US2899156A - Christmas tree stand - Google Patents

Description

E. F.' MARcuccf 2,899,156

CHRISTMAS TREE 'STAND .Filed March 8, 1956 ""9 aw/ M M Aug. 11, 1959 f az Emil F. Marcucci INVENTOR.

waazlizm Y MM 5m United States Patent CHRISTMAS TREE STAND F. .Marcucci, Jackson, Calif.

Application 'Marchi 1956,- Serial No. 570,266 2 Claims. (Cl. 248-48) 'The-Jpresent-invention relates -to an improved Ghristmas tree stand which, while structurally and functionally similar to prior art stands, is novel by comparison thereto and is especially well adapted to serve the purposes for which it has been invented.

As would appear to be substantially self-evident from the preceding statement of the general nature of the invention, one objective has to do with a stand which, in an over-all structural sense, constitutes an easy-to-recognize advance in the art and better solves, it is believed, the production requirements and economies of manufacturers, the compact and convenient packaging and handling needs of retailers, and the ordinarily expected needs of most users.

More specifically, novelty is predicated on a simple and practical wooden or equivalent cruciform base provided centrally with a pointed trunk anchoring prong, said base being constructed to function in conjunction with a pair of oppositely disposed detachably and hingedly mounted V-shaped stays capable of performing their intended bracing and stabilizing requirements in connection with tree trunks of varying cross-sectional dimensions.

Stated somewhat more explicitly, the over-all stand is made up of separable parts thus providing a practical knock-down construction for easy storage, the stays being constructed of springy metal and providing legs or limbs which may be pressed together when attaching and detaching, or allowed to spring apart for reliable retention on the base.

Other objects, features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a fragmentary portion of a Christmas tree and illustrating how it is fastened down on a stand constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a view on a larger scale with parts appearing in section and elevation;

Figure 3 is an exaggerated view on the approximate vertical line 33 of Figure 2 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective of the base;

Figure 5 is a view in section and elevation of the hub portion of the base wherein the water containing cup or receptacle is omitted; and,

Figures 6 and 7 are fragmentary perspective illustrations of portions of the V-shaped stay.

The base as a structural entity is denoted by the numeral 8. It may be said to be generally cruciform and flat. Actually it is made up of a pair of substantially duplicate wooden or equivalent members 10 and 12 which are rectangular in cross-section and have their cooperating central portions 14 and 16 notched or mortised and interlocked with the bolt holes 18 thereof in alignment. A pin, also what may be called a bolt, is provided in the shank 20 and extends through the holes, the headed lower end Patented Aug. 11, 1959 12 beingaccessibly located as-atZZKFigs. Zand 5;); The intermediate. iporti'onis screw-threaded at 24 'to accommodate an assembling and retaining -nut 26 and an associated washer'28. The upper-end above -the threads-is pointed to providetananchoring prong 30; This is;press'ed up intothe base-ofthe trunlcof the tree 32in the manner shown. In someinstance's, th'earrangement will-be=that shown in=Fig. In other instances, itm-ay-bedesirable to usea receptacle or water cupand I this :is denoted by theanumeral34 and ha's its bottom 36-centrally apertured so that the bolt may .pass'up through the aperture andinto-the cup. In this situationthere-isa-rubber or compressible washer 38,.provided' which is squeezed. down by the washer 28 and nut 26 to provide agsubstantially liquid-ti-ghtsjoint.

One ofrthe-base members is provided-on=.opposite-sides' of the hub area with wood screws. That is to say, I provide a pair of wood screws 40 as shown best in Fig. 3. The threaded portion 40 is screwed into the base member and the shank portion 42 is allowed to project beyond an edge of the base member to space the head 44 and particularly the enlarged shoulder portion 46 outwardly from said edge. In this space the spring metal legs or limbs 48 of the V-shaped stays or frames 50 and 51 are arranged. The stays are the same in construction and a description of one will suflice for both. Each stay is formed from a length of strap metal which is bent upon itself as at 54 to provide an eye 56, which eye is adapted to accommodate the nail or equivalent fastener 58. The limbs are such that they may be sprung together by hand or released and allowed to spring apart by the inherent resiliency embodied therein. The free lower ends 60 are provided with side-opening keyhole slots 62. The restricted mouth portion 64 may thus be fitted in an obvious manner over the reduced shank and shoved into place whereupon the larger portion of the keyhole slot may be allowed to spring but and to embrace and key itself on the shouldered portion 46. It follows that the notched lower ends are latched and keyed in place on the wood screws and therefore once the screws are put in position they need not be removed. On the other hand, the stays are readily detachable therefrom and may be packaged compactly for storage purposes. As a matter of fact, the members 10 and 12 may be separated if desired for storage.

It will be seen that the invention is of the utmost simplicity in construction and use, can be assembled and disassembled in a matter of seconds. Only pliers are required in using it. The stand when properly set up holds the tree firmly and safely. Only one size is required for trees up to 4 inches in diameter and the device will last indefinitely. It collapses into a small package 'when not in use, and it may be used with or without the water cup and does not require squaring the butt or removing low branches.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further eX- planation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A portable knockdown stand for temporarily basing and supporting the trunk of a Christmas tree comprising a base cruciform in plan and embodying cooperating coplanar base members having median portions crossing each other and providing a hub, a trunk retaining member carried by said hub portion and embodying a pointed prong projecting above the level of the hub portion and adapted to penetrate the tree trunk, a first inverted V- shaped stay having an eye at the upper end to accommodate a fastener used in securing the eye to the trunk of the tree, also having downwardly divergent resilient arms the inherent resiliency of which tends to spread the arms apart from each other, a pair of headed fasteners mounted opposite each other on longitudinal edge portions of one radiating part of one of said base members, said arms straddling said part and having keeper notches at their lower ends releasably engaging said fasteners between the heads thereof and adjacent marginal'edges of said part, and a second inverted V-shaped stay a duplicate of the first'stay and having downwardly divergent resilient arms also straddling the other-radiating part of said base member and formed at their lower ends with 'keeper'notches likewise secured by headed fasteners to the longitudinal edges of said last-named radiating part.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 and wherein each headed fastener comprises a wood screw having a screw- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 573,225 Kurtz Dec. 15, 1896 607,395 Hunt July 12, 1898 875,039 Beebe Dec. 21, 1907 926,638 Barton June 29, 1909 1,397,254 Karschitz Nov. 15, 1921 1,856,349 Bigelow May 3, 1932 2,200,183 Legg May 7, 1940 2,645,441 Meredith ...2 July 14, 1953

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