Plant husbandry – Cover – shade – or screen – Open top
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-03
2001-04-24
Poon, Peter M. (Department: 3643)
Plant husbandry
Cover, shade, or screen
Open top
Reexamination Certificate
active
06219962
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to improvements in tubular plant guards and relates particularly to an improved plant guard for protection of small plants, such as newly planted vines, e.g. grape vines, trees or the like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is common practice in vineyards, for example, to use an elongate hollow guard placed around a young vine at the time of its planting to protect it during its early growth period. One such guard is described in the specification of Australian Patent Application No. 23516/92. This guard comprises a panel of flexible material adapted to be formed into a tubular body and releasably fastened in a tubular condition by means of cooperating tabs and slots provided along the vertical edges of the panel which are to be joined together. This allows the guard to be supplied as a blank in a flat, unfolded condition and subsequently formed into the tubular shape by a folding and interlocking operation
The guard disclosed in the specification has several disadvantages, including the difficulty of engaging the individual tabs into the appropriate slots. This is both time consuming and awkward particularly when the guard is of a length which makes it difficult to reach all tabs and slots.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,555 to Fitzgerald discloses another form of guard which uses fabric material having a plurality of sets of mating fasteners attached along opposite side edges thereof The material is placed around the base of a growing tree, and the bottom sets of mating fasteners are buckled around the trunk of the tree. Subsequently fasteners are in turn buckled which, in the case of a tree, progressively compresses the tree branches upwardly. This form of guard is relatively difficult to manufacture and requires substantial time and effort to engage in position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,750 to Mills discloses plant protectors of a variety of forms including a form formed of extruded sheet material the opposite side edges of which are adapted to interlock. However, the edge portions of the panel material, in use, face in opposite directions and overly each other to enable one to be connected to the other. The join is, therefore, an overlapping join and disadvantage of this structure is the difficulty in interlocking the tab within the recess, particularly in the case of an elongated guard.
Another guard is described and illustrated in U.S. patent application No. 5,809,690. The guard of this patent is formed from a panel of plastics material which is folded into a tubular shape with adjacent vertical margins of the panel being connected together by means of a recallable zip type fastener which comprises fastener strips. Each strip has a locking profile portion which is adapt to releasably interlock with the locking profile portion of the other strip. The fastener strips arc secured to the opposite edge portions of the panel by heat welding or by means of an adhesive. The embodiments illustrated in the specification show the guard with an upstanding rear tab adapt to engage a wire of a wire trellis to secure the guard to the trellis.
The guards disclosed in the aforesaid prior patent specifications may be improved from the point of view of a user in terms of case and security of fasting together of the vertical margins of the guard panel. In particular, it has been found that the joining together of the vertical margins of the guard panel using cooperating tabs and slots is generally unsatisfactory in that the tabs, in some instances, become disengaged from their slots and gaps are created along the edges of the vertical margins. Such gaps allow entry points for chemical sprays such as herbicides, which can have a deleterious effect on a young plant.
It is also been found that the use of a zipper-type fastener as described in our U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,690 aforesaid, while a substantial improvement on tabs and slots and other fasteners for securing together the vertical margins of the guard panel, may also be unsatisfactory in some instances where pressure is exerted against the and of the fastener which may cause the fastener strips to disengage, particularly at the upper end. Thus, a vine within the guard may push against the upper edges of the fastener strips, or rest on the upper edges, and cause the strips to disengage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore desirable to provide an improved plant guard which avoids the stated disadvantages of the prior guards.
It is also desirable to ode a plant guard having an improved structure but which is of simple construction and which allows the guard to be retained in its tubular shape quickly and simply.
It is also desirable to provide an improved plant guard which has a fastening means designed, when fastened, to in the fastened state,
In accordance with one aspect of the invention there is provided a plant guard comprising a sheet of martial which is adapted to be formed into a tubular shape, the sheet having opposed marginal edges which, in the tubular shape, are adjacent, fastener means to fasten the marginal edges together, flap means at one end of the sheet and adapted to be folded over a substantially horizontally extending support means, said flap means being adjacent said marginal edges of said sheet when in the tubular shape, with the said marginal edges and associated fastener means adapted to engage behind said support means when said flap is folded thereover.
In one preferred embodiment, the sheet of material comprises a panel of synthetic plastic, hollow profile sheet, such as “CORFLUTE” (trade mark) which is an extruded, synthetic plastics sheet material having outer facing layers interconnected by a plurality of closely spaced, substantially parallel webs forming a series of elongate, internal channels or flutes extending along the length of the panel.
Preferably, the fastener means comprises interlockable resilient flexible fastener strips respectively secured to and extending along the opposed marginal edges, said fastener strips having locking profile ribs which interlock with one another so as to provide a reclosable, essentially zip-type fastener. Such a zip-type fastener is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,809,690 aforesaid. However, other fastener means, may be used in the performance of this invention.
If desired, the base of the plant guard may be provided with outwardly projecting flap portions each of which is hinged to a lower end of a tubular guard along a hinge line so that, in use, the flaps can be buried in the ground to provide a support base for the guard. Such a guard panel is disclosed in the earlier Australian Patent Application aforesaid.
When the guard in accordance with the present invention is retained in its assembled tubular shape by fastener means, and the flap means is engaged over the horizontally extending support means, which is preferably a trellis wire, the opposed marginal edges and associated fastener means are engaged behind the support wire thereby preventing the fastener means becoming disengaged at least at the upper end by application of accidental external forces or the like.
In order that the invention is readily understood, an embodiment thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 884473 (1908-04-01), Dawson
patent: 2260436 (1941-10-01), Chambers
patent: 2340373 (1944-02-01), Gardner
patent: 4969555 (1990-11-01), Fitzgerald
patent: 5347750 (1994-09-01), Mills
patent: 5809690 (1998-09-01), Due et al.
patent: 6088952 (2000-07-01), Wilson
patent: 23516/92 (1992-11-01), None
patent: 0 325 490 (1989-07-01), None
patent: WO 96/02125 (1996-02-01), None
patent: WO 97/03551 (1997-02-01), None
patent: WO 99/13704 (1999-03-01), None
Gellner Jeffrey L.
Poon Peter M.
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