AU2009100515A4 - Collapsible flower basket - Google Patents

Description

1 TITLE: COLLAPSIBLE FLOWER BASKET (a) Technical Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to flower baskets, and especially relates to a flower basket that can be conveniently folded and assembled. 5 (b) Description of the Prior Art Potted flowers and various potted plants are common in people's daily lives as they can bring livelihood and beauty to people's living environment. In order to arrange these potted plants orderly and to move them easily, these potted plants of various sizes and dimensions are usually placed in flower or 10 flora baskets. However, there is no standard for flower basket's dimensions, shapes, and specifications. It is also quite common that it is difficult to find a flower basket that fits in a specific space or accommodates potted flowers of specific sizes. The application of flower baskets is therefore limited. Additionally, as most of 15 the flower baskets are integrally formed, once a part of it is damaged due to human or weather factors, the entire basket has to be replaced, which is not quite economical. 20 2 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, a major objective of the present invention is to provide a collapsible flower basket composed of a number of frames that could be freely dismantled and assembled together so as to obviate the foregoing 5 shortcomings of the prior arts. Another objective of the present invention is to provide a collapsible flower basket whose constituent frame members could be flexibly combined and conveniently replaced so as to fit in a specific space or to accommodate potted flowers of specific sizes or dimensions. 10 The collapsible flower basket contains a first frame set, a second frame set, and a base frame. The first frame set contains two oppositely positioned first frames, each having a number of first connection elements. The second frame set contains two oppositely positioned second frames, each having a number of second connection elements. The first frames and the second 15 frames are alternately positioned side-by-side to form a laterally enclosed structure where the base frame acts as a bottom. The base frame contains a number of third connection elements, each rotatably joined to one of the first connection elements, the second connection elements, and the hook elements. Additionally, some corresponding first and second connection elements are 20 also rotatably joined together.

3 A flower basket according to the present invention has its first and second frame sets rotatably joined to the base frame. The corresponding first frames of the first frame set and the corresponding second frames of the second frame set are only symmetrical in terms of locations in space and are not restricted to 5 have any specific shape. As such, in addition to being collapsible, various flower baskets according to the present invention could be flexibly assembled by combining frames of different shapes or dimensions. As such, it is easy to assemble a flower basket that fits into a specific space or accommodate potted plants of a specific size or dimension. Furthermore, as each frame could be 10 independently replaced, therefore, if any one frame is damaged, there is no need to retire or abandon the entire flower basket. Only the damaged frame has to be replaced. The follower basket thereby is a more flexible and economical then the prior arts. The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introduction 15 to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference 20 numerals refer to identical or similar parts.

4 Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is 5 shown by way of illustrative example.

5 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 is a perspective diagram showing a flower basket according an embodiment of the present invention. FIG 2 is a perspective break-down diagram showing the various 5 components ofthe flower basket of FIG 1. FIG 3 is a perspective diagram showing the flower basket of FIG 1 being collapsed.

6 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration 5 for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a collapsible flower basket 1 according to an 10 embodiment of the present invention contains a first frame set 12, a second frame set 14, and a base frame 16. The first frame set 12 contains two first frames 121 and 122, which are oppositely positioned in parallel. For each first frame 121 or 122, there are a number of first connection elements C1. In the present embodiment, the first 15 frames 121 and 122 are implemented as wire frames and the first connection elements C1 are configured at the ends of the frame wires. The second frame set 14 contains two second frames 141 and 142, which are also oppositely positioned in parallel, similar to the first frames 121 and 122. The first frames 121 and 122, and the second frames 141 and 142 are 20 alternately positioned side-by-side to form a laterally enclosed structure. In 7 other words, the second frame 141 is adjacent to and between the first frames 121 and 122. Similarly, the second frame 142 is also is adjacent to and between the first frames 121 and 122. For each second frame 141 or 142, there are a number of second connection elements C2. In the present embodiment, 5 the second frames 141 and 142 are implemented as wire frames and the second connection elements C2 are configured at the ends of the frame wires. Additionally, each second frame 141 or 142 further contains a hook element C3 and at least a portion of each hook element C3 is flexible. In the present embodiment, a hook element C3 is configured along a bottom edge of 10 each second frame 141 or 142. However, depending on various design, the hook elements C3 could also be configured at other locations of the second frames 141 and 142. The details are omitted here. The base frame 16 is actually positioned beneath the first frame set 12 and the second frame set 14. In other words, the base frame 16 acts as the bottom 15 to the enclosed structure formed by the first and second frame sets 12 and 14. The base frame 16 further contains a number of third connection elements C4 located correspondingly to the first connection elements C1, the second connection elements C2, and the hook elements C3. More specifically, each third connection element C4 is joined to one of the first connection elements 20 C1, the second connection elements C2, and the hook elements C3.

