Plant husbandry – Ornamental beds
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-25
2001-07-03
Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3644)
Plant husbandry
Ornamental beds
C047S086000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06253487
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a plant cultivation mat (or grass growing mat) to be laid on the roof top, veranda, terrace, etc. of buildings (in particular, an artificial ground) for growing various plants such as, especially, ground-covering plants like lawn, etc., grasses, flowers, vegetables, and so forth, and to a water-storing tray for such plant cultivation mat.
b) Description of Prior Arts
It has been the conventional practice that, in the case of cultivating or growing plants at a location having a flat laying surface such as roof top, veranda, terrace, etc. of a building, a water-prevention layer and a root-protection layer are formed (or a water-prevention sheet or a root-protection sheet is laid) over such flat laying surface, and then soil is spread over the layer or sheet to cultivate ground-covering plants such as lawn, grasses and shrubs, vegitables, and so forth (vide: for example, laid-open gazette of Japanese Patent Application No. 4-99411).
With the abovementioned method of spreading soil on the artificial ground, however, there arises necessity for providing plant cultivation arrangement such as water-prevention layer, root-protecting layer, etc. , which give rise to various problems such that the equipment can hardly be adopted in those existing buildings, and, even when it is adopted in new buildings, cost to be borne would become prohibitively high. In addition, for the installation of the abovementioned plant cultivation arrangement, a large-scaled working would become necessary with the consequence that much time and labor are needed.
On the other hand, the service life of the water prevention layer is in general said to last from 10 to 15 years. Besides its service life, when unexpected damages occur to the water-prevention layer and the laying surface of the plant cultivation mat due to the plant cultivation work, it becomes also necessary to remove the plants under cultivation and the soils for cultivation with a view to repairing such water prevention layer against its water leakage. Again, enormous amount of time and labor are needed for this removing work.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of the afore-described points of problem, and aims at providing the water-storing tray for the plant cultivation mat, with the concomitant object of perfecting the water irrigation function in the plant cultivation mat as well as of facilitating control of the water content in the soil.
A further object of the present invention is to stabilize the plant cultivation arrangement as a whole in respect of laying the plant cultivation mat, while ameliorating its water irrigation function.
According to the present invention, in one aspect thereof, there is provided a water-storing tray for plant cultivation mat, which is characterized in that a substantially hook-shaped linkage part in its cross-section is provided externally of the upper end part of at least one side wall of the water-storing tray.
According to the present invention, in another aspect thereof, there is provided a water-storing tray for plant cultivation mat, which is characterized in that a linkage part having a substantially hook-shape in its cross-section and a large breadth on its upper surface is provided externally on the upper end part of at least one lateral wall of the water-storing tray, and a linkage part having a substantially hook-shape in its cross-section and a small breadth on its upper surface is provided externally on the upper end part of the other side wall.
According to the present invention, in still another aspect thereof, there is provided a water-storing tray for plant cultivation mat, which is characterized in that, each of the side end parts of said linkage part having the large breadth on its upper surface and said linkage part having the small breadth on its upper surface has been cut out at a required location.
According to the present invention, in further aspect thereof, there is provided a water-storing tray for plant cultivation mat, which is characterized in that the upper surface of the linkage part having the large breadth is brought to a level higher than the upper surface of the linkage part having the small breadth.
According to the present invention, in still further aspect thereof, there is provided a water-storing tray for plant cultivation mat, which is characterized in that a plurality of water storage cells are defined within the tray by use of cell defining members.
According to the present invention, in still further aspect thereof, there is provided a water-storing tray for plant cultivation mat, which is characterized in that concaved grooves are formed at required locations in the upper end part of the lateral walls thereof.
According to the present invention, in still further aspect thereof, there is provided water-storing tray arrangement for plant cultivation mat using the above-described water-storing tray for plant cultivation mat, which is characterized in that desired water-storing trays are selected for use from among the above-described water-storing trays in the water-storing tray for the plant cultivation mat, and the abovementioned linkage part having the large breadth on the upper surface and the abovementioned linkage part having the small breadth on the upper surface are mutually engaged to be arranged continuously on the mat laying surface. This water-storing tray arrangement for plant cultivation mat is further characterized in that a space formed by the upper end surface of the side wall of the water-storing tray and the side wall of each opposing plant cultivation mat spread in the water-storing tray is made a space part for laying a water supply pipe.
In case the abovementioned water-storing tray arrangement for the plant cultivation mat is laid on the mat laying surface having an inclined portion, if use is made of a plurality of water-storing trays, each tray being of such a construction that a linkage part having a large breadth on its upper end part of at least one side wall is provided externally, and another linkage part of a small breadth on the upper surface of other lateral wall opposing the abovementioned one side wall, it is preferable to lay the water-storing tray by positioning the side wall, where the linkage part having the large breadth on its upper surface is provided, downward of the inclined surface, and to engage the linkage part having the small breadth on its upper surface with the linkage part having the large breadth on its upper surface of the other water-storing tray, the other water-storing tray being laid upward one after another.
Since the abovementioned water-storing trays can be mutually connected together by use of, for example, a hook-shaped linkage part, wherein the upper surface of the linkage part having the small breadth of a water-storing tray is mounted by the upper surface of the linkage part having the large breadth of the other water-storing tray to be positioned adjacently one over the other, it becomes possible to combine a multitude of water-storing trays, whereby the water-storing tray for the water irrigation of the bottom surface of the plant cultivation mat having much larger area can be laid. In this way, the water-irrigation function of the plant cultivation arrangement can be much more improved, hence stable laying of the plant cultivation arrangement can be realized.
And, by bringing the upper surface of the linkage part having the large breadth to a level higher than the upper surface of the linkage part having the small breadth, as by, for example, providing the upper surface of the linkage part having the large breadth at a level higher than the upper surface of the linkage part having the small breadth for the plate thickness of the linkage part having the small breadth, the bottom surface of each of the water-storing trays can be joined by the hook-shaped linkage part, without its being floated with respect to the laying surface of the plant cultivation mat, when the linkage part having th
Kumura Kazuo
Uchida Shinji
Yoshida Minoru
Yoshioka Takaharu
Armstrong Westerman Hattori McLeland & Naughton LLP
Jordan Charles T.
Kyodo Ky-Tec CORP
Shaw Elizabeth
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