Snowman decorative accessory
A snowman accessory includes at least one anchor member and feature member selectively attachable to the anchor member. The anchor member includes outwardly extending threads and an end tab such that the anchor member may be screwed into a mass of snow, e.g. a snowman. The feature member, which may be an eye, nose, mouth, etc., may be selectively and removably attached to an anchor member such that feature members may be inserted and removed without removing the anchor member from the snow. A connector provides for connection between an anchor and feature member, the connector including a protruding member that is biased to lock a feature member into an anchor member but that releases the feature member upon user depression. The anchor, feature, and connector members may be included in a kit. The snowman accessory may include a speaker with motion detection activator.
The present invention relates to snowman accessories and, more particularly, to snowman accessories that include anchors that may be easily and securely attached to a snowman and which include feature members that may be quickly interchanged with the anchors.
Children and adults enjoy crafting the perfect snowman during the winter season. It is common for sticks and walnuts or even household items to be used on the snowman to make it look lifelike. However, to the dismay of the amateur sculptors, these items easily fall off or do not look sufficiently realistic.
Various devices and kits have been proposed in the art for providing more realistic snowman accessories or at least more professionally manufactured or prepared accessories. Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing devices and proposals do not provide efficiently and securely mounted accessories and do not provide for various accessories to be interchanged without destroying the snowman itself.
Therefore, it would desirable to have a snowman accessory having separable anchors and feature members such that various features may be interchanged without removing the anchors. Further, it would be desirable to have a snowman accessory in which the anchor members may be easily and quickly inserted into the snowman and be securely mounted.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA snowman accessory according to the present invention includes a plurality of anchor members and a plurality of feature members. A plurality of connectors is also included for releasably connecting selected anchor and feature members. All of these components may be grouped or sold together as a kit.
Each anchor member includes outwardly extending threads for securely holding the anchor member in a snowman. Each anchor further includes a tab at one end that enables a user to easily turn the anchor for threadable insertion into a snowman. Each connector includes an outwardly biased protruding member that may be selectively engaged so as to release a feature member
Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a snowman accessory having a plurality of anchor and feature members that may be interchangeably connected and inserted into a snowman for display.
Another object of this invention is to provide a snowman accessory, as aforesaid, having a plurality of connectors for enabling respective anchor and feature members to be quickly interchanged.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a snowman accessory, as aforesaid, in which an anchor member may be securely inserted into a mass of snow.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a snowman accessory, as aforesaid, in which feature members may be selectively removed and replaced without removing respective anchors from a snowman.
A further object of this invention is to provide a snowman accessory, as aforesaid, having a plurality of spring-biased connectors such that feature members may be quickly and easily released from respective anchor members.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a snowman accessory, as aforesaid, in which the anchor and feature members and connectors may be included in a kit.
Other object and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of this invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A snowman decorative accessory according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to
The anchor member 110 has opposed first and second ends 110a, 110b, and the anchor member 110 may have outer threads 112 for securing the anchor member 110 to a mass of snow. The first end 110a preferably defines a point 113, and the anchor member 110 may have a pair of opposed tabs 114 (
As shown in
The feature member 120 has a display section 120a and an attachment section 120b extending from the display section 120a, as shown in
A connector 130 has a configuration complementary to a configuration of the feature member hollow interior space 125 as shown in
In one embodiment, shown in
In use, a user may screw the anchor member 110 into a mass of snow (i.e., a snowman) by grasping and turning the tabs 114. The point 113 facilitates entry of the anchor member 110 into the snow, and the threads 112 may secure the anchor member in the snow. The spring 138 may be placed into the feature member hollow interior space 125, and then the connector 130 may be placed into the feature member hollow interior space 125 so that the rigid member 134 extends beyond the feature member front surface 121. The feature member attachment section 120b may be inserted into the anchor member cavity 116, and the connector rigid member 134 may be pushed toward the feature member end wall 126, moving the protruding member 132 to the outer wall opening 123. When the protruding member 132 reaches the outer wall opening 123, the resilient nature of the protruding member 132 may cause the protruding member 132 to pass through the outer wall opening 123 and into the anchor member recess 117, attaching the connector 130 and the feature member 120 to the anchor member 110 (
To separate the feature member 120 from the anchor member 110 (
The anchor member 110 and/or the feature member 120 may be constructed from a variety of materials, including (nonexclusively) plastic, metal, wood, rubber, and biodegradable material. If a member 110, 120 is constructed of biodegradable material, the member 110, 120 may be left in the snowman indefinitely without harm; when the snowman melts, the member 110, 120 will simply decompose harmlessly in the environment. If a biodegradable material is used, the biodegradable material preferably does not decompose in cold weather (i.e., while still in the snowman).
A snowman decoration kit may be provided that has a plurality of anchor members 110, a plurality of feature members 120, and a plurality of connectors 130. For example, some of the feature members 120 may represent eyes, some of the feature members 120 may represent noses, etc. The feature members 120 are preferably interchangeably attachable to the anchor members 110 so that various feature members 120 may be respectively attached to an anchor member 110 without removing the anchor member 110 from the snowman. In this way, various feature members 120 representing different objects (noses, for example) may be interchanged without harm to the snowman.
It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof.
Claims
1. A snowman decorative accessory for use with a mass of snow, comprising:
- an anchor member; and
- a feature member selectively attachable to said anchor member.
2. The snowman decorative accessory as in claim 1, wherein said anchor member has outer threads for securing said anchor member to the mass of snow.