8 Additionally, some corresponding first and second connection elements C1 and C2 are also joined together. Once the foregoing connections are dismantled, the flower basket 1 then could be collapsed. Dismantling the connections involves loosening the connection between the hook element C3 5 and its corresponding third connection element C4, and collapsing the flower basket 1 involves conducting relatively rotational movements between the connection elements C1, C2, and C4. In other words, the first and second connection elements C1 and C2 do not have to be completely detached from the third connection element C4 and the flower basket 1 could still be 10 collapsed. Again, the aforementioned presents only one, not all, of the embodiments ofthe present invention. As shown in FIG 3, after the connections between the connection elements C1, C2, C4, and the hook elements C3 are dismantled, the two first frames 121 and 122, the two second frames 141 and 142, and the base frame 15 16 could be folded into an assembly of roughly the size of one of the fames. As shown in FIG 3, after the final step of collapsing the flower basket 1 as indicated by the dashed arrow head, the flower basket 1 is reduced to a rather volume for easy and convenient storage. Such a feature is unseen in conventional flower baskets. 20 Please note that, in the present embodiment, the first, second, and base 9 frames 121, 122, 141, 142, and 16 are all formed into a meshed structure. Alternatively, the first, second, and base frames 121, 122, 141, 142, and 16 could be formed into such as hollowed-out structures, sold structures, or a combination of all of the above. The first frames 121 and 122, in addition to 5 being symmetrical in terms of positions in space, could also be symmetrical in terms of shapes. Similarly, the second frames 141 and 142, in addition to being symmetrical in terms of positions in space, could also be symmetrical in terms of shapes. In other words, between the first frames 121 and 122 and between the second frames 141 and 142, the correspondence is not limited to or is not 10 required to be dimensional, shape-wise, location-wise. The first elements C1, the second elements C2, and the hook elements C3 are structurally compliment to the joining third connection elements C4, so that they can reliably lined to each other. As described above, a flower basket according to the present invention 15 has its first and second frame sets rotatably joined to the base frame. The corresponding first frames of the first frame set and the corresponding second frames of the second frame set are only symmetrical in terms of locations in space and are not restricted to have any specific shape. As such, in addition to being collapsible, various flower baskets according to the present invention 20 could be flexibly assembled by combining frames of different shapes or 10 dimensions. As such, it is easy to assemble a flower basket that fits into a specific space or accommodate potted plants of a specific size or dimension. Furthermore, as each frame could be independently replaced, therefore, if any one frame is damaged, there is no need to retire or abandon the entire flower 5 basket. Only the damaged frame has to be replaced. The follower basket thereby is a more flexible and economical then the prior arts. While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, 10 modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Claims (5)

1. A collapsible flower basket, comprising: a first frame set containing two oppositely positioned first frames, each having a plurality of first connection elements; 5 a second frame set containing two oppositely positioned second frames, each having a plurality of second connection elements, said second frames and said first frames alternately positioned side-by-side to form a laterally enclosed structure; and a base frame joining to said first and second frames as a bottom 10 side of said enclosed structure, said base frame having a plurality of third connection elements, wherein each third connection element is rotatably joined to a corresponding first connection element or a second connection element; each of the remaining second connection elements is 15 rotatably joined to a corresponding first connection element; and, as such, said first and second frame sets are rotatably joined to each other and to said base frame where said flower basket is thereby collapsible.

2. The collapsible flower basket according to claim 1, wherein said first 20 frames are symmetrical in terms of locations in space or shapes. 12

3. The collapsible flower basket according to claim 1, wherein said second frames are symmetrical in terms of locations in space or shapes.

4. The collapsible flower basket according to claim 1, wherein said 5 third connection element is structurally complement to said corresponding first and second connection element.

5. The collapsible flower basket according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said second frames has at least a hook element for joining a corresponding third connection element of said base frame and a 10 portion of said hook element is flexible and said hook element is structurally complement to said corresponding third connection element.