Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Three dimension imitation or 'treated' natural product – Flora
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-18
2001-05-01
Jones, Deborah (Department: 1775)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Three dimension imitation or 'treated' natural product
Flora
C428S022000, C428S027000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06224953
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to artificial trees and plants and, more particularly, to artificial palm trees and methods for manufacturing the same.
2. History of the Prior Art
Artificial trees and plants are used extensively for decorating the interiors of homes and commercial buildings. Artificial palm trees are very popular with interior decorators. In fact, at least one artificial palm tree has been designed for exterior use. That tree, which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,900, features a fiberglass-reinforced plastic trunk having a frond-attachment cap at the upper end, fronds constructed from a high-tensile steel wire and artificial leaves spaced along the wire and secured thereto with all-weather tape. The fronds are attachable to the cap by means of ferrules embedded within the cap, and the trunk is securable to a rod embedded and anchored in the ground which fits within an axial bore in the base of the trunk.
In spite of the popularity of artificial palm trees, ultra-realistic-appearing artificial palm trees are difficult to manufacture and, if large, difficult to transport. Typically, the trunks are made of plastic reinforced with a central steel pipe. Palm matting has heretofore been adhesively bonded to portions of the trunks. In addition, if the frond attachment head is wrapped with palm matting, inserting fronds into frond attachment apertures in the head can be a frustrating and time-consuming experience. The availability of fronds having different sized central ribs also complicates the assembly process. The ribs are usually formed from a length of high-tensile steel wire. The attachment end may be bare or covered with a layer of plastic. Finally because of the top-heavy nature of palm trees, a secure base is required for mounting the trunk. If realism is to be maintained, the base must be as inconspicuous as possible.
What is needed is a realistic-appearing artificial palm tree that is easily transported, easily assembled, securely mountable, and inexpensive to manufacture.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention fills the heretofore enunciated need for a realistic-appearing artificial palm tree that is easily transported, easily assembled, securely mountable to a base, and inexpensive to manufacture. The invention also includes a method for manufacturing the aforesaid artificial palm tree. The tree includes a trunk made from at least one tapered pole segment. The poles are, preferably, trunks of pine trees from which the branches have been removed. In order to facilitate handling and assembling tall trees, the trunks may be segmented. The segments are affixed end-to-end during assembly. The end of one of two abutting segments is fitted with a double-ended doweling screw that is adhesively bonded within an axially-aligned hole in that segment. The end of the other abutting segment incorporates an axially-aligned cylindrical hole into which the free end of the doweling screw may be threadably inserted.
A palm head in the form of a cylindrical solid attached to the uppermost segment of the trunk in the same manner as abutting segments of the trunk are attached to one another. A plurality of frond attachment holes are bored in the head. Each attachment hole is sized to accept a removable wood dowel pin, each dowel pin, when inserted within its receiving hole, being angled to approximate the position of a frond on the trunk. Prior to assembly, each trunk segment and the palm head are individually wrapped with a layer of palm matting harvested from live palm trees. The harvesting process, incidentally, does not kill the trees. The matting layer is either stapled or adhesively bonded to the wrapped trunk segments and head, with stapling being the preferred attachment method. Wrapping of the palm head is performed with the dowel pins inserted within the frond attachment holes so that the dowel pins may serve to mark the location of the holes. If the head is wrapped with matting without first having the dowel pins positioned within the attachment holes, the holes become covered with the matting layer, making them difficult to locate during the frond attachment step. The use of a probe to locate the covered holes may damage the palm matting layer. Likewise, if the frond attachment holes are drilled into the head body through the palm matting, unsightly damage to the palm matting can easily occur.
Artificial palm trees that are sufficiently small that the trunks and head need not be disassemblable, may be fabricated from a single pole which serves as both the trunk and the head. During the manufacturing process, the head portion is drilled to receive the frond attachment plugs, the trunk and head portions are wrapped with palm matting, and the attachment plugs are replaced by artificial fronds, one at a time.
Artificial palm fronds obtained from a variety of commercially-available sources are affixed to the palm head. As each dowel pin is successively removed from the head, a frond is inserted in its place. Once all dowel pins have been replaced with fronds the palm head is attached to the assembled trunk. Alternatively, the fronds may be attached to the palm head after it is attached to the trunk.
For an alternative embodiment of the invention, each of the dowel pins is axially drilled to receive a palm frond. The drilled dowel pins, which will become part of the permanent structure, may also be partly covered with a layer of peat moss or partly wrapped with a layer of palm matting in order to promote a more realistic appearance. Commercially-available fronds generally have a high-tensile steel wire for a central rib which may be either bare or covered with a layer of plastic. The plastic covered ribs are generally of a larger diameter than the bare wire ribs. In order to accommodate both types of ribs, the attachment end of the bare ribs can be inserted into the axially drilled hole in the dowel pin which remains a permanent part of the assembled tree, or the dowel pin can be removed to accept the larger diameter ribs. The drilled dowel pins afford greater flexibility with regard to which artificial fronds may be used in the manufacture of the artificial palm trees.
One or more artificial palm trees manufactured in accordance with the present invention may be anchored to a stand constructed from a strong and inexpensive metal or metal alloy. Steel is the preferred metal alloy due to its inherent strength and low cost. The stand is fabricated from a base member, at least one upright right-angle brace to which a lowermost trunk segment is strapped, and an alignment pin associated with each brace which fits into an alignment hole bored in the base of the lowermost trunk segment. The axis of the alignment hole may coincide with the axis of the lowermost trunk segment, or it may be parallel to the trunk segment axis. The base may be fabricated from plate steel, or it may be fabricated from welded rods in the interest of weight reduction.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2080523 (1937-05-01), Williams et al.
patent: 2085900 (1992-02-01), Hamlett
patent: 2251705 (1941-08-01), Gonzalez
patent: 2251706 (1941-08-01), Loewy
patent: 5787649 (1998-08-01), Popowych et al.
patent: 186750 (1936-09-01), None
patent: 2923280 (1980-12-01), None
patent: 2944931 (1981-06-01), None
Boss Wendy
Fox III Angus C.
Jones Deborah
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