas tree, comprising:

an elongated transparent water bottle connected by a flexible transparent hose to a substantially rigid elongated plastic tubular water feed conduit;

said bottle including a hanger element on a bottom end and a plastic bottle closure cap having a tubular nipple on a top end; and

one end of said hose is connected to said cap nipple and a second end of said hose is connected to a tubular nipple on a closed upper end of said tubular water feed conduit;

wherein a lower end of the tubular water feed conduit is cut at an angle forming a lower opening for providing fluid communication between water in the water feed conduit and water in the stand reservoir.

2. The device to water Christmas tree according to claim 1, wherein said hanger element is provided in the form of an eyelet on said bottom end of said bottle.

3. The device to water Christmas tree according to claim 1 wherein said closure cap includes a sealing element for providing a fluid tight seal between said cap and said bottle.

4. The device to water Christmas tree according to claim 3, wherein said sealing element is an O-ring.

5. The device to water Christmas tree according to claim 2, wherein said closure cap includes a sealing element for providing a fluid tight seal between said cap and said bottle.

6. The device to water Christmas tree according to claim 5, wherein said sealing element is an O-ring.

7. The device to water Christmas tree according to claim 1, further including a securing element for attaching said device to the branches of a tree.

8. The device to water Christmas tree according to claim 7, wherein said securing element is in the form of a plastic tie.

9. The device to water Christmas tree according to claim 2, further including a securing element for attaching said device to the branches of a tree.

10. The device to water Christmas tree according to claim 9, wherein said securing element is in the form of a plastic tie.

11. The device to water Christmas tree according to claim 3, further including a securing element for attaching said device to the branches of a tree.

12. The device to water Christmas tree according to claim 11, wherein said securing element is in the form of a plastic tie.

13. A device to water Christmas tree, comprising:

said bottle including a hanger element on a bottom end and a plastic bottle closure cap having a tubular nipple on a top end;

a lower end of the tubular water feed conduit is cut at an angle forming a lower opening for providing fluid communication between water in the water feed conduit and water in the stand reservoir; and

an upper end of said lower opening establishes a minimum water level in a Christmas tree stand until all the water within said bottle, said hose and said water feed conduit has been supplied to the reservoir.

14. The device to water Christmas tree according to claim 13, wherein said hanger element is provided in the form of an eyelet on said bottom end of said bottle.

15. The device to water Christmas tree according to claim 13 wherein said closure cap includes a sealing element for providing a fluid tight seal between said cap and said bottle.

16. The device to water Christmas tree according to claim 15, wherein said sealing element is an O-ring.

17. The device to water Christmas tree according to claim 14, wherein said closure cap includes a sealing element for providing a fluid tight seal between said cap and said bottle.

18. The device to water Christmas tree according to claim 17, wherein said sealing element is an O-ring.

19. The device to water Christmas tree according to claim 13, further including a securing element for attaching said device to the branches of a tree, wherein said securing element is in the form of a plastic tie.

20. The device to water Christmas tree according to claim 14, further including a securing element for attaching said device to the branches of a tree, wherein said securing element is in the form of a plastic tie.