FI103748B - Protective equipment for seedlings and the like - Google Patents

Description

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The present invention relates to a protective device intended to protect seedlings after planting, but also for other purposes where such protection is required.

Millions of trees and other plants are planted every year. Some of the seedlings, specifically the tree seedlings, are planted in the felling holes, which traditionally, after removal of the tree, thrive vigorously and in many cases grow so vigorously and dense that the planted tree seedlings have poor growth potential die of lack of nutrition and growth.

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There have been many attempts to solve the above problem. One way is to destroy the rest of the crop in the area to be planted. However, for natural reasons, it is very laborious, and if we want the tree seedlings to grow in the area, weeds will certainly grow there.

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Various mechanical devices are also known for protecting seedlings. One of the basic types is a piece of plastic tubing with a seedling planted inside. If: the tube is left unattached to its base, it will surely fall and damage the dough.

Attachment is possible by pushing the tube a certain distance to the ground, but the problem is that the base is often rocky and in any case hard, making it very difficult to get the tube end into the ground.

Another mechanical device for protecting seedlings is known. It consists of a slightly cone-forced plate with a hole in the center for passing the trout 30 through it. Such a solution preserves the proximity of the trout probably free of other vegetation, but does not actually protect the plant in any way. Rather, it is a danger to the seedling because the edges of the small hole in it may damage the seedling by rubbing.

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In addition, there is known, for example from U.S. Patent No. 5,398,443, a slightly conical protective device having a conical surface with windows and a narrow flange at its lower part. The purpose of the flange is to hold the device in place by placing earth on the flange. This device is largely related to the invention of these 5 applications, but lacks any ability to protect the trout's immediate environment from the growth of weeds and the like.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improvement on the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art and to provide a seedling protective device which effectively protects the seedling from its early stages to a fairly large seedling and which is a versatile, simple and inexpensive solution for seedling protection. It is a further object, in particular, to protect the plant in the inner areas of the protective device and possibly also some distance outside it from the growth of weeds and form disturbers.

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The foregoing and other advantages and advantages of the present invention are achieved as set forth in the appended claims.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the invention; and

Figure 2 is a top view of the protective device of Figure 1.

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The figures thus show an embodiment of a protective device according to the invention. It is to be understood, of course, that this proposed instrument is only one of many options in terms of size and shape. Thus, the ratio of height to width, as well as shape, round or oval, must always be chosen according to purpose.

The protective device 1 according to the invention is placed on a desired substrate using a suitable plate-like substrate, such as 2, with a hole for the plant 3. The base plate 2 is especially light-impermeable material, so it 103748 3 is the best barrier to any growth underneath. The base plate 2 is at least so large that it extends over the entire conical surface area, preferably an even wider area.

The protective device shown is a rectangular upwardly tapered diaper surface 4 having a flange-like skirt 5 in the embodiment shown, preferably having a suitable number of holes 6 through which a suitable fastening device 7, such as a pin-like member, can be inserted into the ground to hold the device 1 in place. The number of fasteners used shall be as many as necessary to ensure that it is held in place. As shown in Fig. 2, the holes 6 may be provided in particular in pairs, whereby the fastening means 10 are passed through the holes so that their directions deviate from each other, thereby providing good stability in the substrate also with the fragile fastening means. The hem 5 may be a flange substantially parallel to the surface of the earth, which may have a large dimension, thereby covering the immediate area, preventing it from grassing.

If desired, the top of the protective device 1 according to the invention has a lid 8 which can be secured in place by means of suitable fasteners 9. The lid may be provided with one larger hole 10 from which the plant may exit or which may, for example, serve as a ventilation hole. Alternatively, there may be several smaller holes, especially for ventilation.

Fig. 1 shows an alternative structure under cover 8, i.e. the cover is not used, but the body of the protective device itself also extends as a top-closing roof of the device, which may be perforated as described above.

The cover does not have to be as shown, for example, instead of the shown inwardly turned inwardly facing upper edges 11 of the diaper, the diaper may be straight and the lid 8 is "hat-like", whereby the fastening occurs from the upper side of the diaper.

The device of the invention can be used as a shield for a seedling as well as a seedling, including seedlings of garden plants and tree seedlings in forest plantations. Protective equipment can be manufactured in a variety of sizes, always choosing the appropriate size and model. The protective device can be used with and without the lid 8.

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The protective material according to the invention is made of a plastic sheet in particular, but if the ecological properties are to be emphasized, the article is made of, for example, treated cardboard, which lasts for a certain time and then decays. If desired, one or more surfaces of the protective device may be ruptured, colored or clear plastic may be used as the material of manufacture, and, if desired, one or more surfaces or parts may be coated with a reflective material on the inner or outer surface. Other treatments are also possible.

The fastening means 7 are preferably plastic or metal pins on which a kind of shoulder surface may lean against a flange to be fastened to secure the fastening. The fasteners 9 may be of any known type for attaching two substantially plate-like materials together.

Other modifications and materials are possible within the scope of the inventive idea and the appended claims. Thus, the protective devices according to the invention can be made into a "cell" of several interconnected devices, whereby the material is one piece from one edge to another. Similarly, although it has been mentioned above that the invention is particularly a plant protection, increasing the size of the protective means means that it is ultimately a greenhouse type protection.

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It should also be mentioned that stacking the protective devices according to the invention on top of each other makes it possible to store them in a very small space. The stack is easy to disassemble as needed. The protective device according to the invention also protects seedlings, trees or the like from harmful visits by animals such as rabbits.

Claims (9)

A plant protection device (1), especially for plants, comprising a mantle surface (4) which protects the plant (3) substantially on all sides and downstream of the lower bore has a flange portion (5), 7) may be attached to its substrate, characterized in that it comprises a disc-shaped substrate (2) which is substantially larger than the area of the mantle surface (4) and which is made a shark for the plant (3) and which is preferably of an opaque material. Protective device according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises a cover (8) which can be attached to the upper areas of the protective surface (1) of the protective device (1) if necessary. Protective device according to claim 2, characterized in that a heel (10) for the plant is made in the cover (8). Protective device according to claim 1, characterized in that at least some of the surfaces of the protective device are provided with shark, surface-treated, reflective or the like. Protective device according to claim 1, characterized in that it is made of a transparent or translucent plastic material. Protective device according to claim 1, characterized in that it is made of a biodegradable material. 25 Protective device according to Claim 1, characterized in that it consists of a plurality of individual protective devices integrated with each other. Protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that for the fastening means (7) there are halves (6) for knitting the fastening means through the heel down into its support in pairs in different directions. Protective device according to claim 1, characterized in that the protective device is tapered.