AU2006236088B1

AU2006236088B1 - Plant Guard

Info

Publication number: AU2006236088B1
Application number: AU2006236088A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Kim Jones
Original assignee: Jones Kim Miss
Current assignee: Jones Kim Miss
Priority date: 2005-12-09
Filing date: 2006-11-21
Publication date: 2007-06-07
Anticipated expiration: 2026-11-21

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patent Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT PLANT GUARD The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: TITLE OF THE INVENTION C)[0001] Plant Guard SFIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The invention has been specifically devised for the protection of garden and potted plants against the full strength of the sun or frost. The invention is o00 free standing, collapsible for storage, portable for easy re-positioning and 00 00readily scalable to accommodate varying sized plants.

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INC SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0003] The Plant Guard specified in this invention comprises of a frame inserted into a hemmed, weather protective piece of cloth, which is deployed as a canopy to create a shield. The shield is preferably round or oblong in plan shape, for greatest efficiency in manufacture but can be square or rectangular without any detraction from its operational effectiveness.

Alternatively the shield can be manufactured to an irregular shape, where that can better suit its application as a corporate promotional medium.

The shield attaches to a longer member that when inserted into the ground, positions the guard in its upright position. A shorter member is joined by way of a hinge, to the longer member and operates as a support bar that holds the shield in a position approximately 10 degrees below the horizontal plane once open.

The frame may be manufactured from a wire, as in the prototype, or from an extruded metal section or moulded ultraviolet-light resistant plastic. The members may be manufactured from metal or ultraviolet-light resistant plastic material, to satisfy particular applications where durability is a consideration or, as in the case of a prototype, may be manufactured from wood.

A hinge has been used to attach the two members of wood together to enable the Plant Guard to be collapsible. The hinge may be of a stainless steel, mild steel or other metal appropriate to the application and externally mounted, as in the case of the prototype, or integral in the case of extruded metal or

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Omoulded plastics long and short members.

The shield is joined to the structure by the insertion of its two ends into the holes provided in the longer upright member thereby creating a bilateral set of pivots. By revolving the smaller member to the full open capacity of the hinge 0 it takes up its support position. The shield is then rotated about its pivot 00 0points to create the top canopy section. The longer member can then be inserted into the ground thereby holding the plant guard over the plant in the required position. The shield limits the amount of direct sunlight or frost 0 reaching the plant creating a guard against the harshness of weather changes.

The longer member that upholds the shield and support bar has a pointed spike at the opposing end to the hinge to assist in the penetration of the soil.

A small circular piece of cloth has been added to the centre of the shield to increase durability at the point where the shield sits on the end of the smaller support bar when the Plant Guard is placed in its upright position. To prevent strong winds from blowing the shield out of its canopy position a strap has been attached. The strap is permanently sewn to the edge of the shield and fastened by way of Velcro to the main longer member.

While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or another country.

In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention,

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except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, ie. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.

00 0BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0004] The features of the present invention will be apparent by reference to (-i the following drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 is a front plan view of the Plant Guard in its open position whereby the canopy is formed with the shield being in its open position with notation of the retaining strap and the hinge and supportive main member illustrated.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the Plant Guard in its open functional position with illustration of the pointed tip that enters the ground, both the longer member (stake) and shorter member (support bar), the shield being held into position by the retaining strap.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the shield showing the hem, protective centre piece of cloth and the frame insert which is used to join the shield to the longer member and enables rotation for opening.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the Plant Guard in its closed position, illustrating the frame pivots, the hinge, canopy support bar, stake and frame (notated here as canopy ring, reflecting the circular shape of the prototype) carrying the shield.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the Plant Guard at the commencement of opening, illustrating the swinging motion involved in the opening procedure.

FIG. 6 is a side elevation view of the Plant Guard in its completed open Sposition showing where the final rotations of the support bar and shield finish, Screating the protective canopy.

[0005] It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of oo various preferred features illustrative of the basic principles of the invention.

00 0The specific design features of the Plant Guard as disclosed herein, including, NOfor example, specific dimensions, orientations, and shapes of the various N components will be determined in part by the particular intended application Sand use environment. Certain features of the illustrated embodiments have been enlarged or distorted relative to others to facilitate visualisation and clear understanding. In particular, thin features may be thickened, for example, for clarification of illustration. All references to direction and position, unless otherwise indicated, refer to the orientation of the Plant Guard illustrated in the drawings.

Claims

1. A Plant Guard that may be readily deployed to provide Ssensitive plants with adequate protection from either extremes of cold through frost or heat from direct sunshine and may be readily moved from the initial location to cater for seasonal changes in the direction of direct sunlight or frost 00 risk and can be readily moved from plant to plant; comprising, in combination: 00 0 a frame wrapped in weather protective cloth, creating a shield, NOthe frame includes a peripheral member which has two open/free ends; INO a long member that when inserted into the ground by way of a 0pointed spiked edge acts as a stake to uphold the protective shield; a shorter member which acts as a support bar to the shield; a hinge that holds the supportive shorter member to the longer member (stake) whereby once rotated open, is ready to hold the shield canopy in its operational position; a bi-lateral set of pivots formed by the insertion of the open ends of the frame into holes provided either side of the longer member, which allows the canopy shield to be rotated such as to rest against the deployed shorter member, locating it in its final operating position; a small piece of protective cloth sewn into the centre of the shield; a strap attached to the shield, when fastened to the stake by way of either formed mounting points or Velcro, acts as a harness stabilising the shield into position.

2. The Plant Guard according to claim 1, wherein the protective cloth is sewn into a shape by way of a hem.

3. The Plant Guard according to claim 1 and 2, wherein the protective cloth is sewn into a shape being either circular, triangular, square, hexagonal, octagonal or irregular shape by way of a hem.

4. The Plant Guard according to the preceding claims, wherein the hem allows a frame to be threaded through creating a shield. r The Plant Guard according to claim 1 wherein a hinge is used to join the supportive shorter member to the longer member.

6. The Plant Guard according to claims 1 and 5 wherein the hinge could be integral in the case of extruded metal or moulded plastics long 00 and short member. 00oo

7. The Plant Guard according to claims 1, 5 and 6 wherein a N hinge has been used to attach the two members of wood together to enable the Plant Guard to be collapsible.

8. The Plant Guard according to the preceding claims wherein the longer member has a pointed spike formed at the end opposing the shield for penetration into the ground holding the entire assembly in it's upright, operating position.

9. The Plant Guard according to the preceding claims wherein a strap is sewn to one side of the shield.