EP0049122B1

EP0049122B1 - A botanical display device

Info

Publication number: EP0049122B1
Application number: EP81304428A
Authority: EP
Inventors: William Blackburn
Original assignee: J & W Blackburn Ltd
Current assignee: J & W Blackburn Ltd
Priority date: 1980-09-27
Filing date: 1981-09-25
Publication date: 1984-09-12
Also published as: DE3166051D1; EP0049122A1; ATE9313T1

Abstract

The invention provides a botanical display device which comprises a tube (12) of transparent synthetic material such as polyvinylchloride enclosed in a mesh work sock (14) which extends across the bottom of the tube to provide a support for a plant (10) placed in the tube, the sock being drawn together above the top end of the tube. Besides providing an adequate environment in which the plant can live whilst on display the display device is also aesthetically attractive.

Description

The invention is concerned with botanical display devices for plants, especially pot plants or shrubs. An application of the display device is in the marketing of plants, particularly in supermarkets, general stores and garden centres.
It is known from German Patent Specification 1804926 to enclose a pot plant in a net bag. However, the plant cannot be stored in this way for any period of time and no growing environment for the plant is provided. Any attempt by the plant to grow will be obstructed by the net and specific steps have to be taken to water the plant if it is to survive. It is highly likely that, at least in supermarkets, plants on display for any period of time-will not be satisfactorily watered.
It is known from French Patent Specification 2147527 to enclose a plant in a sealed pot, the pot being attached to the inside of a transparent plastics tube. However this is purely for short-term storage and transportation. The plant cannot readily be watered.
The invention seeks to overcome the problem of providing a botanical display device in which a growing plant can survive for a significant period of time without receiving attention.
Accordingly the invention provides a botanical display device for a growing plant, particularly for merchandising the plant on an all year round basis, in which the plant has its root in compost and the compost and the plant are within a self-sustaining tube of transparent material, the tube having openings at both top and bottom ends, characterised in that: the compost is in the form of a block and the inner face of the tube forms a boundary for the block such that moisture condensing within the tube will drain down the inner face of the tube and into the compost block, hence providing a self-watering environment; a meshwork sock is stretched over the outside of the tube and is drawn together at the top of the tube to provide a perforated bottom support for the compost through which moisture may be transferred upwardly and also to provide a perforated top closure for the display device.
Preferably the block of compost is contained in an open-topped plastics bag, the side walls of the bag being sandwiched between the inner face of the tube and the compost, and the bottom of the bag being perforated.
The plastics bag may be a sliding fit in the tube.
The tube is preferably formed from flat sheet wrapped around the compost block and the plant, the vertical edges of the sheet being secured together to form the tube.
The tube may be of circular cross-section and a label may be applied to the outside of the tube, protected by the meshwork sock. The sock may be formed of a net fabric.
The block of compost may protrude below the bottom of the transparent tube and the part of the sock drawn together at the top of the tube may be bunched to provide a handgrip for carrying the display device.
A botanical display which includes a display device in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing which is a perspective view of the display.
The intended purpose of this display is the selling of small plants and shrubs, particularly in supermarkets, general stores and garden centres. It is desirable for this purpose that the plant shall be readily visible in its natural growing attitude, but at the same time it is also desirable that the purchaser shall be able to handle the plant easily. (Supermarket customers are generally used to being able to lift an article to be purchased from an open shelf, and simply place it in a shopping trolley.) Traditional methods of displaying plants in pots or trays are not suited to supermarket operations. On the other hand when a plant is simply placed in a plastics bag, the mouth of which is drawn together, it is constricted and certainly not displayed to any advantage.
For the purpose of the present example, it is supposed that a small shrub 10 has to be displayed. A display device for this shrub essentially comprises an open topped plastics bag 11, a cylindrical tube 12 and a perforated sock 14. The roots of the shrub 10 are surrounded by a cylindrical compost block 13, which is contained in the black polyethylene bag 11. This kind of plastics bag is frequently used for containing compost blocks when plants are displayed without protective covering. The base of the bag 11 is perforated. The tube 12 is constructed from a sheet of 250 micron clear polyvinylchloride and the two opposite vertical edges of the sheet are formed with interlocking formations (not shown) whereby a vertical joint can be formed. Alternatively, the two opposite vertical edges of the sheet may be secured together by staples or by use of an adhesive. The tube 12 is large enough for the shrub 10 to grow naturally inside it as illustrated. In other words, the dimensions of the tube are such that when the shrub is placed in it, the shrub is not constricted to any substantial extent. The tube is self-sustaining, open at both top and bottom ends, and completely transparent. As shown in the drawing, the bag 11 containing the shrub 10 is positioned in the lower end of the tube 12. In fact, the bag 11 is a sliding fit in the tube 12 so that it is easily fitted into the tube and presents a neat appearance when in position.
The sock 14 is made of nylon netting which can be stretched, and the tube 12 is placed within the sock. The construction of the sock is such that it is stretched over the cylindrical wall of the tube 12, thus providing the diamond- shaped pattern as illustrated all over the out- sidELOfthe tube. The patterning of the tube by the stretched netting greatly enhances the aesthetic attraction of the display in a manner which cannot be readily explained logically. Perhaps there is a psychological clash producing a jarring effect on the observer, between the "natural" as represented by the growing plant and the "synthetic" as represented by the purely transparent plastics tube, and this clash is greatly muted by the effect of the netting. In any event, the enhancement in the appearance of the display produced by the stretched netting is very marked.
The sock 14 also provides a perforated closure or support 16 across the open bottom of the tube. When the tube is forced into the bag, the bag is not stretched taut across the bottom of the tube, and a length of the sock is left free above the top end of the tube 12. Before the shrub is placed in the display device therefore, the latter can be said to comprise a net sock closed at one end and open at the other, with the plastics tube fitted into the sock and stretching that part of the sock which lies around the tube.
When the shrub 10, with its block 13 of compost and the polyethylene bag 11 is placed in the tube 12 through the open top end thereof, because the lower support portion 16 of the sock 14 is not stretched taut across the lower end of the tube 12, the bag 11 and compost block 13 protrudes slightly below the lower end of the tube 12 as illustrated, being supported there by the then stretched lower end portion of the sock.
The part of the sock 14 protruding above the top end of the tube 12, is then drawn together and a clip or elastic band 20 applied around the gathered-together portion of the sock. This has the effect of stretching part of the sock across the top end of the tube 12, to provide a perforated closure 22. There is also provided a short bunched length 24 of the sock which can be used as a hand grip for the entire display.
Planting and cultivation instructions may be printed on the polyethylene bag 11 as indicated at 18, and these will be clearly visible through the tube 12. Since the sock 14 is made of fine thread, it presents no appreciable impediment to reading the instructions. Also, a label 25 may be inserted between the outside of the transparent tube 12 and the sock 14. The sock therefore provides a convenient method of retaining the label in position on the tube. The label 18 may bear an illustration of the plant when in flower or fruit and it may also bear additional descriptive and/or advertising matter.
A series of displays such as that illustrated in the drawing, can be placed in a shallow tray containing water, on the shelf of a supermarket or the like. Because the compost block 13 will be in contact with the water through the perforated bottom wall of the bag 11, and the lower portion 16 of the sock does not prevent this, the plant is able to recieve a moisture supply, so long as it is on display. Also, whilst the top end of the tube is effectively closed, so that it is not possible for anyone to interfere with the plant, there is adequate ventilation through the perforated top 22 of the display. Hence, the plant is able to continue to grow naturally whilst in the display device, and because it is not constricted to any substantial extent by the display device, it is shown to the best possible advantage to potential customers. Moreover, if someone decides to purchase the plant, it is a simple matter to lift the entire display by means of the hand grip 24, and the display device protects the shrub 10 during transportation.
It will be appreciated, that the tube 12, need not be made in the material which has been specified above. For example, it might be possible to make the tube in rigid polyvinylchloride of 150 micron thickness. Alternatively, the tube could be made in any other transparent plastics material. Equally, the sock 14 need not necessarily be made in nylon, though clearly it should preferably be made in a material which is moisture resistant.
The invention also broadly comprises the display of a growing plant in a transparent container, with a net stretched around the outside of the container.

