US2994498A - Christmas-tree stands - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 1, 1961 R SAGER 2,994,498

CHRISTMAS-TREE STANDS Filed Oct. 6, 1959 United States Patent O 2,994,498 CHRISTMAS-TREE STANDS Reinbert Sager, Rothrist, Aargau, Switzerland Filed Oct. 6, 1959, Ser. No. 844,731 Claims priority, application Switzerland Oct. 17, 1958 1 Claim. (Cl. 248-44) Christmas-tree stands provided with a container for water to keep the tree fresh are known to the art. The manufacture of such stands, which have thus far been made of iron or other metal, is rendered more complicated and expensive by the necessity of making them watertight and rustproof and also by the necessity of manufacturing them in several parts that have to be joined together, a fact which results in a further increase in costs.

The present invention relates to a Christmas-tree stand which, in order to obviate the said disadvantages, is made of a synthetic material. Inasmuch as this material can be jet-moulded into a die it is possible to eliminate a number of manufacturing steps on the presently made metal stands by forming the larger part of the stand in one piece, thus not only cutting production time but also eliminating a number of joints with their possible danger of leakage. Due to the fact that the synthetic material is considerably lighter than metal and has quite difierent physical properties and strength, it is a further object of this invention to design and construct the Christmastree stand in such a way as to endow it with suflicient stability to support trees of the size commonly used, as well as with suflicient ruggedness to be equal to the stress exerted by the height and weight of any such tree.

With this object in View, the Christmas-tree stand according to the present invention is provided with a water container open at the top, the floor or bottom of which incorporates a vertical guide tube, said container and said tube made in one piece into which tube the lower part of the tree trunk is inserted, and a vertical iron spike projecting from the floor into said tube for holding the tree, said spike connected integrally with the container at the moment of moulding the latter by inserting said spike into the die, said tube being provided with a longitudinal slit when moulding it and around its upper rim with a metal ring provided with centering screws, said ring serving to relieve the guiding tube from strains imposed on it by the fixing action of said screws. This embodiment of the invention suffices to hold small to medium size trees upright.

For holding bigger trees which exert a greater stress and leverage, this invention provides for the side wall of the water container being folded over and down on the outside in such a manner as to form the base of the stand, and a cover provided with a filling hole and with a center hole through which the uppermost end of said tube projects, the said cover being attached to said water container, for example by being glued on.

In the embodiment of this invention described in the paragraph immediately above the transverse and shearing forces acting on said guide tube are absorbed by said cover, respectively by said container, whereby the bending stress unfavorable to synthetic materials is eliminated, so that the guide tube may without danger be given the length from spike to centering screws necessary to support a tree firmly.

Still further this invention provides a bell-shaped container with filling hole made in one piece combining cover and wall and being glued to the floor incorporating the guide tube and the spike so as to form a watertight connection.

A Christmas-tree stand according to the present invention with a horizontal outline in the shape of a circle is likely to be preferred as a rule, but it is obvious that 2,994,498 Patented Aug. 1, 1961 this invention may be embodied in a Christmas-tree stand of practically any desired outline, for example in the shape of a cross or a star, in which particular case the arms of said cross or star can be extended such as to give ample stability to the stand whilst at the same time being small in width and thus keeping the weight of the stand at a minimum.

A better understanding of the invention will be had with reference to the accompanying drawing in which corresponding parts in the figures are identified by the same numbers, and wherein the invention is illustrated by way of example, and in which FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the stand with cover, partially in section:

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the stand shown in FIG. 1;

The Christmas-tree stand illustrated diagrammatically by way of example in FIGS. 1 and 2 is provided with a water container 1 surrounded by an outer wall or shell 2 which forms the base of the stand. In the center of the container 1 is a guide tube 3, constructed in one piece with the container floor and provided from top to bottom with a longitudinal slit 4, whereby the interior of said container is connected with the interior of said guide tube. From the center of the floor of said container a spike 5 projects upward into the guide tube 3 and serves to hold the tree B. Three centering screws 7 arranged in the metal ring 6 serving as reinforcing means are provided around the uppermost rim of the guide tube 3 to steady the tree. Inasmuch as the centering screws 7 pierce through the tube 3, the 'water container is lifted if the tree B is lifted, for instance by grasping its trunk. The cover 8, which is Provided with the filling hole 9 for replenishing the water container, covers the container 1 and encircles the tube 3. The cover 8 is attached to the container 1 by gluing together the edges of these parts.

While I have herein described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing what I consider typical embodiments of my invention, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the particular details described and illustrated, for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

What I claim is:

A relatively light-weight Christmas-tree stand and the like, comprising a fluid cup-like container including a lower base portion and an upper rim portion and adapted to store Water for a tree, a hollow guide tube for receiving said tree integral with said lower base portion and extending upwardly beyond said fluid container, said hollow guide tube being arranged internally of said fluid container and provided with a longitudinally extending slot defining a passageway for water from said fluid container into said hollow guide tube for absorption by said tree, a spike carried by said lower base portion of said fluid container and extending internally into the end of said hollow guide tube integral with said base portion, said spike being adapted to piercingly engage a tree, a collar carried on the end of said hollow guide tube remote from said base portion, said collar carrying means for clamping said tree within said stand, and cover means provided with at least one aperture for filling and emptying of said fluid container obturating the latter, said cover means extending downwardly and outwardly between said remote end of said hollow guide tube and said upper rim portion of said fluid container and connected in fluid sealing relation therewith, an outer shell member integral with and encircling said fluid container, said outer shell member extending from said upper rim portion of said fluid container and flaring outwardly and downwardly with respect thereto and terminating in a common plane with said lower base portion to provide stability for said stand, at least said hollow guide tube, said shell References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Miller et a1. Jan. 12, 1915 Miller Feb. 23, 1932 4 Rorvik Oct. 11, 1949 Miller Dec. 5, 1950 Beaham Mar. 12, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS Switzerland Jan. 16, 1940 Germany Mar. 21, 1931

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