ARTIFICIAL FLORAL DESIGN FOR DECORATING THE SIDE VIEW MIRROR OF A VEHICLE

CROSS REFERENCE

The present application claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61,181,529 filed on Jun. 18, 2015 by the same inventor. The entire content of the provisional application is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The following background information may present examples of specific aspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts, or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to further educate the reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to be construed as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof, to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon.

The present invention is directed to an artificial floral design for decorating a side view mirror of a vehicle.

Typically, artificial flowers are made from different construction materials such as plastics, silk, paper, fabric or the like. Artificial flowers usually have plastic stems which are often colored green and petal sections which can be several colors such as white, red, yellow, etc. These petal sections generally are separate foils or silk colored and shaped sheets that are attached together to simulate a natural flower. The artificial flowers are often used to fit into vases, to decorate centerpieces, and to decorate cars or floats.

The inventor recognized that the ornamental effect of flowers could be used to decorate a vehicle for special events, such as weddings, parties, funerals, and parades. The colorful and symbolic aspects of flowers could be displayed externally on a vehicle to signify special events in an ornamental manner. The inventor saw a need for attaching flowers to the side view mirror of a vehicle for easy visibility and attachment.

The inventor recognized a problem in that, since the flowers were mounted externally to the vehicle, they would be destroyed by external elements, such as wind, rain, ice, and impact. The inventor decided to use artificial flowers made of rubber or foam. This not only enhanced durability of the artificial flowers, but also allowed the inventor enhanced the artificial flowers with fluorescent paint.

The inventor, next needed to devise a mounting mechanism for the artificial flower. Through additional research, the inventor learned that different models of vehicles used different sizes of arms for their side mirrors. The inventor recognized that an adjustable diameter was needed for the fastening mechanism to attach the artificial flower to the side mirror.

Through research, the inventor learned that the best manner for her to the side view mirror would be provide a strap that would wrap around the perimeter of an arm of a side view mirror and that would have an adjustment mechanism that would allow an artificial flower to be snapped or inserted into a specific location of the strap. Through trial and error, the inventor learned that a selective locking mechanisms comprising of a protrusion on one end of the strap and a linear series of holes on the other end of the strap would allow the strap to be securely placed around the perimeter of the arm of the side view mirror. In addition, the liner series of holes that run from one end of the strap toward the other end of the strap provide a flower arrangement attaching mechanism that allows an artificial flower to snapped into one of the holes at a desired display location.

Artificial ornaments have been utilized in the past; yet none with the present ornamental and durability characteristics of the present invention. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,228,721, 5,698,275, and 765,124.

For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for an artificial flower design that detachably mounts on a side view mirror of a vehicle that uses a perimeter adjustable mounting mechanism.

SUMMARY

The Present invention is directed to an artificial flower design that detachably mounts on the side view mirror of a vehicle using a perimeter adjustable mounting mechanism

The artificial floral design for decorating a side view mirror of a vehicle of the present invention is composed of three main elements, a strap, an artificial flower attachment means that mounts onto the strap, and an artificial flower that detachably attaches to the artificial flower attachment means.

The strap has a first and a second end, adjacent to the first end a protrusion is defined and running from the second end toward the first end a linear series of apertures are defined on the strap. The linear series of apertures are spaced at least one quarter of an inch apart. The protrusion will have an outer head that narrows toward the strap so that when the protrusion is inserted within one of the apertures of the strap, the strap will form a closed loop. The strap, when in the closed loop position shall be the side view mirror vehicle mounting means of the present invention.

The artificial flower attachment means has a top and a bottom side, the artificial flower attachment means is composed of a housing that accepts the stem of an artificial flower on its top side and that defines an artificial flower attachment protrusion on its bottom side. The artificial flower protrusion has an outer head that narrows toward the housing so that when the protrusion is inserted within one of the apertures of the strap, the artificial flower attachment means shall be secured on the strap at a desired location determined by the user of the present invention.

The artificial flower defines a stem that is securely inserted within the top side of the artificial flower attachment means.

One objective of the present invention is to provide an artificial flower design that will be used to decorate the side view mirror of a vehicle to signify a special event.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide an artificial flower design that can be detachably mounted on most side view mirrors of vehicles to signify a special event.

Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a durable artificial flower that withstands wind, rain, ice, and impact when mounted on a side view mirror of a vehicle.

Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive to produce an inexpensive to manufacture artificial floral design for decorating a side view mirror of a vehicle.

DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and drawings where:

FIG. 1 is a top view of the present invention the artificial flower attachment means of the present invention mounted on the strap;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the present invention showing the invention in a closed loop position, the flower is not inserted within the artificial flower attachment means;

FIG. 3 shows the strap of the present invention wherein the protrusion of the artificial attachment means is within an aperture of the strap;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the present invention, wherein all three elements of the present invention are shown prior to the attachment of the elements; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the present invention, wherein the elements are connected to each other.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention, referenced in FIGS. 1-5, describes an artificial floral design for decorating a side view mirror of a vehicle 100. The artificial floral design for decorating a side view of a vehicle 100 comprises of three main elements, a strap 10, an artificial flower attachment means 20 that mounts onto the strap 10, and an artificial flower 30 that detachably attaches to the artificial flower attachment means 20.

The strap 10 has a first 10a and a second end 10b, adjacent to the first end 10a a protrusion 12 is defined and runs from the second end 10b toward the first end 10a a linear series of apertures 14 are defined on the strap 10. The linear series of apertures 14 are spaced at least one quarter of an inch apart. The protrusion 12 will have an outer head 12a that narrows toward the strap 10 so that when the protrusion 12 is inserted within one of the apertures 14 of the strap 10, the strap 10 will form a closed loop. The strap 10, when in the closed loop position shall be referred to as the side view mirror vehicle mounting means of the present invention. The strap 10 shall have a length of at least 8 inches.

The artificial flower attachment means 20 has a top 20a and a bottom side 20b, the artificial flower attachment means 20 is composed of a housing 21 that accepts a stem 32 of an artificial flower 30 on its top side 20a and that defines an artificial flower attachment protrusion 22 on its bottom side 20b. The artificial flower protrusion 22 has an outer head 22a that narrows toward the bottom side of the artificial flower attachment means 21 so that when the protrusion is inserted within one of the apertures 14 of the strap 10, the artificial flower attachment means 20 shall be secured on the strap 10 at a desired location determined by the user of the present invention. In one embodiment, the artificial flower attachment means comprises of two separate compartments 24 and 25 that snap together after the stem 32 of the flower 30 is inserted within the top side of the artificial flower attachment means 20a.

The artificial flower 30 defines a stern 32 that is securely inserted within the top side of the artificial flower attachment means 20a.

In some embodiments, the artificial flower design 100 may detachably attach to a side mirror on the vehicle. In another embodiment, multiple artificial flowers not shown in figures) may be interchangeable on the side mirror of the vehicle, The side mirror may be, without limitation, a driver side or a passenger side mirror. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the side mirror has an arm that connects the side mirror to the vehicle and helps orient the side mirror for a desired rear view.

As shown in FIGS. 4-5, the artificial flower 30 comprises a decorative end 30 and a stem 32. The decorative end 30 is configured to be resilient for maintaining structural integrity while exposed to external elements. Those skilled in the art will recognize that since the artificial flower 30 positions externally to a moving vehicle, it must be sufficiently resilient to withstand external elements, such as wind, rain, ice, and impact. Suitable materials for the artificial flower 30 may include, without limitation, foam rubber, and flexible polymers. In one possible embodiment, the artificial flower 30 has fluorescent coating that enables a glow in the dark effect.

In some embodiments, the decorative end 30 of the artificial flower 30 may be shaped and colored to correspond to a real flower. Thus, the decorative end 30 may resemble, without limitation, a daisy, noose, a tulip, lilac, a garland, and a chrysanthemum. The decorative end 30 may include, without limitation, petals, leaves, stems, and flower and plant materials that create a pleasing and balanced composition. In one alternative embodiment, the decorative end 106 may form a floral arrangement, including, without limitation, a wreaths, nosegays, garlands, festoons, boutonnieres, corsages, and bows.

Those skilled in the art, in light of the present teachings, will recognize that the decorative end 30 is used to provide ornamental effect to the vehicle for a variety of events, including, without limitation, parties, weddings, funerals, parades, and holidays.

One advantage of the present invention is that it provides an artificial flower design that is used to decorate the side view mirror of a vehicle.

Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides an artificial flower design that can be detachably mounted on most side view mirrors of vehicles.

Yet another advantage of the present invention is that it provides a durable artificial flower that withstands wind, rain, ice, and impact when mounted on a side view mirror of a vehicle.

Yet another advantage of the present invention is that it provides an inexpensive to produce an inexpensive to manufacture artificial floral design for decorating a side view mirror of a vehicle.

While the inventor's above description contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope, but rather as an exemplification of several preferred embodiments thereof Many other variations are possible. For example, the artificial flower could attach to other sections of the vehicle, such as the bumper, the roof, ort the steering wheel. Accordingly, the scope should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.