1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to support stands that are designed to serve as a support for a decorative display such as a Christmas tree, and more specifically relates to a support stand that causes the decorative display to rotate in a circular fashion and has an electrical source of supply for the display.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Support stands for decorative displays such as Christmas trees have long been known and a variety of different embodiments for such stands are available. With respect to stands used to support decorative displays, such as Christmas trees, that include electrical lighting, the use of a stand that causes the display to rotate provides the problem of supplying electrical power to the lighting in a fashion that does not cause electrical cords to become wrapped around the display during its rotation.
A number of prior art devices have been developed to provide rotation for Christmas trees or other types of decorative displays requiring electrical power. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,886 issued to Wang and U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,569 issued to Sofy both illustrate rotating stand assemblies that include rotatable platforms for supporting the trunk of a decorative display. Other types of support stands for decorative displays are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,320,327 B1 and 5,713,554, as well as U.K Patent Appln. No. 9224079.5 published May 18, 1994. Although the foregoing prior art devices provide rotating supports for decorative displays, they do not appear to be designed to handle larger types of displays that are not only tall, but also are heavy, which affects the stability and rotation provided by the stand.
The present invention provides an improved revolving stand to support the trunk of a decorative display for circular rotation and includes a base, a trunk holder associated with the base, an electrical motor and associated gears for rotating the trunk holder, a pair of electrical outlets associated with an upper end of the trunk holder, and means for supplying electrical power from a power source to the electrical outlets while the trunk holder rotates with respect to the base.
Preferably, the trunk holder includes a bottom hub portion that extends through a top opening in the base to seat upon a bearing race located in the base. Electrical contact means are located in the base and the hub of the trunk holder includes conducting means for electrically connecting the dual electrical outlets to the contact means. Gear means are associated with the motor and the trunk holder to provide rotational force on the holder when the motor is in an on condition, and conducting means are provided for supplying electrical power to the motor and the contact means from a source of power, such as a normal electrical outlet of a building.
Preferably, the electrical conducting means include electrical contacts mounted on the bottom of the hub portion of the trunk holder so that each of the contacts engage one of the contact means in the base, and further includes electrical conductors extending between the dual electrical outlets and the hub electrical contacts so that as the trunk holder rotates, a complete electrical circuit is maintained from the power source for providing electrical power to the outlets at the top of the trunk holder.
The foregoing and other advantages of the present invention will appear from the following description. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which there is shown by illustration and not of limitation a specific form in which the invention may be embodied. Such embodiment does not represent the full scope of the invention, but rather the invention may be employed in a variety of other embodiments and reference is made to the claims herein for interpreting the breadth of the invention.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds