US1401144A - Holder for christmas trees and the like - Google Patents

Description

W. DICKS'.

HOLDER FOR CHRISTMAS TREES AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.24-, 1920.

Patented Dec-27, 1921.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM DICKS, OEBUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 DICKS STAMPING C0,, INQ, OF BUFFALO, NEWYORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

HOLDER FOR CHRISTMAS TREES AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 27, 1921.

Application filed September 24, 1920. Serial ltd 412,432.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM DICKS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Holders for Christmas Trees and the like, of which the following is a specification.

This invent-ion relates to a stand or holder designed more particularly for holding a Christmas tree, but is also serviceable for holding other articles, such as flowers.

The object of my invention is the production of a strong, simple, neat and stable holder of this character which can be manufactured at comparatively small cost.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device in the form of a Christmastree holder. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section thereof. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the blank from which the holder is formed. Fig. f is a modified construction of the holder designed to receive a flower vase or glass. Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section of said modification.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4:, the holder comprises essentially a base 10 of frustopyramidal form and yielding upright holding jaws 11 rising from a top pate 12 of the base and adapted to grasp the trunk of a Christmas-tree or other article. In their preferred construction, these jaws are of concavo-convex cross section so as to form together an approximately cylindrical socket. The lower ends of the jaws are connected to the top plate 12, while their free upper ends are bent outward slightly to facilitate the entrance of the tree-trunk between them. The lower or base-portions 13 of the jaws preferably converge upwardly from the horizontal top plate 12, to form braces which stiffen the lower ends of the jaws. This top plate forms the bottom of the tree-socket.

Extending outwardly from the corners of the base are feet or ears 14 which are perforated at 15 to receive nails or screws for fastening the holder to a board or other support. In the preferred construction shown in the drawings, each of these feet is provided with a laterally-extending clip. or base-plate 16 which connects and is secured to adjacent walls of the base by rivets 17 or other fastenings.

The pyramidal base and the spring-jaws 11 are preferably stamped from a single blank of steel or other appropriate material. This blank, which is shown in Fig. 3, is substantially square and provided in line with its four corners with diagonal pairs of slits l8, producing the four jaws and the four intermediate panels or dovetail sections 10 which form the sloping sides of the base. These slits extend from the corners of the blank to a point short of its central portion to leave the connecting web or top plate 12. After cutting the blank to this form, the jaws are properly shaped and the sections are bent into pyramidal form by suitable dies. By bending up the jaws, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, apertures 19 are formed between the sides of the base, and owing to the inclination of said sides, these corner apertures taper from the lower ends of the jaws toward the feet 14:, producing an ornamental effect. The ends or corners of the base-sides 10 are cut off, as shown at 21 in Fig. 3, to prevent interference or overlapping thereof in stamping them into pyramidal form.

By thus forming the base and the jaws from a single blank of material, the number of parts of the holder is reduced to a minimum and its cost of production is correspondingly lessened.

The pyramidal form of the base renders the same strong and stable, while the spring jaws closely hug the stem of the tree and reliably hold it in place. If desired, the tree may be fastened in the socket by means of clamping screws passed through holes 20 therein, but such fastenings are ordinarily not necessary. Being flexible, the jaws can be bent inwardly or outwardly more or less to snugly hold tree trunks of different diameters.

When the device is modified to form a holder for a flower vase or similar article, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, its construction is like that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, except that the feet 14 are omitted and the device is provided with a fiat sub-base or bottom plate 22, the edges of which are flanged or curled upwardly and inwardly over the lower edge of the base 10.

I claim as my invention:

1. A holder of the character described, comprising a pyramidal base having its sides separated by apertures arranged in line Withits corners, and upright holding jaws rising from the base and arranged in line with said apertures.

2. A holder of the character described, comprising a pyramidal base and upright holding jaws rising from the top of the base, said parts being stamped from a single rectangular blank having diagonal pair of slits arranged in line with its corners andterminating short of the central portion of the blank.

3. A holder of the character described, comprising a pyramidal base and holding members rising from the top of the base, the sides of the base being separated by apertures arranged in line with its corners and extending to the lower edge thereof, and at taching feet extending from the corners of the base andhaving base-plates secured to and connecting the adjacent sides of the base.

WILLIAM DIOKS.

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