A REUSABLE AND ANCHORABLE ORNAMENTAL BALLOON STRUCTURE.

Abstract

A reusable, air-filled ornamental balloon structure includes a large, elongated, and unbalanced upper ornamental chamber. This chamber has a valve at its bottom for inflation and deflation. A lower ornamental chamber, designed to rest on a smooth or flat surface, has a centralized compartment with an opening to receive the bottom of the upper chamber transversely. A concealed valve is provided for inflating the lower chamber and deflating it for storage. The air valve of the upper chamber can pass through the opening and be anchored to the lower chamber, securing the two chambers together while the upper chamber remains in an ideal vertical position for display. Ordinary cans filled with household materials are placed in the concealed centralized cavity to weight the balloon structure and keep it in place.The height of the upper ornamental chamber is at least three times greater than the height of the lower chamber of the base.

Description

A REUSABLE AND ANCHORABLE ORNAMENTAL BALLOON STRUCTURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Decorative or inflatable balloons have long been a festive favorite for all special occasions, including birthdays, weddings, graduations, holidays, and personal celebrations. Decorative balloons come in many shapes, such as characters, flowers, numbers, accessories, building structures, and virtually anything with a structured form. They can be filled with air or helium and typically require some type of anchoring or tethering system to keep them in place, prevent a helium balloon from floating away, or keep an air-filled balloon from drifting off or blowing away if it's outdoors. In today's market, over 90% of inflatables or lightweight balloons are filled with helium. Helium-filled inflatables and balloons are also generally not reusable. The helium gas escapes through the balloon's special material over time. Typically, after a couple of weeks or less, helium-filled balloons deflate significantly, becoming unattractive and useless for their intended purpose. Air-filled inflatables are typically spherical latex balloons, pool toys, trampolines, and air mattresses. Displaying large, decorative, air-filled balloons presents many challenges. Adhesives and cumbersome ties are commonly used, but they are largely ineffective. Exposed ties and anchors are also unsightly and unsafe, as they pose a tripping hazard for children. Therefore, a particular concern with all balloons is keeping them securely in place without obstructing the view with awkward strings, ties, anchors, or rigid supports. There is a need for large, air-filled, decorative and ornamental balloons that do not use adhesives, cumbersome exposed ties, or anchors. Such large ornamental balloons should have a long lifespan, be deflatable for storage, and then reinflate for reuse. Ideally, common household items combined with a unique ornamental balloon base design featuring hidden compartments for these items would keep the balloons securely in place, indoors or outdoors, under normal weather conditions. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A reusable, air-filled ornamental balloon structure includes a large, elongated, and unbalanced upper ornamental chamber. This chamber has a valve at its bottom for inflation during use and deflation for storage. A lower ornamental chamber, designed to rest on a smooth or flat surface, has a centralized compartment with an opening to receive the bottom of the upper chamber transversely. A concealed valve is provided for inflating the lower chamber for use and deflating it for storage. The air valve of the upper chamber can pass through the opening and be anchored to the lower chamber to secure the two chambers together while the upper chamber remains in an ideal vertical position for display. Ordinary cans filled with household materials are placed in the concealed centralized cavity to weight the balloon structure and keep it in place.The height of the upper ornamental chamber is generally at least three times higher than the height of the lower chamber of the base. A principal object and advantage of the air-filled balloon ornamental structure of the present invention is that the structure is unusually tall but very stable when inflated and displayed from ground level. Another object and advantage of the present invention is that the ornamental balloon structure uses air instead of helium, making it relatively inexpensive to acquire, easy to inflate, assemble, and use for extended periods, as air does not easily escape from the balloon as