Merry Christmas: Christmas Tree Patents

From US Patent No. 4,113,020, titled “Fire safety Christmas ornament.”

It is that time of the year where when we prepare our homes for the arrival a jolly old magical chief elf who despite his enormous girth is still able to make his way down our narrow chimneys lickedy-split, while somehow managing not to get any soot on his pristine red and white trousers and overcoat.

In order to celebrate holidays I always like to profile some patents relative to the festivities, proving once and for all that the entire world does revolve around and can be answered by the creative and awe inspiring power of the patent system! Okay, maybe a touch of hyperbole there, but what do you expect? In any event, feel free to visit our growing list of Holiday Patents.

This year I asked Glen Kotapish of Planet Patent if he could provide me some examples of interesting or bizarre US patents that somehow relate to “Christmas trees.” I figured that Glen, the owner of a patent search firm, probably had come across an interesting Christmas tree patent or two over the years. Glen did not disappoint! Incidentally, if you are into bizarre patents I highly recommend visiting his Bizarre Inventions Weird Inventions page.

For our other Christmas articles please see:

Without further ado, here are the Christmas themed patents to help you get merry and bright for the 2010 holiday!  Merry Christmas everyone!

[Enhance]

 

Corner/wall situated Christmas tree stand
US Patent No. 6,818,264

From the Summary of the Invention: “The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new corner/wall situated Christmas tree stand which has many of the advantages of the Christmas tree stands mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new corner/wall situated Christmas tree stand which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art Christmas tree stands, either alone or in any combination thereof. The present invention includes a base assembly including a tubular support base having a wall, an open top, and a bore being disposed therein through the open top, for resting in a corner or against a wall structure; and also includes an elongate tubular tree support member being removably supported upon the tubular support base and being adapted to support branches of an artificial Christmas tree for resting in a corner or against a wall structure. None of the prior art includes the combination of the elements of the present invention.”

 

Collapsible artificial Christmas tree
US Patent No. 5,906,869

From the Disclosure of the Invention: “I have invented and constructed a collapsible artificial Christmas tree which, when displayed, is hung from a ceiling or other overhead structure. My tree may be marketed both with and without traditional Christmas ornaments and electric lights installed on the artificial tree. In either case, when the Christmas season is over, the tree is taken down, held over an open-topped box with horizontal dimensions greater than the maximum diameter of the tree, and the tree lowered and collapsed concentrically into the box for storage. My collapsible conical Christmas tree is made from the following six components and materials: a flat rigid disk; a member attached to the center of the disk which projects upwardly with its upper end designed to be suspended from a ceiling or other overhead structure; a conical crown made of artificial green conifer needles supported by the disk and surrounding the lower portion of the upwardly projecting member; a plurality of circular rigid wire loops each having a different diameter; a plurality of elongated flexible cords or wires; and an elongated garland of artificial green conifer stems and needles.”

 

Christmas tree ornament
US Patent No. 4,939,004

From the Abstract: “Christmas tree ornaments for attachment to a conventional natural or artificial Christmas tree include representations of a pair of human hands and a human head. Each of the ornaments are formed from a translucent plastic material and have an internal electric light. An elongated telescopically adjustable strut is secured to each of the ornaments and has a plurality of spaced spring biased clamps. The clamps are utilized to secure the ornaments to a tree. Power cords from the electric lights within each ornament extend through the associated strut. The ornaments include representations of a human head and hands to enable decoration of a tree to simulate various famous individuals and fictional characters.”

 

Fire safety Christmas ornamentUS Patent No. 4,113,020

From the Summary and Objects of the Invention: “The present invention consists of a standard type Christmas tree ornament composed of two pieces, such as a globe or bell shape. In the case of a bell ornament the bell would be one piece and a filler in the base thereof would be the second piece. A ball would be composed of two spherical shell halves. The pieces are joined and sealed together at at least two points by the application of a small amount of an adhesive, such as a hot melt glue, adhesive or wax, applied to the juncture between the pieces. Means for hanging the ornament is attached to the ball along the juncture while the bell is hung from its top. The ornament is at least partly filled with a fire retardent powder. Inside the ornament is a spring compressed between the two pieces. When the ornament is exposed to an elevated temperature the adhesive melts, the spring forces the pieces apart and the fire retardant is spread on the source of heat below.”

And here are a couple bonus design patent drawings, colorized by Glen and Planet Patent.

Take from US Design Patent No. D316,300, simply titled “Christmas tree light.”

 

A Christmas tree shaped like the Washington Monument? This comes from US Design Patent No. D263,938, titled “Artificial Christmas tree.”

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One comment so far.

  • [Avatar for Mark Nowotarski]
    Mark Nowotarski
    December 24, 2010 06:54 am

    I like the heads and hands one. Who is that guy?