3. The snowman decorative accessory as in claim 2, wherein:
- said anchor member includes opposed first and second ends;
- said first end defines a point; and
- said anchor member includes a pair of opposed tabs adjacent said second end to allow a user to screw said anchor member into the mass of snow.
4. The snowman decorative accessory as in claim 2, wherein:
- said anchor member includes opposed first and second ends;
- said first end defines a point; and
- said anchor member includes a tab adjacent said second end to allow a user to screw said anchor member into the mass of snow.
5. The snowman decorative accessory as in claim 4, wherein said feature member represents an item selected from the group consisting of an eye, a nose, a mouth, an ear, a hat, an arm, an article of clothing, a button, a pipe, a lump of coal, and a vegetable.
6. The snowman decorative accessory as in claim 4, wherein:
- said feature member includes a speaker having access to audio data; and
- said feature member includes an activator in communication with said speaker for selectively actuating said speaker, said activator including a motion sensor.
7. The snowman decorative accessory as in claim 4, wherein:
- said anchor member defines a cavity extending from said anchor member second end toward said anchor member first end;
- said anchor member defines a recess in communication with and extending transversely from said cavity;
- said feature member includes a display section and an attachment section extending from said display section, said attachment section having a configuration complimentary to a configuration of said cavity whereby said attachment section may be selectively received in said cavity;
- said feature member attachment section includes an outer wall defining an opening and defining a hollow interior space; and
- said snowman decorative accessory includes a connector having a configuration complementary to a configuration of said feature member interior space, said connector having an outwardly-biased protruding member for selectively passing through said feature member outer wall opening and engaging said anchor member recess, said protruding member being selectively constrictable.
8. The snowman decorative accessory as in claim 7, further comprising a spring positioned in said feature member hollow interior space distant from said display section and adjacent an attachment section end wall to bias said connector away from said attachment section end wall when said connector is positioned in said feature member hollow interior space.
9. The snowman decorative accessory as in claim 8, wherein said protruding member defines a wedge shape to allow said protruding member to be easily constricted when moving toward said attachment section end wall and to selectively engage said anchor member recess, whereby removably attaching said feature member to said anchor member.
10. The snowman decorative accessory as in claim 8, wherein:
- said feature member hollow interior space extends through said display section; and
- said connector includes a rigid member in communication with said protruding member, said rigid member being dimensioned to extend beyond a front surface of said feature member when said protruding member is engaged with said anchor member recess.
11. The snowman decorative accessory as in claim 1, wherein:
- said feature member includes a speaker having access to audio data; and
- said feature member includes an activator in communication with said speaker for selectively actuating said speaker.
12. The snowman decorative accessory as in claim 11, wherein said activator includes a motion sensor.
13. The snowman decorative accessory as in claim 1, wherein:
- said anchor member includes opposed first and second ends;
- said anchor member defines a cavity extending from said anchor member second end toward said anchor member first end; and
- said feature member includes a display section and an attachment section extending from said display section, said attachment section having a configuration complimentary to a configuration of said cavity whereby said attachment section may be selectively received in said cavity.
14. The snowman decorative accessory as in claim 13, wherein:
- said anchor member defines a recess in communication with and extending transversely from said cavity;
- said feature member attachment section includes an outer wall defining an opening and defining a hollow interior space; and
- further comprising a connector having a configuration complementary to a configuration of said feature member hollow interior space and having an outwardly-biased protruding member for selective engagement with said anchor member recess, said protruding member being selectively constrictable.
15. The snowman decorative accessory as in claim 14, further comprising a spring positioned in said feature member hollow interior space distant from said display section and adjacent an attachment section end wall to bias said connector away from said attachment section end wall when said connector is positioned in said feature member hollow interior space.
16. The snowman decorative accessory as in claim 15, wherein said protruding member includes a wedge shape to allow said protruding member to be easily constricted when moving toward said attachment section end wall and to selectively engage said anchor member recess, whereby removably attaching said feature member to said anchor member.
17. The snowman decorative accessory as in claim 15, wherein:
- said feature member hollow interior space extends through said display section; and
- said connector includes a rigid member in communication with said protruding member, said rigid member presenting dimensions that extend beyond a front surface of said feature member when said protruding member is engaged with said anchor member recess.
18. The snowman decorative accessory as in claim 1, wherein at least one of said anchor member and said feature member is constructed of a biodegradable material.
19. A snowman decoration kit, comprising:
- a plurality of anchor members;
- a plurality of interchangeable feature members; and
- a plurality of connectors for selectively attaching respective feature members to respective anchor members.
20. The kit as in claim 19, wherein:
- at least one said anchor member: includes outer threads for securing said anchor member to a mass of snow; includes opposed first and second ends; defines a cavity extending from said anchor member second end toward said anchor member first end; defines a respective recess in communication with and extending transversely from said cavity;
- at least one said feature member includes a display section and an attachment section extending from said display section, said attachment section having a configuration complimentary to a configuration of said cavity whereby said attachment section may be selectively received in said cavity;
- said feature member attachment section includes an outer wall defining an opening and defining a hollow interior space; and
- at least one said connector includes a configuration complementary to a configuration of said feature member hollow interior space, said connector having an outwardly-biased protruding member for selectively passing through said feature member outer wall opening and engaging said anchor member recess, said protruding member being selectively constrictable.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 14, 2005
Publication Date: Jun 14, 2007
Inventor: Gordy Tellinghuisen (Oakdale, MN)
Application Number: 11/300,038
International Classification: A63H 33/00 (20060101); A63H 33/04 (20060101); A63H 3/16 (20060101); A63H 3/00 (20060101);