Plant husbandry – Plant irrigators and/or fertilizers – apparatus or method
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-10
2001-05-08
Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3644)
Plant husbandry
Plant irrigators and/or fertilizers, apparatus or method
Reexamination Certificate
active
06226920
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a plant watering device, and in particular to a plant watering device which supplies water at a predetermined rate to plants so that the plants may be left unattended when the owner is away. The plant watering device of the invention requires no brackets or mounting hardware, but rather may simply be positioned directly on the soil adjacent the plant to be watered. Preferably, the watering device has an ornamental appearance.
2. Description of Related Art
A number of designs have been proposed for automatically supplying water to houseplants. These include the “Self Watering Flower Pot” of U.S. Pat. No. 1,063,395, the “Watering Attachment For Flower Pots” of U.S. Pat. No. 1,231,975, the “Plant Waterer” of U.S. Pat. No. 1,453,401, the “Water Tender” of U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,934, the “Plant Watering And Feeding Stake” of U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,706, the “Automatic Watering Device For Plants” of U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,591, and the “Self-Watering Apparatus For Plant” of U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,494.
These automatic plant watering devices generally fall into one of two categories. The first category of watering device is represented by the devices described in the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,060,934, 4,825,591, and 5,848,494, which valves or other mechanisms designed to vary the flow of water to the plant based on the amount of moisture in the soil. While devices with variable flow are useful in environments where water consumption varies significantly due to environmental conditions, houseplants are typically kept in a controlled or constant environment, and therefore such variable flow control is not necessary.
The present invention belongs to the second category of watering devices, represented by the plant watering devices described in the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,063,401, 1,231,975, and 1,453,401, all of which supply water to the plant at a preset rate rather than with variable flow or moisture feedback. However, each of the devices disclosed in these patents requires a relatively complex structure for positioning the devices above the soil to be watered, for example by mounting the devices on the rim of a flower pot. The need for mounting hardware not only makes the prior devices unduly high in cost and inconvenient for many potential users, limiting the settings in which the devices can be used, but the associated brackets, clamps, hoses, and the like tend to detract from the natural appearance of the plant to be watered.
A third category of self-watering devices which seeks to provide a more attractive appearance is represented by the Christmas tree watering devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,311,270 (“Automatic Water Dispenser For Christmas Tree Stands”), 4,993,176 (Christmas Tree Stand Watering System”), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,867,929 (“E-Z Christmas Tree Waterer”). However, the designs of these devices is fundamentally different than those of the plant watering devices described above because Christmas trees are typically placed in a container of water rather than planted in soil, and thus the watering devices must be designed to dispense directly into the pool of water. Placement of a tube into the pool provides an inherent means of flow control, but on the other hand necessitates suspension of the watering device above the pool.
In contrast to all of the watering devices mentioned above, the present invention seeks to dispense water to the soil surrounding a living plant upon simply being placed beside the plant, without the need for attachment of mounting hardware, insertion of tubes, or the like. As a result, the invention provides a watering device that is especially simple in construction and attractive, and yet that is easier to use than any of the prior designs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly a first objective of the invention to provide a plant watering device that is especially simple in construction and use.
It is a second objective of the invention to provide a plant watering device that does not require mounting hardware.
It is a third objective of the invention to provide a plant watering device that provides a predetermined drip rate and that is therefore especially suitable for watering plants in a controlled environment, such as house plants.
It is a fourth objective of the invention to provide a plant watering device having an attractive design, and in particular a plant watering device having the exterior configuration of a character, such as an animal.
It is a fifth objective of the invention to provide a plant watering device having the exterior configuration of a character, and in which the shape of supports for the plant watering device and the shape of a filler cap are consistent with the character so as not to detract from the overall appearance of the character.
These objectives are achieved, in accordance with the principles of a preferred embodiment of the invention, by providing a plant watering device in the form of an enclosed receptacle designed to hold water, and further designed to be placed directly on the soil surrounding the plant to be watered, eliminating the need for mounting hardware. The walls of the receptacle are arranged to permit passage of water from the interior to the exterior of the receptacle so that the water drips onto the soil at a predetermined rate.
Preferably, the receptacle is in the shape of a character. The character may be a life-like animal, a cartoon character, or any other representation of an animate object, whether real or imaginary. The legs or other supporting appendages of the animate object may then be used to elevate the receptacle above the surface on which it is placed, while a protruding body part may form a removable cap through which water may be introduced to the interior of the receptacle. In an exemplary implementation of the preferred embodiment, the receptacle is in the shape of toad, and the protruding body part is the eye of a toad, which includes a threaded extension arranged to be screwed into a corresponding opening in the main body of the receptacle.
In use, the watering device of the preferred embodiment may simply be filled with water through the opening in the main body of the receptacle, followed by threading of a filler cap into the opening to close the opening, and placement of the watering device on the soil surrounding the plant to be watered. The watering device may be used not only to ensure a supply of water to the plant when the owner is away, to save the trouble of daily watering even when the owner is present, or to ensure a more even supply of water to the plant in order to prevent the over-watering that might occur if an amount of water corresponding to the capacity of the watering device were poured on the plant all at once. The attractive shape of the watering device will encourage its use even when manual watering would not otherwise be inconvenient.
In a variation of the preferred embodiment of the invention, an optional flow adjustment device may be included in the watering device, enabling the predetermined drip rate to be varied to meet the requirements of particular plants, environments, or other circumstances.
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Bacon & Thomas PLLC
Jordan Charles T.
Myers Kenneth J.
Palo Fisnai T.
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