helium would. Another object and advantage of the present invention is that the ornamental globe structure stays in place both indoors and outdoors thanks to its concealed anchoring system. Another object and advantage of the present invention is that the structure of the ornamental globe is unusually tall, where the upper ornamental chamber is at least 3 or 4 times taller than the lower base chamber. Another object and advantage of the present invention is that the ornamental globe structure is unusually stable in which the lower ornamental chamber is approximately one third in width to the height of the upper ornamental chamber. Another object and advantage of the present invention is that the ornamental globe structure is highly stable, and the ornamental chambers can adopt a wide variety of shapes and ornamentation for multiple uses not previously known. Another object and advantage of the present invention is that the ornamental balloon structure, the base ornamental chamber, can be made with one, two, three, four or more chambers. Another object and advantage of the present invention is that the ornamental balloon structure can be inflated with air and remains inflated for a long time and can also be deflated and stored for multiple future uses. Another object and advantage of the present invention is that the ornamental balloon structure can be inflated with air, which is heavier than helium, so that the ornamental structure has less tendency to float and requires minimal anchoring. Another object and advantage of the present invention is that the ornamental balloon structure does not use unsightly and unsafe ties and anchors, making the balloon structure safe for children to play around. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of the reusable and anchorable ornamental globe structure of the present invention sitting on a plane P; FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the upper chamber of the ornamental globe of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of an air pump and straw typically used to inflate and deflate the ornamental balloon structure; FIG. 4 is a view of the lower plane of the upper chamber of the ornamental globe of the present invention, showing its dependent connector clamping system; FIG. 5 is a view of the top plane of the lower chamber of the ornamental globe of the present invention; FIG. 6 is an exploded front elevation view of the partially cut upper ornamental globe chamber and the cut lower ornamental globe chamber along lines 6-6 of FIG. 5 showing the dependent clamping connectors and anchors of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a front elevation view of the partially cut upper ornamental globe chamber and the cut lower ornamental globe chamber along lines 6-6 of FIG. 5 showing the dependent clamping connectors that anchor the upper and lower globe chambers together and the anchors of the present invention; FIG. 8 is a view of the lower plane of the base chamber of the lower ornamental globe of the present invention showing the dependent fastening connectors that anchor the upper and lower globe chambers together; FIG. 9 is a front elevation view of the upper chamber of the ornamental globe and another embodiment of the lower base of the ornamental globe of the present invention; FIG. 10 is a front elevation view of the partially cut upper ornamental globe chamber and the similarly cut lower base ornamental globe chamber of FIG. 9 and along lines 6-6 of FIG. 5 showing a dependent fixing connector or air valve anchoring the upper and lower globe chambers together; FIG. 11 is a front elevation view of another embodiment of the reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure of the present invention resting on a plane P; FIG. 12 is a front elevation view of another reusable and anchorable ornamental globe structure of the present invention sitting on a plane P; FIG. 13 is a front elevation view of another reusable and anchorable ornamental globe structure of the present invention sitting on a plane P; FIG. 14 is a front elevation view of another reusable and anchorable ornamental globe structure of the present invention sitting on a plane P; FIG. 15 is a front elevation view of another embodiment of the reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure of the present invention; FIG. 16 is a view of the lower plane of the reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure of FIG. 15 of the present invention; FIG. 17 is a front elevation view of the reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure of FIG. 15 showing its dependent connectors;

