Supports – Staff type – Stand or base
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-08
2001-10-16
King, Anita (Department: 3632)
Supports
Staff type
Stand or base
C248S314000, C047S044000, C047S047000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06302368
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates in general to retainers for plant support and in particular supports used to prop up a plant in a container such as a pot, a bucket or a planter.
The problem of supporting canes and stakes within pots has long been recognised and a number of solutions have been proposed. The problem manifests itself more in the case when fruit bearing plants such as tomato need to be supported.
In some instances as for example when the pot is small, canes are too large and sticks are used or a plastic fan shape mesh is inserted directly into the growing medium resulting in inadequate support.
In the case of a bushy plant such as fuschia, a number of stems have to be supported and therefore a single cane is inappropriate.
For climbing plants, a trellis like construction, a hoop or a mesh is more appropriate.
It has been proposed previously to provide a device for supporting a plant comprising a collar having two elements releasably secured together, the collar being supported above the lowest most end of the legs with the legs being inserted in recesses formed on the perimeter of a container. Such support device is disclosed in GB 2307170A.
It has been found that when such supporting device whilst operating satisfactorily in supporting plant stems when a cane or stake is supported on which an appreciable bending moment is exerted together with movement due to wind, the two halves of the collar may come apart.
Furthermore, the container for use with the disclosed device needs to be specially manufactured to include on its upper perimeter housing in which the lower part of the legs fit tightly.
The object of the present invention is therefore to overcome the above limitations and provide a cost effective and simple device which can be used to retain a variety of plant supports, as required by the type of plant, with more than one size and shape of readily available containers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided a device for retaining supports for plants in a container comprising a frame consisting of a plurality of members with each member consisting of a substantially horizontal rod element, a downward or upward rod element making an angle of slightly less than 90° to the horizontal rod element, and an upstanding rod element making an angle of slightly greater than 90° to the horizontal rod element, and at least one collar defining a substantially vertical passage therethrough adapted to retain a plant support, the collar having vertical bores in a wall thereof adapted to releasably receive an upstanding rod element of each member and retain the vertical rod element of a plant support, the downward or upward element of each member is adapted to releasably engage a respective hole in a side wall of the container, the angles and the length of the horizontal element of each member being such that as the collar is pushed downwardly onto the upstanding rod elements the frame is pulled radially inwards and the downward rod elements bear tightly against the container wall, there being further means for reducing the radial dimension of the vertical passage and the vertical bores of the collar to retain smaller sizes of plant supports and smaller sizes of upstanding rod elements respectively.
The metal rods forming the frame could be galvanised and in addition covered in a plastic sheath or coating.
While more than four members might be provided to form the frame, four is the preferred number disposed around the perimeter of the container and preferably but not essentially at right angles to each other. The horizontal elements of the frame may have unequal lengths.
The collar supported by the frame is manufactured preferably from a plastic material although other materials can be used and conveniently has more bores than required by the upstanding elements. The collar can have any shape and slots can also be incorporated into the collar.
The bores can have any dimension shape and disposition relative to the centre of the collar. Preferably a rod with a circular cross section is used for the frames requiring four cylindrical bores equidistant from the centre. The remaining bores can be used to retain different types of plant supports.
Preferably the horizontal elements can be inserted into holes made on the upward wall of the container with the downward or upward elements pressing against the wall of the container. In this case the frame must first be fitted to the container and then the collar to the upstanding elements. If the cane is required to be contained within the collar and not pass through into the growing medium one or more spring clips can be fitted to the collar so as to block the central passage.
In use, rocking of the plant support must not dislodge the collar from the frame and the frame from the container. To achieve this the upstanding elements make a frictional fit within the bores and bent slightly more than 90°, the downward or upward elements are at an angle less than 90°
0
and the length of the horizontal elements selected so that when the collar is pushed down to rest on the horizontal elements, the assembly is pulled tight within the container and the tips of the downward or upward elements bear tightly against the side of the container.
Instead of one thick collar two thinner collars can be used spaced about 30 mm apart.
The collar can be positioned some distance from the centre of the container by making one pair of the horizontal elements longer than the second pair. Since the upstanding elements if constructed from round rods are pivoted within the bores, the longer horizontal elements can be rotated so that a different shape and larger container can be used with the same device. For an oblong container a pair of devices may be necessary.
The central passage and bores are sized and shaped as required by the frame, container and plant supports. The same collar can be used with smaller size rods and stakes by altering the radial dimensions of the bores and passage. One way is to attach to a disc tubes which are inserted into the bore with a friction fit with the disc resting on the collar. If only the central passage is required to be reduced, then a length of suitably sized tubing can be inserted within the collar.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3582028 (1971-06-01), Purdy
patent: 3778929 (1973-12-01), Pearson
patent: 4074461 (1978-02-01), Hirschman
patent: 4320886 (1982-03-01), Stodola
patent: 2 220 118 A (1990-01-01), None
patent: 2307170 A (1997-05-01), None
King Anita
Sy Holly N.
LandOfFree
Device for retaining supports for plants in a container does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Device for retaining supports for plants in a container, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Device for retaining supports for plants in a container will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2579915