Claims

1. A botanical display device for a growing plant, particularly for merchandising the plant on an all-year-round basis, in which a plant (10) has its root in compost (13) and the compost and the plant are within a self-sustaining tube (12) of transparent material, the tube (12) having openings at both top and bottom ends, characterised in that: the compost (13) is in the form of a block and the inner face of the tube (12) forms a boundary for the block such that moisture condensing within the tube will drain down the inner face of the tube and into the compost block, hence providing a self-watering environment; a meshwork sock (14) is stretched over the outside of the tube and is drawn together at the top end of the tube (12) to provide a perforated bottom support for the compost through which moisture may be transferred upwardly and also to provide a perforated top closure for the display device.

2. A botanical display device as claimed in Claim 1, in which the block of compost (13) is contained in an open-topped plastics bag (11), the side walls of the bag being sandwiched between the inner face of the tube ana me compost, and the bottom of the bag being perforated.

3. A botanical display device as claimed in Claim 2, in which the plastics bag (11) is a sliding fit in the tube (12).

4. A botanical display as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the tube (12) is formed from flat sheet wrapped around the compost block (13) and the plant (10), the vertical edges of the sheet being secured together to form the tube.

5. A botanical display device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the tube is of circular cross-section.

6. A botanical display device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which a label (25) is applied to the outside of the tube (12) and is protected by the meshwork sock (14).

7. A botanical display device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the sock is formed of a net fabric.

8. A botanical display device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the block of compost (13) protrudes below the bottom of the transparent tube (12).

9. A botanical display device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which part of the sock (12) drawn together at the top of the tube is bunched to provide a handgrip for carrying the display device.