[0033] FIG. 18 is a plan view of another embodiment of the reusable and anchorable ornamental globe structure of FIG. 15 showing its dependent connectors linking the upper and lower base chambers; and FIG. 19 is a top view of another embodiment of the bottom-based ornamental globe chamber of the present invention; DETAILED SPECIFICATION With reference to Figures 1 to 8, a reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure 10 of the present invention can be seen and understood. The first embodiment of the ornamental balloon structure 10 takes the form of a snowman ornamental balloon structure 14 with upper and lower ornamental balloon chambers 16 and 36. The ornamental balloon structure 10, 14 can be made of Mylar, also known as BoPET (biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate), which is a polyester film made of stretched polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and is commonly used for its high tensile strength, chemical and dimensional stability, transparency, reflectivity, gas and aroma barrier properties, and electrical insulation.Air-filled balloons made of Mylar are manufactured with two identical cut-out shapes that are welded together at the mating periphery and remain inflated for over a month and can be easily refilled with air. The upper chamber of the snowman balloon 16 is elongated and tall, vertically oriented, and somewhat unbalanced. "Reasonably tall" means, for illustrative purposes, that the upper chamber can be 50 inches or more in diameter (Hu). The upper chamber has a curved lower end 18, and in the center portion of the lower seam is a dependent connector known as the air valve 20 for inflating and deflating the upper chamber 16. Air valves 20 suitable for this invention can be found disclosed in U.S. Patent 4,917,646. Adjacent to the center air valve 20 are the left and right dependent connecting tabs 22, 24, which similarly have an elastic cord 30 attached to each tab 22, 24 with some slack between them. To inflate the upper snowman balloon chamber 16, an air pump 26 or a straw 28 can be inserted into and through the valve 20. Air is pumped or blown into chamber 16 until it is fairly firm. When the balloon frame 14 is disassembled, the straw 28 is simply inserted into and through the valve 20, and the air inside the balloon chamber 16 is easily released. The base chamber of the snowman ornamental balloon 36 can have many shapes and variations, with a total width W, length L, and height HL, which, for illustrative purposes, can be approximately 10 inches. Illustrated with the structure of the snowman ornamental balloon 14, the lower base chamber 36 comprises the first sub-chamber 36A, the second sub-chamber 36B, the third sub-chamber 36C, and the fourth sub-chamber 36D. These sub-chambers may be interconnected by air channels that facilitate and accelerate the inflation of the base balloon chamber 36. Between chambers 36A and 36D, as well as chambers 36B and 36C, is an uninflated band or compartment 38 of molten balloon material that extends across the width W of the base balloon 36. An opening 40 is located in the center of the lattice 38.An air valve 42 for inflating and deflating the lower chamber of the balloon 16 is located at the base of the lower chamber of the balloon 16 and may be concealed in a lower surface (see FIG. 5). To connect the upper chamber of ornamental balloons 16 to the lower chamber of base ornamental balloons 36, please refer to FIGS. 6-8. The dependent connector or air valve 20 is inserted through the opening 40 of the base chamber 36, and the tape 21 is used to secure the valve 20 to the bottom of the lower base balloon 36, while the bottom 18 of the upper balloon chamber fits transversely into the lattice 38 of the lower balloon chamber 36. The extendable cord 30 is then lifted over the front chambers 36A and 36B or over the rear chambers 36C and 36D and released to fit into the depression against the bottom of the lattice 38. It may be necessary to manually adjust the upper and lower chambers 16 and 36 to ensure that the upper chamber is upright and securely attached to the tape 38.Weights 44 can be placed in the frame (or compartment) 38 to hold the balloon structure 14 in place for indoor and outdoor use. Weights 44 can be ordinary canned household food or beverage items, such as soda cans or vegetable cans. This arrangement keeps the snowman ornamental balloon structure 14 together. The base of the balloon 36, located on the ground (plane P), supports the upper chamber 16 in an upright and stable position in light winds, without the need for external ties or anchors. Adding weight 44 to the frame or compartment 38 only adds further stability to the snowman ornamental balloon structure 14. Disassembly is generally the reverse of assembly. The stretch cord 30 is lifted from the lower chamber of the base 36. The air valve tape 20 is removed from the lower base chamber 36 and pulled through the opening 40 to release the upper chamber 16 from the lower base chamber 36. The straw 28 is then inserted into the valves 20 and 42, and the air inside the upper and lower chambers 16 and 36 is evacuated. The chambers 16 and 36 are then rolled or folded until their next use. Figures 9 and 10 illustrate another embodiment of the lower ornamental balloon base, which is a single donut-shaped chamber 46. Generally, all the parts and limitations of the first embodiment of the snowman ornamental balloon structure 14 are present, including the upper ornamental balloon chamber 16 and the lower ornamental balloon base chamber 46 (similar to the base chamber 36). FIG. 11 shows the additional ornamental balloon structure 10 to include a graduation ornamental balloon structure 50 having an upper graduation ornamental balloon chamber 52 and a lower ornamental balloon chamber 54, as well as the elements and parts of the snowman balloon structure 14 sitting on a plane P. FIG. 12 shows an additional ornamental balloon structure 10 including a nutcracker soldier ornamental balloon structure 60 having an upper nutcracker soldier themed ornamental balloon chamber 62 and a lower ornamental balloon chamber 64, as well as the elements and parts of the snowman balloon structure 14 sitting on a plane P. FIG.Figure 13 shows additional ornamental balloon structures 10 including a champagne bottle ornamental balloon structure 70 having a champagne bottle upper ornamental balloon chamber 72 and a lower ornamental balloon chamber 74, as well as the elements and parts of the snowman balloon structure 14 sitting on a plane P. Figure 14 shows an additional ornamental balloon structure 10 including a Christmas tree ornamental balloon structure 80 having a Christmas tree-themed upper ornamental balloon chamber 82 and a lower ornamental balloon chamber 84, as well as the elements and parts of the snowman balloon structure 14. The ornamental balloon structures 10, 14, 50, 60, 70, and 80 are reusable and can be invisibly anchored with household items such as weights. Each has a relative height, as the upper chambers of the balloons are approximately 50 inches tall, while the lower chambers are approximately 10 inches tall. This means the upper chambers are three to five times taller than the lower chambers at the base. In other words, the base chambers are between one-fifth and one-third smaller than the upper chambers. With this arrangement, the ornamental balloon structures 10, 14, 50, 60, 70, and 80 have an actual size of approximately sixty inches. The length L and width W (FIGS.Chambers 5 and 8 of the lower base globes 36, 46, 54, 64, 74, and 84 are approximately 24 inches each. This size of the base globe chamber creates its stability as it rests firmly on a horizontal plane P. Thus, the base globe chambers are approximately 24 inches wide and long, or about one-third the height of the upper ornamental globe chambers. Adding the 44 weights further increases the stability of the structures, allowing them to stand upright without unsightly ties or exposed weights, both indoors and outdoors under fair conditions. Children appreciate these sizes as they play, run, and hug structures 10, 14, 50, 60, 70, and 80—all without unsightly, unsightly, and unsafe external ties or anchors. With reference to FIGS. 15-18, another embodiment of a reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure 90 can be seen. This embodiment of the reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure 90 is generally shorter in height than the previous ornamental balloon structures 10, 14, 50, 60, 70, and 80. The ornamental balloon structure 90 includes an upper ornamental chamber 92 with a bottom having a dependent connecting air valve 96 for adding and removing air from the balloon, which is to be attached to the lower ornamental chamber 108 after passing through the opening 118. The upper ornamental chamber 92 also has lower dependent connectors in the form of left and right tabs 100, 102 for securing the extendable cord 104 to the tabs 100, 102. The lower chamber of the ornamental globe 108 is of a slightly different embodiment. It has a first front chamber 110 and a second rear chamber 112, which can be independent of each other or joined by interconnecting channels 114. Each chamber 110 and 112 has turned distal end feet 111 and 113 to increase the stabilization of the lower chamber of the globe without adding significant width or length, such as to balance the transversely mounted upper ornamental chamber 92. Figure 19 shows another embodiment of an oval-shaped lower ornamental chamber base 130 with four chambers 132, 134, 136, and 138 that may or may not be interconnected by a single air valve 140. The base 130 has a central opening 142 with opposing, inwardly projecting inflatable handles 144. The upper chamber of the ornamental balloon can be inserted into the central opening 142 and held there by friction with the opposing inflatable handles 144. Furthermore, the valve of the upper balloon chamber can be glued to the base chamber 130 as described above. The foregoing specification and figures are for illustrative purposes only. The true scope of the present invention is defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure, comprising: a) an elongated and unbalanced upper ornamental chamber having a first height, the upper ornamental chamber not standing upright on its own, with a valve for inflating the upper chamber for use and deflating it for storage, having a bottom with at least one dependent connector; b) a lower base ornamental chamber having a second height, a width and a length forming a lower plane adapted to rest on a flat surface and a centralized compartment for transversely receiving the bottom of the upper chamber, the lower chamber having a valve for inflating the lower chamber for use and deflating the lower chamber for storage; and c) a closure connecting the dependent connector to the lower ornamental chamber to maintain the upper ornamental chamber in an upright position.

2. The reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure of claim 1, characterized in that the dependent connector comprises two tabs on the lower part of the upper ornamental chamber.

3. The reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure of claim 2, further comprising an extendable cord with two ends, one of which is connected to one of the tabs adapted to wrap transversely around the lower ornamental chamber adjacent to the centralized compartment.

4. The reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure of claim 1, characterized in that the lower chamber compartment has a centralized opening through which the valve at the bottom of the upper chamber passes and is attached to the lower chamber to secure the upper ornamental balloon to the lower base chamber to support the upper ornamental balloon in a vertical condition.

5. The reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure of claim 1, characterized in that the lower chamber compartment is adapted to receive weight as to anchor the lower chamber to help maintain the upper ornamental chamber in a vertical condition.

6. The reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure of claim 1, characterized in that the lower ornamental chamber of the base comprises multiple connected chambers.

7. The reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure of claim 1, characterized in that the height of the upper ornamental chamber is at least 3 times higher than the height of the lower base chamber.

8. The reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure of claim 1, characterized in that the height of the upper ornamental chamber is twice the width of the lower chamber.

9. A reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure, comprising: a) an elongated and unbalanced upper ornamental chamber having a first height, the upper chamber of the balloon not standing upright on its own, with a lower valve for inflating the upper chamber for use and deflating the upper chamber for storage of the structure, and the lower part of the upper chamber having at least one dependent connector; b) a lower base ornamental chamber having a second height that is 1 / 4 or less of the height of the upper chamber, a width and a length forming a lower plane adapted to rest on a flat surface, and a centralized compartment for transversely receiving the lower part of the upper chamber, the lower chamber having a valve for inflating the lower chamber for use and deflating the lower chamber for storage of the structure;yc) a closure that connects the dependent connector to the lower ornamental chamber to keep the upper ornamental chamber in a vertical position.; 10. The reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure of claim 9, characterized in that the dependent connector comprises two tabs on the lower part of the upper ornamental chamber.

11. The reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure of claim 9, further comprising an extendable cord with two ends, one of which is connected to one of the tabs adapted to wrap transversely around the lower ornamental chamber adjacent to the centralized compartment.

12. The reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure of claim 9, characterized in that the lower chamber compartment has a centralized opening through which the valve at the bottom of the upper chamber passes and is attached to the lower chamber to secure the upper ornamental balloon to the lower base chamber to support the upper ornamental balloon in a vertical condition.

13. The reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure of claim 9, characterized in that the lower chamber compartment is adapted to receive weight as well as to anchor the lower chamber to help maintain the upper ornamental chamber in a vertical condition.

14. The reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure of claim 9, characterized in that the lower ornamental chamber of the base comprises multiple connected chambers.

15. The reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure of claim 9, characterized in that the height of the upper ornamental chamber is twice the width of the lower chamber.

16. A reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure, comprising: a) an elongated and unbalanced upper ornamental chamber having a first height, the upper chamber of the balloon not standing upright on its own, with a lower valve for inflating the upper chamber for use and deflating the upper chamber for storage of the structure, and having two tabs at the bottom; b) a lower base ornamental chamber having a second height, a width and a length forming a lower plane adapted to rest on a flat surface and a centralized compartment for transversely receiving the bottom of the upper chamber,having a lower chamber with a valve for inflating the lower chamber for use and deflating the lower chamber for storage of the structure, wherein the lower chamber compartment has a centralized opening through which the valve from the bottom of the upper chamber passes and is attached to the lower chamber to secure the upper ornamental balloon to the lower base chamber to support the upper ornamental balloon in a vertical condition; and (c) two tabs at the bottom of the upper chamber and an extendable cord with two ends, one of which is connected to one of the tabs, adapted to wrap transversely around the lower ornamental chamber adjacent to the centralized cavity in order to maintain the upper ornamental chamber in a vertical condition, characterized in that the height of the upper ornamental chamber is at least 4 times higher than the height of the lower base chamber.

17. The reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure of claim 16, characterized in that the lower chamber compartment is adapted to receive weight as well as to anchor the lower chamber to help maintain the upper ornamental chamber in a vertical condition.

18. The reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure of claim 16, characterized in that the lower ornamental chamber of the base comprises multiple connected chambers.

19. The reusable and anchorable ornamental balloon structure of claim 16, characterized in that the height of the upper ornamental chamber is twice the width of the lower chamber.

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